From the first frames of the film, Josephine Decker’s 2014 feature Thou Wast Mild and Lovely merges violence and play. Sarah (Sophie Traub) chases her father Jeremiah (Robert Longstreet) across the lawn, jabbing him with a decapitated hen. They giggle and run at each other, getting blood on their clothes. When they’re done playing, the handheld… Read more »
Tag: independent film
American Neorealism: My Brother’s Wedding (1983)
The question of realism in narrative cinema is an interesting and complex one. When a group of Italian filmmakers in the 1940s, led by Roberto Rossellini but also composed of quite different figures such as Luchino Visconti and Vittorio De Sica, began to produce works that have come to comprise the Italian Neorealist canon, their… Read more »
New Americas Cinema presents: Tahara (2020)
At the funeral of a classmate who committed suicide, two best friends share an innocent kiss that quickly spirals into questioning identities, sexual awakenings, awkward encounters, and so much more. In the words of The Killers, “It started out with a kiss, how did it end up like this?” Featuring rising star Rachel Sennott (Shiva… Read more »
Meet Your IU Cinema Staff: Seth Mutchler
Get to know the people behind your favorite university cinema in our new blog series, “Meet Your IU Cinema Staff.” Using the format of our exclusive filmmaker interviews — all of which can be found on our YouTube channel — we’ve crafted a questionnaire for our staff to help introduce them to you, our audience. For… Read more »
Monthly Movie Round-Up: March
Every month, A Place for Film brings you a selection of films from our group of regular bloggers. Even though these films aren’t currently being screened at the IU Cinema, this series reflects the varied programming that can be found at the Cinema and demonstrates the eclectic tastes of the bloggers. Each contributor has picked one film… Read more »
Melodramatic Spaces in Smooth Talk
In the classic teen melodrama Splendor in the Grass (Elia Kazan, 1961), the central conflict arises because Wilma (Natalie Wood) is torn between her desire and social mores. She knows what she wants — she wants sex with Bud (Warren Beatty). But society, represented most strongly in the film by the voice of Wilma’s mother,… Read more »