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 Shadows off the beaten pathIndies, foreigns, docs and shorts...
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MY FATHER'S SHADOW |
PREPARATION FOR THE NEXT LIFE |
THE RUN
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| See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL | Last update 1.Dec.25 | |||||||||||||
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My Father’s Shadow Review by Rich Cline | 
MUST  SEE
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 dir Akinola Davies Jr scr Wale Davies prd Rachel Dargavel, Funmbi Ogunbanwo with Sope Dirisu, Chibuike Marvelous Egbo, Godwin Egbo, Winifred Efon, Greg "Teddy Bear" Ojeufa, Olarotimi Fakunle, Uzoamaka Aniunoh, Tosin Adeyemi, Martha Ehinome, Ayo Lijadu, Patrick Diabuah, Adesina McCoy Babalola release US 21.Nov.25, UK 6.Feb.25 25/Nigeria BBC 1h34 CANNES FILM FEST TORONTO FILM FEST  Is it streaming? |
 Astutely capturing details about life in 1993 Nigeria, this British-produced film follows two cheeky kids on an adventure to the big city with their father. With gorgeous observational photography by Jermaine Edwards, director Akinola Davies peppers the film with insight about the nation's cultural life and a contentious political situation. It's a warm, involving odyssey that's so authentic that it almost feels like a collection of home movies. Alone in their rural home while their mother (Efon) goes shopping, pre-teen brothers Remi and Aki (Chibuike and Godwin Egbo) are thrilled when their father Folarin (Dirisu) turns up after working in Lagos. Then he decides to take them back to the city for a day out, guiding them through a series of new experiences and teaching them things they've never imagined. While he waits for a chance to talk to his boss, Folarin takes the boys on a tour, accidentally running into his sister Seyi (Adeyemi) and visiting his father (Lijadu) after many years. These boys look at their hulking dad as if he's a mystical creature. The camera stays close on their faces, capturing their curious reactions to everything from a lively political discussion on a bus to passing truckloads of armed soldiers. Everything is fascinating to them, and Folarin is watching the city as well, taking things in from his own perspective. There are undercurrents of deeper meaning as the settings continually shift the tone, leading to intensely visceral moments. Dirisu gives a beautifully layered performance as Folarin, a hard-working man who hasn't been paid for six months. He's relaxed and happy, but also haunted at thoughts that he is repeating history. There's a lovely tenderness between him and his sons, who at 8 and 11 are angry that their dad is always away, forcing their mother to work and leaving her so sad. But they're discovering complex truths about their society. The Egbo brothers are strikingly natural, revealing their strong chemistry. In the wake of a tumultuous general election, people are hopeful that the nation's corrupt, oppressive regime will fall. So the film maintains remarkable optimism in the brothers' inquisitive eyes. "If not for us, it will be better for the children," one person observes with a smile. But as he tries to teach his children, Folarin is learning that he needs to address the important issues much closer to home. Life may be hard, but that doesn't excuse us from doing our best.
