★★★ Directed by: #TathagataGhosh Written by: #TathagataGhosh Starring: #ShatafFigar, #BimalGiri,#AryanDRoy Film Review by Lucy Clarke Murder mysteries are rarely sun-bleached affairs. Usually, they take place under cover of darkness, only the noise of cicadas punching through the night air. As dusk falls, there’s a tinge of tension and fear that’s heightened by the shadows cloaking the earth. Yet in Tathagata Ghosh’s short film, The Demon (Doitto), the action takes place under the glare of the full sun. It’s an unusual way to establish a cop thriller, but even in this arid heat, moments of tension pierce the script. The opening of this short film immediately has a sombre note. Shockingly, 180 children go missing in India every day. This may be a real number, but The Demon is interested in a fictional case. A serial killer, who has murdered a string of babies, prowls the Bengali countryside. A more senior officer, Pablo Bose (Shataf Figar) and his younger officer pulled from narcotics, Rico Dutta (Aryan D. Roy), are desperately working on the case before the next victim’s body appears. After they receive a phone call from a homeless man (Soumya Majumdar), claiming that his baby daughter has been killed, the two policemen arrive at a train station to try and ascertain the facts. The first few moments of this film are ripe with tension. Night is upon us, and Soumya Majumdar’s maddening hypnotic stare puts us on edge. A phone call, a baby’s cry, and his tears layer on top of each other to create a bombardment of noise and fear. But as the dawn breaks and most of the film takes place on a train station in the sweltering summer sun, the tension immediately peters out. There is no pathetic fallacy here, but I’m not asking for a deluge of rain or a cold snap. Bong-Joon Ho excellently creates a sense of foreboding by casting his shots in a sandy, grimy filter in Memories of Murder. While visually, the cinematography is a little lacking, the sound design is excellent. However, this avalanche of competing sound is only sparsely used, even though it is enough to give you goosebumps. The film plays out with a good cop, bad cop dynamic, centring around the homeless man. The older Pablo Bose is wiser and more willing to follow the law, while the younger Rico is a bit of a loose cannon. This dynamic isn’t anything new; it’s present in David Fincher’s Seven and Shane Black’s The Nice Guys. There is nothing wrong with this tried and tested formula; however, it’s strangely used to interrogate the male characters’ relationship to the women in their lives, rather than explore their relationships with each other. All the men are motivated by unseen women who act like moral signposts. Pablo Bose is destined to be an absent father as he hasn’t even attended his daughter’s birth. Rico feels guilty for forcing his ex-wife to have an abortion. While the action is nominally between these three men, this focus on female bodies as the characters’ motivations is a little unnerving. Ghosh pulls together an intriguing police mystery drama that lacks a little bit of a stylistic edge. Baby daughters and wives are clumsily used as plot devices or as a way to explain away petty character motivations. However, Ghosh still has a solid story full of twists and turns.

★ Directed by: #MichaelCrum Written by: #GeraldCrum Starring: #KatelynnENewberry, #ShanonSnedden, #DevKhajishvili Film Review by: Isabelle Ryan As the title suggests, Lake Fear 3 is the third instalment in a series, and if the first two are anything like the third, then it’s safe to say you can give them a miss. The Crum Brothers strive at times for a tongue-in-cheek monster movie, and at other times for an intense, bloody horror film, but the finished product fails to be either funny or scary. Instead, it drags along for almost 80 minutes, bloated by the excessive use of slow-motion, and peppered here and there with some admittedly cool effects. Ever since her sister disappeared, Revel (Snedden) has been making monthly pilgrimages with her friend Chloe (Newberry) to ask questions and hand out missing posters. This time, they see that TV medium Vincent (Khajishvili) is in town for a convention, and they recruit him and his self-proclaimed psychic powers for the search. However, they quickly realise that there are demonic forces at play, and when they meet loner Remington (Joshua Winch), all hell quite literally breaks loose. It is tricky to know whether we are actually supposed to like anyone in this film. Revel has little to her beyond missing her sister, to whom she was apparently not very close; Chloe is cruelly unsympathetic to her friend’s grief, sarcastic to a fault, and also charmingly refers to the townspeople as ‘backwoods inbreds’; and Vincent is a loud, whiny coward. Throw in stoic tough guy Remington, who has previous experience with these demons and spends most of his time seemingly waiting for his cue to speak or walk, and you have a painfully unlikeable cast. Technically, also, there are issues. The music often drowns out the dialogue, or clashes with the tone. There are stray frames spliced haphazardly throughout in what must be editing mistakes. Many scenes feel slow and stilted, with characters taking too long to react; one of