{"id":23653,"date":"2023-02-22T09:00:52","date_gmt":"2023-02-22T17:00:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/?p=23653"},"modified":"2023-02-16T11:36:46","modified_gmt":"2023-02-16T19:36:46","slug":"victoria-film-fest-2023-the-nexus-reviews","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/2023\/02\/22\/victoria-film-fest-2023-the-nexus-reviews\/","title":{"rendered":"Victoria Film Fest 2023: The Nexus<\/em> reviews"},"content":{"rendered":"

Hidden Letters<\/i> is a documentary directed by Violet du Feng that shares the personal stories of countless women living in traditional villages in China who had few rights and were shown even less respect. For women in traditional China, aggressive subjugation and abuse is common and accepted, even to this day.<\/p>\n

The film focuses on a relatively unknown language called Nushu, created by women as a way to connect with each other in a cipher that men could not understand. Drawn as small, narrow characters, Nushu took the form of poems and songs that united the sisterhood of women who suffered in silence together. It is a language of shared grief, where women held onto their power despite it being systematically taken from them.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s tragically ironic that several generations later, Nushu has become a fad, a symbol of pop culture appearing on everything from shirts to KFC advertisements. The enigmatic rarity of this language has been seized upon by ignorant male executives with zero understanding of the source material, looking explicitly to exploit the trend for every Yuan.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The film follows two young Chinese women and their families and documents how the legacy of Nushu has shaped and defined their experience, principally through the stories of the grandmothers who used it to survive. We can see their disgust as the only thing they could reliably call theirs has been arrogantly ripped away from them. In one poignant scene, a flashy press conference is held advertising a new, expensive, Nushu-themed cellphone. The revulsion is visible upon the features of one elderly woman in the crowd, who is singled out and asked grandiosely if she wants to give the phone a try. \u201cNo,\u201d she says coldly.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The movie is a powerful depiction of ongoing sexism in modern China. Hidden Letters<\/i> is a beautiful, sombre song, revealing a secret world of suffering, hope, and strength previously shared only in silence.<\/p>\n

-Lane Chevrier<\/p>\n

Handshake<\/i> by Robert Shupe tells the story of a man who is convinced by a stranger to help kill him as part of an insurance fraud scheme. Hurting for money, he agrees, apparently oblivious of the consequences. The overwhelming evidence catches up with him, and we follow his legal struggle to be acquitted as a well-meaning participant in an assisted suicide.<\/p>\n

The cinematography is solid, although nothing extraordinary. The casting and acting is pretty good, which helps carry the film through to the end… and it certainly needs that help. What drags it down are the lengthy court sequences that comprise the bulk of the runtime. The guy next to me at the theatre literally fell asleep, and I can\u2019t say I blame him, because the trailer advertised a suspense film, not a legal battle. The writer did a decent job of depicting how the whole affair would likely proceed, but it carried on far longer than it needed to.<\/p>\n

Evaluating the characters was an interesting task, because we simply must come to accept the fact that the main character is a real piece of shit. We meet him running through a swampland with his hands bound, having ripped off and escaped from a drug dealer. He hits on young waitresses despite having a girlfriend, who he depicts as spiteful and controlling. We learn fairly quickly, though, that she\u2019s very kindhearted and loves this guy despite him being obstinately unemployed and living off of her. As a paralegal, she joins his defence and does her best to help mitigate his punishment, even while he\u2019s being emotionally abusive and showing zero appreciation for anyone.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s impossible to root for this toxic cretin throughout the movie\u2019s feature-length runtime. I found myself wishing the worst for him so that his sweetheart of a girlfriend could move on with her life. Having an unlikeable protagonist is a difficult task for a writer, because it requires a strong justification to connect with the viewer; otherwise, the most likely outcome is that people will simply dislike the film.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, despite solid cinematography, good acting, and some moments of decent writing, Handshake<\/i> didn\u2019t quite do enough to engage its viewers in such a way to make it a rewarding experience.<\/p>\n

