MSPIFF 2025 - Part Two

 This is part two of my coverage from MSPIFF 44 wrapping up another year of mainlining international new releases as long as my schedule and body permits. Please do check out part one for an introduction, more capsule reviews, and a brief nod towards seeing Ang Lee speak as part of the festivities.

I was starting to flag a bit in the second week but I still turned up most days to fit at least one film in. I also thought the films were really excellent in the second week and I had a chance to finally check out some things that debuted at Cannes last year (just as this year's lineup was being announced). One thing I'm really happy about this year is that the weather held out reasonably well so I was able to bike to the theater most days and even walked all the way down on Saturday. I did take the bus a couple of times but a biking/transit/walking film festival is undoubtedly the best kind of film festival and I was feeling very fortunate about that.

Day 6

Undercover (2024) - A stylish Spanish police thriller with some profoundly stunning location footage (mostly in and around San Sebastian). Much of Undercover seemed to be occurring in wintertime and cold beach/coast has to be one of my all-time favorite ecospheres. I had not heard of Undercover before it was announced for MSPIFF but I was instantly excited for it. I love that some of these more classic film genres are still thriving in various international markets. While Undercover nails the aesthetics and contains an excellent lead performance - the political themes seem desperately undercooked. It's adapted from actual events of a young woman who went...undercover...and infiltrated the ETA. I am in no way an expert on the ETA, Basque sovereignty, or Spanish politics in general - but I don't think I'm that much better informed from this film. It's a snapshot containing elements of terrorism, state sponsored violence, systemic misogyny, cultural identity, and political liberation - but it doesn't have much to say about any of it and the final message feels muddled at best. Really cute cat, though.

Day 7

I needed a break and took this night off.

Day 8

Misericordia (2024) - This was a film I had heard great things about following its early festival rounds and one of the first things I reserved a ticket for when I was granted a pass. I think it's easiest to describe Alain Guiraudie's latest as a mystery - or at the very least; mysterious - though it is one less concerned with "who" and more focused on "why" Misericordia features exquisite autumnal French village atmosphere and a genuinely fantastic central performance from Félix Kysyl. It reminded me of Patricia Highsmith in some ways with this elusive, seductive main character but it's a far stranger affair than a Ripley story. There is a darkly humorous streak that runs through the entire film but it feels wrong to describe it as a comedy - it both contains one of the most hilarious scenes I saw during the fest and one of the most brutally horrific. The title is derived from the Latin word for mercy and there are some (very French) discussions around crime and punishment but I am still ruminating over how that theme is reflected throughout the film. This one beguiled me and I'd absolutely recommend it even if you don't find yourself as transfixed as I did.

Day 9

Caught by the Tides (2024) - Another Cannes standout. Narratively abstract and aesthetically chaotic - I can understand that Caught by the Tides will be a challenging watch for some (apparently at least one walkout during the screening I caught). I was absorbed by it, though. Tides is largely assembled from existing B-roll footage from Jia Zhang-ke's previous works. I am not familiar enough with Zhang-ke's filmography to spot where different segments of Tides was cribbed from, but I still loved the clash of formats and styles - careening from flat, digital industrial footage to grainy, low res night scenes to lush 35mm landscapes. It's impressive how this film is utilizing older footage, going back decades in some cases, but still manages to speak to recent history (albeit through a lens many of us are unfamiliar with). I know that travelogue is not sufficient to make a film compelling, but I thought there was significant value in this sprawling window into Chinese life. Hopefully this gets a wider release here and people can give it a shot. Definitely better to see it in a theater.

Day 10

We Can Be Heroes - Shorts Program - I didn't have anything planned out for the afternoon so I thought I would check out some shorts. Of all festival programming, short films truly are the most ephemeral and frequently the hardest to see outside of a fest environment. These were short documentaries covering subjects ranging from tattooing to puzzles to an elaborate corporate prank. Arguably the most moving of the bunch was How to Care (which sadly does not appear to be listed on IMDB or Letterboxd at the time of writing). It's focused on the life of Dan, a septuagenarian living with cerebral palsy, and the community of caregivers that help support him. It's a subject I have some personal experience with and I understand how critical those assistance and enrichment programs are. Dan and crew were also in attendance for the screening which was extremely cool to see. 

I'm guessing Adidas Owns Reality is the program selection that will have the best chance of life outside of the festival circuit. It documents an elaborate corporate hoax perpetrated by the Yes Men who are well known for culture-jamming hijinks largely at the expense of the wealthy and powerful. This particular prank involves a fake "co-CEO" of Adidas and a Berlin fashion show meant to confront the realities of sweatshop labor. The film is infuriating and funny and their cause is a righteous one. I hope this lands in front of more eyeballs.

