INDIVISIBLE
(Indivisibili)
In a complex and incredibly nuanced new film, sisters must decide if physical and emotional separation is what they need to survive. Indivisible is a story of exploitation and personal desire.
In a complex and incredibly nuanced new film, sisters must decide if physical and emotional separation is what they need to survive. Indivisible is a story of exploitation and personal desire.
Daisy and Viola are conjoined twin sisters living in the suburbs of Naples. They are blessed with beautiful voices and, thanks to their performances at local weddings, communions, and baptisms, have become the breadwinners for their entire family. Kept isolated from the world by their exploitative father, their lives are turned upside down when one of them falls in love for the first time… and they discover that it is possible for them to be separated.
Angela and Marianna Fontana play conjoined twins Dasy and Viola. Sought after for their singing talents and local idolatry, everyone wants a piece of them. Born into a selfish family living off the girls’ fame, they are forced to perform, threatened by guilt and permeating greed. While one sister yearns to be surgically divided, the other feels devastated by the idea. In bold performances from these real-life twins, we are rooting for their ultimate happiness. Despite being attached at the hip, each young woman gives a brilliant performance. Full of dreams and determination, these ladies own the screen is presence and ability. Battling religious fanaticism and the seduction of escapism, our leading ladies ooze with charisma. Indivisible takes a heartfelt and intimate approach to dismiss the sideshow mentality. Every theme in this script is some sort of double entendre. With beautiful cinematography on top of a clever and unexpected script, Indivisible is one of a kind.The film is currently playing in New York City and opens theatrically in Los Angeles today. A national rollout will follow.
100 mins | Italy | in Italian with English subtitles | 2016
Written and Directed by Edoardo De Angelis
**NORTH AMERICAN PREMIERE – TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL 2016**
**WORLD PREMIERE – 73RD VENICE INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL**
**OPENING NIGHT – OPEN ROADS**
NYFF55 talks also include On Cinema: Richard Linklater and Directors Dialogues with Lucrecia Martel, Agnès Varda & JR, Hong Sang-soo, and Philippe Garrel
Growing up is awkward. No one is ever really prepared to deal with puberty, whether it’s the child or the parent. In Dorie Barton‘s brilliant directorial debut, Girl Flu, one little girl isn’t the only one that comes face to face with what it means to become a woman.
Synopsis:
Girl Flu is truly an endearing film. Funny, relatable, and just enough edge to surpass the afterschool special pigeonhole, it’s a directorial debut that Dorie Barton can be proud of. Whether the reality of the plot is who is really raising whom, we are treated to some incredibly sold performances from the entire cast. Katee Sackhoff (Battlestar Galactica) brings Jenny to life; an ill-equipped, young mother, raising a 12-year-old, who never quite grew up herself. Her crunchy and pot smoking morning rituals annoy the hell out of her daughter and her boyfriend, played by Jeremy Sisto (Waitress). Sackhoff is a beautiful balance of super flighty and genuinely sincere. Sisto, solid as ever, navigates his evolving feelings for mother and daughter alike adding to the heart and humor of a universal milestone. Heather Matarazzo (Welcome to the Dollhouse), as mom Jenny’s best friend, is damn hilarious. Not surprising for Matarazzo, as she lights up the screen in every role she plays. The real breakout star, without a doubt, is our major lead Jade Pettyjohn (School of Rock) as Bird. Humiliated and bullied, surviving on the resiliency she’s been forced to develop, she is whip-smart, vulnerable, and a total pro in this role. Irrational child logic is what makes this script so honestly entertaining. We laugh because we’ve been there. The cool soundtrack is the perfect addition. It’s been a fan favorite at over two dozen film festivals so far and it’s easy to see why. You can catch GIRL FLU on VOD (Amazon, iTunes, Google Play) today, September 29. Check out the trailer below!
Let the Sun Shine In
Lover for a Day
Mrs. Hyde
Piazza Vittorio
Speak Up
The Meyerowitz Stories (New and Selected)
The Rape of Recy Taylor
The Worldly Cave
Tonsler Park
Hall of Mirrors
Joan Didion: The Center Will Not Hold
Last Flag Flying
No Stone Unturned
The Opera House
Trouble No More
Voyeur
Wonder Wheel
Wetlands tries really hard to be a noir that never really pans out. It’s painfully slow and rather cliche in its character development. With such a heavy-hitting cast, it is difficult to walk them try so hard at something that doesn’t give them, or the audience, enough to care about. What information we do have about Babs, comes in what feels like misplaced and piecemeal black & white flashbacks. The nonchalance of the shadiness that’s occurring in this town makes it all the more underwhelming. 
