Tribeca 2022 – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

HALFTIME (Tribeca 2022) – Review by Valerie Kafrin

June 20, 2022June 22, 2022 Valerie Kalfrin Amanda Micheli, Halftime, jennifer lopez, netflix, Shakira, Super Bowl LIV, Tribeca 2022

The Netflix documentary Halftime peeks into the whirlwind life of global superstar Jennifer Lopez—but don’t expect to get too close. “One of the things that I’m proud of is that I’m able to hold it together in front of everybody without anybody knowing how I feel,” she tells the filmmakers. Earlier, she says that she doesn’t even let on when she’s sick. Lopez is an undeniably charismatic performer, yet in exploring her drive, Halftime shows us only half the picture. “My whole life, I’ve been battling and battling to be heard, to be seen,” she says. If only we’d seen more of that.

Festivals Reviews

HARGROVE (Tribeca 2022) – Review by Leslie Combemale

June 20, 2022June 21, 2022 Leslie Combemale documentary, Eliane Henri, Erykah Badu, Herbie Hancock, jazz, Larry Clothier, Mos Def, Questlove, Roy Hargrove, Sonny Rollins, Tribeca 2022, Winton Marsalis

Perhaps it’s the love first time filmmaker Eliane Henri had for her friend, legendary jazzman Roy Hargrove, that inspired her, but she’s created a film that isn’t just biographical, but also considers things like the predatory nature of the music industry and what art can be in truly collaborative hands. Her choices lead to a beautiful tribute for one of the giants of the musical world.

Festivals Reviews

THE WILD ONE (Tribeca 2022) – Reviewed by Marilyn Ferdinand

June 20, 2022June 20, 2022 Marilyn Ferdinand (Archived Contributor) Actors Studio, caroll baker, documentary, Erwin Piscator, Jack Garfein, Lee Strasberg, Tessa Louise-Salomé, The Wild One, Tribeca 2022, willem dafoe

If you don’t know who Jack Garfein is, you’re not alone. Garfein was one of the most influential movers in the acting profession—he discovered Steve McQueen, Bruce Dern, George Peppard, Ben Gazzara, Pat Hingle, and Albert Salmi. He also introduced Irish playwright Samuel Beckett to American audiences. But his uncompromising approach to telling the truth through art put him on the outs with the entertainment establishment. He made only two films, and retreated to stage directing and educating a whole new kind of movie actor.

Festivals Reviews

BODY PARTS (Tribeca 2022) – Review by Valerie Kalfrin

June 20, 2022June 21, 2022 Valerie Kalfrin Anne Alvergue, Body Parts, DeWanda Wise, jane fonda, Kristy Guevara-Flanagan, Liz Kaar, rosanna arquette, Tribeca 2022

Early in the documentary Body Parts, Rosanna Arquette remembers auditioning in a bikini for a part in the 1991 comedy S.O.B. One day while shooting, director Blake Edwards told her to take her top off. Then nineteen, Arquette hedged, not realizing the role called for nudity. Afraid she’d lose her job, she relented. Such affecting interviews are but one facet of Body Parts, a film that discusses how some creatives are pushing back against exploiting the female body, especially in nude scenes and sex scenes.

Festivals Reviews

ACIDMAN (Tribeca 2022) – By Liz Whittemore

June 20, 2022June 21, 2022 Liz Whittemore acidman, Alex Lehmann, diana agron, thomas hayden church, Tribeca 2022

Tribeca 2022 brought us a myriad of beautifully written narratives. One notable film, Acidman, centers around a daughter’s attempt to reconnect with her estranged father which is complicated by disturbing old habits and secrets.

Festivals Reviews

CHERRY (Tribeca 2022) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

June 6, 2022June 12, 2022 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Alex Trewhitt, Cherry, Sophie Galibert, Tribeca 2022

Perhaps most impressive is just how much energy Cherry belts along with; there’s hardly time to catch one’s breath before the film’s final credits role, and the vibrancy, energy and color that define Cherry herself mark the film itself, too, both in terms of its charming visual style, and also its sheer vibe. Smart, sassy and never dumbing down the seriousness of its title character’s predicament as she faces the reality of an unwanted pregnancy, Cherry is a delight.

Festivals Reviews

ATTACHMENT (Tribeca 2022) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

June 6, 2022June 13, 2022 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Attachment, danish films, Gabriel Bier Gislason, horror, Tribeca 2022

Steeped in Jewish folklore and strengthened even further by a superb supporting cast, Attachment is a perfect example of a film that is precisely aware of its own sense of scale; never too big, never too small, it is the right size film, the right size story, the right size characters and the right size emotional and visceral punch to carry the film from its first frames right through to its last. With no need for the whistles and bells of some of the horror genre’s more bombastic offerings, Attachment is a captivating, confident and deeply moving little miracle of a film.

Festivals Reviews

NUDE TUESDAY (Tribeca 2022) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

June 6, 2022June 11, 2022 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Armağan Ballantyne, Damon Herriman, Jackie van Beek, Jemaine Clement, Nude Tuesday, Tribeca 2022

While Jemaine Clement may be the big name draw card to Nude Tuesday, it is fellow New Zealander Jackie van Beek who grants the film the spectacular oomph required to pull this nice little sex comedy off so convincingly. Along with Madeleine Sami, van Beek of course co-directed, co-wrote and co-starred in the best romcom of recent years, The Breaker Upperers, and Nude Tuesday provides a satisfying return for those of us who have been waiting to see what else she could cook up. Along with director Armağan Ballantyne – who is certainly a force to be reckoned with in her own right, based on her 2009 debut feature The Strength of Water alone – all the pieces are here to make Nude Tuesday a real treat.

Festivals Reviews

A WOUNDED FAWN (Tribeca 2022) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

June 6, 2022June 12, 2022 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas A Wounded Fawn, Josh Ruben, Ksusha Genenfeld, Sarah Lind, Travis Stevens, Tribeca 2022

What begins seemingly as a slick, sexy although at first perhaps superficially color-by-numbers serial killer movie rapidly turns into something altogether different, and from the outset it is probably worth acknowledging that this turn certainly won’t be for everyone. There is, surely, an alternative vision of this same film that takes a more orthodox path, eschewing the wackadoodle abstraction that the Carrington reference itself so overtly belies from the outset that would most certainly make A Wounded Fawn appeal to a wider audience. But this is, thankfully, not that film – which is great news if you are a fan of wackadoodle abstraction.

Festivals Reviews

HUESERA (Tribeca 2022) – Review by Alexandra Heller-Nicholas

June 6, 2022June 11, 2022 Alexandra Heller-Nicholas Huesera, mexican films, Michelle Garza Cevera, Natalia Solián, Tribeca 2022

Michelle Garza Cervera has an extraordinary ability to provide striking, unforgettable moments that stand alone – Valeria going into labor in a mosh pit, for example, or the indescribably beautiful opening moments of the film are of particular note here – while at the same time weaving them with a master craftperson’s precision into a tapestry where each of these moments is inseparable from the thematic fabric that surrounds it. Aside from its undeniable artistry, Huesera is propelled by an undisguised, catch-in-your-throat fierceness in its determination to say something really meaningful about the dark side of motherhood

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