Sauna Sickness
If you told me that Malin Barr had studied the DSM-5-TR before writing her short film Sauna Sickness, I would not bat an eye. Revealing it is based on a past relationship would carry equal weight in terms of its emotional impact. Barr is a master storyteller, regardless of inspiration. The film follows a woman staying at her mother’s country home on New Year’s Eve. After visiting the outdoor sauna with her boyfriend, they discover they are now locked out of the house with only their flimsy robes and clogs.
Immediately, Tobias blames Cleo. His visible annoyance quickly gives way to whining, shaming, and accusing. Cleo’s attempts to find a spare key are unsuccessful, but Tobias only offers cruelty. Sauna Sickness is a snapshot of narcissistic gaslighting bullshit. Tobias relies on her problem-solving skills to induce guilt. Cue the screaming, then crying. Once consoled, his tone softens, but not before a jab gets slipped into the conversation, just to subconsciously remind her she is not better than him.
SXSW 2025 documentary DEAR TOMORROW delves into the epidemic of loneliness. Filmmaker Kaspar Astrup Schröder follows two Japanese citizens who suffer from severe loneliness. Schröder quietly observes them through their physical and emotional isolation and a subsequent few conversations with the mental health hotline, “A Place For You.”
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IN THE NAME OF GOD
In filmmaker Ludvig Gür’s IN THE NAME OF GOD, a young priest struggling to inspire his congregation rekindles a relationship with his long-lost mentor. Jonas’ Old Testament-style promises of a higher calling come with a caveat. The Lord grants him special healing powers only when Theodor sacrifices bad people.
Performances are solid across the board. Thomas Hanzon gives Jonas a self-assuredness that simultaneously comforts and terrifies. It is an effortlessly unsettling turn. Vilhelm Blomgren is journalist Erik. Blomgren represents the audience in an emotionally turbulent performance. 
THE SWEDISH TORPEDO
Frida Kempff brings TIFF 2024 audiences the true story of Sally Bauer, a single mother attempting to swim the English Channel in 1939. THE SWEDISH TORPEDO is a unique and multilayered sports docudrama. It will take you by surprise. 
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Judith/Margot’s curated existence managing two identities and two families begins to crumble, exposing her lies, motives, and underlying trauma. 
Virginie Efira wows audiences as a woman wearing all the hats. Effortlessly embodying each distinct persona, Efira proves, once again she is a star. It is a balancing act of power structures, dangerous satisfaction, and unusual sacrifice. 
Antoine Barraud gives audiences a film almost best viewed without prior knowledge of the plot. Enticing the audience and challenging their sense of morality, MADELEINE COLLINS hypnotizes with twists, turns, and deep complexity. Barraud and co-writer Héléna Klotz carefully weave an unmissable commentary about beauty, unrequited male infatuation, and childhood trauma into the narrative. The film overflows with nuance, and its final reveal changes everything. It is a wildly elaborate hurricane of grief.
Sporadic blue-tinged purgatory-like flashbacks of the woman in her heels, mussed blonde hair, and filthy trench coat give us little to go on. These sequences are undeniably unsettling. For most of the film, we draw our own conclusions based on the apparent hollowness of their marriage and a suggestion of an affair. Jakub Kijowski‘s bleak, but ravishing, cinematography sets the tone. Alicja stands apart from most of the action, furthering the feeling of isolation in an already stark environment. 
Iwo Rajski plays Daniel with a natural fierceness that suggests he is starring in a documentary rather than a narrative. He is fantastic. Gabriela Muskala pens the screenplay and plays Alicja/Kinga. Her ability to reel you into her turmoil feels effortless. She is magnetic.
Memory preservation, emotional resonance, exploration, and exposure of truth, FANTASTIC MACHINE
The power of curated messaging in politics is something we know well. The film features a breathtaking 1993 interview with a filmmaker that changed the face of WW2 and modern-day filmmakers. In 1934, The Nazi Party hired Leni Reifenstahl to show the movement as powerful and attractive. She speaks about the entertainment factor, how a two-hour speech must be compressed to five minutes with a beginning, middle, and thrilling middle, despite the subject. As I witnessed the pride in her technical work, my mouth was agape. Juxtapose those images with the Sidney Bernstein footage from the final day of the war in 1945. Charged with proving the atrocities of war ever existed, Bernstein brings humanity, suffering, and truth. In the end, it is a product. In most cases, it is void of morality.
Maximilien Van Aertryck narrates with a profound statement: “A lack of perspective can distort what the world looks like.” There is such a fine line between propaganda and truth. We are all too familiar with this tactic. The results of media manipulation are monumentally dangerous but immensely lucrative. Instagram is rewiring young brains in a similar manner fashion magazines impacted our self-esteem in the 90s. It, quite literally, changes brain chemistry. The editing from Mikel Cee Karlsson and writer-directors Axel Danielson and Maximilien Van Aertryck is award-worthy. As the saying goes, they understood the assignment.
Is this some extensive gaslighting or is Molly still experiencing PTSD from her previous loss? The marrying of these two concepts is here perfection. For Molly, the idea of sitting idly by will drive her mad. A slow-burn mystery with striking cinematography, Knocking will make your head spin. The use of a go-pro-style camera during a climactic confrontation puts you in the manic state of Molly’s brain. It’s a wildly effective choice. Cecilia Milocci‘s performance is truly compelling. You are right there with her on this tumultuous emotional journey. It’s absolutely award-worthy.
The cinematography is gorgeous. The setting, the costumes, everything pops. The main set is magical. The walls adorned with landscape paintings, the massive rooms filled with antique furnishings, and the ceilings boast curious murals. The score is perfectly whimsical. The stunning fx makeup is never too terrifying for its intended audience. 
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