What I Watched in October (NYFF Edition)

2 posts in 2 months?????

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Growing up, one of my biggest dreams was to go to a film festival.

New York Film Festival probably wasn’t what I had in mind, but it has been a staple of my Octobers in New York. For the last three years, I have saved up money specifically for these 2 weeks to catch all the best festival offerings at Lincoln Center, meet and greet the filmmakers, and interact with like-minded film enthusiasts, some of whom had taken a day trip to New York specifically for this event.

In 2021,The Power of The Dog and C'mon C'mon ended up on my year-end list. In 2022, Aftersun bodied the entire film slate and became my favorite film of the year. This year, I saw more films at the festival than I could have dreamed of, including two wonderful masterpieces from Vietnamese-born filmmakers that brought a spark to my heart and a tear to my eye. While I missed out on some (Anatomy of A Fall, La Chimera and The Zone of Interest to name a few), the ones I did watch cemented NYFF 2023 as the best one yet post-Covid.

From a homosexual Englishman trying to talk to his parents, to a resurrected woman going on a cross-ocean sexual bender, this is What I Watched in October.

This is a brand new series to recommend to you, dear readers, the most interesting films that I watch in any given month. As per usual, the films will be accompanied by how I would recommend it to someone, not the actual consensus of the film. There will also be a small synopsis, and a subsection called “Why This Film” to explain why I chose that specific film. If you are interested in my entire ranking of this year’s list of films, you can find it right here on Letterboxd.

POOR THINGS - “Inappropriate in the best way possible".

Synopsis: After being resurrected by her guardian, the fully-grown Bella (Emma Stone) embarks on a scandalous adventure across the oceans, all with the maturity of a young child.

Why This Film: Yorgos Lanthimos is a demented genius.

Following one of the best original three-film runs of all time with The Lobster, The Killing of a Sacred Deer and The Favorite, Lanthimos has reunited with Emma Stone for what is safely his craziest adventure yet. With warped camera angles, long takes filled with background-foreground interplay, and a pitch-perfect absurdist comedy tone, what were once stylish quirks in his directing cannon in Kinetta and Dogtooth have now become Lanthimos’s calling card, the type where audiences would say “Oh, it’s a Yorgos Lanthimos film”.

Filled to the brim with a dirty streak and relentless, maniacal energy, Poor Things isn’t so much concerned with plot as it is with evoking a squirmish cringe from the crowd, whether it be with a moment of grotesque or a very awkward dinner.

Following a small hiatus, Emma Stone reaffirms her leading lady credentials with magnificent performances in the one-two NYFF punch of this film and the Nathan Fielder-Benny Safdie collaboration The Curse, firmly placing herself as the one to beat for this year's Best Actress race.

Wonderful, absolutely wonderful.

KILLERS OF THE FLOWER MOON - “The devil played a trick on them".

Synopsis: After oil was discovered on tribal lands in the Osage Nation, gruesome murders of Osage people followed and became the catalyst to native displacement in middle America.

Why This Film:

Martin Scorsese's praises have been sung repeatedly in the past few years as he called for the beauty of cinema to be recognized in the face of commercialized filmmaking and cynical streaming content pushes.

So it was only fitting that the last guardian of cinema got his $200 million dream project made by way of participating in Apple TV+’s streaming content push. But if there was anyone you could give a blank check to, you could do a lot worse than one of the most celebrated directors of all time.

A massive departure from the book of the same name, and all the better for it, Killers of The Flower Moon is a deeply impactful, sympathetic portrayal of Osage pain that succeeds in shining a light on indigenous communities' explotation and brutality. From a simple conversation about post-war careers between the simple Ernest and his cunning uncle King, to unflinchingly brutal scenes of Osage murders, every frame is carefully calculated to service the overarching story, which zips through at a remarkably quick pace thanks to Thelma Schoonmaker's masterful editing despite its 200-minute runtime.

And we haven't even gotten to the performances. Acting next to Scorsese titans in Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro was always going to be a tall task, but Lily Gladstone as Mollie Burkhardt emerged as the shining light of the film. The Native-born actress delivered a fully embodied performance that should be taught in acting school, calm and effective yet gargantuan in heart. De Niro flexes his frowning muscle again, proving that class is permanent, while DiCaprio is acting with a capital “A" in an against-type role.