the worst examples comes early on, when Revel questions a local and takes a full fifteen seconds to say her next line. More often than not, it feels like they only had one take of each scene, perhaps most noticeable in the moment where Remington appears to forget how to buckle a belt. The film is hurt most by its shots at humour which are, as Vincent helpfully notes, poor attempts. The saving grace should be the creature effects, and for the most part they work. The greatest triumph is Revel’s transformation; her mouth suddenly has too many teeth, the lower half of her face is covered in blood, her eyes glow red. Snedden’s physical performance is laudable, too, as she crawls on top of her friend and, in what is perhaps the only truly clever moment in the film (though, judging by the rest of it, unintentional), plays with the male gaze predictably established early on: two scantily-clad women so close, the one caressing the other’s face, while one is in fact a demonic monster. This is regrettably the only effective creature. In one of the many moments which muddy the film’s tone and purpose, a severed leg sprouts its own legs and trips along the ground. Based on the moments of body-horror, the Crum Brothers clearly want you to know that they have seen The Thing. Sadly, they seem to have missed what made it work. If only one good monster could have saved the film. On top of the unlikeable characters, the strange editing choices and poor sound mixing, and the hit-or-miss effects, Lake Fear 3 is simply boring, and for a gore-filled, campy creature feature, this may be its most egregious fault.

★★★ Directed by #BradFurman Written by #RandallSullivan #ChristianContreras Starring #JohnnyDepp #ForestWhitaker Film Review by George Wolf After nearly three years of lawsuits, allegations, finger-pointing and false starts, City of Lies lands in theaters as an engrossing attempt to untangle a web of conspiracy. Based on LAbyrinth, Randall Sullivan’s non-fiction best-seller about the investigations into the murders of Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie Smalls/Notorious B.I.G), the film leans on stellar performances and solid construction to advance its very clear agenda. Johnny Depp stars as Russell Poole, the LAPD detective who collaborated on the book, with Forest Whitaker as journalist “Jack” Jackson, a fictional character modeled after Sullivan. It was Poole’s belief that members of the LAPD conspired with Death Row Records mogul “Suge” Knight to murder both iconic rappers. Poole’s case is not a simple one, but director Brad Furman and first-time screenwriter Christian Contreras are able to deconstruct it and then reassemble the parts with a satisfying amount of thriller intrigue. Employing shifting timelines and a touch of voiceover narration from Depp, Furman (The Lincoln Lawyer, The Infiltrator) and Contreras find numerous avenues to inform us organically. As the case does come to resemble “a riddle inside an enigma,” our own sense of discovery is consistently nurtured, which naturally increases our investment in what Poole is selling. Depp and Whitaker make their characters’ gradually increased trust authentic and well-earned, though some of the film’s period detail (especially in the wig and makeup dept.) isn’t exactly on point. More curious is Furman’s late game decision – just when similarities to JFK are impossible to ignore – to roll out some grainy, slo motion footage that feels wildly misplaced. And, much like Oliver Stone’s playbook in 1991, there is little interest in leaving equal time for rebutting Poole’s conclusions. Armed with strong accusations that hardly seem like a stretch anymore, this is a film with a complicated story it wants you to hear – and hopefully believe. But believe it or don’t, City of Lies tells that story in a compelling fashion that doesn’t waste your time. #GeorgeWolf

★★★ Directed by #DominicCooke Written by #TomOConnor Starring #BenedictCumberbatch #MerabNinidze Film Review by Hope Madden Your regular Joe Schmo can do anything. He can save the world. He can even learn to love ballet. Greville Wynne (Benedict Cumberbatch) was a garden variety salesman in England in 1960, right about the time a highly decorated Soviet leader and member of Khruschev’s inner circle found a clever way to announce to the right people in the West that he wanted to share intel. Think of The Courier as England’s version of Bridge of Spies, sort of. There’s even some cast in common. Essentially it is a solidly made if tight-lipped political thriller about an unlikely duo racing against time to save humanity. A bit like The Imitation Game. (Again, cast in common.) Director Dominic Cooke has had remarkable success directing the British stage. His first foray into features, 2017’s On Chesil Beach, suffered from a choice to keep the protagonists at arm’s length. The same problem hampers the effectiveness of The Courier. Merab Ninidze does what he can to come closer. As Oleg Penkovsky, or Alex, as his friend Greville calls him, Ninidze finds opportunities for the character to surrender to his own warm nature. He gives the Russian “traitor” a tenderness and heart that brightens even the greyest scenes. Cumberbatch is characteristically solid, his demeanor just the right mixture of vanity, insecurity and good-natured humility to make him the perfect salesman. Likewise, Jessie Buckley (Oscar-worthy in last year’s I’m Thinking of Ending Things) and Rachel Brosnahan (I’m Your Woman) provide spot-on support as Greville’s wife and CIA contact, respectively. The true story itself is tragic, astonishing and in need of public airing. We should know that these men existed and what we owe them. But regardless of a slew of sharp performances, Cooke plays it too safe, leaving us with little to remember. There is nothing wrong with The Courier. It’s well made and informative. Which is to say, it’s kind of a waste of a great cast and an even better story. #HopeMadden

