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New York Film Festival · 2019

New York Film Festival 2019

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Programme

29 films · 21 reviews

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Atlantics (Atlantique, Atlantics: A Ghost Love Story)

Review preview for Atlantics

The difficult reality of life in Senegal dances with something much more otherworldly in Mati Diop's debut film.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Love and loss in Dakar are given a supernatural twist.

(Country: Senegal; Year: 2019; Director: Mati Diop; Writer: Mati Diop, Olivier Demangel; Stars: Mame Bineta Sane, Amadou Mbow, Traore, Nicole Sougou, Aminata Kane, Coumba Dieng, Ibrahima Mbaye, Diankou Sembene, Abdou Balde, Babacar Sylla, Arame Fall Faye, Ya Arame Mousse Sene, Babacar Samba, Astou N'Diaye, Khouda Fall)

Full review

Bacurau (Nighthawk)

Review preview for Bacurau

Creates a unique and eerily grounded suspense that transcends genre.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
Villagers sold as human prey defend themselves from hunters using a psychotropic drug.

(Country: Brazil; Year: 2019; Director: Juliano Dornelles, Kleber Mendonça Filho; Writer: Juliano Dornelles, Kleber Mendonça Filho; Stars: Udo Kier, Sônia Braga, Jonny Mars, Chris Doubek, Bárbara Colen, Alli Willow, Thomas Aquino, Silvero Pereira, Márcio Fecher, Val Junior, Karine Teles, Suzy Lopes, Brian Townes, Antonio Saboia)

Full review See: Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles in conversation on Udo Kier, Alli Willow and the horses as a “marker that this is a Western” for Bacurau , Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles in conversation on futuristic settings of Mad Max and Blade Runner and a Chinatown connection to the politics of water in Bacurau , Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles in conversation on Bacurau , Sônia Braga in conversation on Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles' Bacurau and The Paris Theatre

Beanpole (Dylda)

Review preview for Beanpole

The evocation of 1945 Leningrad is brilliantly captured with crumbling buildings and over-crowed trams but too often the dramatic set pieces fail to register

Richard Mowe · 2.5 out of 5
Two young women search for meaning and hope in the struggle to rebuild their lives amongst the ruins of Leningrad after the Second World War.

(Country: Russia; Year: 2019; Director: Kantemir Balagov; Writer: Kantemir Balagov; Stars: Viktoria Miroshnichenko, Vasilisa Perelygina, Timofey Glazkov, Andrei Bykov)

Full review

Fire Will Come (O Que Arde)

Review preview for Fire Will Come

In terms of basic plotting, there might not seem to be much here, but emotions crackle beneath the surface and the mood burns deep.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
A convicted arsonist returns to his rural home.

(Country: Spain, France, Luxembourg; Year: 2019; Director: Oliver Laxe; Writer: Santiago Fillol, Oliver Laxe; Stars: Santiago Fillol, Oliver Laxe)

Full review

First Cow

Review preview for First Cow

The simplest of pleasures bring the greatest moments of joy in Reichardt’s latest film.

Matthew Anderson · 4.5 out of 5
A cook with a group of fur trappers strikes up a connection with a Chinese emigre in the Old West.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Kelly Reichardt; Writer: Jonathan Raymond, Kelly Reichardt, based on the book by Jonathan Raymond; Stars: John Magaro, Orion Lee, Toby Jones, Alia Shawkat)

Full review

A Girl Missing

Review preview for A Girl Missing

Fukada, who trusts in our ability to figure things out eventually...sprinkles clues and riddles throughout his account of the human condition in the 21st century.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 3.5 out of 5
Ichiko works as a private nurse for a family she has almost become a part of. But when the youngest member of the family disappears, the kidnapper's identity causes trouble.

(Country: Japan; Year: 2019; Director: Kôji Fukada; Writer: Kôji Fukada; Stars: Mariko Tsutsui, Mikako Ichikawa, Sôsuke Ikematsu, Kentez Asaka, Mitsuru Fukikoshi, Ren Sudo)

Full review See: Kôji Fukada in conversation on A Girl Missing (Yokogao), Alfred Hitchcock’s colour palette and Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker

The Irishman

Review preview for The Irishman

Scorsese shoots at what is truly important in life and does so, miraculously, by putting the spotlight on organised crime

