CIFF Mini-Reviews: Batch #2
The 62nd Chicago International Film Festival is underway, and, as usual, it's been a terrific time!
There's something really special about this festival, and it's not just the movies. It's the excitement in the air, the packed theaters, the people waiting in line, striking up conversations with complete strangers, and talking about the films they've seen, the ones they're looking forward to, and the ones they absolutely hated. I love that stuff.
For a couple of weeks, theaters and venues all over Chicago are taken over by movie lovers, filmmakers, actors, and people who genuinely care about cinema. It's one of my favorite times of the year.
I've been seeing a bunch of movies, and I'll be posting several batches of mini-reviews throughout the festival, giving you my thoughts on what I've seen, what's worth your time, and what you might want to avoid. These are quick, two-or-three-paragraph reviews, along with screening dates, times, and locations, so you can still catch these films while they're playing.
So, here we go with my five more reviews from the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival!
THE ONLY LIVING PICKPOCKET IN NEW YORK
Here's an absolutely terrific crime drama featuring the great John Turturro in one of the best roles he's had in years. He plays Harry Lehman, an aging New York pickpocket who finds himself increasingly out of touch with the modern world. Nobody carries cash anymore, he doesn't know how to use a smartphone, and the profession he's spent his life perfecting is practically obsolete.
Things get considerably more complicated when he steals a USB drive belonging to a young tech mogul with connections to a particularly nasty crime family, putting both Harry and his disabled wife, Rosie, in serious danger. It's a terrific setup for a gritty, old-fashioned New York crime movie, and Turturro is absolutely wonderful. He's in practically every frame, and it's a joy to watch him work.
The movie also happens to be a fantastic portrait of New York City, with wonderful locations, colorful characters, and a real affection for the city and its history. Steve Buscemi is terrific as a pawnshop owner, and it's great seeing him and Turturro together again. I immediately thought of the Coen brothers' Barton Fink, in which Turturro played Barton and Buscemi played Chet, the bellhop.
Giancarlo Esposito also appears as a detective with a complicated relationship with Harry, and it's fun seeing him reunited with Turturro after their memorable work in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, where Esposito played Buggin Out.
There's a terrific collection of character actors throughout, and a surprise appearance near the end that I wouldn't dream of spoiling. It's one of the greatest cameos of the year. I absolutely loved this movie.
A great crime story, a wonderful New York movie, and a fantastic showcase for John Turturro. Highly recommended! - ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
SCREENING: Thursday, October 22nd at 12:00 p.m. — AMC NEWCITY.
THE LIBERATION
Director Guy Nattiv's latest drama stars Carrie Coon as Rita, a Holocaust survivor and mother of two teenage daughters who is struggling with the psychological scars of her past and the difficulties of her present life. She becomes involved with a woman who runs an all-female commune that turns out to be something considerably more sinister, and eventually abandons her family to join the group.
Her daughters attempt to bring her home, confronting the psychological manipulation, bizarre rituals, and increasingly dangerous delusions that have taken over their mother's life. The cast includes Lily James, Bella Ramsey, Odessa Young, and Tracy Letts, and the movie certainly has an interesting premise.
Unfortunately, we've seen this sort of thing many times before, and often done considerably better. I kept thinking about the excellent 1981 film Ticket to Heaven, one of the best movies ever made about cult indoctrination and deprogramming, and the underrated 1982 drama Split Image. Both are much more effective than this.
Carrie Coon is very good, as she almost always is, but I had some real problems with Bella Ramsey's performance, which simply didn't work for me. The movie gets heavy-handed, and there isn't much here that feels particularly new or revealing.
Interestingly, the story was inspired by Nattiv's own grandmother, who actually abandoned her family to join a female cult, and that personal connection certainly gives the material some added weight.
Unfortunately, it doesn't make the movie any better. Well-intentioned and occasionally effective, but ultimately disappointing. - ⭐️⭐️
SCREENINGS: Friday, October 23rd at 6:00 p.m. — Music Box Theatre; Saturday, October 24th at 8:45 p.m. — AMC NEWCITY.
AL BARANEYA
This fascinating Egyptian drama is a beautifully naturalistic, almost documentary-like portrait of a family struggling with money, tradition, and the temptations of the modern world. The story centers on an 18-year-old pregnant woman living with her large, tightly knit family, including five sisters, her parents, and an influential grandmother.