★★★ Directed by #ChristopherSorenKelly Written by #ChristopherSorenKelly Starring #ChristopherSorenKelly #JessicaGraham Film Review by Brandon Thomas The Tangle introduces us to a future world controlled by AI where people spend their time jacked into an Eden-esque reality. Information is widely available just by thinking it or asking aloud, and acts of violence are impossible to commit. When a government agent turns up dead in a locked safe room, her fellow agents (writer/director Christopher Soren Kelly and Jessica Graham) must find out how and why the first murder in years was committed right under their noses. We now live in a cinematic world where science fiction is more than just large-scale films. Star Trek, The Matrix, 2001 – all of these films have left a lasting impact on the genre. However, small, en vogue movies like Primer and Coherence have wowed audiences with their big ideas despite having budgets that would have only covered catering on Interstellar. The Tangle strives to be one of the latter films with its budget-friendly thinking and world building. The sci-fi of The Tangle isn’t overtly flashy, nor is it original. Driverless cars roam the streets, and avatars are a common use for those plugged into the Tangle itself. It’s nothing we haven’t seen before. The minimalism works to the film’s advantage as the audience is given more time to focus on theme and character. Sure, it’s fun to “ooh” and “aah” at spectacle, but this isn’t the kind of story Soren Kelly is telling. The Tangle comes alive as it leans into its more noir-ish elements. Despite the sci-fi window dressing, the film is a mystery through and through. The classic noir trappings are apparent in nearly every scene. A sizable chunk of the movie takes place in a dimly lit room as the agents interrogate a suspect. The costume design has nods to the noir classics of the 1940s and 50s, and the dialogue is snappy and cool. You could almost imagine a trenchcoat-clad Robert Mitchum delivering a few of these monologues. In a film this exposition-heavy, it’s important to have a cast that’s up to the challenge. While the leads in The Tangle aren’t household names, they more than hold their own with this tricky, tech-laden script. The cast might be the film’s secret weapon, bringing a sincerity that makes the movie work. There’s not an ounce of camp in any of their performances and that’s exactly what this material is asking for. While not a groundbreaking entry into the sci-fi genre, The Tangle manages to impress with clever execution, a committed cast, and a fun noir twist. #BrandonThomas

★★★★ Directed by: Jeff M. Giordano Film Review by: Jason Knight A variety of people talk about their perspectives on dating, marriage and intercourse. This unusual and interesting documentary utilizes animation and voice-over in order to be creative and explore the chosen subjects. Unlike most documentaries, this one does not record images, but sound. It records the voices of a group of approximately twenty individuals as they speak and it relies on their spoken words in order to pass information to the viewer. The animation that accompanies the narration in a way makes their phrases come to life as it appears to be relevant to what they are saying. The feature is separated into four chapters: Monogamy, Sex, Fear and Technology. The animation covers the entirety of the film. It begins with a brief voice-over by director Giordano, explaining what motivated him to make this film. The film then moves on to the commentary of the interviewees throughout the chapters. The interviewees consist of a variety of sexualities and share their feelings and experiences regarding intercourse, relationships, getting married, how their sexual orientation affects their lives, what worries them about letting someone into their life and how modern technology such as online dating and texting influences relationships. Unsurprisingly, due to the subject matter, there is explicit language. A number of animators took part in this project and as a result the animation consists of a variety of forms, including hand-drawn animation, watercolor animation, stop motion animation and claymation. Some sequences also mix live action with animation. The style and contents change every time another person speaks, which makes the film more intruiging to watch. The animated images include a large variety of characters and themes, some of which appear coherent, while others depict nudity or intercourse and others contain sinister and violent