Review: "The Beasts" of Galicia

by Cláudio Alves

Rodrigo Sorogoyen's The Beasts opened at last year's Cannes Film Festival to thunderous acclaim, beginning  a global trip through film festivals and the odd commercial market. Its greatest success came in Spain and France, the two nations that coproduced the film, whose troubled relation toils the land and souls of a narrative inspired by real-life tragedy. If you're an awards obsessive, you might remember The Beasts from news about the Goyas and César, for the film was a sweeper in the former and won Best Foreign Film against mighty competition in the latter – including the Oscar-nominated Triangle of Sadness, EO, and Close. 

Regarding this bounty, it's easy to feel some skepticism creeping in, though, after you've seen The Beasts, the voters' fervor feels somewhat fair. As the film finally enjoys a limited release in American theaters, let's explore its tale of xenophobia and violence in modern Galicia, where monsters rove, feigning humanity…

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Review: The Oscar Nominated Live-Action Shorts

by Eric Blume

It’s my fourth year covering the nominees for the Live Action Short Oscar, and this group of nominees is far and away the most grim, depressing, and unrelenting batch yet.  Four out of five of these films are about horrible things happening to young boys. You’d think the nominating committee would have cleaved to some other topics. After a while, provided you view them back-to-back, the horror of it all becomes nearly comical.  If you have a boy child under twelve years of age, you will definitely want to skip this category this year to avoid going to a very dark place. But all five directors are talented artists who know how to build suspense and tell a story with fluidity and grace. Ready? 

Madre (Mother)
This short won the Goya (Spanish Oscar) last year and the director and actress have since reteamed for a feature version, currently in post-production. Director Rodrigo Sorogoyen swings swiftly from an everyday conversation between a woman named Marta (Marta Nieto) and her mother to an urgent phone call from Marta’s son...

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