Mr. K (2024) - Though I am not particularly familiar with the work of writer/director Tallulah Hazekamp Schwab, Mr. K was another festival selection that I was highly anticipating. Anything starring Crispin Glover was bound to interest me and it's also good to see something unapologetically weird. Ultimately, I think my anticipation was rewarded. Schwab apparently spent years developing K and it's certainly noticeable in the production design. Glover's awkward, nervous magician becomes trapped in a bewildering, labyrinthine hotel populated with frequently hostile (or creepily familiar) denizens who never seem to go outside. The hotel and it's myriad rooms, kitchens, stairways, and closets are impeccably rendered and filled with the kinds of aesthetic touches that would reward repeat viewings. I don't think there's anything terribly groundbreaking in this Kafkaesque conspiracy tale but I still think Schwab mostly nails the tone and the delivery. I found myself repeatedly noting what were likely influences but also connections to other films and filmmakers. The ending didn't land with everyone I saw the film with, but things took a strange enough, gross enough turn beforehand that I was satisfied. 

Day 11

Odd Fish (2024) - An Icelandic film ostensibly about two old friends and co-workers in a remote fishing village where one comes out as trans to the other (and her community). I say ostensibly because though there is an excellent and courageous performance from Arna Magnea Danks, the film spends less time on her transition and far more on the identity crisis of her middle-aged, cis-dude friend. As a cis-dude fast careening towards middle age - I would have been much more interested in a film driven by Danks' character. Still, this is a good natured film and it is filled both with some lovely coastal scenery and largely takes place in a rustic seafood restaurant that looked absolutely incredible. For her part, Arna Magnea Danks has mostly worked as a stunt and fight coordinator but absolutely has the goods as an actress. I'd love to hear more about her real life story.

Kill the Jockey (2024) - Luis Ortega is a filmmaker who landed on my radar largely thanks to his 2018 film, Angel, loosely based on the real life exploits of Argentine serial murderer - Carlos Eduardo Robledo Puch. Jockey is not remotely based in reality and is much lighter film in content - something in the vein of mildly surreal crime-adjacent flicks like the cinema du look movies. It's an incredibly stylish film utilizing some excellent long takes, some inventive POV work, and beautiful integration of pop music. Another strong lead performance, this time from Nahuel Pérez Biscayart. Biscayart is a handsome actor but Ortega manages to present him oddly enough to remind me of someone like Denis Lavant. Jockey starts in a heightened reality but only gets stranger and harder to hang onto (narratively) as the film progresses. It does deliver some lovely twists along the way and I will likely want to revisit it upon wider release. 

I had planned to see another movie but I was going to have to wait an hour and then stay up for another two hour film and I was running out of steam. Jockey was a terrific note to end on though and sometimes it's best to quit while you're ahead. I had a great time at MSPIFF this year, they put on a wonderfully run festival, and I can't thank the film society enough for granting me accreditation again. There were a few new wrinkles that I appreciated this year - though I only attended one screening, I really do like the preview idea for passholders. I'll have to take better advantage of that if its offered again. I also like the fact that I saw more familiar faces this year. Some of that is a matter of connecting with friends and some of that is due to my involvement with MNFCA. There's a certain comradery with regular attendees and I've had great conversations with total strangers in line, in the theater, and even on the bus ride home. Still, it's nice to have some friends around. The last thing is that I'm so happy that the Cabana Club opened just down the street from the theater. Great bar, good food, and staff that was very understanding that I might have to move quickly to see my next film. Highly recommended for a pre or post movie beverage the next time you're at the Main. 

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MSPIFF 2025 - Part One

Back for its 44th year, the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival presented by the MSP Film Society is the largest film event in the Upper Midwest and something I look forward to every springtime. Last year I was only able to attend a couple of screenings due to travel, but this year I'm in town, I'm ready, I'm willing, and I've been very generously accredited for a press pass from the organizers once again. Programming is king when it comes to good festivals and MSPIFF remains committed to showing a wide range of films and perspectives from all over the world that include a lot of smaller films. I noticed quite a few titles that haven't necessarily gotten an overabundance of attention at the larger, market festivals. It can make it a bit challenging to parse the schedule, but the freedom of the pass allows for me to take a few chances. 