depictions. Some are also rather awkward, for instance one sequence shows a woman walking in a forest, entering a large cocoon and emerging with large wins on her back. Another sequence shows a man removing his head, removing the top of his skull like a bin and a pipe emerges from the hole where the head used to be and proceeds to drip blood inside the head. It might be hard to comprehend at times, but each animated sequence represents what the speaker is trying to communicate. It depicts their ideas and emotions. It is worth mentioning that there are a few sequences, during which the interviewee is animated. This technique might help the viewer identify with them more. With the exception of the closing credits, there is no music. The only sounds belong to the narrator's voices and they all to a good job talking about the various issues and they feel. Interestingly, this documentary could effectively be experienced just by listening to it, since it includes no documented footage or score. Just listening to people's thoughts would be a different experience. On the other hand, if the film was viewed without audio, that might make another experience worth pursuing. Romantic Chorus is a rather stimulating achievement. It is quite interesting to listen to each individual's point of view and experiences, concerning the matters mentioned above. It is also appealing to view all the wonderful work that was developed for this project by very talented artists. It is almost like visiting an art museum. To summarize, this documentary is very well made and succeeds in grabbing the audiences attention both visually and audibly. The topics attract attention and so do the animations. It deserves a lot or praise and recognition. #JasonKnight

★★ Directed by: #SumanHanif Written by: #SumanHanif Starring: #SumanHanif, #AhmedSherZaman, #TiiaMarshall Film Review by: Patrick Foley Great filmmaking can often be the result of imposed limitations. Right now, there is no bigger limitation than lockdown – the result of which has been a total reimagining of how films must be created in 2021. What Next? is an admirable project created entirely at the homes of its stars and completed fully under lockdown conditions. However, it falls short of providing the key basic ingredients – engaging characters and story – to be more than a novelty project. In the midst of the COVID-19 lockdown, Laibah (director Suman Hanif) has been experiencing some odd occurrences at her home. Concerned, she video-calls her friend Adam (Ahmed Sher Zaman) to figure out what might be happening. Initially dismissive of her experiences, Adam begins to worry whether Laibah’s old battles with drink and drugs may be getting the best of her again. But there is more to the events than meets the eye… What Next? was produced and created under strict social distancing regulations – and viewed in this context it is an impressive short film. The production quality is strong, with the directors’ experience with filming providing a professional and crisp presentation despite being a homemade project. Hanif provides different viewpoints to the audience for Laibah and Adam – the latter being shown exclusively on zoom – which is effective in isolating the audience in the room with Laibah in order to feel her anxiety. Sepia-soaked scenes recapping the bizarre events she experienced are also suitably creepy and unnerving. The film does fall short with its sound production when dialogue spoken over the phone is featured – and some pivotal conversations are difficult to hear because of this. The plot is rather weak with no real explanation or resolution, and character development is cast aside in lieu of predictable and worn-out twists. Laibah has supposedly left home to escape her former life and overcome her demons, but this is not made clear until it is awkwardly brought up by Adam – a close friend. His switch from light-hearted scepticism to frustrated concern is the only natural development for either character, and it is quickly swept away by a cliff-hanger twist ending that is unsatisfactory and seemingly in place as an attempt at shock value. The film also does not effectively put across its key themes – which appear to be the impact of isolation and the inability to cope with trauma. Laibah’s loosening grip on reality is the prime plot thread but the events she experiences seem to have no consistent link beyond their apparent supernatural nature. The film was fully produced in lockdown but does not utilise this setting to its fullest in its plot – old tropes such as moving toys and imaginary neighbours have been done to death and lose impact without an overarching threat to reinforce their creepiness. It is never made clear exactly WHAT Laibah should be afraid of. Without this, strange events are, well, just strange events. What Next? is impressive in the context of its creation, and is another example of filmmakers persevering in difficult circumstances to utilise new and innovative methods to tell their stories. But those stories do not automatically match the accomplishment of the film’s development. Unfortunately for What Next? it falls far short of its ambition and would have benefitted from a more refined plot and better developed themes.