-Lane Chevrier<\/p>\n

Un Beau Matin (One Fine Morning)<\/i> is a French drama directed by Mia Hansen-L\u00f8ve that explores themes of love, betrayal, loss, and death. It follows a world-weary French woman entering middle age as a single mother who must juggle working, raising a child, and the heart-rending experience of caring for an aging father who\u2019s rapidly succumbing to a fatal neurological disease that has rendered him almost completely helpless within only a few short years.<\/p>\n

French cinema star Lea Seydoux is instantly recognizable as the protagonist, and her portrayal of stoic resilience through crushing exhaustion is relatable. While out for a walk, she runs into an old friend from years past, a charming, attractive man a few years her senior, and their chemistry is unmistakable. The man is a decade into a struggling marriage back home, and the two of them find solace in their respective loneliness. What follows is a heartbreaking struggle of loyalty between the man, his wife, and his mistress, as they break it off and reunite several times, each more painful than the last.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In Handshake<\/i>, I characterized the acting as \u201cgood\u201d because I was aware that the actors were putting on a performance, and it wasn\u2019t exactly bad. In Un Beau Matin<\/i>, however, I never once thought about the acting, because it was so seamless and authentic that I felt like I was peering into the lives of real people. This is what separates merely passable from absolutely believable, where the performers are no longer acting, they\u2019re truly living the characters. Those characters swing between the ecstasy of fresh love to the agony of loss, and mortality so gradual that a once-revered philosophy professor has diminished to little more than a confused shell of a person all too aware of his rapid cognitive deterioration, and is trying futilely to hide it.<\/p>\n

The film is expertly written to show the highs and lows of life and love, and the acting comes together to create an incredible story that is likely to make an impression on any viewer who has a deep appreciation for the complexities of human life.<\/p>\n

-Lane Chevrier<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
I Like Movies<\/em> was a highlight at this year\u2019s Victoria Film Festival (photo provided).<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

My favourite film that I saw during this year\u2019s Victoria Film Festival has to be Chandler Levack\u2019s I Like Movies<\/i>. This is an interesting movie that really keeps its audience\u2019s attention while at the same time making them laugh out loud.<\/p>\n

I Like Movies<\/i> is, for the most part, beautifully written. All of the characters\u2019 motivations are clear, and we understand and relate to them. The dialogue is very witty at times and had the audience cracking up on more then one occasion. Levack\u2019s sensitive direction is also good, especially when it comes to directing actors.<\/p>\n

Also, I love the film\u2019s central theme of trauma and how movies serve as an outlet to many people and how they can help people to get past their trauma and find the humour and light in their everyday lives. This theme is beautifully conveyed through the actors\u2019 wonderful work and really gives the movie an extra emotional edge that I did not expect.<\/p>\n

Lead actor Isaiah Lehtinen turns in a stellar performance as Lawrence, a movie fanatic who works at a movie store while grappling with depression and figuring out his own future. Lehtinen gives a multilayered and nuanced performance that really draws the viewer in. Also Krista Bridges and Romina D\u2019Ugo counter his performance with two outstanding and absorbing performances of their own.<\/p>\n

The only thing I didn\u2019t like is the inconsistency in some relationships. There are several scenes where two people get into an argument where lots of hurtful things are said and the next day, without any sort of apology, everything is back to normal between them. That was really jarring and made it hard to care about what was going on in that point of the film.<\/p>\n

Besides that, I Like Movies<\/i> is highly entertaining and a standout film at this year\u2019s VFF. I\u2019m super excited to see what these talented filmmakers do next.<\/p>\n

-Nicolas Ihmels<\/p>\n

One of the most endearing films I saw at the VFF this year was Matt Sarnecki\u2019s newest crime documentary, The Killing of A Journalist<\/i>. This is a moving film that showcases expert craftsmanship while keeping its audience rooted in the true-crime story at its centre.<\/p>\n

