Category Archives: Film

TIFF FILM REVIEW: Khalo Matabane’s ‘State of Violence’

Posted on September 12, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Khalo Matabane’s South Africa-set “State of Violence” is a sturdy and straightforward parable about the way violence becomes an endless cycle unless someone is prepared to put a stop to it. Its linear story is … Continue reading →

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: ‘Behind Blue Skies’

Posted on September 11, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – Swedish filmmaker Hannes Holm turns a jaundiced eye on 1970s idealism and nostalgia in “Behind Blue Skies” but its discordant elements leave it not as funny and penetrating as it was no doubt intended to … Continue reading →

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TIFF FILM REVIEW: Kristian Petri’s ‘Bad Faith’

Posted on September 11, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett TORONTO – The banality of evil takes a hammering in Kristian Petri’s “Bad Faith,” a stylish but illogical tale of ordinary people with an appetite for murder. Thrillers don’t necessarily need to be plausible but the coincidences … Continue reading →

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: Tayfun Pirselimoglu’s ‘Hair’

Posted on August 13, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland – Turkish director Tayfun Pirselimoglu’s “Hair” is a dreary and dispiriting tale of a wig seller dying of cancer who becomes obsessed with a woman married to a man who washes corpses for a living. … Continue reading →

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: Hongqui Li’s ‘Winter Vacation’

Posted on August 12, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland – There are many slow and uneventful scenes in Hongqi Li’s labored comedy “Winter Vacation” that are intended to show how slow and uneventful a break from school can be for teenagers in a snowbound … Continue reading →

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: ‘The Human Resources Manager’

Posted on August 11, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland – Despite its ungainly title, “The Human Resources Manager” is a typically humane and observant drama from Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis about a personnel officer who goes beyond the call of duty for a deceased … Continue reading →

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: Bogdan George Apetri’s ‘Outbound’

Posted on August 11, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland – Romanian director Bogdan George Apetri’s first feature film “Outland” is a hard-nosed little thriller in which a no-nonsense woman takes a one-day release from jail for her mother’s funeral in order to flee the … Continue reading →

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: ‘The Little Bedroom’

Posted on August 10, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland – The circle of life is given warm and redemptive treatment in “The Little Bedroom” (La Petite Chambre) written and directed by Stephanie Chuat and Veronique Reymond. An encounter between a private nurse who recently … Continue reading →

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: Cedric Anger’s ‘The Counsel’

Posted on August 10, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland – French director Cedric Anger’s ambitious legal thriller “The Counsel” (L’Avocat) looks good and has a fine cast but his script covers familiar terrain and is so naïve that the whole thing becomes laughable. Told … Continue reading →

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LOCARNO FILM REVIEW: Nikola Lezaic’s ‘Tilva Rōs’

Posted on August 9, 2010 by admin

By Ray Bennett LOCARNO, Switzerland – An almost documentary look at the wasted summer of a group of youngsters in a defunct mining town in Serbia, “Tilva Rōs” strives for bright spirits but ends up being simply depressing. First-time feature … Continue reading →

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