★★★★★ Directed by: Marco A.Diaz Written by: #MarcoADiaz Starring: #DavidVenz, #AnissaMattes, #XavierCharcas Film review by: William Hemingway Abuelo (Venz) is having a hard time adjusting to his new life in America. His ties to the past and his old life in Mexico are strong, and he now spends most of his days looking at old photos, reminiscing. He hasn't taken the time to learn any English and even gets annoyed when his grandchildren speak it in the house instead of Spanish. Poor old Abuelo just can't seem to cope with life in the new world or fall in line with the new generation. Things begin to come to a head one day when Abuelo is home alone with the children while their mother is out at work. Roberto (Charcas) wants to watch some television and he decides to switch it on, standing right in front of it even though Abuelo was already listening to the radio at the time. An argument ensues, where Abuelo feels he is being disrespected, and Alicia (Mattes) has to play the role of the household matriarch, trying to keep the peace, but also telling a few home truths, while her mother is not there. Things are shared that Abuelo finds hard to deal with and he finds that his answer to everything – that life was better in Mexico, where they should all be, living off the land like his own father and grandfather before him – is only falling on deaf ears. So, Abuelo makes a decision and retreats into his own corner to fend for himself, but even that doesn't work. Is there no peace for an old man who just wants a little respect in this damnable new world? Writer/director Marco A. Diaz has done an excellent job of creating a modern day fable which explores the themes of displacement, loss, immigration, and the generation gap. He manages this superbly by bringing us right into the world of Abuelo and his family. The setting is close and intimate, allowing us to feel that the characters really are living cheek by jowl, where tension and friction can be stirred up easily. Wherever the camera moves we feel that we might be getting in the way; stepping on someone's toes; as we bear witness to the breakdown of family ties when they clash with personal values. The colours are muted and dark, much like Abuelo's mind, as though we can see how distant the life and vibrancy of Mexico are to him. Then as the story moves into a wider context we see that the outside world can be just as dark and unremitting as a life within four walls. The cast all do a great job of inhabiting their characters, especially Anissa Mattes as Alicia, who delivers her scathing lines with deep feeling mixed alongside a twinge of desperation. It is evident from her tone and the look on her face that a lot of responsibility rests on Alicia's young shoulders and Mattes carries the film well through her main thread of the narrative. As a modern day fable, Abuelo's message/moral seems to be something akin to 'Be careful what you wish for', especially as it reaches towards the final scene. There is so much going on in the playing out of the story that it is incredible that Diaz has managed to say so much in just five short minutes. Thoughts of identity and politics and social injustice are unavoidable in the closing moments of the film, perhaps shocking us into an understanding of just how close to the line (whichever metaphysical, socio-political or geographical line you care to insert) many people in society are living. Was Abuelo's crime just that he was too old? Too afraid of change? Too unable to adjust to a new environment? Or was the real crime that nobody took any notice of him in the first place? Either way it's almost impossible not to notice the passion and skill, as well as the urgency, with which Abuelo's story is told. #WilliamHemingway

★★★★ Directed by: Martin Venier Written by: Martin Venier Starring: Zarah Kofler Film Review by: Jason Knight A young woman (Kofler) is stuck in a life she yearns to be free from. This short, fast film is a drama that was inspired by the Queen song Bohemian Rhapsody and it looks into the life of a tormented woman, who dreams of escaping into better things. It begins with her walking to an underground station and taking the train to work. It then cuts to flashbacks of her life and shots of various locations around the world, particularly landscapes and wildlife, accompanied by her narration, addressing her father and informing him that she is unhappy with her current situation and wishes to be free from it all. The way the entire film is made, makes it look like a five-minute montage. Although it is five minutes long, it consists of many shots, that have been edited