The family is facing serious financial difficulties, and there are ongoing arguments about whether to sell their land, something the father absolutely refuses to consider. Meanwhile, the young woman is preparing to have a child while dealing with the conflicting pressures of family loyalty, economic survival, and the possibilities of a different life in Cairo.
What I really liked about this movie was its style. The handheld, sometimes shaky camerawork gives everything a wonderfully immediate, authentic quality, almost as if we're watching an actual family going about its daily life. The performances are terrific, completely natural and believable, and I appreciated the film's loose, occasionally aimless approach to storytelling. It doesn't force dramatic confrontations or manufacture big emotional moments.
Instead, it allows the complicated relationships between these people to unfold organically. It's a thoughtful, beautifully observed movie about family obligations, generational differences, money, and the difficult choices people make between tradition and change. A really impressive piece of filmmaking, and definitely worth seeing. - ⭐️⭐️⭐️1/2
SCREENING: Thursday, October 22nd at 2:15 p.m. — AMC NEWCITY.
I PLAY ROCKY
Here's a movie made almost exclusively for people who absolutely love Rocky. Directed by Peter Farrelly, who made a whole bunch of successful comedies with his brother Bobby before winning an Academy Award for Green Book, this biographical drama tells the story of how Sylvester Stallone wrote the screenplay for the original 1976 Rocky and fought to play the lead role himself, despite pressure to sell the script and let an established star take over.
Anthony Ippolito plays Stallone, and the movie follows the struggle to get the film made, along with behind-the-scenes recreations of some of its most famous moments.
It's a pleasant enough movie, and there are certainly some entertaining sequences, particularly if you're a big fan of the original. But much of it feels like a bunch of actors playing dress-up and pretending to be the people who made Rocky. Ippolito's performance is essentially an extended Sylvester Stallone impersonation, and not a particularly convincing one.
There's a lot of nostalgia here, and the filmmakers clearly have tremendous affection for the material, but that affection doesn't automatically make for a great movie. It's more of a loving tribute than a compelling drama, and there are moments when it feels like you're watching people recreate scenes from a movie you'd much rather be watching instead.
If you adore Rocky, you'll probably find enough here to enjoy. Otherwise, it's a pretty ordinary movie about the making of an extraordinary one. - ⭐️⭐️1/2
SCREENING: Saturday, October 24th at 2:45 p.m. — AMC NEWCITY.
TRASH MOUNTAIN
Here's a sweet, funny, low-budget little comedy that I enjoyed quite a bit. Directed by Chris Ray, the movie stars Caleb Hearon as a young gay comedian and drag-show host living in Chicago who is forced to return to his Missouri hometown after the death of his father.
Along with his half-sister Abby, played by Zooey Deschanel, he has to clean out their father's house, which turns out to be a monumental undertaking because the man was an extreme hoarder. And I mean extreme. As they sort through the mountains of accumulated junk, the siblings begin discovering things about their father, their childhoods, and each other that they never knew. The cast also includes Kyle Marvin and the wonderful Jacki Weaver.
What makes the movie work is the relationship between Hearon and Deschanel, who have terrific chemistry and make a completely believable pair of siblings dealing with grief, resentment, and some very complicated family history. There's a real sweetness to the film, and some genuinely touching moments involving the death of a parent and the strange discoveries we make about the people we thought we knew.
I also liked the idea of using the process of cleaning out a hoarder's house as a way of exploring family secrets and unresolved emotions. It's not a big, flashy movie, and it certainly has its low-budget limitations, but the performances are good, the characters are likable, and the emotional moments feel earned.
A charming, funny, and surprisingly moving little film. I liked it! - ⭐️⭐️⭐️
SCREENINGS: Friday, October 23rd at 5:15 p.m. — AMC NEWCITY; Saturday, October 24th at 3:00 p.m. — Chicago History Museum.
And there you have it! A new batch of five mini-reviews from the 62nd Chicago International Film Festival. There are some genuinely terrific movies playing this year, and I strongly encourage you to get out there and experience as many of them as possible. Just make sure you get your tickets ahead of time, because screenings are filling up, crowds are big, and you don't want to get shut out of something special.
I'll be seeing more movies throughout the festival and posting additional mini-reviews right here on the website, so keep checking back. In the meantime, get out there, stand in line, talk to some fellow movie lovers, discover something unexpected, and enjoy one of the best cinematic events Chicago has to offer.
Enjoy the fest, everybody!
The 62nd Chicago International Film Festival runs October 14th through October 25th, and individual tickets are on sale now. Festival passes are available as well, and the Festival strongly recommends buying tickets online in advance.
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