The 2018 Seattle International Film Festival takes place from May 17th to June 10th and UW Film Club is covering as many films as possible so you know which films you should see or might peak your interest! Below will be a regularly updated feed of our capsule reviews from festival films with the newest ones at the top. Check back regularly to see whats new!
UPDATE: As films are released, this article will be updated with links to their full reviews.
Thunder Road
Thunder Road expands on the humor, message, and heartbreak explored in the magnificent original short film through the force of writer, director, and star Jim Cummings. Legitimately laugh out loud funny, Thunder Road greets the viewer with an onslaught of jokes from start to finish, while still effectively conveying themes of grief and inadequacy. The film’s conclusion feels rushed narratively, but also in part because Thunder Road is so funny the end comes too soon. Hilarious, hysterical, and heartrending, Thunder Road is among the best SIFF 2018 has to offer.
4.5/5 Stars
– Jamie Housen
Thunder Road will play on Friday, June 8th at 3:45pm at the SIFF Cinema Uptown.
Three Identical Strangers
Three Identical Strangers is the type of documentary that could easily go viral. It is riveting from start to finish, with gripping twists and turns driven by a true, larger than life story. Three Identical Strangers is well crafted, bringing together historical news footage, home videos, and uncompromising interviews with many involved parties, and repurposing them throughout the film for varying effects. The viewer should enter with as little background knowledge as possible, as the film will launch them on an emotional and revelatory rollercoaster.
4/5 Stars
-Jamie Housen
Three Identical Strangers will have a limited release on June 29th, and will be broadcast on CNN later this year.
Tyrel
Tyrel disorients the viewer in style and in subversion of expectations. Featuring an excellent performance from Jason Mitchell as the sole black man vacationing with a group of white friends the weekend of Donald Trump’s inauguration, viewers will enter with bated breath anticipating the scenario’s potential disasters. The film’s theme is steered by character interaction, atmosphere, and erratic camerawork. This style creates extended sequences with little activity, making the 86 minute film feel long. Tyrel may not develop a concise, transcendent conclusion, but leaves a lasting and effective impression.
3/5 Stars
-Jamie Housen
Tyrel will have a limited release later this year.
Don’t Worry, He Won’t Get Far on Foot
Gus Van Sant’s latest tells the tale of recovery and redemption through the life of John Callahan, a real life cartoonist who becomes a paraplegic after a drunken car accident. The film’s biggest enemy is its construction as it goes for a narrative that hops around and often wrangles with itself over consistency, but luckily it’s biggest strength is its tentpole performances from Joaquin Phoenix, Jonah Hill, and (a very minor) Jack Black who bring strong meaning to life even after being dealt a shitty hand.
3.75/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
You can catch DWHWGFOF at SIFF’s Closing Night Gala on Sunday, June 10 at 6pm at the SIFF Egyptian, though it is currently on Standby.
Brewmaster
Brewmaster is a documentary that covers every college student’s favorite drink: beer. While weaving in interviews with industry professionals, the doc mainly follows Drew Kostic, a former lawyer who is now pursuing his career as a brewer, and Brian Reed, an educator trying to become a Master Cicerone, as they try to realize their dreams. Even though the film isn’t revolutionary in terms of profound meaning, it is still fascinating to watch people achieve a sense of craftsmanship for something they truly love in a blossoming industry.
3/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
You can catch screenings for Brewmaster on Friday, June 8 at the SIFF Uptown at 6:30pm and Sunday, June 10 at AMC Pacific Place at 1:45pm.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
The Miseducation of Cameron Post brings pitch black humor that transitions seamlessly into heartache. It follows a teenage lesbian Cameron, who is sent to an evangelical gay conversion camp, growing resilient and self-determined with the company of two friends, played by Forrest Goodluck and Sahsa Lane. The film engages with painful subject matter through a thoughtful and memorable coming of age narrative. With a powerhouse cast of teens, it walks the line between hope and devastation.
4.5/5 Stars
-Megan Bernovich
There are no more screenings for this film, but you can catch it in Seattle when it releases on August 3, 2018.
The Devil’s Doorway
In The Devil’s Doorway, director Aislinn Clarke manages to breathe a little freshness into the exhausted tropes of the found footage genre. Set in Northern Ireland the 60s, the footage is meant to be that of a young Catholic Father John Thornton sent with his elder Father Thomas Riley to a Magdalene Laundry to investigate and document a supposed miracle. The film is thoroughly postmodern horror, with thinly veiled social critique at play. Clarke taps into the societal anxieties that gives horror film power over us, particularly a biting critique of the religious authority and institutional policing of bodies. As a whole, The Devil’s Doorway makes competent use of the found footage style while provoking a larger conversation about women’s rights while packing in a couple gut wrenching sequences along the way.
