August in Paris' suburbs, seven friends are gathered to spend a week in the city where they grew up. The city is empty and the days pass by under a deep blue sky. Each of them has a reason to be there: some still live there, some come back to see their family, some are searching their childhood, some want to escape boredom or eventually searching for love. They are all bearing the fact that these moments they are sharing are maybe the last ones.
This film manages to be simultaneously topical and timeless. Without being preachy, it highlights society’s flawed relationship with tech; insights into the complex ideas of family struggle are expertly dispersed among a perfectly paced and balanced story.
A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night, though its feminism may be unintentional, cannot exist without its focus on women reclaiming power. The movie is feminist by definition, even if Amirpour didn’t write it with that in mind. A Girl Walks Home Alone At Night is mesmerizing, poetic, and stunning, both for its portrayal of feminist ideas and its powerful story that is both horrific and subtly romantic at once.
A gentle coming of age story, Water Lilies takes its time in exploring what it’s like to be a young girl trying to make sense of her sexuality in a heteronormative world.
Throughout Brendan Fraser’s career, he has played a plethora of unique, layered characters who explore the importance of not being afraid to display your emotions, something that is often seen to not be a masculine trait. This idea of regulating emotion and what traits men are able to possess creates a toxic atmosphere for men who are often told they should not cry or represent their emotions in any physical way. These characters represent that men can be joyful, emotionally conscious, and sensitive, while also representing their masculine identity instead of painting those qualities as fighting against their masculinity.
One of THE most frustrating trends in the mainstream film industry over the last several decades has been the onset of comedy efforts that seem SO focused on being crude and/or gross-out in all ways possible. That, at least for me, makes them no longer funny.
This surprisingly clever romantic comedy perfectly balances genuine heart with wild reality television chaos. It is an uplifting and funny reminder that second chances and real community can show up exactly when you stop looking for them.
