By Roger Costa
DEPARTURES
A delightful and vibrant gay rom-com, directors Neil Ely and Lloyd Eyre-Morgan’s adventurous tale follows the complex romance unfolding between Benji (played by Eyre-Morgan) and Jake (David Tag) as they meet at an airport and decide to maintain an affair through encounters in Amsterdam. As Benji reflects on his past failed attempts at love, he must deal with Jake’s insecurities and Queer-denial, making things difficult to endure despite the intensity of their lusty meetings. Organic and compelling, this is a stunning British discovery.
(A Strand Releasing Release. Now Playing in Theaters).
THE PYTHON HUNT
A neon-infused, allarming doc directed by Xander Robin, this SXSW award-winning revelatory film tracks the preparations of a group of people determined to kill as many pythons as possible in a worrying snake-infested Everglades, Florida. As the film captures the excitement of the championship launched by the Florida Government, offering a redundant cash prize to anyone able to get rid of the invasive snakes (they arrived in the area as the result of a Hurricane), director Robin devastatingly exposes the dark side of human nature: the thrill to kill or destroy. Harrowing and unique, it’s a vivid portrait of the American Dream in contrast with Natural disasters and the ecosystem.
(An Oscilloscope Laboratories Release. Now Playing in Theaters).
OUR LAND (NUESTRA TIERRA)
Argentinian master Lucrecia Martel’s first documentary tracks the investigation and trial on the murder of Indigenous activist Javier Chocobar who was shot during a dispute captured on cellphone camera and became a symbol of resistance in their community. Gathering testimonies from locals, intimate court recordings, reenactment and archivals, Martel crafts a somber tale on the brutalism of colonialism and the interminable struggle of the Indigenous people for their land’s validation. Tragically poetic, immersive and haunting, it’s a powerful and essential statement on the obstruction of human rights.
(A Strand Releasing Release. Now Playing in Theaters).
Comments