The Film Stage

Mistress Dispeller Review: Subdued Doc Explores Saving Marriages in China
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For as long as there have been relationships, there have also been affairs. It is perhaps one of the most durable narrative devices, so universal that just about anyone can find a perspective into such a story. To this, Elizabeth...
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Restorations of Olivier Assayas’ Paris Awakens and A New Life Making North American Debut at BAM on November 4
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Restorations and retrospectives are plentiful enough that it’s hard to believe Oliver Assayas’ early career bears no imprint on American film culture. While certain pre-Cold Water titles could be obtained if one looks hard enough, 1991’s Paris Awakens and 1993’s...
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Recommended New Books on Filmmaking: The Mighty Clint, Abel Ferrara, Reapprasing Ed Wood, Jonathan Demme & More
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The world has long needed a memoir from Abel Ferrara, and now we’ve got one, along with smart studies of the lives and careers of Clint Eastwood, Jonathan Demme, and Ed Wood. Plus, a stunning exploration of The Crow and...
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NYFF Review: Late Fame Is a Towering Portrait of the Artist as a Newly Famous Man
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“Klara remembered who she was. She pulled away from the window and she was a sculptor, although she didn’t always believe it, an artist––she believed them sometimes when they said she wasn’t.”— Don DeLillo, Underworld It is early into Kent...
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NYFF Review: The Love That Remains is a Cathartic, Impressionistic Portrait of Love and Loss
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Hlynur Pálmason’s fourth feature marks a soft, Malickian left turn for the man behind the icy-bleak dramas Winter Brothers, A White, White Day, and Godland. Up against the rest of Pálmason’s oeuvre––which weighs viewers down with a grave obstinance, whether...
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NYFF Review: Below the Clouds is a Delicate Look at Life Under Mount Vesuvius
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With Mount Vesuvius looming over southwestern Italy’s idyllic region of Naples, both in history and imagery, one might reasonably think Gianfranco Rosi’s Below the Clouds is about the storied volcano, active and enormous. Yet the title announces Rosi’s focus clearly:...
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NYFF Review: The Currents is an Intimate Portrait of Fractured Identity
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The Currents begins with a curious, impulsive act. Lina (Isabel Aimé González Sola) is being recognized for her work in Switzerland when, suddenly, she completely disassociates. She can’t absorb the applause or adulation. Lina walks out of the event and wanders...
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NYC Weekend Watch: The Unknown, João César Monteiro, Robert Downey Sr. & More
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NYC Weekend Watch is our weekly round-up of repertory offerings. Brooklyn Center for Theatre ResearchMy Dylan-scored cut of Tod Browning’s The Unknown has one more screening on Saturday. Museum of Modern ArtA complete João César Monteiro retrospective begins (watch our exclusive trailer...
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Charlie Kaufman and Eva H.D. on the Creative Freedom of Short Films, Unproduced Scripts, and Staying Challenged
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From just his scripts alone, Charlie Kaufman is certainly one of the most distinctive voices in American cinema, be it Being John Malkovich or Adaptation. Ever since 2008’s Synecoche, New York, he’s turned to directing, realizing his visions of neurosis...
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BFI London Review: Left-Handed Girl is a Striking Drama Told Through a Child’s Eyes
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The neon-lit alleyways of Taipei’s night markets have never looked quite so vivid as they do through a child’s eyes. Shot on an iPhone to emphasize the sheer wonderment of a five-year-old’s POV, where every mundane backstreet is filled with...
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