Review: Mexico's Oscar Submission "Tótem" Is Finally In Theaters - See It As Soon as Possible

by Nick Taylor

You may have noticed the Oscar nominations were announced last week. I’m not super enthused about this year’s lineups, which has some predictable excellence without giving me any surprises to be psyched about. I’ve spent this week catching up on the International Film category, and for the second year in a row, I’m mostly underwhelmed by Oscar’s choices. But rather than solely ragging on the Academy’s choices, I’m here for celebration and advocacy. Tótem, the second film by writer/director Lila Avilés and Mexico’s Oscar-shortlisted submission, has been slowly rolling out in the US and other countries for the past week, and thank God for that. It’s one of the very best films of 2023 and deserves as big of an audience as it can get. Go watch it...

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Oscar Volley: Which Foreign Films Will Voters Choose for Best International Feature?

Before we get the shortlist on Thursday, here’s today’s volley, on Best International Feature, from Elisa Giudici and Abe Friedtanzer...

THE ZONE OF INTEREST feels like a lock in this race.

ABE: Hi Elisa! I'm excited to talk about one of my favorite categories, Best International Feature! This year we have 88 submissions from all around the world. While I'm still hoping to catch more in the next few weeks, I think I've managed to track down a good number of the top contenders. Interestingly, this year's likely frontrunner is from a country that rarely gets noticed, in part because most of its films simply aren't eligible. That would be the United Kingdom, which has quite an intense feature in The Zone of Interest, a haunting portrait of the commandant of Auschwitz and his family, who live right next to the infamous concentration camp but live quite the serene life...

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Best International Film: Argentina's "The Delinquents" and Mexico's "Tótem"

by Cláudio Alves

In its long history, the Academy has awarded the Best International Film Oscar to a Latin-American country four times. The first two were from Argentina, 1985's The Official Story and 2009's The Secret in Their Eyes, followed by Chile with 2017's A Fantastic Woman, and Mexico with 2019's Roma. Looking at those dates, it's fair to say AMPAS has become more open to Latin cinema in the 21st century, even though Europe remains the category's continental champion. Hope remains eternal that voters will broaden their horizons. 

I've already reviewed Chile's submission, The Settlers, when at TIFF. So, it's time to consider the films of the other two Latin victors of yesteryear. There's Argentina's newly released The Delinquents, and Mexico's Berlinale prize-winner Tótem…

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TIFF '23: "A Ravaging Wind" delivers an acting masterclass

by Cláudio Alves

Sergi Lopez and Alfredo Castro work miracles in "A Ravaging Wind"

I swore to myself that, if ever I got to attend TIFF, I wouldn't capitulate to the tyranny of awards buzz. Smaller pictures and international sensations deserve as much attention as those movies bound for Academy consideration. Now that I'm here, that intention remains true, though new frustrations compound with old ones, especially concerning actors. In such a wide array of world cinema offerings, it's dispiriting that the only thespians that can headline articles and cause social media stirs are either Hollywood institutions or Sandra Hüller.

That's not a dig at those lucky few, merely an appreciation that there's greatness beyond the mainstream spotlight. In other words, everyone at TIFF should be talking about what Chilean star Alfredo Castro and Catalan star Sergi López  achieve in A Ravaging Wind… 

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TIFF '23: Shadows of Our Violent Past

by Cláudio Alves

Examining troubled history through art can be a necessary confrontation, even a search for catharsis. You can't move into a brighter future without acknowledging the shadows lurking in the past. It's no wonder, then, that countless filmmakers use their skills to make these excavations on the dig site of the screen. For all that Shinya Tsukamoto's Shadow of Fire and Felipe Gálvez Haberle's The Settlers tackle their respective countries' histories, they're not traditional period pieces content to passively restage yesteryears. They bear the weight of an artist's singular vision…

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