French filmmaker François Ozon is a bit of a chameleon. He’s best known for the film Swimming Pool, with Charlotte Rampling as a British mystery writer vacationing in Provence. But […]
Film
TELEVISION
The Rhythmic Pleasures of ‘Poker Face’
Inspired by classic television crime procedurals, the Peacock original has been renewed for a second season
Rian Johnson specializes in satisfaction. The filmmaker behind Knives Out, Glass Onion, and the time-travel thriller Looper loves to construct narrative puzzle boxes where perfect solutions emerge in cathartic “aha!” […]
IN THE STUDIO
Yahna Harris and the Art of Family History
A FAWC fellow explores love, violence, and intergenerational dynamics in her recent film
In a scene from Yahna Harris’s current film-in-progress, the artist’s aunt sits regally in an armchair. Shot from a low angle, she commands a domestic space. There is no movement: […]
INDIE SCREEN
Oscar Contenders Fight the Good Fight
Three films take humanistic stances with uneven success
Canadian child actor turned writer-director Sarah Polley continues to prove she’s one of the great filmmaking talents of our time. Her four features — Away From Her (2006), starring Julie […]
INDIE SCREEN
When All That Glitters Is Not Gold
It’s Oscar season in the twilight of Hollywood
When the Covid lockdown happened back in March 2020, it accelerated shifts that were already in progress in the movie industry. Fewer people were seeing films in theaters, and streaming […]
INDIE SCREEN
Tales of Innocence and Experience
A gay fat man and a sweet donkey come undone
Director Darren Aronofsky — winner of the Provincetown International Film Festival’s 2011 Filmmaker on the Edge award — has never been known for subtlety. He wallows in garishly surreal psychological […]
QUEER ‘I’
Mapp and Lucia and Me
From coastal England to the shores of Provincetown, some things never change
At first glance, it’s a postcard-perfect seaside town, brimming with music, theater, and art. Look closer, though, and you’ll see that beneath the quaint village veneer lies a hotbed of […]
INDIE SCREEN
Once Upon a Time in the Movies
Strange characters in three new films adapt to loss
The year is 1923. The Irish Civil War is nearing its end, leading to the creation of the Irish Free State despite the violent objections of the Irish Republican Army. […]
INDIE SCREEN
Coming of Age With the Help of Movies
Spielberg and del Toro look back with mixed feelings
There’s a scene near the end of The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg’s autobiographical drama about his childhood and teenage years, where the budding filmmaker Sammy Fabelman is confronted by Logan, a […]
INDIE SCREEN
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall, What’s the Greatest Film of All?
A once-a-decade list of the best films in the history of cinema contains several surprises
The esteemed film magazine Sight and Sound, which is published monthly by the British Film Institute, released its once-a-decade list of the 100 greatest films of all time on Dec. […]
INDIE SCREEN
Thanks for the Memories
Two new films about gay men recall the real-life struggles of their authors
There’s something naggingly cheeky about the title of TV entertainment journalist Michael Ausiello’s memoir, Spoiler Alert: The Hero Dies — it’s the story of Ausiello’s 14-year relationship with photographer Kit […]
INDIE SCREEN
Reporters Are the Heroes in ‘She Said’
Unearthing the truth about sexual assault and harassment in Hollywood
In the movie industry, nearly everyone knew that Harvey Weinstein was a monster. More accurately, they knew that he was an exceptionally brutal monster — because among the men (and […]
INDIE SCREEN
When La Dolce Vita Is Anything but Sweet
Mike White takes The White Lotus to Sicily for its second season
In the National Archeological Museum of Naples, Italy, there’s a section known as the Gabinetto Segreto (“Secret Cabinet”). It contains all the erotic art and artifacts — depicting penises, omnisexual […]
TV OR NOT TV
The Season for Streaming
What to watch with the family — or get cozy with when you need some alone time
Picks by Independent staff and contributors Drink Masters, Netflix When I was a kid, the best part of Thanksgiving was always raiding my uncle’s liquor cabinet. (It was the ’70s. […]
INDIE SCREEN
Tár Is a Master Class of a Movie
Cate Blanchett gives Mahler a jolt while disrupting the lives of everyone around her
Into a world that has become hyperaware of the abuses of power comes the movie Tár, now playing in theaters locally. Written and directed by Todd Field, an actor turned […]
