Rendez-Vous with French Cinema

Abe Friedtanzer

Abe Friedtanzer
650 POSTS 0 COMMENTS
Abe Friedtanzer is a film and TV enthusiast who spent most of the past fifteen years in New York City. He has been the editor of MoviesWithAbe.com and TVwithAbe.com since 2007, and has been predicting the Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes, and SAG Awards since he was allowed to stay up late enough to watch them. He has attended numerous film festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, and SXSW, and is a contributing writer for The Film Experience, Awards Radar, and AwardsWatch.
Abe Friedtanzer is a film and TV enthusiast who spent most of the past fifteen years in New York City. He has been the editor of MoviesWithAbe.com and TVwithAbe.com since 2007, and has been predicting the Oscars, Emmys, Golden Globes, and SAG Awards since he was allowed to stay up late enough to watch them. He has attended numerous film festivals including Sundance, Tribeca, and SXSW, and is a contributing writer for The Film Experience, Awards Radar, and AwardsWatch.

Toronto International Film Festival Review – A24’s ‘Causeway’ is a Poignant Tale of Pain and Healing

The experience of coming back from war is not an easy one. Returning after the resolution of a long-running conflict along with many others who have served is difficult enough, but when someone is forced to cut their tour short and feels like there is still more they could be doing on active duty, that…

Toronto International Film Festival Review – Germany’s ‘All Quiet on the Western Front’ is a Harrowing Portrait of War

It’s staggering to think how futile war can be, with soldiers dying regularly in the pursuit of a conflict that will almost surely end in defeat for one side, meaning that all they have gained and accomplished in the process of their fighting may be undone. This isn’t specific to any one war, but in…

Toronto International Film Festival Review – ‘The Whale’ is an Excellent Character Study with Exceptional Performances

Society doesn’t tend to look kindly on those who are overweight, firstly by setting unrealistic standards for what being fit and attractive mean. People can be cruel and careless in how they treat others who, for whatever reason, are heavy, making comments under their breath or physically reacting to the sight or smell of somewhere…

Toronto International Film Festival Review – ‘The Son’ is a Flawed Portrait of the Challenges of Parenting

It’s not easy to be a parent, and one of the most challenging parts of the job is not knowing what a child will be like ahead of time. Kids are to a degree shaped by how their parents raise them, but they are also influenced by other factors and develop personality traits of their…

Toronto International Film Festival Review – ‘Empire of Light’ is a Nostalgic Look Back at the Incomparable Feel of Being at the Cinema

Going to the movies has become a very normal activity for many people, and for those who have yet to venture back to theaters given the current unstable state of the world, there is more than enough content to be accessed instantly at home. But it didn’t used to be that way, back when seeing…

Toronto International Film Festival Review – ‘My Policeman’ Weaves Together Overlapping Love Stories

Not every love story gets a happy ending. The more passionate the romance, the more tragic its evolution and eventual dissolution may be. There are also people who get together and stay together yet never feel the passion they read about in books or see in movies but accept that not every marriage or partnership…

Toronto International Film Festival Review – ‘Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery’ is the Best Kind of Sequel

Making a good sequel is not easy. That’s especially true when the original is a big hit, and if a good chunk of the supporting cast isn’t returning for the new film. Part two needs to deliver something that resembles what was popular the first time, and, ideally speaking, could also be accessible to a…

Toronto International Film Festival Review – ‘Triangle of Sadness’ is Ruben Östlund’s Latest Biting Social Critique

Filmmaker Ruben Östlund has no problem making audiences uncomfortable. His film Force Majeure looks at the aftermath of an apparent avalanche when one husband and father’s gut reaction is to grab his phone and keys and run rather than protect his family. The Square, in addition to tackling the often pretentious nature of art, examines…

Toronto International Film Festival Review – ‘The Fabelmans’ is a Winning Personal Film from Steven Spielberg

It should be assumed that those who make films have a strong passion for the medium. Yet there are many different ways that filmmakers can come to that love, and in some cases, it can happen later in life and after time spent later in a career. But for many, and likely most, that key…

Toronto International Film Festival Review – ‘Decision to Leave’ is an Engrossing Romantic Mystery

The detective mystery is a particular genre that has evolved over time, adding new dimensions and scaling back certain elements as society changes and the nature of how crimes are committed looks very different from the way it used to years ago. But any good investigative drama should feel timeless to a degree, focused on…