The thing that more than endears me to the festival in recent years is that it's mostly concentrated at The Main Cinema across the Mississippi River from downtown Minneapolis. MSP Film Society runs programming at The Main all year round, but it's a tremendous central location for a festival that I can bike or bus to easily. It's in a great neighborhood and it's no problem to find food or coffee or even walk along the river in-between films (provided I give myself some time to do so). An especially exciting development this year is that I feel like I know more people at the festival and have had the good fortune of scheduling some viewings with friends and even running into old pals unexpectedly. 

I think the format I used in 2023 was a good one, so I'll be doing the same this year: Capsule reviews of everything I see and broken out into two parts. I think this will give people a good idea of the variety of films on offer and my hope is that you might see something interesting in this entry that compels you to attend MSPIFF while it has another week left.

Day 0

I already wrote about Bushido in my March entry so I won't go into details here. I like the preview screening idea, though. I hope that continues next year.

Day 1

Free Leonard Peltier (2025) - Opening night shindig and three sold-out screenings of this latest Leonard Peltier documentary. The history of the American Indian Movement, the arrest and conviction of Peltier, and the absolute chicanery on the side of the FBI are important stories to tell and MSPIFF accorded the event with the appropriate deference. There was a performance from local indigenous people, and invocation in Lakota, and then a zoom call from Peltier himself! I only wish I liked the film better. It functions well enough to convey the history but the film starts to meander somewhere in the midpoint. There is also the deeply unfortunate choice to bolster the archival footage with AI enhanced digital sequences. It's so unnecessary and I can't even say it's very effective. I wasn't positive at first but when I looked into the filmmakers, it became apparent that one of them is an enthusiastic generative AI adopter. It's hard not to contrast this film to Michael Apted's Incident at Oglala which I think is a much stronger feature. Thankfully, Peltier has finally been released from prison which does provide a moving coda for the film and serves as a testament to keeping the faith in the face of injustice.

Day 2 

The Friend (2024) - This other Sigrid Nunez adaptation from 2024 (the first to hit our shores was Pedro Almodovar's The Room Next Door) features Naomi Watts as a Manhattan writer who must come to terms with both the loss of a friend and mentor, the aftermath of the relationships left in his wake, and (most critically) the inheritance of his 150lb Great Dane. I know I'm not supposed to give credence to the concept of "guilty pleasures" but I really do feel guilty at how much I enjoy watching erudite, literary, essentially affluent people running around New York doing New York stuff. I can't help it and it may be a sickness, but I still think The Friend is pretty good. Watts is actually terrific and Murray delivers some brutally funny (if nihilistic) lines. I am uncertain of animal "performances" but I actually believed this dog to be in mourning for his person. What a good boy. Speaking of which, the film was co-introduced by Karl and his owner/trainer and it appears that I'm easily taken with gigantic dogs in indoor spaces. 

The Wailing (2024) - Not to be confused with the Korean folk horror/thriller of the same title. This Wailing is a largely Spanish production about different generations of women being haunted by a mostly unseen force. I am loathe to actually list this one as I was getting tired, it was late, and I still had to bike back home. I'm afraid I bailed about halfway through and didn't give The Wailing an entirely fair shake. It felt like a tepid mixture of YouTube creepypasta videos and tropes that were wearing thin in J-Horror 20-30 years ago. In fairness, I have a potent aversion to films filled with people doing things on phones and laptops - I don't like being subjected to text messages and IMs in real life. Why would I want to deal with it in film?

Day 3

LUZ (2025) - Given my expressed distaste for digital spaces, Flora Lau's use of a virtual reality game as a framing device for her intergenerational, bi-national film could have flopped instantly for me. Instead, I found myself absolutely taken with its gorgeous photography and meditation on how we build relationships. As mentioned, it's beautifully shot - contrasting a neon, nighttime Chongqing with a distinctly old-world version of Paris. The characters in Chongqing are unapologetically 21st century - watching livestreams and playing the titular VR game. In Paris, Isabelle Huppert's Sabine lives a largely analog life of books, art, records, and face to face relationships. The two worlds mirror each other throughout a few scenes and then begin to overlap - both aesthetically and due to the game. 

I'm not certain that LUZ (the film) is looking to admonish modern society (though it does take some beats to illustrate how dumb we look plugged into our devices) but it does seem to encourage life affirming, non-virtual connections. When Sabine's step-daughter explains that the virtual world is better than the physical one, Sabine flatly responds "I don't even know what that means." The goal of LUZ (the game) isn't rendered meaningless but my sense is that Flora Lau is reminding us that connectivity we effortlessly achieve virtually should be a means to strengthen our real world relationships.

