Thanh, Hoang, Phuong, Dinh and Loc, like many around them, carry stubborn scars from the Vietnam War, both in body and mind. They work in the gold mines surrounding their village, or search for landmines along paths previously used by tanks, in order to make ends meet. As they wait out the winter with songs, wine stolen from Loc’s wife, and musings about youth and their own survival, they are haunted by the detonations of bombs being excavated from the village’s soil. Together they reminisce about the war that has defined the boundaries of their lives, though they never fought it.
Documented human suffering is never easy to view or read about and is understandably triggering for many people, but it can be educational, and education is a key to change. An overwhelming amount queer people worldwide (and in my own country) have it far worse than I could imagine, and documentaries such as Welcome to Chechnya bring issues to light that certain groups of people would never see.
Rap Sh!t has been confirmed for a second season by HBO! Go watch it and support this creative exploration of Hip-Hop culture from Issa Rae.
Alongside A Drowning Man, I Signed The Petition, 3 Logical Exits, and A World Not Ours, A Man Returned continues to paint a realistic portrait of the Refugee Crisis that eschews the Western gaze and stereotype. These are real portraits painted by a director with lived experience, cultural connection and an amazing eye for visuals.
We all have our kinks and fetishes and what turns us on the most. Dog Lover details a serious (and at times unhealthy) look at a fetish that might go a little too far.
Ruben Östlund muses about his characters, “As soon as you get close to a person, you see them as just another human being”. It is widely recognized that aboard the luxury yacht in ‘Triangle of Sadness’, the different groups of people represent a small society as a commentary on classism and gender binaries.
Mulan had to struggle to feel like herself and see herself properly. Some of us have to strive to have our reflection mimic what’s inside. We have to crawl. We have to fight.
