Meret Kelsey
Buffalo NY
Meret is a senior at the University at Buffalo, where she studies Communications & Media Studies. When she's not watching movies, she can be found reading, playing guitar, or hanging out with her cat.
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The River
Beauty... Mystery... Delightful Humor...
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- France, United Kingdom, India • 1951
- Director Jean Renoir
- Cast Nora Swinburne, Esmond Knight, Arthur Shields, Suprova Mukerjee, Thomas E. Breen, Patricia Walters
- Genre Drama, Romance
- Available on Criterion Channel, Max Amazon Channel, Apple TV, Amazon Video
The gorgeous Technicolor photography alone makes The River worth the watch, but it's also just a beautifully told coming-of-age story. I love the way it gives weight to the lives of young girls. I was also struck by how Renoir portrays India with so much reverence, since so many other Western films tend to exoticize and stereotype the country.
City of God
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City of God
(Cidade de Deus)
Three young men embark on different yet intertwined paths as they try to survive in the dangerous favelas of Rio.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- Brazil, France • 2002
- Director Fernando Meirelles
- Cast Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Phellipe Haagensen, Douglas Silva, Jonathan Haagensen, Matheus Nachtergaele
- Genre Drama, Crime
- Available on Apple TV, Google Play Movies, Fandango At Home, Amazon Video, YouTube, Spectrum On Demand
This is the kind of film that sticks in your mind long after you see it. I was so transfixed by this movie, unable to look away despite how brutal it was. It's a tough watch, violent and unrelenting, but that only makes the unexpected moments of beauty even more beautiful. If you can stomach it, you will be absolutely glued to the screen.
RRR
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RRR
(రౌద్రం రణం రుధిరం)
An epic action film fictionalizing the lives of two historical anti-colonial figures in 1920s British-ruled India.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- India • 2022
- Director S. S. Rajamouli
- Cast N.T. Rama Rao Jr., Ram Charan, Alia Bhatt, Olivia Morris, Ajay Devgn, Ray Stevenson
- Genre Action, Drama, History, War
- Available on Netflix, Netflix basic with Ads
I thought RRR couldn't possibly live up to the hype I've been seeing on social media, but it did. It was funny, thrilling, and moving all at once. Probably the most fun I've had watching a film in ages.
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Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché
The life and times of the late X-Ray Spex singer and iconoclast Poly Styrene.
- ✭ ✭ ✭ ✭
- United Kingdom • 2021
- Director Paul Sng, Celeste Bell
- Cast Poly Styrene, Celeste Bell, Ruth Negga, Neneh Cherry, Youth, Bruno Aleph Wizard
- Genre Documentary, Music
- Available on Apple TV, Amazon Video, Kanopy, Hoopla
Poly Styrene is an incredibly underrated icon of punk music, and this documentary-- which was co-directed by her daughter-- absolutely did her justice. She was a complicated person, so it was so great to finally see her story told with so much compassion. The usage of archival material and diary entries from Poly herself really deepened my understanding of her.
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy
(偶然と想像)
Three women deal with the problems of modern relationships in this anthology of unique stories.