For my first time at AFI (American Film Institute) Fest, I have to say I made a couple of mistakes when it came to signing up for screenings. I admittingly was lacking when it came to signing up for some of the big red carpet premieres that were here. Films like here (starring Tom Hanks and Robin Wright), Maria (starring Angelina Jolie), Juror #2 (which may be the very last film from Clint Eastwood), and heretic (starring Hugh Grant) will all have to have reviews at a later time.
I thought about ranking the films I watched just to make things interesting, but it’s not necessary.
I saw 7 films over the span of 4 days. Here’s the rundown:
There was a pretty big line for this, so I jumped in – not necessarily knowing what it was all about. Went in totally blind. I’ll be honest, I don’t necessarily understand the energy or the message that is trying to be conveyed.
The whole film feels very esoteric in many different ways. The camera work in this movie is very idyllic, but also a very long drawn-out 30-seconds-a-pop kind of shots. Add to that the demonic-sounding voiceover that comes, I guess, from the perspective of the retrieved artifacts, little dialogue to speak of, and an almost complete absence of narration… it plays out like a good companion piece to the really awesome book that should be about this subject.
This is a film that I have super complex emotions about. This is a film about historically invaluable West African artifacts that are finally being returned to Benin after oh-so-many decades…and for many, many different reasons, I have no idea if DAHOMEY treats this event as joyous or tragic.
Turns out it is both of these things the more I think about it.
DAHOMEY opens in limited theaters on October 31, 2024, and expands to additional theaters on November 22, 2024.
TO A LAND UNKNOWN (Dir. MAHDI FLEIFEL) 🤩
This story of two Palestinian cousins trapped in a purgatory-esque side of Athens is nothing short of incredible. The only issue with this film is that I wish it wasn’t so heavily influenced by MIDNIGHT COWBOY. Respectfully, there’s so much stuff in this movie that is directly borrowed from that movie that it feels like a remix of a really, really, old song.
Mahmood Bakri and Aram Sabbah give very complex, Oscar-level performances and director Mahdi Fleifel is an incredible talent to say the very least. This is almost a Top 10 of the Year Film for me, a shoo-in for a Best International Film Oscar nom, and one of the very best movies at AFI Fest.
At the time of writing, TO A LAND UNKNOWN does not have a set release date.
THE ROOM NEXT DOOR (Dir. PEDRO ALMODOVAR) 🤮
I’m just resigned to the fact that I just don’t understand Pedro Almodovar’s work as a whole. He always manages to make beautiful-looking films with amazing performances… but more than half of the time his characters don’t have any arcs, and his stories feel glacially slow. I defy anybody to watch this film and tell me that these characters change in any way whatsoever throughout the course of the film.
I try really hard with Almodovar flicks. I really do. But outside of PAIN AND GLORY, TALK TO HER, THE SKIN I LIVE IN, and PARALLEL MOTHERS, his films kind of seem to be really esoteric, narratively dull, melodramatic films that are only technically done very well. This is one of those films.
THE ROOM NEXT DOOR opens in limited theaters on December 20, 2024, and expands to additional theaters in January 2025.
Shaky cam was really adorable…back in 2008. When Paul Greengrass used it incessantly it made sense because it was the visual style for THE BOURNE TRILOGY. Any other usage of shaky cam since the last Jason Bourne movie has been borderline hotshot bull****.
The first act of BIRD was super duper shaky in the most egregious and unnecessary way, and I was borderline on the verge of walking out. However, in the second act, the film recovers very well, and the third act is an absolute emotional roller coaster in a really good way.
Boy, do I hope this gets some Oscar buzz within the next couple of months because Nykiya Adams has one of the biggest breakthrough performances of the year and is a future star in the making. A Best Actress nomination isn’t too ridiculous to suggest for her.
BIRD opens in theaters on November 8, 2024.
THE ORDER (Dir. JUSTIN KURZEL) 🤩
Without question one of the best films of 2024. Extremely powerful stuff here. Jude Law has got Oscar nominations for less impressive work than what he does in this film and Nicholas Hoult might be a shoo-in for Supporting Actor nominations in the future.
The script is absolutely incredible as well. Word around the campfire was that when it came to this film it was kind of a throwback to the William Friedkin days of crime thrillers and it’s a bit more modernized than that. If you like crime thrillers you are definitely going to like this one. The best movie to come out of the AFI Fest in 2024.
I’ll write a more in-depth review when it’s released wide. I will DEFINITELY see this one again.
THE ORDER comes to theaters on December 6, 2024.
NIGHTBITCH (Dir. MARIELLE HELLER) 😊
A lot of things work for this film. Amy Adams is a surefire Oscar nominee for Best Actress, and the screenplay might get a lot of love too. This is a very honest and realistic depiction of what it’s like to be a single mom in 2024.
This is a very emotionally ugly film a lot of the time. But if you’re going to depict the practical impossibilities of a “traditional” type of marriage, then the ugliness needs to be put front and center in the exact way that it is here.
The first and second acts are strong, but the third act does suffer from the dreaded “RETURN OF THE KING Syndrome” unfortunately – this film could have ended on at least five different scenes, and it would’ve gotten the point across just as much as it’s actual ending. Very funny as well.
NIGHTBITCH will be released in theaters on December 6, 2024.
THE FIRE INSIDE (Dir. RACHEL MORRISON) 😊
As a film, this is a somewhat routine affair. A familiar kind of storyline done to the utmost extent. In lesser hands, this would have been a flat-out boring movie but it never is.
The third act is where it really gets great, showing the harsh realities of the perceptions of women’s sports no matter how excellent the athletes are in the sports that they play, and what awaits these Olympic athletes when they get home if they live in destitute conditions, and the endorsements aren’t exactly rolling in.
Everybody involved with this film is at the top of their game. Brian Tyree Henry has rarely been better, Rachel Morrison continues her brilliance behind the camera, and boy, oh boy, does newcomer Ryan Destiny hit a f****** Grand slam with her performance in this film. I cannot conceive of a situation in which the real Claressa Shields watched her performance and didn’t approve with aplomb.
THE FIRE INSIDE will be in theaters on December 25, 2024.
All of these films will be released at least in some limited capacity within the next 2 months or so.