Film Reviews

By EMMA

All You Hear Is Noise is a film about three people with intellectual disabilities who are athletes, who go and compete in the Special Olympics. They each win an award in different sections. 

The three people on the US Special Olympic Triathlon team are Melanie, Trent and Chris, they each specialize in one sport: Melanie is great at biking, Trent is great at running, and Chris is an amazing swimmer. They all go through problems and hardships because they are disabled and people will judge them for that. This movie is a lot about overcoming those hard things and moving past them. 

We should learn that we should not judge people by what they look like or if they are disabled, and this movie taught me that even though these olympic competitors are disabled, they can still do amazing things. I really liked this movie because it was a fascinating topic and I would definitely recommend it to others.    

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By MAX

All You Hear is Noise is a documentary about three contestants in the special olympics and their struggles getting there and their life after, before and outside of the olympics. 

The movie progressed slowly for the first half. The second half and ending felt very nicely concluded and exciting.

The film could have been more moving, and had enough to make you understand them, but not fully enough to feel being in their shoes.

There was great content and scenes from parts of the subject’s lives.

I would recommend it to people who love sports, and rate it 7/10.

By STEFAN

The basic premise: “An immigrant man saddled with a six-year-old boy scours the underbelly of New York City trying to find the missing mother.”(SBIFF) Ballad of a Hustler is a dramatic tale of a lost mother, an immigrant, and a young boy that brings attention to social issues as well as tells a fantastic narrative story. 

The atmosphere and setting is immersive, and the tone of the film feels consistent. Intensity and feeling was shown well as far as the actors are concerned, with Robbie Johns and specifically his chemistry with Bernardo Barreto being a standout. 

My only nitpick would be the plot feels pretty linear. The fact that there is not much character growth besides in the lead only compounds this issue. 

The movie is slow paced, but has a good story to tell. It does well shedding light on the topics of immigration and absent parents, and their effects on people. Overall, it is quite worth a watch.

I rate this film 7.5/10.

By WYNNE AND EMMA 

Giants Rising is a descriptive documentary film that explores the importance of redwood trees, the culture around them, the fires that try to take them down, and the many inspiring and incredible wonders that come with these tall and majestic trees. 

From this film, we learned that these trees are incredible creatures that can communicate with each other. We also learned a lot about the Yurak people, the Native American tribe that lives in and around these forests. This film seamlessly intertwines the history of redwoods with the present and hopes for the future. We loved the different perspectives and how the film was divided into different sections. 

Giants Rising inspired us because it was a topic that was intriguing and kept us on the edge of our seats. It was full of attention-grabbing facts,it had a well-rounded plot and it was skillfully produced.    

We would rate Giants Rising: ★★★★☆    4/5.

By ELLERY

The movie “Lili” is a documentary about an eight year old girl named Lili who lives in Poland. Her mother and father are separated, and Lili has an adventurous life with her dad and a more homely life with her mom. Together Lili and her dad go on many adventures around Europe and have lots of fun doing so. Recently, Lili’s mother has become pregnant and Lili’s dad’s partner has a younger son. Lili must cope with an expanding family while still being a curious young girl. 

I liked that this film did not feel limited in the way that a lot of documentaries do. I was able to get deeply absorbed in the story and subject’s lives, as well as what they were feeling and thinking. For example, the film includes a scene where Lili and her father are sitting at a table eating. Lili askes some awkward questions that you can tell her dad sometimes does not know how to respond to. I appreciate the director included this scene because it helped achieve a level of intimacy between the viewer and the characters. Another example is when the camera is outside Lili and her dad’s tent and they talk about completely random things. You feel like you are there with the characters without actually intruding on their privacy. 

I do recommend that others view “Lili”. I recommend it because it had several humorous scenes, dealt with some important matters, and was very well shot. I would give it four out of five stars for the aforementioned reasons.

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By TEYA

The film Lili follows the story of an eight year old girl, Lili, who lives in Poland. Together Lili and her dad go on many adventures around Europe taking them to stunning places where Lili is faced with challenges not only physically but mentally. Lili's parents are separated and both are expanding their family. 

Lili is a stunningly captured film that reimagines what a documentary can be but it fell short in terms of the story line. Viewers were left confused if or when there was the conflict. Although viewers have the unique experience of feeling like a fly on the wall while watching the film it felt undesired and left the film feeling incomplete and unfulfilled.  

