• The Man Who Felt No Pain

    March 7, 2019 - By 

    As high-concept premises go, The Man Who Feels No Pain (Mard Ko Dard Nahin Hota) has an absolute humdinger. It’s an Indian martial arts film about Surya, a man with a rare disorder that prevents him from registering pain. With an irreverent tone and a theme song featuring the lyric “Break it! Shatter it! I am the man who feels no pain!” this should be martial arts movie for the ages. So why is it such a chore to watch? Well, the pacing for one thing. The Man Who Feels No Pain is a turgid 134 minutes long, inconceivable considering the…

  • DIFF19: Rafiki

    March 5, 2019 - By 

    When you think of films set in the African continent, what subject matter comes to mind? Poverty? AIDS? Child soldiers? That isn’t to be disingenuous. Of course African countries face dire problems that need more attention. But how often do we see films that reflect the stunning culture and spirit that they have to offer? After all, that’s what made last year’s Black Panther so revelatory. To that end, the last few years have seen the emergence of an African art collective called AFROBUBBLEGUM (the capitalization is mandatory). Comprised of filmmakers, clothes designers, graphic designers, its mission is to create…

  • DIFF19: Ray & Liz

    March 5, 2019 - By 

    Writer/director Richard Billingham has said that Ray & Liz reflects his memories of his childhood, rather than the reality. After watching this blisteringly bleak film, I can’t tell if that’s cause for relief or great concern. The film serves as an adaptation of ‘Ray’s a Laugh’, a collection of portraits featuring Billingham’s alcoholic father. In the present day, Ray lies in his high-rise tenement flat in Birmingham, drinking homebrew made by his friend Sid. Ray’s welfare does just enough to cover his addiction and since Sid picks up his dole, he scarcely needs to move – except to pour booze…