Popular reviews

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  Review by Noble ★★★★★ 7

  Joyland is a devastating tale where almost everyone is guilty, but no one, in particular, is to blame.

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  Review by trainwrecktim ★★★★½

  All she wanted was an air conditioner… (or two)

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  Review by Darren Carver-Balsiger ★★★★ 2

  ***vague spoilers***

  The ocean is huge and life feels small. Joyland is about the inner turmoil within the lives of a few people, but its depiction of repression and desire feels very expansive. Touching upon patriarchy within Pakistan, Joyland presents a world where sexuality, masculinity, and femininity are all restricted by expectations. The characters live a tough existence because they struggle to be who they want. The film doesn't give them a journey with a happy ending, instead it leaves their fate rather unsure. Joyland is a complex and difficult work, not placing judgements on its main characters but instead examining the consequences of their decisions within the limited world they have. In a way the film gains more lead…

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  Review by Lucy ★★★½ 3

  AFI 2022: film #5

  “whatever i’m doing, i’m doing for myself”

  an impactful ensemble about autonomy and identity. takes a bold change in direction by the final act that i wasn’t anticipating, but the more i sit with it, the more correct it feels. a wonderful and haunting piece of filmmaking

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  Review by reibureibu 7

  Life puts us on paths that intersect with others and along with that does it too pull away, oftentimes without our being ready. No closure. How do we remember the ones who've passed by? How do we honor not just the good but the bad separations that split us apart? I'm unsure. I make good on my promise nevertheless. They'd want that.

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  Review by Ashwani Kumar Tiwari ★★★★★ 4

  It's been hard for me to cry, except in films. Cinema has enabled me to process my emotions, provided me an outlet where I can release everything that suffocated me from within. Yet, its been rare that I cried for myself than for the film, or its characters. There are many films that will make you cry for their story, but there will only be a few that will make you cry for your own story. These handful of films exist to establish how deeply connected we are despite our subjective realities. Joyland comforted my heart and provided me with a safe space to cry. And I did, continuously, for ten minutes.

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  Review by nick ★★★ 8

  A Pakistani arthouse movie featuring a trans character is always welcome. Despite its good intentions and social significance, Joyland eventually feels bloated for trying to encompass multiple social issues that ultimately cancel each other out.

  The success of Joyland is mainly owing to trans actress Alina Khan's brave, mesmerizing performance as a fiery erotic dancer who falls in love with a married man. Unfortunately, the material itself feels unworthy of Khan's greatness.

  Gender equality and transphobia are both pressing issues in Pakistan, but mixing these two in the form of a cliched and overlong family drama for me is not the smartest strategy. There are many moments of brilliance here, but I really would've enjoyed Joyland much more if the trans presence didn't end up merely as the background for a punchline that's unrelated to it.

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  Review by saniya ★★★★½ 2

  incredible cannes debut from pakistan. holy shit.

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  Review by Madhukar Nandagudi ★★★★★ 3

  Everything feels borrowed or stolen from somewhere else.

  Cinema as an act of revolution, cinema as an act of resilience, cinema as an act of rebellion. Joyland embodies the medium of cinema as a powerful political tool that gives voice to those who are silenced by this archaic and patriarchal society in the most potent way possible. It's expansive in its exploration of the internalised and externalised patriarchy that poisons those around us and ultimately only leads to tragedy. It's a movie that unbashedly explores the inherent biases everyone holds on to and lays bare the consequences of those biases. Joyland is a movie that is full of beautiful colors but those colors are choked down by smoke of the…

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  Review by aaron ★★★★½

  cinema really is such a special thing isn’t it

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  Review by james💫 ★★★★½ 4

  “i’m going to be the first bride to do her own makeup.”

  god this absolutely destroyed me

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  Review by nabeel ★★★★½ 3

  the most personal film i’ve seen this year. so beautifully made with care and a lot of empathy. deserves more words in a while. will be holding on to this for a long time