2016 was a poor year for the film-buff in me. I watched very few great films. To compensate for that, I am running this new column called 'Back to Basics'. I will now regularly watch great movies, read about them and try to write about them briefly. This is how I had discovered cinema's best several years ago, and it is time to do that again.
'The Kids Are All Right' is a film about marriage and its struggles, about family and the joys and challenges that come with it. That it deals with a lesbian marriage only adds to its very interesting relationship equations without robbing away anything from a perfectly universal story. Of course, the wonderful cast and the memorable characters they play is one of the biggest strengths of this film, that entertains you with its humor and moves you with its depth. After watching the movie, I read about its director. No wonder the film comes from a deeply personal space for her and that explains how and why it resonates with its audience.
I then watched 'High Art', the first film by the director. And although I had some issues with the writing during the latter half of the film, her work as the director really impressed me. It is a heartbreaking love-story that again deals with very interesting characters but particularly impressive is the director's use of time and sound to create a strongly impacting mood, something that was missing in 'The Kids...' which had a mainstream design. Thanks to this new resolve of discovering good movies, I got introduced to this film-maker I'll look forward to.
About the Director: Lisa Cholodenko is a 52-year old American film-maker. She has made four feature films so far, the two mentioned above seem to be her most acclaimed works. After winning an Oscar nomination for the writing of 'The Kids Are All Right', she has not made another film yet. But she has made a four-part miniseries for HBO starring Frances McDormand that I wish to watch soon. It's called 'Olive Kitteridge'.
I then watched 'High Art', the first film by the director. And although I had some issues with the writing during the latter half of the film, her work as the director really impressed me. It is a heartbreaking love-story that again deals with very interesting characters but particularly impressive is the director's use of time and sound to create a strongly impacting mood, something that was missing in 'The Kids...' which had a mainstream design. Thanks to this new resolve of discovering good movies, I got introduced to this film-maker I'll look forward to.
About the Director: Lisa Cholodenko is a 52-year old American film-maker. She has made four feature films so far, the two mentioned above seem to be her most acclaimed works. After winning an Oscar nomination for the writing of 'The Kids Are All Right', she has not made another film yet. But she has made a four-part miniseries for HBO starring Frances McDormand that I wish to watch soon. It's called 'Olive Kitteridge'.
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