“In the land of the blind, I am the one-eyed king.”, says Wilfried. This country is in prison Merksplas and the blind, they are the internees. The only thing they have in common is their date of release: 31/12/9999. This film tells the story of some mentally ill criminals not being held responsible for their actions but still locked down. Without treatment and without an end date. ‘9999’ descends into the limbo of Belgium and looks some internees who are pining away in a prison, straight in the eye. The film disappears under lock and key, where time loses all common sense, and tells us of an unreal injustice. We end up in a narrow world where imagination is obliged to transcend reality and we wander through landscapes of senses of men on the edge of society.
"The Haunting of Hill House" isn't your typical horror story. Based on a novel by Shirley Jackson, Netflix's masterpiece and limited horror series takes you on a emotional rollercoaster ride, by turning our perception of mental illness on its head. It's an unforgettable story about a loveable family, who grapples with tragedy and love after living at the foreboding Hill House.
Based on the bestselling memoir, viewers get a glimpse of the challenges of autistic people.
In a film where a Black couple is framed to be the lead characters, they still managed to get shuffled off to the sidelines. The enthusiastic cast delivers well on goofy bits- but can only go so far before they begin to fall flat.
The social issues The Half of it takes on are handled well, between the antagonization brought on to Ellie for her race and the conflict that arises from her being gay. Both aspects of her character are built up over the course of the film and don’t seem abrupt or rushed. The film shows racism towards Ellie and her and father in varying levels, from having her schoolmates specifically address her as "Chinese girl” to the fore mentioned way her Dad is treated due to language barriers. The same can be said about Ellie being a lesbian. While she never truly “comes out” in the narrative, that does not undermine her journey of self-discovery from being meaningful. These ideas aren’t thrust upon the viewer in a preachy manor, the scenarios that occur feel believable given the rural setting. The film presents watchers with problems whom those like Ellie may face, and leaves us to sit with them and reflect.
Marvel’s animated show What If...? ended last week, so let’s go back and look at all of the different universes shown and rank each episode from worst to best!
Amanda Riley gets the opportunity to travel to Vietnam for the experience of a lifetime.