The film covers the death and some of the life of Slovak journalist J\u00e1n Kuciak, who was responsible for digging up a lot of dirt on his country\u2019s most prominent gangsters, as well as their partners in the \u201clegitimate\u201d realms of business and politics. On February 21 2018, Kuciak and his fianc\u00e9 Martina Ku\u0161n\u00edrov\u00e1 were shot dead in their home. Their deaths sparked massive protests and a major political crisis in Slovakia\u2014this movie covers the fallout of that.<\/p>\n

I like this movie so much because of the expert job Sarnecki and his team have done in documenting Kuciak\u2019s case and the political fallout that resulted in it, from the evidence-gathering to the actual trial, with every detail well researched and documented. It leaves the viewer wondering, how did they do that?<\/p>\n

Anna Smoronova\u2019s cinematography is staggering. She really captures, through just a couple of shots, what a murder investigation looks like; that takes real skill. Also, Kristian Eidnes Andersen\u2019s musical score is outstanding and really translates the emotions of this film well.<\/p>\n

The only thing that I didn\u2019t like about the movie was its length. It\u2019s far too long and has a lot of cool but totally unnecessary or over-expanded details that could have been cut right out without dampening any of the emotional impact. I mean, do we really need to hear how the killer attacked his victims like five different times? I don\u2019t think we do.<\/p>\n

The Killing of A Journalist<\/i> is a riveting doc that entertains just as much as it informs.<\/p>\n

-Nicolas Ihmels<\/p>\n

The most disappointing film I saw at the VFF was Jessie Eisenberg\u2019s directorial debut, When You Finished Saving the World<\/i>. This is not a terrible film but its unlikeable characters and unfinished ending really does not make me want to recommend it to my fellow students.<\/p>\n

Let\u2019s talk about what I like first. The acting by Stranger Things<\/i>\u2019 Finn Wolfhard and Oscar winner\u00a0 <\/span>Julianne Moore is outstanding; both make the most out of what they must work with. The movie has some very funny and relatable bits, particularly when the mother is trying to navigate her teenage son\u2019s life. Oscar nominee Eisenberg shows that he\u2019s just as capable behind the camera as he is in front of it. Benjamin Loeb\u2019s cinematography does provide some very nice camera work, especially when it comes to showing the town that the story\u2019s set in.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s about it for the good stuff. Almost everything else about this movie basically sucks.<\/p>\n

Lets talk about the screenplay. When you go to a script-writing class, you\u2019re taught about the screenplay\u2019s events having to come to a crisis so that the story can feel like a complete arc. This movie has no crisis. The biggest thing we get is that Moore\u2019s character is upset that one of her students wants to stay and work for his father\u2019s motor shop instead of going to college. Or that Wolfhard\u2019s character\u2019s songwriter lab partner finds out that he stole her poem, made a song out of it, and put it up on his YouTube channel and is now making money off it because he thinks she will be turned on by it. It\u2019s these ideas that really annoyed me.<\/p>\n

Also, there is basically no ending. It just abruptly stops without anything really getting resolved and the characters never learning anything. If nobody really learned anything, why should we spend our hard-earned money watching this movie?<\/p>\n

Another thing I didn\u2019t like was the name. It would have you believe that this is either some sort of superhero movie or a dystopian movie, but it\u2019s a movie about mean people doing really mean things to other people and how we all need to be nicer to each other. It has nothing to do with anyone saving the world, which was disappointing. If the end credits didn\u2019t have the title in them, I would have thought I had just watched the wrong movie.<\/p>\n

Despite showcasing some fine acting and impressive camera work, When You Finished Saving the World<\/i> is bogged down by a muddled screenplay, unlikeable characters, and a very confusing ending.<\/p>\n

-Nicolas Ihmels<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Hidden Letters is a documentary directed by Violet du Feng that shares the personal stories of countless women living in traditional villages in China who had few rights and were shown even less respect. For women in traditional China, aggressive subjugation and abuse is common and accepted, even to this day. The film focuses on […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23654,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,283],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts","category-february-22-2023"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23653"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":23655,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23653\/revisions\/23655"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23654"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nexusnewspaper.com\/newsite\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}