very creatively, making the experience of viewing the finished work being quite a ride, by taking the viewer through busy streets, beautiful outdoor locations, such as deserts and mountains and nightclubs. The protagonist is shown in many of the shots, either traveling in a train, or in the numerous flashbacks, where she appears to be distressed. There are shots of buildings, crowds of people, breathtaking scenery and animals, including elephants and giraffes. There are also sinister sequences, involving the heroine taking drugs, being surrounded by figures dressed in black, wearing white masks and menacing eyes glowing in the dark. These appear to represent her struggles and nightmares. There is a brief, but mesmerizing shot that deserves special mention. It depicts an upside-down shot of London, including the Tower Bridge, where the woman is floating in the air, between earth and the sky. This remarkable shot could symbolize the fact that her world has turned upside down. Kofler delivers a convincing performance as a troubled individual, who wants better things for herself. The voice-over is provided by Maria Louis and she does a good job. As mentioned, this is a fast film and this is due to the high number of shots that are put together through frequent use of fast cutting and fast motion, during a five-minute duration. The choice of music adds value. At certain times the score is dramatic and at others the filmmakers utilize electronic music. The cinematography is creative, with interesting use of lighting. This achievement relies mostly on images rather than narrative in order to grab the audience's attention and it successfully does so. In five minutes, it takes the viewer on a captivating journey filled with drama and beauty. #JasonKnight

★★★ Directed by #ElzaKephart Written by #PatriciaGomez #ElzaKephart Starring #RomaneDenis #BrettDonahue #SeharBhojani Film Review by Hope Madden Does anybody remember those old Shrink to fit only you 501 jeans ads? They are creepier now. Absurdism meets consumerism in co-writer/director Elza Kephart’s bloody comedy, Slaxx. Brightly lit and colorful CCC clothing store—offering high priced garments that are sustainably sourced without sweatshops, GMOs, or any other unsightly thing—is on shutdown to prep for the 8am onslaught as their new line of jeans finally hits the market. It’s not just any jeans. This denim adjusts to your body and makes you look even more glorious than you already do. And these jeans fit every single figure, from 5 pounds underweight to 5 pounds overweight. It’s a dream come true. Also, they kill you. Their zipper might bite your hand off, the legs might slip around your neck like a noose, or the waist might just slice you in two. Kephart is not the first filmmaker to animate bloodthirsty clothing. Peter Strickland’s 2018 treasure In Fabric followed a red dress wantonly slaughtering its wearers, while Yong-gyun Kim gave us murderous shoes in 2005’s The Red Shoes. And who can forget Martin Walz’s 1996 glory Killer Condom? (Well, no, they’re not clothes, but you do wear them.) CCCis the type of trendy clothier that uses terms like ecosystem to define different sections of the store. Kephart’s message is that this kind of establishment is as dedicated to capitalism as any other form, and therefore it enslaves those working at the store, those working for the store before product makes it to their shelves, and even those who show up in hordes to purchase those wares. Where Romero mainly pointed fingers at the hordes mindlessly drawn to stores like CCC, Kephart sees the villains as those perpetuating clean corporate hypocrisy. Still, it’s their customers and workers she murders—by the pantload. Profoundly typical in its structure, Slaxx still has fun with its kills and characters. Romane Denis is likeably earnest as the teen on her first night at work, while Brett Donahue’s broad stroke sycophant boss fits into the general tone of the film. Sehar Bhojani steals every scene as the cynical Shruti, but the jeans are the real stars here. Kephart finds endlessly entertaining ways to sic them on unsuspecting wearers. Kephart can’t overcome tonal confusion once she and co-scribe Patricia Gomez uncover the source of the jeans’ power. The filmmakers are unable to balance the serious nature of this curse with the brightly colored bloodbath of the previous 80 minutes. But it was fun while it lasted. #HopeMadden

