Ulkar Alakbarova – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

AMBER ALERT – Review by Ulkar Alakbarova

September 26, 2024September 26, 2024 Ulkar Alakbarova Amber Alert, Hayden Panettiere, Katie McClellan, Kerry Bellessa, Saidah Arrika Ekulona, Tyler James Williams, v

Amber Alert isn’t just about a kidnapping or the pursuit of justice; it’s about the decisions we make in critical moments. It reminds us that courage isn’t always about grand gestures—it’s often about the small, decisive actions taken when others might hesitate. The film’s true power lies in its ability to make us question our own willingness to get involved, to ask ourselves if we would act when the stakes are high. While it may not have the spectacle of a blockbuster, Amber Alert delivers something far more valuable: a profound exploration of human responsibility.

Festivals Reviews

DAUGHTER’S DAUGHTER (TIFF 2024) – Review by Ulkar Alakbarova

September 16, 2024September 16, 2024 Ulkar Alakbarova Chinese films, Daughter’s Daughter, Sylvia Chang, TIFF 2024, Xi Huang

There is nothing more heartbreaking than losing a child. It’s a pain no parent can bear. Some can move on, while others give up, unable to cope with their grief. In most films, the mother often plays a pivotal role in the decisions she must make. However, what you will see in Xi Huang’s Daughter’s Daughter is a different and profoundly moving layer of what a mother can and cannot do when it comes to her child.

Festivals Reviews

GROUP THERAPY (Tribeca 2024) – Review by Ulkar Alakbarova

June 11, 2024June 11, 2024 Ulkar Alakbarova Atsuko Okatsuka, documentary, Gary Gulman, Group Therapy, London Hughes, mental health, Mike Birbiglia, Neil Berkeley, Neil Patrick Harris, Tig Notaro, Tribeca 2024

We all know how it plays out on social media when self-proclaimed Facebook and X judges condemn famous people for their struggles with addiction and mental health. No disease differentiates between rich and poor, famous and ordinary. We don’t have to look far: Robin Williams, the beloved late actor and comedian, brought so much laughter to the world. Yet, no one is immune to the struggles of mental health. It’s true, it’s real, and it’s a pandemic. But can it be treated? Group Therapy demonstrates that depression is not as powerful as it seems, though overcoming it is not easy.

Festivals Reviews

CONCRETE UTOPIA (TIFF 2023) – Ulkar Alakbarova

September 12, 2023September 14, 2023 Ulkar Alakbarova (Park Bo-young, concrete utopia, Lee Shin-ji, Park Seo-jun, south korean films, TIFF 2023, Um Tae-hwa

Penned by Lee Shin-ji and Um Tae-hwa and skillfully directed by Um Tae-hwa, Concrete Utopia artfully captures the selective kindness within individuals and how they can succumb to greed in the most trying of circumstances. The central dilemma in this post-apocalyptic thriller lies in questioning why those who have survived choose to hoard food from those who are denied entry to their homes, rather than sharing their provisions with those who continually display hostility.

Festivals Reviews

ONE LIFE (TIFF 2023) – Review by Ulkar Alakbarova

September 11, 2023September 11, 2023 Ulkar Alakbarova anthony hopkins, Helena Bonham Carter, James Hawes, Johnny Flynn, jonathan pryce, Kindertransport, lena olin, Lucinda Coxon, Nicholas Winton, Nick Drake, One Life, TIFF 2023, truth-based

Based on true events, One Life follows Nicholas Winton, a British stockbroker who was deeply affected by the fate that Jewish children could face when Nazi Germany declared the beginning of the occupation of Czechoslovakia. Nicholas (Johnny Flynn, portraying a younger Winton) promptly decided to involve all the friends he could find in Prague to save as many Jewish children as possible who were at risk of imminent danger.

Festivals Reviews

MURU (TIFF 2022) – Review by Ulkar Alakbarova

October 3, 2022October 9, 2022 Ulkar Alakbarova Cliff Curtis, muru, new zealand films, Tāme Iti, Tearepa Kahi, TIFF 2022, toronto international film festival, truth-based

Muru is a solid thriller inspired by true events of police raids that took place in 1961 and 2007 in New Zealand. It follows a local police Sergeant “Taffy” Tawharau (Cliff Curtis) who must make a tough decision to assist the Government with a police raid or stand by his community and prevent possible bloodshed. When the government launches an armed raid on Taffy’s community called Ruatoki on a school day, things go terribly wrong. What starts as a mission to find and arrest a possible local terrorist who threatened to attack the Prime Minister turns into a violent altercation with casualties that could have been prevented.

Festivals Interviews

Tearepa Kahi and Cliff Curtis on MURU (TIFF 2022) – Ulkar Alakbarova interviews

October 3, 2022October 4, 2022 Ulkar Alakbarova Cliff Curtis, muru, new zealand films, Tāme Iti, Tearepa Kahi, TIFF 2022, toronto international film festival, truth-based

Racism, corruption, discrimination, greed and power. They all go hand-in-hand. We hope that at some point the world we live in will change for the better. But it does not happen. Are we just naïve to hope and still believe in miracles? The story told in Muru, directed by Tearepa Kahi happened not too long ago. But when you look at it, you begin to ask yourself – how is it even possible for something like this to occur in our modern times? Not revealing much, I had the great pleasure of sitting down with director Tearepa Kahi and actor Cliff Curtis, who provided insights into the film much better than I could.

Festivals Reviews

SANCTUARY (TIFF 2022) – Review by Ulkar Alakbarova

September 19, 2022October 23, 2025 Ulkar Alakbarova Christopher Abbott, margaret qualley, Micah Bloomberg, Sanctuary, Zachary Wigon

Has a thought such as ‘stop the world I want to get off’ crossed your mind while watching a specific film? A film that you have no clue what it’s about; neither its concept nor what it tries to tell you? The film that you have no words to describe. I will tell you what I planned to write about Zachary Wigon’s Sanctuary – this is just a phenomenal film that you won’t be able to not tell your friends about. So just go and watch it. End of review. But as a film critic, I should probably do better than that.

Festivals Reviews

PRISONER’S DAUGHTER (TIFF 2022) – Review by Ulkar Alakbarova

September 13, 2022September 17, 2022 Ulkar Alakbarova Brian Cox, catherine hardwicke, kate beckinsale, Prisoner's Daughter, TIFF 2022, toronto international film festival

When you read the synopsis about a man who is being released from prison on grounds of compassion, you think it’s going to be another action film in which an elderly man must fight his past enemies. It is the first thing that comes to a mind once you hear about Prisoner’s Daughter. However, the moment the film starts, it takes a different turn, a surprising one. With screenplay by Mark Bacci and directed by Catherine Hardwicke, Prisoner’s Daughter is a feel good story.

Festivals Reviews

RAYMOND & RAY (TIFF 2022) – Review by Ulkar Alakbarova

September 13, 2022September 15, 2022 Ulkar Alakbarova Ethan Hawke, Ewan McGregor, Raymond & Ray, rodrigo garcia, Sophie Okonedo, TIFF 2022, toronto international film festival

Shows how little we know about our parents, especially how little Raymond and Ray know; if their father had a chance, he would probably impregnate every woman he ever dated! Even though the brothers have nothing good to say about him, it’s their father’s friends and acquaintances who are fond of him. Maybe their father was a better friend, a good lover, but never a good parent. It’s something the brothers must explore in order to find a way to cure themselves from the hatred they have buried in their heart and begin their new life with a new chapter.

← Previous