Tribeca Review: Lost at Sea in “Beacon”

By Abe Friedtanzer 

Sailing around the world is a bold adventure that few are equipped to undertake and even fewer would even seriously contemplate. The likelihood of survival given unpredictable factors isn’t high, and that’s especially true for someone choosing to do it alone. Beacon presents one scenario where a young and driven woman tries to accomplish the feat only to find herself stranded somewhere with a man who seems nice enough but who she really isn’t sure she can trust…

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Tribeca Review: Kitchen Chaos in “La Cocina”

By Abe Friedtanzer 

Most people probably don’t want to see behind the curtain of the fancy restaurants they go to, since things are surely not as glamorous – or appetizing – as they might seem. Cinematic antics aren’t likely in as full supply in reality as they might be in movies and television, but the presentation of a dish still doesn’t come without all the messy preparation behind-the-scenes that goes into it. There can, however, be fascinating stories to go with the food, and La Cocina proves that with a mesmerizing tale of the kitchen of a Times Square restaurant brimming with drama, tension, and lots of flavor…

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Tribeca Review: Probing Motivations in “McVeigh”

By Abe Friedtanzer

It’s an unfortunate societal reality that the perpetrators of terrible crimes inevitably become famous. Rather than focus on immortalizing the names of the victims, it’s the person who took their lives who is often best remembered by the public. That may well be because it’s hard to understand what could push someone to do such a thing, and even with confessions, a motive may still remain unknown long after a criminal’s death. Mike Ott’s McVeigh looks at one of the most infamous domestic terrorists in United States history and constructs a narrative around why he did what he did...

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Tribeca Review: Sleepless Nights in "Restless"

By Abe Friedtanzer 

Not getting enough sleep can really ruin a person’s mood. Inconsiderate neighbors with no concept of how loud they are the subject of another Tribeca entry this year (The French Italian), but those antics take an immediate comedic turn. That’s not at all the case in Restless, an isolating tale of one woman who can’t take it anymore when deafening music blasts into her home at all hours of the night, pushing her to the brink of insanity...

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Tribeca Review: Interpersonal Dynamics in "Family Therapy"

by Abe Friedtanzer

Movies give us a window into a particular moment in time, opening on characters at a certain point in relationships with or without added context. It’s possible to form judgments based on how they act and react in given situations without knowing much – or anything – more about them. Slovenian director Sonja Prosenc offers a bizarre but deeply inviting portrait of a family still trying to figure out how it operates in Family Therapy, an off-kilter comedy that often says much more without words than it does with them…

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