4/5 Stars
-Megan Bernovich
All screenings of The Devil’s Doorway have past, but you can find it in limited release later this year.
Mutafukaz
Mutafukaz is a Japanese anime inspired, Shakespearean animated French film that takes place in a dystopian version of Los Angelos. If that sounds like one of the most wildest pitches you’ve heard of, that’s because it sort of is. Drawing inspirations from many mediums, Mutafukaz uses a variety of designs and techniques to depict the frantic and zany hero’s journey of Angelino. While the plot is by the numbers, its style is so unique because it borrows from Japanese, French, and American influences, creating a visually stunning film that always surprises you with how clever it can be. If anything, the kooky world of Dark Meat City lends itself to even crazier antics, but for part one, it exhibits a great deal of swagger.
3.5/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
You can catch screenings of Mutafukaz on Tuesday May 29 at 9:30pm at the SIFF Egyptian and Thursday, May 31 at 9:30pm at the SIFF Uptown.
Blaze
Blaze is Ethan Hawke’s directorial debut biopic that follows famed country singer Blaze Foley. Told via three inter stitched timelines, the film has an easy going nature to it that matches the carefree artistic nature of Foley himself. The film uses the Foley’s life as a vessel for life’s trials and tribulations; as Foley tries to be a country legend, he faces challenges that occupy everyday life such as love, drinking, and career struggles, but the way in which the film carries itself is too often long in the tooth.
3/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
You can catch screenings of Blaze on Saturday, June 9 at SIFF Uptown at 3:15pm or at the Tribute to Ethan Hawke event on Friday, June 8 at the SIFF Egyptian at 7:30pm.
Sorry to Bother You
Sorry to Bother You tackles an array of social issues such race, labor, colonialism, capitalism, and inequality in a science fiction comedy package. The result is a very clever film that often spreads itself too thin, but paints a hyperbolized version of society as a whole that underscores the injustice in our own. The film’s broad strokes can leave it feeling unfocused and mirky especially by the end when the film gets progressively weirder and weirder, but I can say I enjoyed the social reflection of it all.
3.5/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
You can catch this film at SIFF’s Centerpiece Gala at the SIFF Egyptian on Saturday, June 2 at 5:30pm, but it is currently on standby.
Nancy
Nancy is small film with intricate notions of what it means to connect with others. At its heart, we have Nancy who feels alienated from the world, but also compelled to connect emotionally in the shadow of her rejection, and to do so, she creates fake personas. Director Christina Choe dials in on the longing for emotional bonds and writes a narrative that is empathetic while also disturbing. Part drama and part mystery thriller, Nancy depicts the necessity for human connections through lies that become reality for the titular character.
3.5/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
Both screenings of Nancy have past, but you can catch it in Seattle later this year.
Hearts Beat Loud
Hearts Beat Loud follows Frank Fisher (Nick Offerman) and his daughter Sam (Kiersey Clemons) as one of their songs becomes famous. As Sam prepares for college, Frank must learn to let go of the past or hold onto it. The film’s biggest issue is how contentious the father-daughter relationship can be. Nothing is really learned by Frank and only consolations are made, making for some unsatisfactory outcomes. There’s nothing that completely derails the film, but it’s also nothing to write home about either.
3/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
Both screenings of Hearts Beat Loud have past, but you can catch it in Seattle on June 15th.
Godard Mon Amour
Godard Mon Amour is a romance story depicting the infamous Jean-Luc Godard and Anne Wiazemsky. As someone with no experience with Godard, I found the film function as an interesting depiction of a “false revolutionary” struggling to find acceptance in a rapidly changing landscape while balancing his romance with Anne. However, while talking with someone who has a knowledge of the director, I was told it was quite inaccurate and unrepresentative of the films Godard made. If you’re like me, this will best serve as a passable romance film.
2.5/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
Screenings of Godard Mon Amour played at SIFF on Sunday, May 20 at 7pm at AMC Pacific Place and Tuesday, May 22 at 9pm at Majestic Bay.
Blindspotting
In Blindspotting, Rafael Casal’s Miles says something along the lines of “people listen more when you make it pretty.” Casal and co-star/co-writer Daveed Diggs prove this in a rap driven film that is substantively fascinating and stylistically rich. Blindspotting succeeds in visuals, comedy, and tension. Some won’t like the bluntness with which it explains its symbolism, but that doesn’t detract from the film’s message. In true Hip-Hop fashion, the film feels postmodern; it’s one part Dope, one part Get Out, and one part Hamilton, yet still completely its own work.
