Little Men
Played out on the small, human stage of two families—one white and upper class, and one non-white and working class—in the midst of a landlord/tenant property conflict in Brooklyn, Ira Sachs' snapshot-style drama is a beautifully restrained film about life’s injustices. But the center of the film remains a point of joy, as the sons of each family fall into an easy friendship despite their parents' power plays. Sachs deftly covers an impressive breadth of experience—loneliness, queer childhood, the hypocrisies of adulthood—within the economical space of an hour and a half. Though it’s set in a New York borough, Little Men is likely to resonate with many Portlanders dealing with the conflicts and anxieties of our own unequal housing market. SUZETTE SMITH
by Suzette Smith