Tag: Independent film

Phantom Thread (2018): Love is Toxic, Literally

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We all need some magic mushrooms sometimes. I do not mean the ones you can buy on the streets of Amsterdam. I mean the ones that effectively poison our husbands/wives (but don't kill them) so that they become sick, vulnerable and needy. The extent of neediness is essential. And hallucinations about dead parents are a bonus. These magic mushrooms remind our loved ones of the importance of our companionship and the limit of their outsized ego. They play a key role in a lasting, healthy, self-correcting relationship. After all, love is toxic, literally.

God’s Own Country (2017): An Earnest, Affecting Depiction of Humanity

Wan Bo1 Comment

The 2017 British independent film God's Own Country is about the Yorkshire countryside, two homosexual men, plenty of sheep and a sense of nostalgia. Filled with the ambition of timelessness, the story, or a dreamy fairytale, does not happen in a specified time. Characters speak with a strong regional accent, and I struggle to catch every word. But that turns out to be a minor concern: the film does not demand its audience to catch every word; instead, it invites them for a visually intimate experience with two blessed young men falling in love, alongside an earnest, affecting depiction of humanity.