The Surfer (2024) - When films and filmmakers make intentional nods to grindhouse cinema - the results are often mixed at best. Self aware attempts to be bonkers are usually injected with unwelcome comedy or an assault of film homage so that you can rest easy knowing the director watched the same grimy films you now own on 4K Ultra Hi-Def disc. I think Lorcan Finnegan has largely struck the right tone with this quasi-psychedelic throwback to the 70s/80s Ozploitation boom. Nic Cage is the right man for the job of both being incomprehensibly stubborn and the object of torrential abuse and humiliation. Crazy Cage done correctly is a joy on the screen. The Surfer is not exceptionally violent (all things considered) but it is visceral and contains more than enough stomach churning, wince inducing moments to make up for its relative bloodlessness. 

Day 4

Unholy Communion (2025) - I make it a point to see any crime films playing at MSPIFF since I've kind of made that my beat in the last year or two. I'm not going to pick on Unholy Communion too much as it's a small, local production though it does co-star one of the more notable actors to emerge from Minneapolis - Vincent Kartheiser. Communion is competently done but ultimately comes off as bland.  Everyone involved seemed very nice and I do think that Mancini's in St. Paul deserves more screen time in more movies.

Meet the Barbarians (2024) - Julie Delpy's satire of French xenophobia and intercultural relations is ultimately a very gentle one, but it still remains funny and insightful. It's no surprise that the overwhelming pleasures to be found here are in the performances from an excellent ensemble cast. They manage to make the village residents heartfelt enough that you can become invested in the local melodramas. Also, some gorgeous footage of Brittany doesn't hurt. I only wish that the reality presented here seemed more plausible compared to the rising tide of right wing nationalism felt all over Europe and the US.

The Wedding Banquet (2025) - Andrew Ahn's reinterpretation of Ang Lee's 90s indie classic could have gone terribly wrong and yet, I feel like I'll be recommending this one broadly. I haven't seen the original in ages (and now I'd very much like to revisit it), but Ahn's interpretation feels like it lives very much in its own space. The cast is truly excellent - though they are so good that Bowen Yang's comparative lack of expressive depth is noticeable. He's still hilarious when called upon and there are so many funny moments in this. It's easy to describe Ang Lee's films as gorgeous or luminous or whatever your preferred adjectives for "very pretty" are - Ahn is working in a different register but it's still lovely. Elegant compositions and some terrific location footage - especially multiple sequences in what I believe is Discovery Park. 

Friendship (2024) - I finished my fourth day with a raucous, sold out screening of Andrew DeYoung's buddy comedy starring Paul Rudd and Tim Robinson. There are some gut busting gags in Friendship and (because I'm a simple person) a lot of my favorites were pure physical tomfoolery. That said, I think the film was losing steam and losing me somewhere towards the middle. Tim Robinson's Craig says "I'm all out of ideas" before embarking on a toad fueled psychedelic experience and I felt that the movie was talking directly to us at that point. I don't think it's too much of a spoiler to mention that Conner O’Malley has a small cameo in the film. Some guy behind me roared "Let's Goooooooo!" the minute O'Malley turned up. That's absolutely the target market for this one.

Day 5

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) - I remembered being distinctly dubious when I went to see this when it opened. I considered myself some kind of Hong Kong cinema aficionado and was NOT impressed with various Hollywood attempts at importing Wuxia stylings (I was kind of dickhead as young men often are). Also, Ang Lee didn't do martial arts movies so what did he know? Lee's film shut me up so quickly and I was duly chastened. It had been a few years since I revisited Tiger so I was very much reliving that same thrill during the opening brawl between Michelle Yeoh and Zhang Ziyi. I couldn't help but think how deprived we are of action this virtuosic since the balance has tipped towards digital effects even in Asian cinema. What a joy to see action and adventure at this scale shot on film. Also, the inn scene/send up of heroic fiction is still beyond hilarious. The guy with the iron abacus kills me every time.

