[CIFF Capsule Review] Blue Ruin

Blue Ruin Director: Jeremy Saulnier Country: United States CIFF Screening: October 13, 2013 (8:15pm) 20 years after the double murder of his parents, Dwight returns to his hometown when the convicted murderer is let free. After he takes vengeance into his own hands, the tables are turned on him as the now-deceased murderer's family begins a manhunt to avenge their relative's…

[CIFF Capsule Review] Tanta Agua

Tanta Agua Directors: Ana Guevara Pose and Leticia Jorge Countries: Mexico, Netherlands, Uruguay CIFF Screening: October 13, 2013 (6:00pm) http://youtu.be/DSFwtbBy5yI   Tanta Agua tells the story of a divorced father, Alberto, taking his young son, Federico, and daughter, Lucia, out on vacation in Uruguay. However, his plans for a fun getaway are thwarted when harsh…

[CIFF Capsule Review] Raze

Raze Director: Josh C. Waller Country: United States CIFF Screening: October 12, 2013 (10:15pm) Raze is kind of like the female version of Fight Club minus that film's expository themes of schizophrenia and anti-consumerism. Instead, it attempts to justify rounding up a dozen or so girls together in fights to the death with a cult/secret society obsessed with Greek mythology about…

[CIFF Capsule Review] Under the Rainbow

Under the Rainbow (Au bout du conte) Director: Agnès Jaoui Country: France CIFF Screenings: October 15, 2013 (5:00pm), October 21, 2013 (3:30pm) http://youtu.be/LFuL0jQ-GMQ   Under the Rainbow mixes fantasy-like fairy tales into a modern day love story. Unfortunately, once the allure of deciphering fairy tale tropes (enchanted godmothers, wolves in sheep's clothing, evil…

[CIFF Capsule Review] Blue is the Warmest Color

Blue is the Warmest Color (La vie d'Adèle chapitres 1 & 2) Director: Abdellatif Kechiche Country: France CIFF Screening: October 12, 2013 (6:30pm) Release Date: October 25th, 2013 (limited) A lot has been said about Blue is the Warmest Color, and more will continue to be said as more people watch the film primarily known for its lesbian sex scenes. However, the sex scenes,…

[CIFF Capsule Review] Stray Dogs

Stray Dogs (Jiao You) Director: Tsai Ming-Liang Country: Taiwan CIFF Screenings: October 11, 2013 (8:30pm), October 13, 2013 (12:30pm) I wasn't familiar with Tsai Ming-Liang's previous works, but the allure of a film described as "one of his most emotionally powerful films" reeled me in. Unfortunately, the power of these emotions is lost amidst the overuse of long shots and lack…

[CIFF] 15 Films to see at the 49th Chicago International Film Festival

This year's Chicago International Film Festival will be screening 180 films made in over 60 different countries over the next two weeks. That's pretty impressive... if not intimidating. Luckily, you all have me around to help guide you along your path to foreign film enlightenment. Unlike the majority of the major American film festivals (Sundance, SXSW, NYFF, etc.), CIFF specializes in…

[CIFF] The 49th Chicago International Film Festival begins tonight

Another October, another Chicago International Film Festival. As the longest-running competitive international film festival in the US, CIFF screens a large amount of foreign films during its duration. Without the festival, many of these films would go unseen, unheard, undistributed, and unknown. There are many film festivals that happen over the year all across the country, but it's CIFF's…