REVIEW: Hijo de Monarcas [Son of Monarchs] [2021]

This land belongs to no one. Like the butterflies traveling through the United States from Canada to Mexico, Mendel (Tenoch Huerta) decided to migrate too. He went to pursue his education in biology, finding himself in New York City as a lead scientist working with CRISPR to map the genome of the monarch. Doing so connects him back to Michoacán’s forests of insects looking like the leaves of a tree and spiritual belief that each butterfly was the soul of an ancestor since passed. There was comfort in that thought…

Read More

REVIEW: Un couteau dans le coeur [Knife+Heart] [2018]

She’s playing with real life. Anne Parèze (Vanessa Paradis) has ruined her love. What she’s done to push Loïs (Kate Moran) away is unknown, but her desperation ensures we know she was dumped and not the dumper. Whatever happened hasn’t soured their relationship completely, however. Loïs still cares enough about Anne as a person and especially as an artist to remain editor on her cheaply produced gay porn films utilizing the same loyal troupe of actors—her eye forever lingering on Anne’s smile whenever it’s caught on-camera before François (Bertrand Mandico)…

Read More

VIFF11 REVIEW: Miss Bala [2011]

“Have some faith in me, Dad” If you ever have a daughter that begs you for entrance into a beauty pageant and you can’t bring yourself to comply, pop on Miss Bala and she’ll never ask again. Taking place in Mexico amidst an unwinnable war on drugs, Gerardo Naranjo’s film portrays a never-ending series of impossible situations for its star. All Laura Guerrero (Stephanie Sigman) wanted was to have fun, wear beautiful dresses, and flaunt her body. But like twenty-somethings in any culture, kids who enjoy partying get mixed up…

Read More