Overall this film left a decent amount to be desired yet was still worthwhile and a new experience that I'm glad I had. I would give this movie 3 out of 5 stars. 

I would recommend Lili to people who enjoy an adventurous, modern, funny, and feel good film.

By ESME & LAUREN

Chosen Family is a movie about a yoga teacher learning to say no, which also addresses stereotypes of what makes a family. 

Unfortunately, the plot was scattered. There were questionable morals, and the characters were shallow. The actors did well in their roles, however, the writing lacked continuity and depth. The film does address family dynamics and learning to focus on yourself, but outside of that, certain scenes and costume choices were unnecessary. There were moments and choices that were offensive.

The ideas of self-worth at the beginning don’t promote a healthy mindset. We think that the writer had some good ideas, but in production, they took on too many storylines and weren’t able to follow through. Since there wasn’t one clear story to follow, the whole film became disconnected, and I wasn’t drawn to any points made in the film.

We wouldn’t recommend this movie because the plot and topics were not consistent. They were confusing. The ideas of women’s worth felt dated, things that  were valued many years ago. For example, a character used a point system to rank women, and another character posted a video of herself in a bikini to boost her business. All in all, compared to other movies from the Film Festival, this was a letdown. 

We would rate this movie:

• ESME ★★☆☆☆ 2/5

• LAUREN ★☆☆☆☆ 1/5

By IRIS & STELLA

Will You Remember Me? is a saddening documentary short about life in a home for people with dementia. The film follows the declining health & eventual death of Lucille, a woman in a nursing home who had a long life filled with song. The issue it presented was that the short-staffed nursing home employees couldn’t stay with one person all the time, which lead Lucille to feel sad in her last days of life. The film featured private scenes and provided a switch-up of scenery halfway through from the depressing environment of a nursing home to a forest filled with fall-colored trees, effectively creating a lightened mood. 

The film presents an idea that isn’t commonly discussed, because it isn’t the happiest of topics. It was an eye-opener and caused us to grow in respect for those with the patience to work in a nursing home. The film also made us feel connected to the subjects and the problem, creating an emotional bond. It made us feel sad yet inspired. We would recommend it to people of all ages because it is a topic worth discussing. 

We feel everyone needs to see the film and rate the it 5/5 stars.

By ESME & GIANNA

Madu is a documentary that follows a young boy who was raised in Nigeria and earns a place at a school in England to pursue his dream of becoming a dancer. He is away for seven years in total and faces many challenges throughout his time there. He discovers an issue with his eyesight that results in one eye being blind. He is worried it will affect his dancing career but finds a way to overcome it.

Madu was inspired by a viral video of Anthony Madu dancing in the streets of Nigeria in 2020. The film has a clear storyline and a wonderful message. The story is about Anthony's family and their experience with him being away just as much as it is about Anthony. It shows his experience growing up, making friends, and going to school on a new continent. 

We felt personally inspired because we are both dancers and very passionate about it. We were impacted by the message of never giving up and pushing ourselves to be the greatest. Walking out of the theater, we thought about how struggles can be overcome if you work hard and persist. 

Our overall feeling of the film was inspiring and made us want to pursue our passions to a deeper level. We would give this film a 5/5.

By EVITA & ESME

Cinema Laika is a documentary set in Karkkila, Finland, a tight-knit community. The film follows the timeline of a theater being built in the small town. Throughout the film, a wide variety of people were viewed or interviewed about their perspectives on the theater, many of whom were thrilled about the idea.

This beautifully photographed documentary provided a welcoming environment where the audience felt like a fly on the wall in the story. The entirety of the film felt authentic and intentional; the subjects were just going about their normal lives and it did not feel like their actions were just for the camera. 

However, the whole film was in Finnish which made it hard to follow. For this reason, we would not recommend this film to younger audiences who cannot read quickly. The important moments were not clear and became hard to follow. Furthermore, there was not much going on at certain points in the documentary and it eventually became slow. 

All in all, we would rate this film a 3 / 5, because while young people our age may not be as drawn to it (as adults most likely will be), the film’s authenticity and simplicity added to the beauty of this incredible film.