Anne-Katrin Titze · 5 out of 5
Story of the union official with mob ties, Frank Sheeran, and the part he claims to have played in the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Martin Scorsese; Writer: Steven Zaillian, based on the book by Charles Brandt; Stars: Robert De Niro, Anna Paquin, Al Pacino, Joe Pesci, Stephen Graham, Harvey Keitel, Jesse Plemons, Bobby Cannavale, Aleksa Palladino, Kathrine Narducci, Craig DiFrancia, Jake Hoffman, Jack Huston, Sebastian Maniscalco, Ray Romano, Domenick Lombardozzi)

Full review See: Craig DiFrancia in conversation on The Irishman, The Sound Of Philadelphia and Green Book , Gay Talese in conversation on The Irishman and engaging Martin Scorsese , Martin Scorsese in conversation on The Irishman

World premiere

I Was At Home, But

After having disappeared for a week, Astrid’s 13-year-old son Phillip returns home without saying a word...

(Country: Germany, Serbia; Year: 2019; Director: Angela Schanelec; Writer: Angela Schanelec; Stars: Franz Rogowski, Alan Williams, Devid Striesow, Lilith Stangenberg, Wolfgang Michael, Maren Eggert, Nicolas Wackerbarth, Dane Komljen, Thorbjörn Björnsson, Ann-Kristin Reyels, Ursula Renneke, Jakob Lassalle, Esther Buss, Marcel Kohler, Jelena Kuljic)

Liberté

Review preview for Liberté

Serra turns to period pieces not out of nostalgia, but quite the contrary, to provoke and dismantle - a grotesque imagery looking to alter the often sublime portrayal of such figures.

Georgiana Musat · 4 out of 5
A group of 18th century libertines are expelled from court and wander in the forests, seeking asylum.

(Country: France, Portugal, Spain, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Albert Serra; Writer: Albert Serra; Stars: Helmut Berger, Marc Susini, Iliana Zabeth) , Trailer

Full review

Marriage Story

Review preview for Marriage Story

The film is at its best when it is portraying conflicted emotions - as old love underlies fresh acrimony.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
A couple find themselves in a messier divorce than they imagined.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Noah Baumbach; Writer: Noah Baumbach; Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Laura Dern, Adam Driver, Ray Liotta, Merritt Wever, Mark O'Brien, Alan Alda, Julie Hagerty, Kyle Bornheimer, Mickey Sumner, Ayden Mayeri, Matthew Maher, Brooke Bloom, Azhy Robertson, Mary Hollis Inboden)

Full review

Martin Eden

Review preview for Martin Eden

Luca Marinelli is excellent in the lead, balancing intensity with intelligence, convincing at every stage of Martin's journey.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
A man struggles to better his circumstances, motivated by his love for a woman from a bourgeois family.

(Country: Italy, France, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Pietro Marcello; Writer: Maurizio Braucci, Pietro Marcello, based on the novel by Jack London; Stars: Luca Marinelli, Carlo Cecchi, Jessica Cressy, Vincenzo Nemolato, Marco Leonardi, Denise Sardisco, Carmen Pommella, Autilia Ranieri, Savino Paparella, Elisabetta Valgoi, Pietro Ragusa, Giustiniano Alpi, Dario Iubatti, Anna Patierno, Vincenza Modica)

Full review See: Pietro Marcello in conversation on his film Martin Eden and Jack London’s novel

The Moneychanger (Así Habló El Cambista)

Review preview for The Moneychanger

Looking at the colours, the entire film could be taking place inside a mushroom. Cigarette smoke penetrates almost every scene.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
A money launderer sees the Uruguayan dictatorship as an opportunity to make a killing.

(Country: Uruguay, Argentina, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Federico Veiroj; Writer: Arauco Hernández Holz, Martín Mauregui, Federico Veiroj; Stars: Dolores Fonzi, Benjamín Vicuña, Daniel Hendler, Germán de Silva, Luis Machín, Gabriel Perez, Dolores Fonzi, Benjamín Vicuña, Daniel Hendler, Germán de Silva, Luis Machín, Gabriel Perez)

Full review See: Federico Veiroj in conversation on the adaptation of Juan Enrique Gruber’s novel for The Moneychanger (Así Habló El Cambista) and Alain Delon in Joseph Losey’s Monsieur Klein

Motherless Brooklyn

Review preview for Motherless Brooklyn

Edward Norton has taken risks all down the line and proves himself capable of unquestionable courage in storytelling.

Angus Wolfe Murray · 5 out of 5
A lonely private detective with Tourette's attempts to solve his friend's murder.

