By 
By Roger Costa
NIGHT COMES ON
A young African-American girl leaves detention and battles to put together the pieces she left behind. Her main concern is to locate her missing father with whom she must make ammends, but before that, she gets involved in mysterious circumstances with a gun-dealer, a former girlfriend, and is forced to accept her younger sister’s help. Dominique Fishback is a revelation in the role of Angel, the young protagonist who’s running from criminal tendencies and still stuck to what she started in the past. An impressive and accurate drama conceived by first-time director Jordana Spiro (she won a special prize at this year’s Sundance), this sensitive yet harsh take on troubled youth, subtly digs up controversial issues such as racial conflicts and abuse, with compelling results. (Samuel Goldwyn Films. 8/3. Cinema Village.)
COCOTE
A man is confronted by his beliefs as he returns to his home-village for the rituals of his father’s burial who has been murdered. Shot in B&W, extravagant colors, natural light and other experimental techniques, Dominican Award-winning documentarian Nelson Carlo de los Santos Arias’ fiction debut is an euphoric, honest mosaic of the country’s culture, religious practices and devotion, hierarchy pride, justice-seeking and economic struggle. Supported by a superbly convincing cast, dealing with grieving, exorcism and spiritual battles, Arias conceived a unique, visually-arresting, haunting look on the unexpected impacts of death. (Grasshopper Film. 8/3. IFC Center.)
MILLA
A multiple winner at Locarno and a highly applauded selection at this year’s New Directors/New Films, writer-director Valérie Massadian’s semi-doc is a meditation on feminine elements connected to the experiences of a young woman who loses her partner and cares for her baby alone. Brilliantly shot with contemplative images on nature, bodies and spaces, it opens as an intimate modern romance and turns into a melancholic and lyric observation on single motherhood and its expectations. The film also provides relevant insights on topics related to the struggles of the working class. (Grasshopper Film. 8/3. Anthology Film Archives.)
THE MISEDUCATION OF CAMERON POST
Based on the famous young-adult novel of the same name, director Desiree Akhavan returns to the topics of sexual identity, societal dogmas and dysfunctional relationships with this efficient dramedy that satirizes religious practices and attempts to revert the “gay condition”. Chloë Grace Moretz gives a courageous, deeply moving performance, proving to be one of the best interpreters of her generation. She is sent to a youth camp program, where a group of counselors work to “cure” their homosexuality with transformational activities, some extreme and abusive. There she becomes the spokesperson for everyone, a direct associate to the outcast feelings of rejection and abandon. Provocative and heart-warming, it paints an accurate portrait of 90’s America seen through revolutionary minds. (FilmRise. 8/3. Quad Cinemas.)
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