LUX ÆTERNA – Review by Leslie Combemale

At the end of his experimental film Lux Aeterna, writer/director and provocateur Gaspar Noé plasters the line “Thank God I’m an atheist” onto the screen. As an auteur, cinema should be Noé’s chosen deity, although whether he did it dirty or created a worthy offering to that god with his movie is a matter of opinion. As Gaspar Noé films go, this is the least objectionable, which honestly wouldn’t take much. The whole thing becomes such a chaotic mess and goes so absurdly over the top, it almost becomes fun. Almost. It’s too bad the only way he felt he might bring joy results in a pounding headache and eyestrain.

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BLACK MOTHER – Review by Diane Carson

Experimental and impressionistic, director Khalik Allah’s documentary Black Mother ricochets from street walkers negotiating with Johns to lush, beautiful jungles and inviting streams and waterfalls. His own cinematographer and editor, Allah juxtaposes color with black and footage, including some he shot as a teenager in Jamaica where all this film is set, a tribute to his mother and maternal grandfather.

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