My next MSPIFF stop wasn't a film but a conversation and Q&A with the man himself, Ang Lee. He spoke for around an hour with a moderator and I feel like I could have listened to him all night. Ang Lee was incredibly humble about what he's been able to achieve and yet not overly demure. He's clearly passionate, perceptive, and possessed of a certain eloquence though he constantly deprecates his English. Great event and I was very grateful to some of my fellow MNFCA folks who waved me over to a good spot

Việt and Nam (2024) - Ang Lee went on to present a screening of Brokeback Mountain which was no doubt tremendous. I opted instead to see this Vietnamese film that interestingly shares some thematic, contextual connective tissue to Brokeback. Việt and Nam entered my consciousness when it made John Waters' annual "best of" list and this was arguably going to be my only chance to see it. The movie is utterly stunning. Each frame is beautifully composed with an incredibly rich film grain and even some print artifacts. I understood that it was shot on 16mm, but I have to wonder if director Truong Minh Quy used an older film stock as well to achieve the look. It's a far more abstract film than I expected and even though I was engaged - fest life caught up to me and I conked out for the last bit. Not my finest festival moment but it really had been a long few days. I am hopeful Việt and Nam gets distribution somewhere or maybe a Mubi deal? My lack of stamina notwithstanding, I think this one is worth your time especially if you know what you're getting into.

That's it for Part 1 of my MSPIFF coverage this year. I will be posting a Part 2 early next week. There are still many screenings and multiple opportunities to see international films at this years fest. I'd highly recommend making time for it and if you see me at the fest, please say hello!

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Best New-to-Me: March 2025

March absolutely rocketed by and despite doing some traveling and keeping up on some other things, I got an okay amount of movies watched. Unfortunately for this entry, I did a lot of re-watches. Fortunately for this entry, I went to the theater weekly and will detail some of that below. I'll be attending MSPIFF again in April and doing some international travel so I worry that I'm falling a bit behind in some of my usual watching - but I am very much looking forward to getting some genre goodness watched and getting another issue of Apache Revolver out there.

New to Me!

The Damned Don't Cry (1950) - Joan Crawford stars as a small-town housewife who abandons her marriage and chases fortune as a gangster's moll. One of the issues I run into with Crawford films is that she's such a magnetic onscreen presence with an obvious, penetrating intelligence that I struggle to imagine her beholden to the dopes she shares the screen with. The Damned Don't Cry circumnavigates this issue by rendering her an animal of pure ambition. She finagles and manipulates her circumstances impeccably until she becomes the victim of her own avarice. As melodramas go, Damned absolutely stretches credulity, but I still find the plot more plausible than Crawford succumbing to one more flannel suited dolt. 

Crawford is stupendous, the supporting cast is solid, there are some spectacular deep focus shots, and some cool location work as well. I would love to see this theatrically some day.

Tin Men (1987) - From Barry Levinson, writer of Street Girls, Tin Men is a thoroughly lived-in, location specific, not exactly hangout but hardly breakneck story of awkward relationships and the aluminum siding business. Richard Dreyfuss, Danny DeVito, and Barbara Hershey are the principles and all three are absolutely phenomenal in this but the supporting cast is insanely stacked with terrific character actors. The performances are funny and relatable but the location work puts this one over the top for me. Such a wonderfully natural presentation of 60s Baltimore roots you completely in the film. In a supremely 80s choice, the soundtrack is anchored by anachronistic tunes from the Fine Young Cannibals. I actually thought this worked pretty well, I only wished they would have licensed a few more songs.

Cheap Thrills (2019) - Not quite sure what's kept me at arms length from Cheap Thrills for so long. It might be the poster image or my impression that it would be more of a gross out comedy than the tenser, darker film it really is. I had the good fortune of seeing Pat Healy giving an in-person talk/conversation about his career and you could really feel the enthusiasm people had for this movie. He also had some insight on the production which piqued my interest. Cool guy, glad I got to see him.

The movie is probably not going to be an all-time repeat watch for me but Pat is fantastic in it. It's less broadly funny than I imagined (thought there are some wildly hilarious bits). Not sure if it stands as a larger indictment of capitalism or fatherhood.

Theatrical Screenings!

I Knew Her Well (1965) - Absolutely stunning and completely devastating. If you are not somehow already in love with Stefania Sandrelli - you will be once you watch this. Gorgeous people, fantastic locations, brilliant (and unrelenting) pop tunes - and yet multiple sequences of heartbreaking cruelty. This played as part of the annual Italian Film Festival - the main focus of the festival is contemporary cinema but they always have at least one repertory screening and it is inevitably one of my favorite screenings of the year. Antonio Pietrangeli is not someone I'm terribly familiar with though my understanding is that he is a favorite among Italian filmmakers - I'll have to check out more of his work. The use of popular music in I Knew Her Well truly is genius and I made a youtube playlist if you want to check out some killer tunes.

