The Criterion Collection - Spine # 1145
Some of you are going to love Chess of the Wind once you get around to seeing it. It’s about a fractured family and their fight over an estate after the death of the matriarch. In private, and in hushed tones, everyone in this film is plotting and scheming over an inheritance that each believes is owed to them. Who gets what isn’t of much concern to director Mohammad Reza Aslani when compared who…
The Criterion Collection - Spine # 1138
Daddy Longlegs is proof positive that a loving father and a shit father can exist within the same person. Josh and Benny Safdie are just getting warmed up with this film. But their penchant for highlighting well-meaning men who push the limits of their irresponsibility to the razor’s edge is in full swing.
It may be due to the fact that I’m still reeling from Uncut Gems all these years later. But I…
I’ve been wanting to jot down something about this film for a minute now. And I’m pretty sure that this film's been covered from about every angle imaginable. So let me try approaching it from this angle. Let’s talk about my pity for Sal.
When I mention a pity for Sal, I’m not referring to pity for the man himself. I’m referring to his desire to cling to whiteness, the construction of it, and the burden it places on black…
Who is this film for? And what is it looking to accomplish?
These are the two questions that have been swirling around in my mind almost a week later after watching Green Book, Peter Farrelly's racial road movie about the classically trained pianist Don Shirley, Tony "Lip" Vallenlonga, and their 1960's journey through the deep south. I know the answer to both questions, but I don't think Peter knows and I don't think that co-writer Nick Vallenlonga knows either. But…
