Love Lies Bleeding

 

Love stories can appear in any genre and love coupled with revenge makes for one passionate bloodbath. Director (and co-writer) Rose Glass’ much anticipated follow up to religious horror Saint Maud (2019) has had audiences all geared up for what set to be a hot, sexually charged, bloody chaotic story. Glass absolutely delivered on the promise all the trailers and posters had set up. 

When small town gym manager Lou meets body builder drifter Jackie, there are immediate sparks. But after one violent incident threatens to tear the two apart, they are set on a path of chaotic revenge, each doing anything they can to protect the other.

Full review over at Filmhounds.

Undine - BFI London Film Festival

 A modern retelling of a folktale about a water nymph who falls in love to gain a human soul is something quite unexpected. There is something in the water in more ways than one.

For my full review, you can read it HERE over at Filmhounds.

Beanpole

 

I remember there was comic called Beanpole I came across years ago about a very tall girl at school, this film is nothing like that random comic. 

 Russia's entry to the Oscars and screened at Cannes, this was one of the films I missed at LFF but wasn't sure about. As the film was about life after war, I thought it was going to be quite depressing and thankfully I was wrong, this was delightful, despite not being entirely cheerful. The beautful colour palette lets you into the world of Iya and Masha and their close unlabeled bond and just a glimpse into the loses of war. 

My full review is available to read at FilmHounds HERE.

It's In the Photograph

 

A photograph can be a powerful thing. It can stand for something. It can bring hope and meaning. It can also preserve the past. This is what the photograph is in 'Queen & Slim'.

Unfortunately I couldn't make it to the Birds Eye View screening of the film BUT I managed to see it at another cinema. Even so, this film was a perfect example of brilliant filmmaking that needed to be celebrated. Although I am only familiar with a few of her music vidoes, I was very excited to see who the team was behind and in front of the camera. As a feature film debut, Melina Matsoukas, has a calling card that is on topic, at the forfront of the what is happening in the world and a driven character piece that is both understated and visceral at certain moments. With a simple and devastating premise, this story belongs to Daniel Kaluuya and Jodie Turner-Smith. They are the catalyst for all the actions in the film, they are the fuel in the fire and most importantly, they are real. 

 SPOILERS

After a not so successful online date one evening, Slim drives Queen home but on they way they stopped by a cop who unjustifiably questions Slim, demanding his licence and wanting to see what's in the boot of his car. This altercation becomes worse, after the cop points his gun on them. It ends with Queen being shot in the leg and Slim shooting the cop in defence. Knowing the outcome of two black people shooting a white cop in self defence, the two go on the run.

Twisting the lovers on the run trope, as these two people are virutally strangers, and are on the run because they had no choice, we not only get to see their story play out through desparate moments to more tender ones where they actually get to know each other on a deeper and at times bittersweet level; I'm thinking of the scene in the bar where they have a drink and dance together. There are moments in the film when you hope that things will be different this time and just maybe they'll get away. Usually with this genre, the guilty people never get away but in this case the innocent don't either. As the story progresses, the characters are forced to step out of their comfort zones, changing the way they look and dress. They are forced to be the sterotypes that the media plays them out to be rather than the lawyer Queen is and the supermarket clerk Slim is. They're just two normal people forced into an extraordinary situation.

The film is also a mirror of what African-Americans go through every day. What happens at the start of the film is more than the beginning, this what Queen and Slim experience all the time. What's different with their story is that it becomes national interest, a manhunt for them takes place, they are sensationalised and eventually seen as heroes. Of course, now, this is not something out of the ordinary with the recent Black Lives Matter movement which gained momentum in the last few months. Now Queen and Slim's story has become more relevant than ever. This film wasn't given the recognition it deserved, despite being sign posted as many places as possible, but hopefully new audiences will discover it. 

Come As You Are

Its rare to find a film featuring three main characters who happen to be disabled, this element aludes films, frequently in independent and never in blockbusters or Hollywood films. But 'Come As you Are' which is based on real life experineces and is in fact the third film inspired by those events, been so welcome on the cinematic scene.

My film review is over at Vulturehound and can be read in full HERE.

In the Aisles - London Film Festival

Love can be found in a hopeless place (as the song goes) and nothing is more hopeless than the place where ‘In the Aisles’ is set. Who’d have thought that a supermarket would be the setting of a delicate and innocent love story. 

Christian starts work at a supermarket as part of the night team, stocking shelves in the bottles department. He works with veteran worker Bruno, forming a quiet bond of friendship. He falls in love with Marion, a colleague in the sweets section, sharing moments of mutual affection even after he finds out she’s married. Christian lives alone and seems lonely but not in a hurry to create a connection.

Loneliness is ironically the connection between the characters. Bruno is isolated, living on a farm not far from the supermarket. He yearns for his trucker days and the comfort he found in knowing landmarks signalling he was almost home. Marion is married but isn’t happy, at least this is what everyone tells Christian.  Christian himself lives alone, avoid his old rowdy friends and doesn’t seem to go anywhere apart from work and his flat. Their conversations are all work related, although sometimes the barrier of silence is broken down and we learn about Bruno’s wife and Christian’s previous job and his days of being in prison as a minor. The images of the individual buildings, looming in the distance and up close, as well as frequent shot of the motorways, exaggerating just how isolated the supermarket is. It feels as if it isn’t really part of the real world. The supermarket has its own little village, helping each other and working as a team. The environment suits Christian who isn’t a talker, he is the definition of the strong silent archetype. 

The innocent love story that gently unfolds between Christian and Marion also serves as the lifeblood of the supermarket as various colleagues are aware of both their feelings for each other despite nothing being said with words. Their long looks, stolen glances and small kind gestures make the world of the supermarket bearable and a little brighter.

As a gentle love story and ode an ode to supermarkets, director Thomas Stuber makes the the place of unflattering lighting a beautiful place to be, especially at night. The best scene in the entire film is when Christian, who is learning to drive the forklift, elegantly moves between the empty aisles, at peace and obviously happy and even content in this moment. Not everyone can create such magic in a supermarket.

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