(Country: US; Year: 2019; Director: Edward Norton; Writer: Jonathan Lethem, Edward Norton; Stars: Edward Norton, Bruce Willis, Ethan Suplee, Michael Kenneth Williams, Willem Dafoe, Bobby Cannavale, Leslie Mann, Alec Baldwin, Gugu Mbatha-Raw, Fisher Stevens, Dallas Roberts, Cherry Jones, Josh Pais, Robert Wisdom, Doris McCarthy)

Full review

Oh Mercy! (Roubaix, Une Lumière, Roubaix, A Light!)

Review preview for Oh Mercy!

Based on Mosco Boucault’s documentary Roubaix, Commissariat Central, and using the actual interrogation transcripts, Desplechin shoots for a different tone.

Anne-Katrin Titze · 4 out of 5
A police chief in northern France tries to solve a case where an old woman was brutally murdered.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Arnaud Desplechin; Writer: Arnaud Desplechin, Léa Mysius; Stars: Léa Seydoux, Roschdy Zem, Sara Forestier, Antoine Reinartz)

Full review See: Arnaud Desplechin in conversation on reality, childhood, filming animals for Oh Mercy! (Roubaix, Une Lumière) and Henry Fonda in The Wrong Man , Arnaud Desplechin in conversation on editing and composer Grégoire Hetzel for Oh Mercy! (Roubaix, Une Lumière) and a Cries And Whispers scene

Pain And Glory (Dolor Y Gloria)

Review preview for Pain And Glory

The tone is both bitter and sweet.

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
A film director reflects on the choices he's made in life as past and present come crashing down around him.

(Country: Spain; Year: 2019; Director: Pedro Almodóvar; Writer: Pedro Almodóvar; Stars: Penélope Cruz, Antonio Banderas, Asier Etxeandia, Leonardo Sbaraglia, Raúl Arévalo, Nora Navas, Cecilia Roth)

Full review See: Interview with Pedro Almodóvar, Antonio Banderas and Penélope Cruz about Pain And Glory

Parasite

Review preview for Parasite

Bong Joon Ho's tale of two families explores the wealth gap in South Korean society with wit, insight and a pitch black sense of humour.

Jennie Kermode · 5 out of 5
All unemployed, Ki-taek's family takes peculiar interest in the Parks for their livelihood until they get entangled in an unexpected incident.

(Country: South Korea; Year: 2019; Director: Bong Joon Ho; Writer: Bong Joon Ho, Jin-won Han; Stars: Kang-ho Song, Sun-kyun Lee, Yeo-jeong Cho, Woo-sik Choi, So-dam Park, Lee Jeong-eun, Jang Hye-jin, Park Myeong-hoon, Ji-so Jung, Hyun-jun Jung, Keun-rok Park, Yi-Seo Jung, Jae-myeong Jo, Ik-han Jung, Kyu-baek Kim)

Full review

Portrait Of A Lady On Fire (Portrait De La Jeune Fille En Feu)

Review preview for Portrait Of A Lady On Fire

What could have been a traditionally lavish costume drama has been pared down to highlight the erotic tension and sensuality

Richard Mowe · 4 out of 5
On an isolated island in Bretagne at the end of the 18th century, a female painter is obliged to paint a wedding portrait of a young woman.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Céline Sciamma; Writer: Céline Sciamma; Stars: Valeria Golino, Adèle Haenel, Noémie Merlant, Luàna Bajrami, Cécile Morel)

Full review See: Interview with Noémie Merlant about Portrait Of A Lady On Fire and Jumbo

Saturday Fiction

Story of an actress who is also an undercover agent for the Allies in 1941 Shanghai.

(Country: China; Year: 2019; Director: Lou Ye; Writer: Ma Yingli; Stars: Gong Li, Tom Wlaschiha, Mark Chao, Pascal Greggory, Joe Odagiri)

Sibyl

A jaded psychotherapist returns to her first passion of becoming a writer.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Justine Triet; Writer: Arthur Harari, Justine Triet; Stars: Virginie Efira, Adèle Exarchopoulos, Gaspard Ulliel)

Synonyms

Review preview for Synonyms

The film is held together less by the tale than by tensions.

Amber Wilkinson · 4 out of 5
Tragicomedy about Yoav, a young Israeli determined to wipe out his origins and become French.