As long as Marty is still making films, I’ll be there in the cinema.

LE PASSION DE DODIN BOUFFANT / THE TASTE OF THINGS - “Do not watch this on an empty stomach.”

Synopsis: A story of love, of food, of love for food and of food for love.

Why This Film: My teacher’s teacher did this.

Part adaptation of Marcel Rouff’s La Vie et la passion de Dodin-Bouffant, gourmet, part thematic autobiography of husband-wife, director-actress duo Tran Anh Hung and Tran Nu Yen Khe, Le Passion De Dodin Bouffant / The Taste of Things is truly a labor of love and a treat for the soul and finds the legendary director at his most effortlessly excellent form, which brought him a well-deserved Best Director Award at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

As par for the course with other films in his catalogue, The Taste of Things has a fairly simple love story of an undefined central relationship, but tells it with plenty of gravitas and narrative aplomb. The film is filled to the brim with hearty cinematic language and an abundant dosage of gourmet food preparation and presentation, helped by arguably the best cinematography work of Hung’s career. In the post-film NYFF Q&A, when asked about the film’s beautiful natural lighting, Hung bluntly remarked “It’s all fake. All artificial. Nothing’s natural in the film”, speaking to the effortless brilliance of Hung and the camera team in creating the film’s look and feel.

Additionally, do not watch this film on an empty stomach. It cannot be stressed enough that the film’s culinary scenes stand entirely on a pedestal of its own, with Hung painstakingly capturing every step of the food-making with confident camerawork and ingenious character blocking.

A beautiful achievement in image-led filmmaking and a love letter to all things food and life companionship. Tran Anh Hung, you will always be timeless.

EVIL DOES NOT EXIST - “Hamaguchi made a film under 2 hours?????”

Synopsis: The life of a small rural town is disrupted when a Tokyo-based glamorous camping (glamping) project threatens their citizens’ way of life.

Why This Film: “I’m back”, Hamaguchi said prior to the film’s opening, but in all honesty, when has he ever been gone?

A marked departure from his other films, but one that still bears all of his best hallmarks, Evil Does Not Exist delves into the minutiae of his work, only to uncover another story of human corruption and suffering.

A master of atmosphere, cringe and mundane brilliance, Ryusuke Hamaguchi spends the first 40 minutes of the film establishing the small town and its inhabitants’ lives, accomplishing the goal so masterfully that audiences can track the villagers' steps throughout the village; the first half doesn't feel like a Hamaguchi film, but rather of a filmmaker testing the boundaries of his setting and how far he can push himself out of his comfort zone.

Thus, Ryusuke Hamaguchi decides to remind everyone that he is, indeed, Ryusuke Hamaguchi. Following the best on-screen open talk session since 12 Angry Men, the film takes a massive U-turn to flesh out its “antagonists" and fully justifies that change of perspective.

The beautiful backdrop of a tranquil, snow-filled hidden village plays in juxtaposition with a sense of dread that trickles in from the opening image and the soul-piercing musical score that trembles throughout. By the end of the film, shock and awe are the theme of the day, with not a single jaw not dropped in my auditorium. “Fun film,” the director says the moment he gets on stage in the post-film Q&A.

Never change, Ryusuke.

CLEO FROM 5 TO 7 - “The title is a lie.”

Synopsis: Awaiting a life-changing diagnosis from her doctor, titular singer Cleo (Corianne Marchand) gallops through Paris and contemplates the meaning of her life.

Why This Film: “Je dois avoir des fleurs. Toujours et toujours.”

Paris is such a beast of a film location, filled with lush sceneries, mysterious back corners, and a vibrant atmosphere that you just can't replicate anywhere else. Directed by the pioneering Agnes Varda, Cleo From 5 to 7 is a bombshell stroll through the City of Love and the mind of a woman in peril. A staple of the French New Wave and a brilliant companion piece to last month's Breathless, the film resembles a meditative drift through time and space as we trace its steps, anchored by Marchand's mesmerizing performance and a blazing sense of purpose from Varda's pointed script.

The quote above by Claude Monet spoke to how the artist found so much beauty in flowers that must have them, whether physically or in an artistic sense for his paintings. Varda's composition of the story, of Cleo's hour-and-a-half hike while contemplating her mortality and the demeaning role she plays in a male-dominant French society, is as beautiful as a painting. Regardless of whether Cleo is correctly diagnosed or not, she must have her flowers.

