Change Your Image
JoannaFolino
Reviews
DriverX (2017)
Heart and Wisdom in DriverX
Henry Barrial's insightful look into contemporary LA as seen through the eyes of an initially reluctant Uber-like driver achieves a flawless tonal balance of poignancy and humor. Initially the film appears to be about a middle class millennial family in financial free fall. By the end of Driver X's odyssey, however, the sensitive weaving of larger themes about our fragile human connections become apparent. What will possibly save each of us from a catastrophic financial free fall that may be lurking in our collective futures? Barrial's insights as a director/writer are hopeful and challenging without being pie in the sky. The deeper wisdom of DriverX culminates in two very powerful scenes close to the end of film. One takes place in DriverX's Prius as he describes a "miracle" and the second when he sits reading to his two daughters. DriverX movingly illustrates how human beings can rise to being better than they thought possible, even when being bombarded with financial insecurity in a fearful world made up of distant billionaires with far too much money and not enough understanding of the importance of a world in balance. Terrific film. (Kudos as well to producer Mark Stolaroff
Krisha (2015)
Krisha: The Lost Family Member We Try To Avoid
Krisha is not the usual story of the effects of alcohol addiction. It is a visual emotional experience that catches you from the first frame and never lets go. This is partly because of the Cassavetes/Malick melding of cinematic creativity and raw feelings few filmmakers understand as deeply as Trey Edward Shults. It is a primal scream that does NOT lead to healing revelations by the main character as most filmmakers would be compelled to show like some debt they owe their audience. This is filmmaking that wends it way through the psychic emotional life of a deeply disturbed and fragile woman whose emotional health is critically exacerbated by alcohol and drugs. Sometimes the damage one does to oneself and the deeply buried psychic damage from the past does not lead to emotional growth. Sometimes it is so deep and so terrifying that a family needs to distance themselves so they all do not implode. And sometimes, rarely, it leads to art. My takeaway is this: don't wait til you are in your sixties to get the help you need. By then the damage you have done to your family, to people who you love and who love you, and to yourself can not be repaired. Sometimes it is too late.
Highston (2015)
Poignant and Funny
Poignant, funny, well acted and the perfect salve for a world upside down in 2017. Has a lot of potential for commentary on celebrity culture and the American family. Since Donald Trump's election it seems this could be very topical and quite relevant to a society decaying because of the worship of authoritarianism. Maybe rework it a little but get it up and running, pushing the edges a little further. A great premise but only ONE episode? I'd watch a whole season of this. It's unique and has tremendous satirical potential. The Uncle is brilliant and laugh out loud funny. Which I did many times. Laugh out loud that is. Lewis Pullman is our Everyman. Dumbfounded in a world gone mad.
It's Better to Jump (2013)
It's Better to Jump is wonderful
This is an intelligent, beautifully crafted documentary about the residents and citizens of a small town on the coast of Israel. What it implies about learning tolerance and how to get along with others is priceless. It is the kind of film that will both move you emotionally as well as leave you with questions about the role of tolerance in a country like Israel. The filmmakers are passionate about their subject but the sense is not one of pushing any political agenda but rather one of slowly uncovering the humanity of the residents of Akka. And slowly revealing within ourselves the question about making a place for long time residents of Israel. I came away from this film with a desire for more discussion, more understanding about the complex issues being raised and a warmth in my heart that such films can be made to inspire the rest of us to create a better world for our kids. Terrific film and a must see.
Family Band: The Cowsills Story (2011)
Cowsills Are Still Contemporary
Wonderful documentary by Louise Palanker that chronicles the oft posed but rarely answered question: What happened to The Cowsills? The music cleverly used throughout the film tells us a lot without trying to but what is especially refreshing is that the film allows the story to unfold naturally (and this is so important to this kind of story) in the family's own words. I never get the feeling that the filmmaker intrudes upon the story in any way. The music is a large asset to the film because it was truly refreshing and creative. Interesting insert by Shirley Jones who played the mother in the televised version aka The Partridge Family. I often wondered why TV executives did not just let The Cowsills play themselves on a televised version. This would have been a successful reality TV show had the Cowsills happened today. Brought to mind another greatly talented family group, The Jackson Five with a similar issue of paternal bullying and worse. At times shockingly revealing, the film shows what being a family is truly about, dysfunction, tragedy and all. Don't miss it.