★★★ Directed by: Mukesh Asopa Written by: Twinkle Asopa, Rajesh Asopa Starring: Mukesh Asopa, Kamal Nandi, Aruna Bhatnagar, Tree Ryde, Roya Hakami, Yury Ruzyhev Film Review by: Jason Knight The joys and misfortunes within an Indian family living in Canada. Ram (Nandi) is a married man, who lives in Toronto and owns a successful real estate business in. He has two sons, Raj (Asopa) and John (Ruzyhev), both of whom work for their father's company and a daughter Catherine (Hakami). They are a happy family, however things get complicated when Raj makes clumsy decisions at work, resulting in significant financial losses, which angers his father, causing him to turn his back on Raj. Winner of the Special Jury Prize at the California Film Awards, including numerous other awards, this drama explores themes of family values and loss. It contains many emotional scenes of happiness, reconciliation and tragedy. It looks into the lives of the family members and their struggles. It should be mentioned that during the first half the pace is a bit slow, but then things pick up with complications and confrontations. The film is well acted, with the protagonists convincing as relatives who care for each other and Asopa does a good job as director. The filmmakers utilize slow motion interestingly and the editing is rather creative, making effective use of superimposition techniques. Regarding the soundtrack, there are some issues there. The same song is played in certain parts of the film, which is awkward and unnecessary. Also, the sudden insertion of a montage depicting a man singing a rap song appears incongruous in comparison with the rest of the movie. Generally, The Taste of Relation is a family drama. It offers an insight into the life of an Indian family. It shows how circumstances can separate relatives and how brave acts of love can bring them back together. #JasonKnight Trailer:

★★★ Written & Directed by: #AnnaKerrigan Starring: #SteveZahn, #JillianBell, #SashaKnight, #AnnDowd, #GaryFarmer, #ChrisCoy Film Review by Taryll Baker As part of BFI Flare: London LGBTIQ+ Film Festival 2021 Cowboys is a thought-provoking drama set in the vistas of the Montana wilderness, starring Steve Zahn as a troubled father that runs off with his trans son to escape his ex-wife’s (Jillian Bell) unwavering grip and find a new life together. His son, Joe (Sasha Knight), is transitioning from his assigned gender at birth; until now, he has always felt out-of-place in his body. Through a story that intercuts between past and present, we learn more about Joe, his father Troy and their bond as it develops on a sparse trek through stunning woodlands, hills and lakes. This is a pleasant film that really takes its time with the characters. Troy is a complex man who unfortunately, even with his support for his son, isn’t the best fit for what he imagines to be a rescue mission. His personal problems interfere with his actions at times, and that can be troublesome not only for himself but for those around him. Beneath his rugged edge, there is a heart, and his dedication to creating a better life for his son is admirable. Joe confesses to him in one of the film’s flashbacks that he has always felt like an alien put him in the wrong body as a joke, and though Troy is shocked at first, he begins to understand him and tries to discuss it with his wife, Sally. Bell’s performance is well-textured; she brings out the conflict within the character as she attempts to come to terms with the changes her son is going through. There’s a great deal of back-and-forth between Bell and Zahn in these moments, in fact, they’re mostly butting heads the whole way. As Cowboys unfolds, the relationships are held together by a strain as cops are involved, hot on Troy and Joe’s trail, and the two of them start to realise that perhaps leaving in the dead of night without a plan wasn’t the best idea. In terms of storytelling, the handling of Joe’s character is focused and well-rounded. Knight and Zahn communicate more-so with a subtle look than words, and their dives into the nitty gritty of their respective characters is pretty neat. We see the biggest evolution within the mother, who, in the absence of her son, seemingly sinks into deep regret, sparking a new mindset that could help her reconnect. Given the film’s discussion of trans people, it’s quite refreshing to see a piece like this that not only respects it, but invests in it. It isn’t a perfect film by any means, but there is something quite special about it, not to mention it also looks gorgeous. There are bridges burning and repairing as the film ticks by at its meandering pace, but the place it ends up, though a little too clean and tidy, is fulfilling. BFI Flare runs from March 17th - 28th, for more info visit: https://www.bfi.org.uk/flare - #TaryllBaker