“One of the gods,” said Martin Scorsese as he paid tribute to Varda at Telluride Film Festival after her death in 2019. A god's god, a legend.

ALL OF US STRANGERS - “Paul Mescal.”

Synopsis: A chance encounter with his enigmatic neighbor prompts Adam (Andrew Scott) to confront his grief over his parents' death.

Why This Film:

Probably one of my favorite films of the year, Andrew Haigh's All of Us Strangers finds a story of profound love and grief told through a supernatural lens, led by a murderers' row of British and Irish talents in Scott, Paul Mescal, Jamie Bell and Claire Foy. Similar to Haigh's quietly riveting 45 Years, Strangers investigates the very fabric of a human relationships, asking much of its audience to trust the journey Haigh is taking you on despite the lack of upfront information. The result is a heartbreaking journey through time and the afterlife, so deeply self-assured yet still full of tender insecurities.

The film blends the uncanny with the mundane and paints a fully-fledged picture of a flawed human being, one who has not felt in touch with himself for years on end working as a creative. Not a film you'd see with your parents, the film features groundbreaking mainstream sex scenes between Mescal and Scott, which Haigh remarked as “an absolute necessity" during his Q&A.

In a deeply personal role, Andrew Scott continues to prove he is a leading man on the ascension with a diverse range of emotions and performance subtleties. On the other hand, Paul Mescal’s performance is summed up perfectly by Haigh: “It's bloody difficult for anyone not to have chemistry with Paul Mescal”.

A beautiful film all around.

TAYLOR SWIFT: THE ERAS TOUR - “AND IT'S NEW, THE SHAPE OF YOUR BODY, IT'S BLUE”.

Synopsis: Taylor Swift performs her entire career in concert, now in cinemas.

Why This Film:

I don't have to sell this film to you all. It's Taylor Swift in concert for 20 dollars a ticket.

Enjoy it on the biggest screen with the biggest audience.

THE HOLDOVERS - “Wake up kids, new Christmas classic just dropped”.

Synopsis: A hardass instructor at a New England prep school remains on campus during Christmas break to babysit a handful of students with nowhere to go.

Why This Film: This will become a Christmas classic for years to come.

Following the critically panned Downsizing, Alexander Payne returns to form with a note-perfect comedy drama alongside his muse, a delectable Paul Giamatti. The film’s chilly New England setting becomes a scenic backdrop to a story of unlikely friendships between a spoiled teenager, a dissatisfied teacher and a grieving mother.

It instantly evokes memories of being with your family or with your favorite relative during a cold winter day. The comedy feels natural, with laughs achieved through deft characterization and sharp back-and-forth quarrels instead of tiresome quips.

Similar to how Sideways, Nebraska and The Descendants hang their melodrama and frequent moments of saccharine on chemistry-filled performances, The Holdovers rests entirely on its cast to deliver an otherwise unexceptional screenplay, and they do not disappoint.

Giamatti delivers a career-best performance as Mr. Hunham, ably balancing between crude telling-offs and sparks of sweetness with subtle tics and mannerisms; an artist in complete mastery of his craft, Giamatti proves his credentials as one of the finest character actors of this generation. Dominic Sessa and Da'Vine Joy Randolph compliment Giamatti's explosiveness with love, angst and warmth, as the three guide us through their tricky, yet believable, emotional world.

The best one for family viewing on this list, and one I'll be sure to check out with my parents.

JANET PLANET - “It's one of those quiet films”.

Synopsis: Precocious 11-year-old Lacy spends the summer with her enigmatic, distant mom Janet.

Why This Film:

In recent years, there has always been “quiet" films that strike a chord with me at NYFF. Aftersun, Drive My Car, Petite Maman, What Do We See When We Look At The Sky, C'mon C'mon, and even Inside The Yellow Cocoon Shell, just to name a few that premiered at NYFF.

Characterizing these films as “quiet" is reductive, but there is merit to the claim. These films are emotionally resonant, intimate pieces of art about unremarkable people that you see in your everyday life. More often than not, these films don't have an explosive climax or a neatly wrapped conclusion; the story simply floats through, inviting you into their world before separating, leaving you with a weighted heart. Janet Planet is one of those films.

