Saturday, June 15, 2024

Tribeca 2024 short takes: KNEECAPS, DEVIL'S BATH, LINDA PERRY LET IT DIE HERE, GROUP THERAPY, SHELF LIFE and BEACON

I saw a number of films that other people will be covering in full reviews. Because I scribble notes I've turned some of them into this piece.


KNEECAPS is trying to do too much. A fictionalized version about the stars, its a music film, a crime film, a polemic about the Irish National Language and a few other things. Its all over the place in a good way and a bad way It kind of just missed for me- then again it's rare that any film tries this hard to be its own thing- so is worth a look.


DEVIL"S BATH is a head scratcher. How the hell did this win awards? A great looking, but wholly form over content folk horror film about a cursed place, where little is explained, and even less makes sense. I spent most of the run time writing questions in my note book. It begins with an infant being tossed off a waterfall and then staggers on from there. It's a waste.


LINDA PERRY LET IT DIE HERE is a portrait of the performer and producer. It's a glorious look at hpw one woman has refused to follow the rules and in doing so broke barriers and opened up musical forms. A must.


GROUP THERAPY is a filmed group therapy session involving a bunch of comedians and Neil Patrick Harris as they talk about mental health and comedy.  It is both funny and emotionally raw. Another must see.


BOYS GO TO JUPITER did not work for me. A low fi computer animated film that looks like something out of the 1990's, the films deliberate look and mannered  script never clicked with me. (It took an animator I met at the fest multiple times before he liked it)


SHELF LIFE is a look at cheese via some very strange people who love it. I thought wine lovers were strange. Beginning with a man who speaks of cheese in frightening tones (including comparing it favorably to necrophilia in a way that will make you wonder how he knows) the film speeds off into other weird places. I was never a big cheese person, this film kind of turned me off to the subject.


BEACON didn't work for me. The story of a young woman who washes ashore on a remote island had me asking too many questions instead of being carried along by the story. While I like the low key, low budget take on things, I'm not sure the denouncement was worth the trip

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