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Karlovy Vary International Film Festival · 2022

Karlovy Vary International Film Festival 2022

Midnight Screenings

Programme

8 films · 7 reviews

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Crimes Of The Future

Review preview for Crimes Of The Future

Cronenberg, a seemingly gentle soul on the surface, remains tortured by the possibilities of technology and how it may tear us apart.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
In a near-future human evolution has accelerated, a situation embraced by a performance artist.

(Country: Canada, Greece, France; Year: 2022; Director: David Cronenberg; Writer: David Cronenberg; Stars: Kristen Stewart, Léa Seydoux, Viggo Mortensen, Scott Speedman, Tanaya Beatty, Denise Capezza, Lihi Kornowski, Yorgos Karamihos, Don McKellar, Nadia Litz, Ephie Kantza, Yorgos Pirpassopoulos, Welket Bungué, Jason Bitter)

Full review See: Cronenberg, Mortensen, Stewart and Seydoux on Crimes Of The Future in Cannes

Everything Everywhere All At Once

Review preview for Everything Everywhere All At Once

Everything Everywhere All At Once is bravura, high concept, unhinged and beautifully crafted.

Andrew Robertson · 5 out of 5
A science fiction action adventure about an exhausted Chinese American woman who can't seem to finish her taxes.

(Country: US; Year: 2021; Director: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert; Writer: Daniel Kwan, Daniel Scheinert; Stars: Michelle Yeoh, Stephanie Hsu, Ke Huy Quan, Jenny Slate, Harry Shum Jr, James Hong, Jamie Lee Curtis)

Full review See: Q&A with Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert, Jamie Lee Curtis and Ke Huy Quan about Everything Everywhere All At Once

Leonor Will Never Die

Review preview for Leonor Will Never Die

Shows that escapist films can serve every bit as valid a purpose as anything else when it comes to uniting people.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Fiction and reality blur when Leonor, a retired filmmaker, falls into a coma after a television lands on her head, compelling her to become the action hero of her unfinished screenplay.

(Country: Philippines; Year: 2022; Director: Martika Ramirez Escobar; Writer: Martika Ramirez Escobar; Stars: Sheila Francisco, Rocky Salumbides, Bong Cabrera, Anthony Falcon)

Full review See: Martika Ramirez Escobar chats about Leonor Will Never Die

Men

Review preview for Men

While an impressive exercise of modern horror craftsmanship that could easily flirt with a cult film status, Men’s overcrowded and facile symbolism is as transparent as it is confusing, leaving much to be desired from an otherwise very good storyteller.

Dora Leu · 2.5 out of 5
In the aftermath of a personal tragedy, a woman retreats alone to the beautiful English countryside, hoping to have found a place to heal. But someone or something from the surrounding woods appears to be stalking her.

(Country: UK, US; Year: 2022; Director: Alex Garland; Writer: Alex Garland; Stars: Jessie Buckley, Rory Kinnear, Gayle Rankin, Paapa Essiedu)

Full review

RoboCop

Review preview for RoboCop

A cross-pollination of tough Dirty Harry and Frankenstein - often startles the viewer with imagery and ideas.

Scott Macdonald · 5 out of 5
Cyborg cop tackles bad guys on the streets and in the boardrooms of Detroit.

(Country: US; Year: 1987; Director: Paul Verhoeven; Writer: Edward Neumeier and Michael Miner; Stars: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Dan O'Herlihy, Ronny Cox, Kurtwood Smith, Miguel Ferrer, Robert DoQui, Ray Wise, Felton Perry, Paul McCrane, Jesse D. Goins)

Full review

Saloum

Three mercenaries manage to capture a drug dealer along with his loot but as they flee they are forced to make an emergency landing in a mystical island region filled with violence and supernatural forces.

(Country: Senegal; Year: 2021; Director: Jean Luc Herbulot; Writer: Jean Luc Herbulot, Jean Luc Herbulot, Pamela Diop; Stars: Yann Gael, Evelyne Ily Juhen, Roger Sallah, Mentor Ba, Bruno Henry, Marielle Salmier, Babacar Oualy, Ndiaga Mbow, Cannabasse, Renaud Farah, Alvina Karamoko)

Smoking Causes Coughing (Fumer Fait Tousser, Smoking Makes You Cough)

Review preview for Smoking Causes Coughing

There is a complete disregard for any kind of consequence or continuity in this film, and you know that the rug could be pulled from under you at any second.

Nikola Jovic · 3.5 out of 5
Tobacco Force are superhero avengers, preparing for their clash with the mighty Lezardin. But what if the real horrors are the stories they tell to each other along the way?

(Country: France; Year: 2022; Director: Quentin Dupieux; Writer: Quentin Dupieux; Stars: Oulaya Amamra, Alain Chabat, Anaïs Demoustier, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Julia Faure, Jules Dhios Francisco, Blanche Gardin, Vincent Lacoste, Gilles Lellouche, Grégoire Ludig, David Marsais, Jérôme Niel, Benoît Poelvoorde, Raphaël Quenard, Anthony Sonigo)

Full review See: Quentin Dupieux on Smoking Makes You Cough

Zalava

Review preview for Zalava

Pourfaraj is superb in the lead, his Massoud stiff-backed, primly moustached, yet achingly human.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
In 1978, the inhabitants of a small village claim there is a demon among them. When sergeant arrests the exorcist, the villagers fear and anger escalates.

(Country: Iran; Year: 2021; Director: Arsalan Amiri; Writer: Arsalan Amiri, Tahmineh Bahramalian, Ida Panahandeh; Stars: Navid Pourfaraj, Pouria Rahimi Sam, Baset Rezaei, Hoda Zeinolabedin, Navid Pourfaraj, Pouria Rahimi Sam, Baset Rezaei, Hoda Zeinolabedin)

Full review