For the latest installment in its weekly film screenings, Concordia’s chapter of Cinema Politica featured Eshei Mesina’s Beastmode: A Social Experiment, a documentary that is part exposé on the horrors of Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte’s regime, and part docudrama of how a fabricated viral video became a nationally reported mixed[Read More…]
Film and TV
Where do I begin?: ‘Ancient Aliens’
Ancient Aliens first aired on The History Channel in 2010, and for one month this year, I let it take over my life. The documentary-style series, produced by the Emmy Award-winning Kevin Burns, follows a group of conspiracy theorists as they attempt to convince the audience that life and culture on[Read More…]
Montreal does the Time Warp again
One rarely has the opportunity to throw toasted bread or toilet–paper across an elegant theatre venue—rarely, but not never. From Oct. 31—Nov. 2, Cinéma Impérial hosted its annual Rocky Horror Picture Show Halloween Ball, inviting audiences to partake in said toast and toilet–paper throwing mischief. The decades-old Halloween tradition drew[Read More…]
‘Parasite’ is a brilliant class-conscious thriller
Parasite, the new film from South Korean director Bong Joon-ho, examines human performances of gender, class, and identity. The film seeks to explore the illusion of a fixed social reality and, with the deft touch of one of the premiere filmmakers of the century, creates a meta-commentary on the illusion[Read More…]
First Impressions: Is ‘The Lighthouse’ worth the hype?
On a rainy Sunday evening, The McGill Tribune Arts & Entertainment team convened for one purpose and one purpose only: To watch the much-hyped Robert Eggers film The Lighthouse. Starring ex–Twilight cast member Robert Pattison and ex–Mr Bean’s Holiday villain Willem Dafoe, The Lighthouse has captivated audiences since its release. Whether or not[Read More…]
‘Hron, a Country of Ghosts’ dares to be different
Hron, A Country of Ghosts, a new independent film from director dani Tardif, is a self-described anarcho-queer sci-fi movie about love and war. The film centres on Dydo Horacki (Noé Larose), a journalist who is assigned to a military camp to cover the expansion efforts of the fictional Borolian Empire, an[Read More…]
Festival de films feministes de Montreal triumphs in 2019, hopes to return 2020
On Sept. 22, the last evening of the third annual Festival de films féministes de Montréal (FFFM), a crowd filled the sidewalk outside the small second-floor venue shared by Association des réalisateurs et réalisatrices du Québec (ARRQ). Patrons waited anxiously for the evening screening to begin. Word was that the[Read More…]
‘Undone’ is a poignant yet comedic look at mental illness
Undone, Amazon Prime Video’s new eight episode animated series is a wildly entertaining and emotionally complicated triumph. Created by Raphael Bob-Waksberg and Kate Purdy, the team behind Bojack Horseman, each of the series’ brief, 20-odd minute-long episodes packs in a wealth of depth and wit. Undone begins with Alma (Rosa Salazar),[Read More…]
Birds of Passage is a disappointing misrepresentation of Wayuu culture
Birds of Passage lives in the moral grey area between cultural accuracy and creative license. On Sept. 20, in conjunction with the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, Concordia University screened the 2018 Colombian film, which depicts violence within Wayuu communities, and invited Wayuu leader Jakeline Romero to speak about[Read More…]