The Film Stage

It wouldn’t have been Sundance without at least a handful of coming-of-age stories. Sean Wang’s audience award winner Dìdi (弟弟) proves that, with a new perspective, there are still emotions to be mined from a tried-and-true formula. Exploring the everyday life of a Taiwanese-American boy growing up in Fremont, California, wherein issues of friendship and potential crushes […]

The post Dìdi (弟弟) Director Sean Wang on Resisting Nostalgia, Marketing Battles, and Why First-Time Directors Need Patience first appeared on The Film Stage.

As the summer movie season comes to a close, August brings a shockingly stacked slate of offerings, topped by a film that is sure to age like a fine classic in years to come. Elsewhere we have accomplished debuts, action spectacles, and a thriller from the man who has recently returned to perfecting the formula. […]

The post 15 Films to See in August first appeared on The Film Stage.

After just wrapping production a few months ago, Pedro Almodóvar is already putting the finishing touches on his next feature. Following Venice Film Festival’s announcement of a world premiere for The Room Next Door, starring Julianne Moore and Tilda Swinton, it’s now been unveiled as the Centerpiece selection for the 62nd New York Film Festival, […]

The post Pedro Almodóvar’s The Room Next Door Set for Centerpiece of 62nd New York Film Festival first appeared on The Film Stage.

Let’s talk about the pandemic for a moment. No, not the COVID-19 Pandemic. The pandemic that, 100 years ago, killed millions and shuttered the United States for a time: the Great Flu of 1918. The virus infected roughly one-third of the world’s population, claiming the lives of approximately 50 million worldwide. Coup!, written and directed […]

The post Coup! Review: Peter Sarsgaard Leads a Class Comedy Less Thrilling Than Biting first appeared on The Film Stage.

Ahead of its world premiere at the Fantasia Film Festival, The Code announced itself with several red flags. Set during the Coronavirus pandemic in 2021 with a synopsis throwing around terms like “cancel culture,” it stars Dasha Nekrasova and Peter Vack, filmmakers and divisive personalities who some might describe as reactionary trolls. This combination of […]

The post Fantasia Review: The Code Finds Dasha Nekrasova and Peter Vack Pushing Through the Chaos of Modern Life first appeared on The Film Stage.

Five years after his surrealist comedy Relaxer, and over a decade since his breakout Buzzard, Joel Potrykus is back with Vulcanizadora. For those familiar with Potrykus’ work, his fifth feature continues the singular, rebellious style he and his film band Sob Noisse established since his feature debut Ape. Shot on a low budget, the film […]

The post Joel Potrykus on Vulcanizadora, the Darkness of Parenthood, and True Independent Filmmaking first appeared on The Film Stage.

One of the greatest filmmaking partnerships to grace the industry is getting its deserved due in a new documentary. Directed by Stephen Soucy and featuring Dame Emma Thompson, Helena Bonham Carter, Hugh Grant, Vanessa Redgrave, Rupert Graves, and James Wilby, Merchant Ivory explores the collaboration of director James Ivory, producer Ismail Merchant, and their primary […]

The post Merchant Ivory Trailer Explores One of the Great Filmmaking Partnerships first appeared on The Film Stage.

The apartment complexes making up what used to be Kowloon Walled City effectively sealed it off from the rest of Hong Kong. Soi Cheang’s Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In imagines Kowloon as a kind of steampunk ghetto controlled by an aging gangster known as Cyclone (Louis Koo). Cyclone’s domain is a marvel of production […]

The post NYAFF Review: Twilight of the Warriors: Walled In Offers Phenomenal Sets and Creative Stunts first appeared on The Film Stage.

The return of the Alien franchise isn’t the only space adventure of August. Mikael Håfström, director of the Oscar-nominated Evil and 1408, is headed deep in our galaxy with Slingshot. Led by Casey Affleck, Laurence Fishburne, Emily Beecham, Tomer Kapon, David Morrissey, and Mark Ebulué, the psychological thriller is written by Moon‘s Nathan Parker and […]

The post Slingshot Trailer: Casey Affleck and Laurence Fishburne Venture to the Far Reaches of the Galaxy first appeared on The Film Stage.

It’s a great time to be a Claire Denis fan. After delivering two (severely underrated) movies in one year with Both Sides of the Blade and Stars at Noon, she’s prepping a pair of new projects. In between, the stunning new restoration has arrived for Fear, No Die, her 1992 feature pitting Alex Descas and […]

The post Claire Denis Says She Would Direct a Batman Movie Under One Condition first appeared on The Film Stage.