4/5 Stars
-Jamie Housen
Blindspotting played on Saturday, May 19th at 6:30pm and Sunday May, 20th at 4:15pm at the SIFF Cinema Egyptian.
The Miseducation of Cameron Post
The Miseducation of Cameron Post follows Cameron who is sent away to a gay conversion therapy camp after being caught having sex in the back of the car with her friend. While there she meets Jane and Adam who collectively resent the practices going on at the camp. Stylistically assured and narratively strong, Desiree Akhavan’s sophomore film deconstructs the topically relevant institutional failing of these centers while going the emotional distance to generate tear jerking empathy. It’s a coming of age film that will sure to leave a lingering impression.
4.5/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
You can catch screenings on Friday, May 25th at 6:30pm at SIFF Uptown and Saturday, May 26th at 3:00pm at SIFF Uptown. Actor Forrest Goodluck will be in attendance at both screenings.
Eighth Grade
Bo Burnham’s directorial debut follows Kayla during her final week of middle school as she tries to shake her pariah status. From start to finish, Eighth Grade is an incredibly authentic look at our tween years with all their quirks and oddities. It’ll make you cringe, but only because the scenes are all too relatable as the film holds a mirror to the audience and shows them how awkward and painful these years were while at the same time underscoring how seminal they were to who we are now.
4/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
You can catch screenings for Eighth Grade on Saturday, June 9th at 6:30pm at SIFF Egyptian and Sunday, June 10th at 12:30pm at SIFF Uptown. Both director Bo Burnham and Elsie Fisher will be in attendance at both screenings.
On Chesli Beach
Harkening back to Elia Kazan’s Splendor in the Grass, On Chesli Beach tries to discuss the social pressures of love and marriage within a flash back narrative that is full of sexual tension and repression. The emotional tenants that connect major moments don’t always congeal and you’re often left wondering why certain characters act the way they do, so while the ending tries to play up your emotions, it fails to reconcile why characters end up where they are in the first place.
2.5/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
You can catch screenings on Friday, May 25 at Shorline Community College at 7:30pm or on Saturday, June 2 at SIFF Uptown at 3:00pm.
Catwalk: Tales from the Cat Show Circuit
Catwalk: Tales from the Cat Show Circuit depicts the unbelievable but true competition that takes place in the Cat Show Circuit. Full of gorgeous felines, this doc shows just how much people adore cats, and in spite of the desire to win, how owners put their love for cats above all else, resulting in a bondage between competitors. You’ll be surprised at just how obsessed but passionately caring the subjects of the film are, and if you love cats, this is made just for you.
3.5/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
You can catch screenings of Catwalk on Saturday May 19th at 3:30pm at SIFF Uptown, Sunday May 20th at 1:00pm at SIFF Uptown, and Saturday June 2nd at 3:30pm at the Shoreline. Director Michael McNamara will be there for the 5/19 and 5/20 screenings.
Ruin Me
Ruin Me follows a couple who go on a weekend trip called Slasher Sleepout, a murder mystery-esk puzzle game that mimics a slasher film. As the game progresses, the lines between the game and reality blur when an actual escaped murderer crosses their path. The film’s strongest element is its gaslighting effect, playing with what is and isn’t apart of the game, but there is nothing you haven’t seen before as it lives well within the shadow of its influences, but services as some passive entertainment.
2/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
You can catch screenings of this film on Friday, June 8 at 11:55pm at SIFF Egyptian and Saturday, June 9 at SIFF Uptown. Producer Trysta A. Bissett and David Hendleman and Director Robert O’Twomney will be in attendance at both screenings.
The Bookshop
Sixteen years after the death of her husband, Florence Green decides to open a local bookshop and fulfill her dream. However, she encounters a series of hurdles as powerful locals try to shut the store down to protect its historical value. What is admirable about the film is Green’s integrity in the face of circumstance, especially considering that she is a female entrepreneur in the 1950s. However, the film’s positive message is wrapped in a very ordinary narrative that too often plays it safe and lacking something more daring.
3/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
You can catch this film at SIFF’s Opening Night Gala on Thursday, May 17 at 7:00pm at Marion Oliver McCaw Hall.
Won’t You Be My Neighbor?
Won’t You Be My Neighbor? is a documentary that tells the story of everyone’s favorite neighbor: Fred Rogers. What this documentary does so well is shine light on how Fred Rogers influenced generations of kids to be the best version of our self. Director Morgan Neville is able to illicit an array of timeless emotions that’ll have you in tears throughout, and you really get the sense of how important Rogers was to not only children, but also to society at large.
