Polygamy in Africa: A Review of Min Ye

"Malian filmmaker Souleymane Cissé’s reputation precedes him, and for a director that can be both a blessing and a curse. It may help open doors and smooth over the pre-production process but it can also set unrealistic expectation upon the finished product. Cissé returns to the cinema after 14 years with Min Ye (Tell Me Who You Are), his third film to play the New York Film Festival. Best known for 1987’s Brightness (Yeelen) (which a colleague describes as Star Wars in Africa), Cissé has been praised for his social realism and is a pivotal figure in African cinema. Min Ye is the first film of his that I’ve seen, but I don’t need to have seen his others to recognize it as an underwhelming offer, high expectations or not."

Click here to read my review of Min Ye at Not Coming To a Theater Near You's NYFF Coverage

The Trigger Effect: A Review of Lebanon

"Lebanon isn’t quite the pivotal war document or riveting suspense narrative it could have been, but it is confidently made with piercing sound design and arresting visuals that aid in the effective illustration of the range of people directly affected by war."

Click here to read my review at Not Coming to a Theater Near You as part of their New York Film Festival coverage

Afterschool: You Can Look But You Better Not Touch

"While Afterschool is concerned with online content, it is not shot to resemble the internet’s amateur aesthetic. Rather it is shot in stark contrast by using careful framing, static cameras, and dilatory pacing. On the one hand, I appreciate seeing a young American filmmaker (Campos is a mere 25) who isn’t obsessed with fast cuts and handheld cameras but on the other hand, his approach is damn near maddening."

Click here to read my review at Not Coming to a Theater Near You

The Windmill Movie: A Cinematic Autobiography?

"The flaws of The Windmill Movie serve to emphasize the uniqueness of the individual. Just like Timothy Treadwell and Jonathan Caouette, Rogers can only be imitated, never replicated. And therein lays the potential of the cinematic autobiography: to record a presence that can’t be performed."

Click here to read my review at Not Coming to a Theater Near You