(Country: France, Germany, Israel; Year: 2019; Director: Nadav Lapid; Writer: Nadav Lapid; Stars: Tom Mercier, Quentin Dolmaire, Louise Chevillotte, Jonathan Boudina, Gaël Raes, Chris Zastera, John Sehil, Tom Mercier, Quentin Dolmaire, Louise Chevillotte, Jonathan Boudina, Gaël Raes, Chris Zastera, John Sehil)

Full review

To The Ends Of The Earth

Review preview for To The Ends Of The Earth

Former pop star Atsuko Maeda is wonderful in the lead, the perfect match for Kurosawa's style, communicating volumes with the most delicate of expressions.

Jennie Kermode · 4 out of 5
A Japanese TV host finds a trip to Uzbekistan to shoot an episode of her reality travel show begins to dissolve her chipper persona.

(Country: Japan, Uzbekistan, Qatar; Year: 2019; Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa; Writer: Kiyoshi Kurosawa; Stars: Tokio Emoto, Ryo Kase, Atsuko Maeda, Adiz Rajabov, Shôta Sometani, Tokio Emoto, Ryo Kase, Atsuko Maeda, Adiz Rajabov, Shôta Sometani)

Full review

The Traitor (Il Traditore)

The real life of Tommaso Buscetta the so called 'boss of the two worlds' and the first mafia informant in Sicily in the Eighties.

(Country: Italy, France, Brazil, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Marco Bellocchio; Writer: Marco Bellocchio, Valia Santella; Stars: Pierfrancesco Favino, Luigi Lo Cascio, Maria Fernanda Cândido)

Vitalina Varela

The story of a Cape Verdean who arrives in Lisbon just days after her husband’s funeral - a journey she has been wanting to make for a quarter of a century.

(Country: Portugal; Year: 2019; Director: Pedro Costa; Writer: Pedro Costa, Vitalina Varela; Stars: Vitalina Varela)

Wasp Network

The true story of Cuban spies in America during the Nineties, who carried out military attacks on Cuba and the network that struck back.

(Country: France, Spain, Belgium, Brazil; Year: 2019; Director: Olivier Assayas; Writer: Olivier Assayas; Stars: Ana de Armas, Penélope Cruz, Edgar Ramírez, Wagner Moura, Gael García Bernal, Harlys Becerra, Ruairi Rhodes, Michael Vitovich, Gisela Chipe, Julian Flynn, Brannon Cross, Steve Howard, Johanna Sol, Julio Gabay, Stephen W Tenner)

The Whistlers (La Gomera, The Passenger)

Review preview for The Whistlers

The whistling language is fun - and, if anything, disappointingly underused - but it's the language of cinema that Porumboiu is really interested in.

Amber Wilkinson · 3.5 out of 5
Film noir sees a corrupt cop learn a whistling language to beat detection while trying to double-cross the mob.

(Country: Romania, France, Germany; Year: 2019; Director: Corneliu Porumboiu; Writer: Corneliu Porumboiu; Stars: Vlad Ivanov, Catrinel Marlon, Rodica Lazar)

Full review

The Wild Goose Lake (Nan Fang Chez Han De Ju Hui)

Tale about a gangster on the run.

(Country: China; Year: 2019; Director: Yi'nan Diao; Writer: Yi'nan Diao; Stars: Fan Liao, Hugh Hu, Lun-Mei Kwei)

Young Ahmed (Le Jeune Ahmed)

Review preview for Young Ahmed

Their provision of few motivational details makes for an unsatisfactory narrative.

Richard Mowe · 3 out of 5
A teenager becomes radicalised.

(Country: Belgium; Year: 2019; Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne; Writer: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne; Stars: Idir Ben Addi, Olivier Bonnaud, Myriem Akheddiou, Victoria Bluck, Claire Bodson, Othmane Moumen)

Full review See: Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne in conversation on the objects and avoiding imagery for Young Ahmed (Le Jeune Ahmed) , Jean-Pierre Dardenne and Luc Dardenne in conversation on Young Ahmed (Le Jeune Ahmed)

Zombi Child

Haiti, 1962. A man is brought back from the dead only to be sent to the living hell of the sugarcane fields. In Paris, 55 years later, at a boarding school, a Haitian girl confesses an old family secret to a group of new friends – never imagining that this strange tale will convince a heartbroken classmate to do the unthinkable.

(Country: France; Year: 2019; Director: Bertrand Bonello; Writer: Bertrand Bonello)