IFFR 2021 - Poupelle of Chimney Town
If Hirota set out to strike fear into hearts and thoughts into minds, then he has surely succeeded with his first feature film
IFFR 2021 - Persona Non Grata
Leaves much to be desired when most of its confrontations boil down to swears, surges of emotion and bouts of shouting
IFFR 2021 - My Name is Francesco Totti
Totti displays the confidence needed to lead his own documentary
IFFR 2021 - Quo Vadis, Aida?
Emotionally charged, Quo Vadis, Aida? holds the horrors of humanitarian crises, infused with a gut-wrenching message on looking out for the most vulnerable
IFFR 2021 - Feast
Feast has no idea what it wants to be
IFFR 2021 - Les Sorcières de l’Orient (Witches of the Orient)
Witches of the Orient is as much about volleyball players as it is about a director attempting to break his craft into the mainstream
IFFR 2021 - Dead and Beautiful
Dead and Beautiful is an innocuous, slippery slope that begins with vaguely bored tones and crashes headfirst into unpalatable nonsense
IFFR 2021 - Archipelago (Archipel)
Archipelago is frustrating, rather than exciting
IFFR 2021 - El perro que no calla (The Dog Who Wouldn't Be Quiet)
The Dog Who Wouldn’t Be Quiet is flawed but, at times, is touching enough to break through the expected tropes it chooses to toy with
IFFR 2021 - Landscapes of Resistance
Landscapes of Resistance would be better suited to a hardback, which it is already
IFFR 2021 - King Car
Careful consideration for the technical merits and the casting are not enough to stop King Car swerving off the road
IFFR 2021 - Sexual Drive
Sexual Drive has a lack of substance to it
IFFR 2021 - The North Wind
Dramas can only be as engaging and interesting as the leading characters, and here they’re as bored and creaky as the derelict, busy house they operate from
IFFR 2021 - Suzanna Andler
Lukewarm and disconnected from its audience, Suzanna Andler struggles to convey any flourish of artistic enlightenment
IFFR 2021 - Dear Comrades!
It is the little details Konchalovsky adds that pay dividends in the end
IFFR 2021 - Mitra
While it may not have the most consistent pacing or narrative, there is enough within Mitra thematically to make for a thoroughly rewarding experience
IFFR 2021 - Gritt
Gritt is a rewarding experience on the whole
IFFR 2021 - Riders of Justice
Riders of Justice combines themes and performances that grapple with grief exceptionally well
IFFR 2021 - Lone Wolf
Whatever Lone Wolf is attempting to convey, it doesn’t really get it across
IFFR 2021 - Friends and Strangers
Friends and Strangers pleads for sympathy as its restless leading characters find themselves with time to kill in contemporary Australia