Slow, creeping vibes, good performances, and amazing sound production. Yes, not a lot happens, and we never get any info about the nature of the disease, but the dynamics between the two families, living in one house, carried enough tension to get the movie by.
Recommended.
A fascinating examination of the passing of time, and of the weighted separation among family members who live vast distances from each other.
For the first hour or so, News From Home is composed of static, lockdown shots of New Yorkers going about their day, while Chantal Akerman reads letters from a loving but rather needy mother, who, along with most of her family, resides in Brussels. But around the one hour mark, the camera gains more movement, and the…
This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.
This floored me.
At the beginning of the film, Haider tells Biba that if his father found out he was in a dance troupe led by a transgender woman, he'd immediately start planning out his funeral. Naïf that he is, he is unaware that in patriarchal societies, punishment for male transgressions usually falls on someone else's shoulders; and so another's funeral had to be prepared.
Which isn't to say that the males in this movie are villains. The filmmakers are…
I was expecting bat shit insanity, but this exceeded all expectations. One of the most violent, gory, and funny movies I've seen in some time. The filmmakers knew what kind of movie they were making, and every five minutes they just kept topping themselves.
An instant favorite.
