By Roger Costa
The 2017 TFF runs thru April 30th at many venues in New York City, showcasing the latest in the most creative and inspiring independent films, emerging new talents from all over the globe, established artists and filmmakers, as well as new experiments on TV, Games and Technology. Among the vast selection of films of all genres and styles, here are five reasons (among many others) why you must attend this great event:
BLAME
A precisely twisted teen-revenge High School drama, 22-year-old Quinn Shephard’s directorial debut immediately confirms her as one of the most promising young female talents in America. In a seductive, stylized and coherent narrative, she introduces familiar issues related to teens-friends-parents-teachers with incredible control of the material. She wrote, edited and also stars here as Abigail, an awkwardly shy girl who goes back to school after recovering from a traumatic event. Her return stirs up jealousy among the bullies in school, especially Melissa (Nadia Alexander in a revelatory performance), a rebellious, promiscuous and dangerous girl who suffers from insecurity and will try to sabotage Abigails’s interest in adapting “The Crucible” play with her English teacher (Chris Messina). Things get turbulent when an impossible attraction occurs between student and teacher. What follows is a complete multiple relationship mess, an intriguing analysis on how the events affected everyone involved. Sexy and provocative, Shephard scores high with brilliant narrative skills, conceiving an accurate portrait of contemporary teenhood.
CHUCK
Liev Schreiber gives an Oscar caliber performance in the role of a real life boxer obsessed with fame, winning, women and drugs. Set in mid-70’s Bayonne New Jersey, award-winning director Philippe Falardeau’s dramedy develops with smart aesthetics of a Gangster-tale, as the boxer narrates his trajectory himself, the struggle to maintain himself in shape, his historical fight with Ali, the troubles with uncontrollable impulses, women, cocaine and the family disintegration, as well as his influence in Stallone’s Academy Award winner picture “Rocky”. Falardeau (who had previously directed the lovely “Monsieur Lazhar”) extracts vivid performances from the entire cast, including a heartbreaking Elisabeth Moss, the representation of endurance as the boxer’s wife, and Naomi Watts as a barmaid caught up with his reckless behavior. Efficient as a sports drama (thrilling fight sequences) and as a comedy about the consequences of addiction and fame (the sarcasm predominates throughout his attempts and faults), the film is utterly satisfying and entertaining.
BUSTER’S MAL HEART
Brilliantly structured as a game puzzle, this mind-bending psychological thriller introduces the protagonist, Rami Malek, living as a savage in the wilderness, running from authorities as he commits a series of home invasions. Director Sarah Adina Smith’s second feature, then turns back in time, presenting the same man as a sleepless Hotel receptionist, living at his in-law’s house with wife and baby daughter. The tension among them increases, as Buster intends to educate his daughter away from the ordinary system’s rules. That’s the beginning of his transformation in an Era of technology crescendo, a man becoming exhausted and revolted with evolution, fortified by the arrival of a mysterious thief at his night shift job. Completely developed in a nightmarish atmosphere, the film keeps you thrilled and guessing till the end, with its undeniably genial complexity.
SON OF SOFIA
A strangely seductive and bizarre coming of age story, Elina Psykou’s film absorbs the ambiguous, complicated emotions of a Russian boy trying to fit into Greek traditions. A cultural clash begins when he arrives to his new home, and is gradually manipulated and re-educated by his controlling stepfather. When he meets a male prostitute, and forms an unusual bond, he gains maturity and strength to stand up for himself. Set against the excitement of the 2004 Olympic Games, this dysfunctional tale ventures into surrealism as the boy finds escape using his darkly creative imagination and fascination with stuffed wild animals. Victor Khomut, playing Misha, the protagonist who comes up with an unexpected solution, gives a hypnotic performance, a brilliant balance of innocence, confusion and anxiety. A sharp observation on stolen childhood and the complications between parents and children.
NEWTON
Amit V. Masurkar’s comedy sets eyes on the 800-million voters Election held in India, where a young physicist goes on a mission to reach out tribes living in isolated areas, in order to give them their right to cast their votes. A very intense and efficient political comedy structured with the turbulence of a Guerrilla-style adventure, the narrative develops a connection for the old and the new, traditions and modernity, materialism and spiritualism, reaching smart results.
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