The last month or so has been full of movies that have really marked me in one way or another. There are too many to put into one piece, so I’ve handpicked these 4, which all do great things in very different ways.
Godzilla Minus Zero
A little less emotion, a much bigger scale
Godzilla Minus Zero is the follow up to one of my favourite films of 2023, Godzilla Minus Zero. That movie has stayed with me as my favourite Godzilla rendition on screen ever. You can see my full thoughts on the film here: The Human Heart of Godzilla Minus One.
What really landed with me for that first film was the exploration of the human condition. Although I always knew that Godzilla was an allegory for the nuclear bombs that were dropped at the tail end of World War 2, that was the first film that really drove home that inspiration. The fear and despair from the looming threat mixed with the inner angst of the populace for the way they were seen by the government in the throes of warfare created a powder keg that was ceremoniously detonated by the eponymous kaiju. Takashi Yamazaki managed to perfectly thread the needle between a family drama, political commentary, and an undeniable all-time great monster movie. The expert usage of a meagre budget to deliver such impressive scenes was all the more commendable as it brought home the Oscar for best visual effects.
I go over all of that regarding the first movie to set the stage for where my expectations were set for this follow up.
Godzilla Minus Zero is certainly a step-up in some aspects, namely scale and sound, it comes at the expense of a much shakier emotional aspect. On some level, there had to be some give on the human side to go where the kaiju aspects inevitably have to go in a Godzilla franchise. However, when that was the best aspect of the first film, it did lead me to like this one a bit less.
That said, I will take nothing away from the things this film does still achieve. Watching it in IMAX and seeing some of the scenes tower over you is a breathtaking experience. This is definitely in that sense a much more fun experience than the first one as you develop a very different relationship with Godzilla than in the first outing.
The stories of the people started leaning a little too cheesy and melodramatic for my taste though. The emotional tugs felt like you could see the strings trying to pull on your heartstrings, lessening the impact of what was otherwise a lot more organic in the first movie.
I’ll be vague here to preserve the experience as much as I can, but here were some of my highlights from the film:
- THAT fantasy scene where Godzilla libs out
- The battle scene of course
- A clear course correction to get more consequential roles for the female characters
- The casting director absolutely nailing the casting of the little girl
I also can’t not mention the depiction of Americans. I don’t know where they found these awful actors, but I’m not complaining if you’re going to make them the most mustache-twirling evil guys ever. This is Asian cinema heritage.
I still think it’s a great experience, especially in the grandiosity of IMAX, but it’s a slight step down for me from the heights of Godzilla Minus One.
Blue Heron
A deeply personal revisit of memories that will challenge you not to cry
There is no real way to transition from Godzilla to a story about an immigrant family that moves to Vancouver Island while dealing with the dangerous behavioural issues of their oldest son, seen from the perspective of the daughter Sasha.
This one destroyed me, truly. I was bawling at the end of this, both due to how great the film itself is but also because of the parallels I felt with my own family and upbringing.
This is a semi-autobiographical debut for Sophy Romvari, building on her short film Still Processing. She describes it as her “most significant attempt to capture just how fallible memory is.”
I’ll be honest, I’m having trouble even writing about this film without welling up, so this might be short and sweet. It really is hard to describe this film in any way that could convey the sheer heart wrenching impact it had on me.
Most of the film is snippets of occasions where Sasha sees her parents trying to do what is best for their eldest son Jeremy while also considering what course of action is the best for their other three kids. The despair from not being able to find the answer that could fix everything as they try to keep it all together is palpable. If you have watched Aftersun, you know exactly the feeling.
The emotional pressure builds up in the first two thirds as if shaking a soda bottle is slowly screwed off in the final third and you find yourself questioning how that much soda was even in the bottle to begin with.
Go see this film. It is so very deeply personal, but if you had troubled individuals in your entourage while growing up, make sure you have tissues nearby.
Dorothy
A story of violence in conformity
I went into this film, not knowing anything about the story. The premise I had read was the following: two inseparable friends whose lives are transformed by the arrival of a woman. Alright simple enough, we’ve seen this type of film plenty of times.
Premiering at TIFF, this Tamil movie lulls the audience into a false sense of security by meandering through its entertaining but otherwise aimless exploration of a toxic masculine rural society. The shoe drops halfway through, changing the tone and direction of the whole film.
I won’t go into what happens and where it goes to preserve the experience for you in the same way that I did not know where it would go.
It is an unexpected mix of the flair of Tamil cinema with some of the softer touches some of the bigger films there can lack. The intentionality of its masculinity carries such self-awareness that it never makes you feel like any of it is being endorsed, but rather thrown in your face to challenge your view of it. Writer-director Karthik Subbaraj manages to toe the line of how far to go before pulling the rug.
There are also some great inventive directorial choices thrown in throughout as a little treat. It wears a lot of its inspirations from Bruce Lee to wrestling on its sleeve.
The only thing that held it back from being a perfect film for me was what I felt was a bit of a misstep at the finish line, but it certainly does not take away from the rest of what the film achieves. I would have just ended it a few seconds before they decided to finish.
La Bola Negra
The unequivocal queer epic for the next generation
A lot of what I’ll write here will feel hyperbolic, but I sincerely mean it all. Although I personally do not believe it’s possible to overhype this film, feel free to peace out of reading right now so you can watch it with your expectations more neutral.
La Bola Negra is a film that there has not been a single day since I’ve seen it that I have not thought about it. It is a truly transformative experience and blew me away to see such an unabashed queer film reach for such grandiosity that unfortunately has been few and far between for stories such as this. Why should romance epics be reserved to only one type of love story? Whereas until now Brokeback Mountain was the pinnacle of what a gay love story’s portrayal on the big screen has been, La Bola Negra has no equal for its achievement.
Directors Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (the Javis) have crafted a generations-spanning story that interweaves three narratives of gay characters. One is set in 1932 and follows Carlos who is refused entry into an exclusive social club due to rumours that he is homosexual. The second takes place in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War where Sebastian survives an attack on his village by Italians, leading to joining the Nationalist forces to survive. He then grows close to a Republican prisoner of war who previously worked with a theatre company, a career Sebastian himself wishes to pursue. Finally, in 2017, Alberto who is openly gay and researching queer dissidence deals with the death of his estranged maternal grandfather who unexpectedly leaves him an inheritance.
The intertwining of these stories takes some time to unravel, but each story is captivating on their own. The tones are very different as well, but so much of the artistry and what makes me call it an epic is in how beautifully it is balanced and brought to a perfect crescendo.
It manages to be so grounded in some parts while heartbreakingly fantastical in others. It is perfectly punctuated by impeccable cinematography, score, soundtrack, performances, and anything you want to name. I could not gush about this film enough and I suggest you watch it as soon as you can. It is currently my favourite film of the year and I don’t know if any film will be able to top what La Bola Negra has achieved. An all-timer that is not to be missed.