Mickey 17 (2025) - The latest and gloriously expensive slice of sci-fi weirdness from Bong Joon Ho. Mickey meanders a bit but never plods and while I don't know how funny the writing is - I laughed very hard at the essentially slapstick physical gags. Pattinson acquits himself quite well in the dual role and the top billed actors offset some of the less charismatic supporting crew. The writing and the edit could be much tighter in my opinion, but even mid-tier Bong is more fun than another tepid franchise film.

Black Bag (2025) - Two reasonably decent genre entries from Soderbergh in 2025 is something worth celebrating. Bag is conceptually far less ambitious than Presence and yet I found it largely more entertaining. The combination chamber mystery and espionage film isn't as pointed or twisty as I might hope and the tension never reaches white-knuckle territory; but it's fun! It looks good and the actors seem to be having a blast. Really loved what David Holmes is doing with the music - likely my favorite part.

Lost Highway (1997) - When Emagine Willow Creek announced their David Lynch retrospective, I did not immediately grab tickets to my all-time favorite Lynch films. Instead, I opted to attend the films I've seen the least and didn't necessarily love at the time. I know many people have a special place for Lost Highway as their first Lynch film. For me, it was a first time I was able to see one of his films in its original theatrical run. I was coming off of a few years of marinating in his earlier work, but almost exclusively on home video. Unlike his previous films, I was not instantly taken with this as a young person. It seemed slicker, a touch reserved, maybe even commercial in its way. I still liked it, but it did not become part of my cultural DNA.

It's a better watch for me 28 years later (jeezus) with a thousand more noirs and pulp novels under my belt. Many of the parts I didn't like then still irk me, but I can see it more clearly for what it is now and I really can appreciate it. I'm mostly glad to have caught it theatrically as its charms are much more apparent on the big screen (and with theatrical sound). It looked fantastic with deep blacks and beautiful grain and the sound of the night highway nearly makes up for having to listen to Rammstein again.

Harry & Tonto (1974) - This was the secret 16mm show from local heroes, The Cult Film Collective. John intimated to me early on that this would be the screening and I was already thrilled. I love Art Carney in the 70s, I love this film in particular, and it's nearly impossible to see outside of an OOP dvd, a Japanese blu-ray that goes for big money, or legally adjacent means. When John then reached out to me to contribute to the printed program, I was beyond honored. I think I wrote a good piece and the programs looked great. The film was a 16mm television edit which I didn't realize going in. I didn't love that some coarser language and sequences were cut, but was surprised to see at least one scene improved by the edit. Either way, Harry & Tonto remains a thoughtful, humane, melancholy, and terribly funny look at lives in transition. It also provides a triple threat of cinematic urban time capsule goodness - capturing New York, Chicago, and LA of the 70s. I cannot for the life of me fathom why Art Carney's film work has been cast into OOP dvd purgatory but I keep hoping that some courageous and well-financed operation will restore them as they're all well worth your time.

Inland Empire (2006) - I'd seen Lynch's 3 hour, experimental, digitally shot, epic of anxiety exactly once before and it's not a space I relish existing in. Again, I'm glad to have a chance to revisit it and I'm especially glad to have caught it theatrically. I can lose myself in longer films, but I essentially need to be trapped in a dark box without distractions to stick with this one. However, just because it's challenging doesn't mean it's not interesting. There's no shortage of connective tissue to Lynch's other work running through this sprawling effort but the ties to Twin Peaks season 3 were the most apparent to me tonight. The much talked about SD digital format is a conundrum for me - I can't imagine this movie exists any other way and yet it feels like the thing keeping me at arms length from the piece.

Bushido (2024) - Trying something new this year, MSPIFF programmed some preview screenings for passholders hoping to build some word of mouth interest around some of the lesser known entries. Kazuya Shiraishi is a director I've been meaning to catch up to based on the reputation of his gangster films. Bushido (originally titled Gobangiri) is a historical drama centered on a vagrant samurai, his daughter, and multiple games of Go. The first act or so of the film has a methodical, lyrical quality to it and it focuses in on minute details - closeups of cherry blossoms, the detail work in an ornate comb, and the placement of many Go stones. As the film goes on it adopts some wilder, nearly psychotronic stylistic flourishes - flashbacks shown in a 70s Fujifilm patina, backdrops emblazoned with a nearly neon red Mt. Fuji, characters posed in dramatic stances more appropriate for the stage than real life. It moves effortlessly from a deeply realistic historical Edo to a ferociously tense Samurai tale. It's light on swordfights and heavy on Go, but I found it totally entrancing. 

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