Writer-director Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s drama about a Scottish woman on a mystical trek in Colombia—and it’s brilliant. NEON The cinematic event Memoria is an experience so poetic and profound, it left acclaimed film critic Justin Chang bowing down in front of the screen in what he described as a “quasi-religious posture that cinema at its most […]
Chase Hutchinson
Posted inMovies & TV
CINE / SEEN’s First Year Spotlights Portland’s Underrepresented Filmmakers and Comedians
Courtesy of Cine / Seen When Portland filmmaker Ali Godil was working on his short film, the close-to-home Americanistan, he didn’t expect to immortalize the final days of one of the area’s most iconic institutions: a McDonald’s on Swan Island. “We filmed out front, the workers didn’t care,” Godil told the Mercury. “A month later […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Master: Academic Racism Is Verrrrrry Creepy
Avoid Ancaster College. Master drops in theaters and on Prime Video this Friday. Courtesy of Master/Amazon Prime Of all the movies that showed at this year’s Sundance Film Festival back in January, writer-director Mariama Diallo’s debut feature Master is one of the most enigmatic and elusive. It’s a strong work that reveals the harm inflicted […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Never Follow a Portland Meet-Cute to a Cottage Grove Location and Other Dating Lessons We Learned From Fresh
Courtesy of the Sundance Institute A cinematic meal that may not be for all appetites, Fresh is an unsettling and effective debut feature from director Mimi Cave that will strike a chord with many—and not just the traditionally aggrieved straight-dating women of Portland. The film centers on Noa (Daisy Edgar-Jones), a single 20-something traversing the […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Crouching Comic: A Funny, Insightful Local Film From an All-Asian Cast and Crew
Alberta Poon (left) gives direction to Katie Nguyen (right) in Crouching Comic. CHRISTINE DONG On the last day of Alberta Poon and Katie Nguyen’s shoot, for their short film Crouching Comic, the sky began to rain ash. “I don’t know if it was Mother Nature being like, ‘We don’t want this film, we don’t want […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Silence on the Set: Claims of Harassment and Assault Within Portland’s Film Community
Ebin Lee [Editor’s Note: The following article includes discussions of sexual harassment and assault. Because of the sensitive nature of their experiences and fears of retaliation, sources for this story have requested anonymity. With their permission, we’ve replaced sources’ names with pseudonyms. All pseudonyms have been marked with an asterisk on first reference.] While it’s […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Silence on the Set: Claims of Harassment and Assault Within Portland’s Film Community
Multiple women have spoken to the Mercury about being allegedly harassed by actor Christian Kane while working on Portland-area productions. Another said she was assaulted by actor Timothy Hutton following a production.
[Editor’s Note: The following article includes discussions of sexual harassment and assault. Because of the sensitive nature of their experiences and fears of retaliation, sources for this story have requested anonymity. With their permission, we’ve replaced sources’ names with pseudonyms. All pseudonyms have been marked with an asterisk on first reference.] While it’s been almost […]
Posted inSpring Arts Preview 2022
Crouching Comic: A Funny, Insightful Local Film From an All-Asian Cast and Crew
On the last day of Alberta Poon and Katie Nguyen’s shoot, for their short film Crouching Comic, the sky began to rain ash. “I don’t know if it was Mother Nature being like, ‘We don’t want this film, we don’t want your story,’” Poon, the film’s director and co-writer, said. “But it was quite the […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Studio 666 Is a Midlife Crisis Disguised as a Horror Movie
So bad, it’s scary. COURTESY OF OPEN ROAD FILMS If there is one thing the new horror-comedy Studio 666 reveals, it is this: just because you have fun making a movie doesn’t mean people will have fun watching it. Starring musician Dave Grohl along with his band the Foo Fighters, all of whom play themselves, […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Film Review: The Worst Person in the World Is So Much More than an Anti-romantic Comedy
Renate Reinsve as Julie seems to be experiencing a “Nicole Kidman after signing divorce papers” moment. Courtesy of Neon Warning of incoming exuberance: I want to gush about this movie. I want to write that THIS IS CINEMA that ignites your very soul! I loved it. And I’m not the only one; it’s already picked […]
Posted inMovies & TV
An Interview with Lawyer Jeff Robinson About Who We Are, His New Documentary on Racism in America
The documentary Who We Are: A Chronicle of Racism in America may be the most personal work Jeff Robinson has ever been a part of. Originally premiering at SXSW, it is a film that draws on Robinson’s long history of studying law and racial justice in America. Until April of 2021, Robinson served as the […]
Posted inMovies & TV
Jasmin Savoy Brown Interview: The Yellowjackets Star Got Her Start in Portland, Under A Bloody Grimm Tree
Jasmin Savoy Brown as Teen Taissa on Yellowjackets. Kailey Schwerman At this cultural crash sight of a moment, Jasmin Savoy Brown is arguably best known for going full HAM on a wolf who dared to attack her girlfriend—after she and the rest of her high school soccer team became stranded in the Canadian Rockies—on the […]