presents
Against the Night has a plot we’ve seen before… until it doesn’t. I have to admit, this film tries really hard to be unique but ultimately ends up being totally convoluted. There are moments in the script that are so far out in left field I literally said, “What?!” out loud as I watched. The practical effects don’t help, and the majority of the acting is pretty blah and even ventures into the downright atrocious. Oftentimes, the cast’s reactions, (mostly the girls) are completely unbelievable and frankly, don’t lend you to care about them. The chemistry is humming along one moment and nonexistent the next. The tropes seem forced and cobbled together without any flow to the story. While I did enjoy the opening setup and the use of multiple camera styles, Against the Night just didn’t work for me as a whole. The one saving grace in this film is actor Josh Cahn. Playing what feels akin to Jaimie Kennedy‘s role in SCREAM, Cahn is funny, likeable, and I wanted more of him on screen. I would watch an entire stand alone film with him as the lead, any day. This kid is a gem. If you do catch the film, he and the appearance of Frank Whaley as Detective Ramsey are worth their short amount of screen time. Check out the trailer below. As always, we want to know what you think, so those of you heading to the theater this weekend, tell us how Against the Night played out for you!
presents
Based on the novel “Dan Leno and the Limehouse Golem” by Peter Ackroyd, the film was written by the acclaimed writer Jane Goldman (Kingsmen, The Woman in Black), directed by Juan Carlos Medina (Painless) and produced by Stephen Woolley (Their Finest, Interview with a Vampire), Joanna Laurie (Hyena) and Elizabeth Karlsen (Carol). The film stars Bill Nighy (Love Actually, Underworld), Olivia Cooke (Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, “Bates Motel”), Douglas Booth (Pride, Prejudice and Zombies, Noah), Daniel Mays (“Line of Duty”) and Eddie Marsan (Sherlock Holmes, “Ray Donovan.”)
The Limehouse Golem is a whirlwind mystery. Jane Goldman has taken Peter Ackroyd‘s novel and brought it to life from page to screen and ultimately stage since much of the story revolves around live performances and theatrical ambition. The costumes and set are gorgeous, striking a perfect visual balance of play costumes and period dress. The dark Limehouse district scenes of macabre and the vibrant, hyper-saturated theater are striking in contrast. The story cannot help but grab you as you try to keep up with the suspects alongside Nighy‘s lead. 
The cast is a true ensemble of talent. Bill Nighy‘s role was originally meant for the late Alan Rickman, but once his health began to decline Nighy stepped into the role. The film is actually dedicated to Rickman’s memory. Nighy is brilliant and powerful as usual in his honest search for the truth. Olivia Cooke, who’s talent is grossly underrated, does a spectacular job as she navigates a complicated woman in Lizzie Cree. I would be remiss if I didn’t give a standing ovation, as it were, to Douglas Booth in his engrossing portrayal of real life actor Dan Leno. Funny, touching, purely entertaining, Booth owns this role. The script will keep you on your toes and with a murder mystery, what more can you ask for?
Bia (Valentina Herszage), Michele (Júlia Roliz), Mariana (Mariana Oliveira) and Renata (Dora Freind) are a clique of affluent high school girls. They waste away their days wandering the fields between the vertigo-inducing high rises in Barra da Tijuca, an affluent new neighborhood in Rio de Janeiro. Both privileged and abandoned by busy parents, the girls spend most of their time together.
If you were a fan of IT FOLLOWS, then KILL ME PLEASE will strike a chord with you. With oversaturated moments in its cinematography to its perhaps allegorical message of teenage lust, this film is filled to the brim with bizarre but very real moments. Ghost stories are woven into the narrative as warnings or maybe even as excuses for avoiding sexual contact, all while an actual serial killer takes out young girls that bare a striking resemblance to our ingenue. As the viewer goes deeper into the mind of Bia, you begin to realize that this film is all of us growing up. Blissful ignorance, metaphors of self-doubt and self-sabotage bring back too many dark memories. Boasting an eclectic and truly kickass soundtrack, KILL ME PLEASE is a one of kind blend of horror and coming of age film that will throw you for a loop. The cast has a brilliant chemistry and director Anita Rocha da Silveira has quite a masterpiece on her hands. If you’re lucky enough to be in NYC today and LA in October, you can catch the film on the big screen. If not, you’ll have to wait until May to catch it on VOD and DVD. Until then, check out the trailer below, though truth be told, the film is on a whole other level than what you’ll see here.
BUSHWICK is unrelenting from its opening shots until the final frame. The audience experiences the story in real time just as the main characters do. With the use of what feels like a single camera, lengthy POV takes (as if the viewer were the unseen third character), add to the heightened pace and overall menace of the film’s plot. Bushwick pulls no punches with its realism. There are small lulls but you might imagine that to be the case if the scenario presented were actually occurring. Overall, the action is non-stop and scary. Both Snow and Bautista deliver down-to-earth performances and give us two very different backgrounds from which to relate to. There are moments that seem unscripted they are so natural and out of the blue. Without spoiling anything, you’ll have to watch to understand what I mean by that. The timing of the film’s release is eerie considering our present political climate. It’s almost like a creepy omen of things yet to come. Don’t be fooled by the trailer. You are in for a much darker ride than you might expect. You can watch BUSHWICK now in theaters, on VOD and Digital HD.
You must be logged in to post a comment.