4.5/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
You can catch screenings of it on Saturday, May 26 at 6pm and Sunday, May 27 at 1:30pm. Both screenings are at SIFF Uptown and will have director Morgan Neville in attendance.
First Reformed
Written and directed by Paul Scrader (Taxi Driver, Raging Bull), First Reformed is a two hour Ethan Hawke spotlight. Hawke plays the pastor at a small, historic church in upstate New York. There he meets Mary (Amanda Seyfried) and her husband (Phillip Ettinger) forlorn by climate change. The film’s slow, methodical pace, static camerawork, and candid plot drive toward an escalating hum contrasting galvanization and despondency. Thematic elements are thought provoking, but the audience must suffer alongside First Reformed’s characters to fully grasp their significance and implication.
3/5 Stars
-Jamie Housen
See First Reformed at SIFF Cinema Egyptian on Friday, May 18th at 4:00pm or at SIFF Cinema Uptown on Tuesday, May 22nd at 7:00pm.
We the Animals
We the Animals, from the Justin Torres novel of the same name, lets the viewer into the world of three young boys from a poor New York state family. Between small, meaningful moments the audience witnesses their developmental impact through visceral animation. Occasionally suffering from overly symbolic dialogue attempting to evoke the film’s literary origin, performances from Evan Rosado (Jonah) and Raúl Castillo (Paps) are otherwise powerful and authentic. We the Animals is intersectional, analyzing identity through a focus on poverty but considerate of its relationship to race and sexuality.
3.5/5 Stars
-Jamie Housen
See We the Animals on Friday, May 25th at AMC Pacific Place at 7:00pm with screenwriter Daniel Kitrosser in attendance or at SIFF Cinema Uptown on Saturday, May 26th at 12:30pm.
Boundaries
Boundaries is a comedic examination of strained familial relationships and the challenges of reconciliation. Christopher Plummer plays father Jack Jaconi to Vera Farmiga’s daughter Laura, and they are joined by Lewis MacDougall who plays Laura’s son Henry. Some jokes fall flat and there are moments of triteness, but the film succeeds by highlighting its performers. Plummer as a marijuana dealing 85-year-old is a unique premise that gives its leads plenty to work with on their road trip from Seattle to Los Angeles.
2.5/5 Stars
-Jamie Housen
See Boundaries on Friday, May 18th at Lincoln Square at 6:30pm or at SIFF Cinema Uptown on Sunday, May 27th at 5:30pm with director Shana Feste and star Vera Farmiga in attendance.
Waru
Waru is a truly unique piece. It is the combination of 8 short films directed by 8 female Māori directors and gives a voice to a population essentially unseen in cinema. The quality of these shorts varies significantly from vignette to vignette, but they respond to the same prompt through extended takes featuring devoted, hardworking, and fatigued Māori women. Standouts include Kiritapu and Mere. Ultimately these directors demonstrate the wide reach of tragedy on community and draw attention to compelling social issues that are likely very foreign to the viewer.
3/5 Stars
-Jamie Housen
See Waru on Friday, May 25th at AMC Pacific Place at 9:30pm, on Sunday, May 27th at Lincoln Square at 1:00pm, or at SIFF Film Center on Friday, June 1st at 6:15pm. Director Chelsea Winstanley is expected to attend the May 25th and May 27th screenings.
American Animals
American Animals depicts the true to life story of Spencer Reinhard and Warren Lipka who plan to break into the Special Collections Library at Transylvania University when they realize $14 million worth of rare books are guarded by one librarian. The film wears its influences on its sleeve and utilizes a variety of techniques, but creates an inconsistent styling because of it. That being said, when the heist begins, American Animals finds its footing as it explores the moral quandaries of the gang’s actions within a cohesive tone and structure.
3/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
You can catch screenings of it on Saturday, May 19 at 9:00 PM at SIFF Cinema Uptown and Sunday, May 20 at 1:30 PM at AMC Pacific Place .
Disobedience
Disobedience is Sebastián Lelio’s (A Fantastic Woman) latest that follows Ronit (Rachael Weisz) as she returns home to England and she reconnects with Esti (Rachel McAdams), a now married woman she had a relationship with in the past. The story is set within an Orthodox Jewish community and explores the relationship between Ronit and Esti in the face of institutional and social norms that aim to keep them apart and stifle their affection. It’s a powerful film that asks us how we balance belonging and freedom in our personal lives.
3.75/5 Stars
-Greg Arietta
You can catch screenings of it on Sunday, May 20 at 6:45 PM at SIFF Cinema Egyptian or Monday, May 21 at 6:30 PM at Ark Lodge Cinemas.