Pulitzer-winning playwright Annie Baker makes her directorial debut one to remember, painting a deeply personal story about her own experiences in Western Massachusetts growing up. A Macarthur Fellow in 2017, she was awarded for “mining the minutiae of how we speak, act, and relate to one another and the absurdity and tragedy that result from the limitations of language,” and Janet Planet is a stunning portrayal of this comment.

Interactions between Lacy and Janet are the forgotten conversations we would have with our parents when we were kids, comforting yet discerning if not remembered with care. Conversely, Janet, brilliantly portrayed by Julianne Nicholson, would carry out venomous acts as a mother that Lacy simply does not clock in as a child, but has a lasting effect on her growing up.

The complexity of their bond, and the flawed nature of Janet as a mom, constitute Janet's and Lacy's “planet” that individuals pass by, reeled in by their gravity yet never staying long enough to knock them out of orbit.

One of the finest films at this year's festival, and one I can't wait to rewatch.

Hit Man - “*sigh*”.

Synopsis: Professional killer Gary breaks protocol to help a desperate woman trying to flee an abusive husband and finds himself falling for her.

Why This Film: Richard Linklater, you're an odd, odd man.

Inspired by a magazine article, Hit Man sees Richard Linklater venture into action comedies, to mixed results. As seen through the 12-year-long Boyhood, the ambitiously animated Apollo 10 ½, the decade-spanning Before trilogy, and the upcoming 20-years-in-the-making Merrily We Roll Along, Linklater is never one to shy away from ambition.

This makes it all the more surprising that Hit Man rarely ever, for a lack of better word, hits during its 2-hour runtime. The central romance lacks a certain spark that Linklater has become known for, while the comedy reads like an early Marvel film, leaning into well-worn tropes such as “they forgot to hang up" revelations. The closest this comes to fulfilling its potential is in its first 10 electric minutes, after which the film loses its momentum and descends into generic popcorn fare.

That being said, it's still popcorn fare directed by one of the best modern-age American storytellers.

A spiritual successor to Linklater's 2011 dark comedy Bernie, Hit Man does charm in its best moments, with Glen Powell announcing his arrival as Hollywood's next leading man. Frequently comedic to the point of slapstick, the bumbling-when-needed, calculated-when-wanted Gary is a well-developed, easy-to-root-for protagonist thanks to Powell's charming charisma. While the screenplay isn't anything to write home about, the central premise does get its money’s worth, ringing out maximum screwball situations in a tightly-paced film.

A good Netflix viewing, but probably not one you'll recall a week after.

MAESTRO - “Let me just rewatch West Side Story”.

Synopsis: A rousing biopic about legendary composer Leonard Bernstein and his tumultuous relationship with his wife Felicia.

Why This Film: This is not what you think it is.

Bradley Cooper has found a knack for crowd-pleasing musical biopics with towering female leads. The Netflix-produced, Cooper-directed Maestro refuses to tread the familiar biopic grounds; it instead shifts the story’s POV to that of Carey Mulligan's Felicia to paint a full picture of Leonard Bernstein not just as the greatest composer who ever lived, but also a deeply flawed husband.

This is what Maestro is at its core: A great film that nevertheless suffers from alarming flaws in its screenplay.

There is so much to love about Maestro, from Matthew Libatique's mesmerizing cinematography and the goosebumps-inducing, stadium-sized musical set pieces, to the pulsing chemistry between Cooper and Mulligan, the latter of which delivered her career-best performance.

The final orchestra scene in the film has an Endgame-level aura, so sure is Cooper's direction of the scene, the music and his performance as Bernstein. There is clear inspiration and reverence towards the Golden Age of Hollywood, and the love echoes through the film's marvelous technical accomplishments.

The screenplay, however, rarely rises to its technical counterpart: the film's black and white visual flourishes simply paper over an emotionally detached script, which jumps aimlessly between the grandiose and the intimate. Cooper floods the screen with wides and two-shots, partly because he is framing himself as an observer of Bernstein's story instead of a participant, which plays to both the film's strengths and weaknesses: you get the full picture, yes, but you don't get any of the details or internal streams that make art so captivating.

"A work of art does not answer questions, it provokes them; and its essential meaning is in the tension between contradictory answers,” says the film's opening scene. In Maestro's case, the answer is pretty straightforward.

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And that is all for October and an electric slate of NYFF films that will prove classics for years to come. Stay tuned for November.

‘Til next time!