Tag Archives: Chicago International Film Festival

59th Chicago International Film Festival, Capsule Reviews, Film reviews

Departing Seniors Review

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This is one those slasher films where the intention feels like it is to make viewers giggle, scream, and snicker. My experience with Departing Seniors involved watching the audience find the fun in terror and laugh their heads off. I did the same thing. Departing Seniors is a slasher film with imaginative irony. Itspremise is based on the life of high school seniors. Who expects a high school horror film to be funny? There are many notable moments in Departing Seniors. Claire Cooney knows how to be innovative and include many twists as a director and editor. Her directing in Departing Seniors is one-of-a-kind. Audiences should expect to be surprised, but also expect to shed some tears due to laughter.

Departing Seniors focuses on Javier (played by Ignacio-Diaz-Silverio). He is a high school senior who is dealing with an underlying issue, i.e., psychic abilities. Based on these abilities,he can figure out the many dangers that are going on in his school. For example, there is a serial killer going back and forth sporadically. Javier is not a popular student. However, his teacher, Mr. Arda (played by Yani Gellman), seems to be very interested in him, which sets off a red flag. Javier and his friends, Ginny (played by Maisie Merlock) and Bianca (played by Ireon Roach), are concerned about the tragic aftermath of the events occurring at their school. For everyone, the biggest concern is these things are happening right before they graduate high school. The title speaks for itself here. Ironically, the students find themselves more concerned about missing out on fun and having their graduation ruined than they are about the deaths caused by the serial killer.

The joyful part of Departing Seniors is the fact that it exposesthe obliviousness of students worrying about their final school days being impacted. While all the crazy and dangerous events are taking place throughout the school, Javier realizes when and where the killings might happen. Nevertheless, he is not brave enough to admit what he knows because of his concern that it might cause him to feel disconnected again. The humorous part of putting concerns about being disconnected over safety is where Departing Seniors is cleverly directed. When the kills do happen, it is out of the blue and the surprises are unexpected. I found myself laughing when the slashing would just happen on the spur of the moment. Sometimes in the film there are already situations filled with some humor or frustration, but then bang, a murder happens. Departing Seniors is well paced and giveshorror fans a wild ride with plenty of slashes and laughs.

Overall, it is an experience of dramatic irony and terror. The punchlines are a bit abstract and unexpected, but the outcomes are a revelation. Departing Seniors is a film where the chills build, the psychic abilities become detrimental, and it is a wonderous adventure for the Halloween season. The experience is memorable due to the scares and endless laughs. Three out of four stars for Departing Seniors.

58th Chicago International Film Festival, Film reviews

58th Chicago International Film Festival: Close Review

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In life, having friends is essential. Friends are for connection. They are also the ones that can be talk to in times of sadness. Close is about friendship. Close displays a strong bond between two close friends. It does so with empathy, encouragement, and moments of disconnect.

Director Lukas Dhont is surreal with the friendship emotions in Close. There is good times and bad times between the two friends in the film. Also, there are intriguing behaviors that are startling. Despite the emotional aspects, Close is a poetic drama that is visually spectacle.

I will now elaborate on the plot of Close. The film gears on two teen boys. They are Leo (played by Eden Dambrine) and Remi (played by Gustav De Waele). They are two friends that are as close as brothers. Once school begins for Leo and Remi, they both start to drift apart. Remi starts to struggle with depression. This causes Remi to commit suicide. With Leo heartbroken and suffering the loss of his friend, he feels he is the reason why Remi decided to end his life.

Leo is determined to take responsibility for what happened to Remi. His determination is powerful as is the emotions of Remi’s death. Close is a portrait of one boy seeking to do what is right after losing one friend that meant the world to him. Close is a masterpiece of realism and sympathy. It will take viewers breath away.

As Leo suffers, Close reminds its viewers that words or actions truly can hurt. Leo feels his choices with Remi were wrong. As the fun times from the past with Remi enter Leo’s mind, it makes him think back to his errors. Leo is not a bad person. Leo is just a human-being, and Remi was having mental health issues. Leo is the one that drives the powerful force of acting for the death of Remi.

Close will make viewers cry. Close will shine with uplifting realizations. Close is a masterpiece. It is one of the best films of the year. It is also one of the most realistic portraits of life that I have seen in a long time. It will remind us of how the choices we make can have consequences. It will also remind us how we can help others. Despite what happened to Leo’s friend, there is still good he can do for the world. Four stars for Close.

Film reviews

Drive My Car Review

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Drive My Car, from director Ryusuke Hamaguchi, is a Japanese language film with universal contemporary values that are displayed with empathy and artistry. The film, winner of the Best Screen Play award at the Cannes Film Festival, can be harrowing and sad, but it is a compelling story and a visual experience that will take your breath away.

The main character in Drive My Car is Yusuke Kafuku, played by Hidetoshi Nishijima. Yusuke is an actor and stage director, and he lives in Japan with his wife Oto, played by Reika Kirishima. Oto is a playwright, and she and Yusuke live a life of creativity, love, and commitment to each other. But Yusuke’s life takes a tragic turn when, just as he is about to start a stage production, he finds out he has glaucoma and then his beloved wife Oto dies. Yusuke is a stoic man and he continues with the stage production. He hires a chauffeur, Misaki Watari, played by Toko Miura. Yusuke makes directing his top priority, but it is obvious that he is struggling with his wife’s death.

Yusuke soon finds himself at odds with his production cast, and he unsure of their confidence in him. He begins to question himself as a person, and that affects his production even more. But as he becomes more at odds with those in his production, he finds a growing connection with Misaki, his chauffeur.

Losing someone we love is a tragedy that remains with us forever but, as Drive My Car reminds us, that is just how life goes sometimes. And there is always a path forward.

I loved Drive My Car. Despite its almost three hour length, I was hooked on it from the beginning to the end. The dialogue was inviting, the issues were inviting if difficult, and the outcomes were inviting as well. Four stars for Drive My Car.