Goodbye, Brandeis! I know, it feels like I just got here, but by the time you read this, I’ll be all packed for my two-week trip to New York City. What’s pulling me away from beautiful Waltham, MA and back to the grimiest metropolis in the world, you ask? Only the 57th New York Film Festival (NYFF)!
I won’t mince words: I am very excited to be NYFF-bound. Organized by Film at Lincoln Center, NYFF is a superb gathering of filmmakers, actors, industry folk and critics. The fest has a focus on international movies, and its timing is strategically placed. Basically, in the movie world, fall is festival season. Most of the buzzy, Oscar-hopefuls premiere at the Venice, Toronto and Telluride festivals (which have been going on the past few weeks, if you heard any buzz about “Joker,” that’s where the infection began). Anyway, NYFF marks the stateside premiere for a lot of these movies, a middle step on the road to wide release.
This will be my second year attending the festival, and my first time boasting press credentials. As a result, I’ll be able to see the entire festival slate—except that I can’t quite justify missing more than two weeks of class, so I won’t be able to catch the Centerpiece and Closing Night selections. I’ll be missing Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story,” his surreal tale of divorce starring Adam Driver and Scarlett Johansson. It’s fine; I’m not upset; I take my academics very seriously.
The first film I’ll be catching is also the one I’m most anticipating: Nadav Lapid’s “Synonyms.” Anyone who knows me knows how much I appreciate a strong critique of Israel, and from everything I’ve heard, “Synonyms” is nothing less. This is Lapid’s third feature following his exceptional debut “Policeman” (2011), and he’s already proven himself a gifted craftsman. “Synonyms” took home the top prize at the Berlin Film Festival earlier this year and follows a disillusioned ex-Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldier as he abandons the Jewish State, permanently moving to Paris and swearing to never speak Hebrew again. You’ll be able to read my full review over on “The Spool” (another outlet I’m covering the festival on behalf of) before the end of the week, and some discussion of “Synonyms” will certainly come up in my first Hoot dispatch right here next week.
The final film I’ll be seeing is Bong Joon-Ho’s “Parasite.” You’re probably familiar with the South Korean visionary’s work—his “Snowpiercer” made a dent a few years back, while his first foray into sci-fi, “The Host” (2006) is simply exceptional. Bong’s latest premiered at Cannes this past May, where it took home the prestigious Palme D’Or. Reviews have been extremely positive, if specifically spoiler-phobic. I’m expecting a twisty-tale of class conflict, all staged with the style and charm Bong has always supplied. Keep your eyes peeled for my review right here in The Hoot in the issue after next.
But NYFF’s biggest event has got to be the world premiere of Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman.” With a runtime of three and a half hours(!), it’s also likely the longest movie I’ll be seeing—the biography of longtime mobster Frank Sheeran (Robert De Niro) and his relationship with Teamster Jimmy Hoffa (Al Pachino), the film marks the first time visual de-aging effects have been used en masse, making De Niro and Pachino look younger so that the story can span decades. Of course, I have no idea if it’ll be any good—no one outside the Netflix brass has seen it yet, and it’s my understanding that the costly and intricate effects are being tweaked until the last minute. Still, watching Scorsese run wild with some of our best (if oldest) thespians, and 160 million of Netflix’s dollars is an exciting prospect. “The Irishman” will be released in select theaters on Nov. 1, and it’ll be uploaded to Netflix on Nov. 27. You can watch it on your phone, if your battery can last for 210 minutes.
With the limited space I’ve got left, let me just shout-out a few more. Brazilian survival-horror parable “Bacurau” received rave reviews at Cannes, as did French queer historical drama “Portrait of a Lady on Fire.” Speaking of the French, the other two movies I am hotly anticipating are both French films about the country reckoning with its colonial past by using the zombie as a central metaphor. “Atlantics” is the feature debut of actress Mati Diop, and was the first movie directed by a woman of color to compete for the Palme D’Or at Cannes. It’s supposed to be great: “Atlantics” left the festival with the runner-up prize (the “Grand Prix” award). Meanwhile, Bertrand Bonello’s last outing was the egregiously under-seen “Nocturama,” and I’m hotly anticipating his next work, “Zombi Child.”
Oh, and I can’t forget this Russian movie called “Beanpole” that’s also screening at NYFF. No wait, I promise this is a neat festival! Anyway, look forward to my coverage of “Beanpole” and everything else in the coming weeks—I know I can’t wait.