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Preparation for the Next Life Review by Rich Cline | 
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 dir Bing Liu scr Martyna Majok prd Dede Gardner, Jeremy Kleiner, Adele Romanski, Mark Ceryak, Barry Jenkins with Sebiye Behtiyar, Fred Hechinger, Alicher Adill, Dralla Aierken, Erden Uyghur, Esther Chen, Celine Cheung, Jessica Ma, Whitney Chi, James DiGiacomo, Mick Dempsey, H Jack Williams release US 5.Sep.25, UK 12.Dec.25 25/US Orion 1h55 Is it streaming? |
 Introspective and involving, this timely, observant drama follows two lost young people who make a connection. Director Bing Liu, writer Martyna Majok and the gifted actors create a lovely sense that these characters are heading somewhere unknown. As it follows them, the film reveals warm and moving resonance in an often downbeat story. The thorny issue of immigration looms large throughout, and the intimate approach offers fresh insights. Creating her new life in New York, Uyghur immigrant Aishe (Behtiyar) crosses paths with just-discharged soldier Skinner (Hechinger). They watch each other, sharing an interest in fitness, testing each other with pushups and beer drinking. And their mutual attraction overflows into intimacy. As Skinner decides to stick around, Aishe finds a restaurant job. Her focussed ambition contrasts with Skinner's aimlessness about what he'll do next. But they bond over dark experiences from their pasts, which affect decisions they are making now. Mainly, Aishe worries about her legal status, and perhaps Skinner can help with that. When fleeing China, Aishe was shunned by other refugees due to her ethnicity, so she focussed on building physical and mental strength to face the future alone. She's terrified of letting her guard down, but she sees her beloved father reflected in Skinner. Meanwhile, he is simply smitten, even when she tries to put him off by telling him she's Muslim. In her diary-style voiceover, Aishe notes that even if she knows nothing about Skinner, he makes her feel free, able to imagine possibilities again. Behtiyar and Hechinger are a terrific couple, likeably shy and childish as they keep a watchful eye on each other. Their rivalry is adorable, as is how Aishe becomes vulnerable with the puppy dog-like Skinner. She admires the way he doesn't seem to worry about anything, but she also discovers his deeper psychological wounds. Perhaps the way they workout together in the gym is the closest they get to truly understanding each other. With the current climate in the US, the realistic depiction of how immigrants live in fear is eerily haunting. Aishe and Skinner begin with giggly expectation, but there are several dark turns in the narrative, as each of them grapples with demons, yearning for people they have lost along the way. So while the film could perhaps have been more tightly edited, it's a complex, beautiful illustration of how meeting someone who cares can help you believe in yourself. It's not about our next life; it's about this one.
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The Run Review by Rich Cline |
 Is it streaming?
|  This interactive thriller is essentially a game that can be played by a cinema audience. And it's fun to watch with an involved group cheering and waving glow sticks to make choices along the way. So the plot varies with each viewing, and it's amusingly unhinged as it heads towards its outrageous conclusion. Along the way, the protagonist's decisions reflect viewers' attitudes, which gives everything a pointed kick. Heading to northern Italy for a break, fitness influencer Zanna (McKee) takes an extended run through spectacular wooded countryside and finds herself pursued by several masked killers. Everyone Zanna meets in the woods seems equally ready to violently do her in. Desperate for help, she takes shelter in an isolated farmhouse with Matteo (Blagden), and they fend off various attacks as they hit the trail, heading to the nearby village to find Matteo's somewhat bizarrely running-obsessed 85-year-old grandmother (Jelo). But these villains are almost supernaturally tenacious. Everything comes to a climax in the local church. Because this is a game, it resets each time Zanna dies (we saw her demise four times) so that the narrative can continue to the conclusion preordained by our choices. Writer-director Raschid created nearly four hours of footage, so the running time will be determined based on which sideroads the audience takes. These include video-calls with Zanna's brother (Ward), flashbacks to a younger Zanna (Papi) and other strands worth exploring in multiple viewings. Most amusing is how doing the right or wrong thing affects the outcome. Performances are natural within the heightened reality of this scenario. McKee is an engaging lead, plucky and also just a bit tetchy (which might have been our fault) as she deals with the people she encounters. Her banter with Blagden's likeable but hapless Matteo is especially enjoyable, and starry cameos from Argento (as a priest) and Nero (as a hunter) add some spark along the way. As the plot spirals to its metaphysical finale, the whole thing feels surprisingly ambitious, adding depth to the skilfully scrappy filmmaking style. While some of the questions are somewhat random (do we take the north or south trail?), most offer moral dilemmas that need to be addressed within a complex situation. So the movie actually makes us consider whether we would help someone or run for our lives, which of course has something to say about who we are.
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See also: SHADOWS FILM FESTIVAL © 2025 by Rich Cline, Shadows
on the Wall
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