Sacred Creatures explores family dynamics, desire, false prophets and modern magical thinking. Three estranged siblings reunite in Italy years after the middle sister (Olivia Luccardi) had a psychotic episode she believed to be a spiritual awakening. As her behavior grows increasingly strange, tensions between the siblings rise while a group of local acolytes find her increasingly compelling. Tony-nominated actor James Cusati-Moyer (Slave Play, Inventing Anna, Black Adam) stars alongside Luccardi (It Follows, Orange is the New Black, The Deuce), Antonio De Matteo (Mare Fuori, Stranizza d'amuri), and Romina D’Ugo ( I Like Movies)
Although Christmas is a time of year for love and cheer for all, holiday cinema has not always represented diverse communities. Being a holiday with Christian origins, much of its media consists of straight white families or straight white romances. Luckily, modern years have been bringing with them plenty of POC and LGBTQ+ representation that the holidays so desperately need.
The film basically says she was a lost cause from the start. We don't get a sense of who Marilyn was.
“I’m always interested in exploring female fantasy, and the sexy witch is a loaded archetype that is simultaneously about men’s fears and fantasies about women, and women’s feelings of empowerment and agency. So whereas we are used to seeing the sexy witch or the femme fatale from the outside, I wanted to explore her from the inside.” - Anna Biller, on why she made The Love Witch
On top of the phenomenal acting, and great dialogue between the two characters, the cinematography was ravishing! The sound was outstanding! The production design was simple, yet intrinsic. The minimalistic approach in the Malibu beach house represented how little they really have going on in their relationship. The storyline may have been much simpler than "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolf," but all the more insightful, and much more animalistic at its core.
Even if Drive My Car (2021) doesn't win Best Picture, it exudes a palpable sense of dreariness and lifelessness that is further embodied by Yusuke, portrayed tragically by Hidetoshi Nishijima. Check out movie reviews & summary!
Highlighting the many ways in which AFF 2023 illustrated that the queer experience is not a monolithic one.
