During March, Rialto Channel puts the spotlight on women in independent film screening films from writer-directors Lynn Shelton (Touchy Feely) and Lake Bell (In A World), as well as taking a look at the work of actresses Mia Wasikowska (Tracks) and Brie Larson (Short Term 12). Also throughout March, Rialto Documentary will unsettle you with a collection of films based on true crime stories, and Rialto World takes over both Monday and Tuesday nights, screening two films each week from South Korea, Denmark, Israel and Belgium. There’s plenty to enjoy, here are my picks for the week.
During March, Rialto Channel puts the spotlight on women in independent film screening films from writer-directors Lynn Shelton (Touchy Feely) and Lake Bell (In A World), as well as taking a look at the work of actresses Mia Wasikowska (Tracks) and Brie Larson (Short Term 12). Also throughout March, Rialto Documentary will unsettle you with a collection of films based on true crime stories, and Rialto World takes over both Monday and Tuesday nights, screening two films each week from South Korea, Denmark, Israel and Belgium. There’s plenty to enjoy, here are my picks for the week.
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Touchy Feely
Starring: Rosemarie DeWitt, Allison Janney and Ellen Page
Directed by: Lynn Shelton
Screening: Rialto Selection Saturday 7th March, 6.25pm
I’m a huge fan of Lynn Shelton’s observant, witty, honest and performance-centered style of filmmaking. Based in Seattle, Shelton had been making small, independent films for several years before her third film Humpday was a hit at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. Your Sister’s Sister was her first film featuring better known names (Mark Duplass, Emily Blunt and Rosemarie DeWitt) and was one of my favourite films of 2012. Her fifth film Touchy Feely (2013) is still a character driven and observant piece of filmmaking, but one that feels different to her previous work. It doesn’t feature three characters that come together in one location for the entire film, and unlike her previous films Shelton didn’t improvise on set with her actors, instead she sat down and wrote a script. The result is a film that’s more drama than comedy and feels more labored than Shelton’s previous films. This quirky film about a brother, sister and niece all stuck in a runt trying to move forward with their lives is driven by a great cast that all contribute solid, quirky performances but it doesn’t quite live up to expectations.
Narco Cultura
Starring: Richi Soto, Edgar Quintero
Directors: Shaul Schwarz
Screening: Rialto Documentary, 26th February, 8.30pm
Director Shaul Schwarz is an Israeli documentary filmmaker, cinematographer and award winning photojournalist. His debut feature length documentary, Narco Cultura, takes us inside Mexico’s drug cartel wars where the narco traffickers are fast becoming the new models of fame and success. Schwarz focuses on two different individuals, Richi Soto, a crime scene investigator working in Juarez, and Edgar Quintero, a narcocorrido singer in Los Angeles. Narcocorrido’s sing what is now termed as Latin Gangsta Rap – the “new hip hop” according to those working within the genre. They sing upbeat Mexican folk songs, but with lyrics that glorify guns, violence and drugs. What makes this film interesting is it tells this story from both sides US/Mexican border. As Schwarz points out with his documentary, this is not just ‘the Mexican drug war’, but the ‘The Mexican-American drug war’. The film premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2013 and then screened at festivals worldwide including The Berlin International Film Festival and Hot Docs Film Festival.
The Bridge
Starring: Sofia Helin and Kim Bodnia
Screening: Rialto World, Monday 23rd February, 8.30pm
The critically acclaimed Danish and Swedish co-production The Bridge continues this month, as Malmö detective Saga Norén (Sofia Helin) and her Copenhagen counterpart Martin Rohde (Bodnia), attempt to capture a murderer with a social conscience that’s terrorizing both countries. Filled with darkness, misery and evil, The Bridge also features one of the more interesting partnerships in modern TV crime drama. Noren has Asperger’s, although it’s never mentioned, and takes on the typical male role in this crime drama, leaving Rohde to be the more sensitive and affected of the two. Thanks to it being successful both at home and overseas, The Bridge has been re-commissioned by Swedish and Danish TV for a third season but the sudden decision by Kim Bodnia to leave the show, means the planned series requires a re-write. Who will get the pleasure of working with Saga Norén now?