Maddie’s Movie Reviews

Shoplifters

JP, Hirokazu Kore-Eda, 2018

A makeshift family of shoplifters living on the outskirts of Tokyo takes in a young girl left outside on a snowy night.

The movie unfolds slowly, in the way that Asian cinema does, keeping your attention with intimate vignettes of everyday life and then leaving you attached to the characters and their lives without warning. It feels like the passing of a slow day and showcases the found light of the darker side of life. The film leaves forces the viewer to slow down to a living pace and brings on a feeling of unexpected introspection around the moral borders of life, the meaning of family, and the tender reality of some of lifes darkest realities.

Watch if you liked If Beale Street Could Talk and Minari

Maddie’s rating: ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑

Les Émotifs Anonymes (Romantics Anonymous)

FR, Jean-Pierre Améris, 2010

A socially anxious hermit of a chocolatier emerges from isolation to work in the main chocolate factory when the owner of the factory unexpectedly passes away, and unexpectedly falls in love with the equally anxious and reserved manager of the factory.

This wonderfully tasty french comedy shows us the bitter sweetness of a love story marred by anxiety and crippling shyness. While the film is charming and comedic in nature, with Wes Anderson-esque color palette and the straightforward and yet modest style of french flirtation, it still tugs at the heartstrings as the two characters struggle with showing their affection for one another through their (quite literally) debilitating social disorders. This results in a classic rom-com feel, complete with the flirty, heartwarming, and amusing hijinks, and is ultimately a great way to mix up the rotation of streaming service American romantic comedies (a plus for anyone who craves the guilt-watching of rom-coms but needs a little extra something to keep them engaged).

Watch if you liked Amelie and Chocolat

Maddie’s rating: ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭒

All About My Mother

SP, Pedro Almodóvar, 1999

A nurse goes on a journey she’s made once before, but this time returning to seek the estranged and transgendered father of her son after he passes away in a car accident.

This film is another one of Almodóvars, gorgeously chaotic films, balancing dramatically packed sets and sparse and balanced scenes, interwoven with intense emotion and exposition. All about my mother dives into the experience of womanhood, one that every person can identify with. When a single mother’s only son dies, she retraces her steps from 17 years before to find the man who fathered her son, who now lives as Lola, a transgender woman. Along the way, she explores every facet of herself as a woman; the mother, the nurse, the actress, wife, friend. Femininity in every aspect, from the highly sexualized, religiously idolized, yet as though it was reflecting the reality of femininity beyond the pre-conceived, but as a unifying and unique experience. The film’s rich colors and busy backdrop set the stage for a story that tackles redefining the meaning of womanhood, femininity, parenthood, and the conflict between the reality of self and the desired self.

Watch if you liked Blue Is The Warmest Color and Run Lola Run

Maddie’s rating: ⭑⭑⭑⭑⭑