The Seattle International Film Festival has fully kicked off, and I’ve been in films pretty much when I’m not sleeping or eating. (Or jotting down these notes to share with you!) It’s definitely a marathon, this festival, so as fun as it is to jump off the blocks in the first few days with five or six films a day, I’ve got to make sure I don’t lose steam over the next three weeks.

Anyway, it’s a great festival, and there are many many awesome films, so if you are near Seattle anytime before June 10th, you should grab some tickets and check it out! The full line-up and daily schedule can be found online at www.siff.net.

SIFF Standouts

‘The Last Suit’

I really loved this heartwarming story, and was especially impressed with the performance of the lead actor. The film’s story is one of a journey - at the end of his life, a tailor and Holocaust survivor leaves his home in Buenos Aires on a trip across Europe to find the man who saved his life and deliver to him his last suit. But in a way, it’s also his final emotional journey, facing some of his past decisions and coming to a semblance of peace in the time he has remaining on this earth.

Like I said, the lead actor was fantastic - he provided a layered character who may not be the nicest person in the world, but in the end is a good man whom you root for. And the film itself was beautiful. The care with which he has crafted his own suits is echoed in the perfectly selected colors and details of the set design and film stock, creating a lusciously rich visual tapestry as he continues on his journey. And I have to admit, sometimes it’s really nice to come out of a film feeling undeniably fulfilled by the story - Hollywood endings still have their own charm.

Distribution: They do have a U.S. theatrical distributor, but no release date has been set yet that I can see. Still, I would expect this to be available in the future in some form.

‘Prospect’

As a lover of sci-fi, ‘Prospect’ is a welcome addition to the small-scale, tactile subgenre of science fiction films that explore human adventures and trials while just happening to be set in a galaxy far far away. The film begins as a father-daughter pair sets off on one last prospecting trip to a forested world, convinced they are about to hit a jackpot that will set them up for a long while. You are immediately immersed in this world that, while the characters largely resemble humans, has no Earth to speak of, and doesn’t attempt an origin story. Instead, with fantastically decorated sets and well-crafted props, the world stands on its own from the beginning - this is space, it’s a far away world, and yet human motivations, interactions, and fears remain universally similar. After their prospecting trip runs into several obstacles, the daughter finds herself facing an uncertain race against time to find a way off the planet before her way home is lost forever.

Beautifully filmed in the Hoh Rainforest here in the Pacific Northwest, ‘Prospect’ stands out with stunning cinematography paired well with CGI on a budget. This feels like the early days of ‘Star Wars’ or ‘Blade Runner’, where the focus was on the ability to world build using crafting and physicality rather than green screens and computers. Both Jay Duplass and Pedro Pascal provide father-figure touchstones, with Pascal in particular excelling in his role as a not-quite-bad-but-not-really-good guy, with a performance that strongly echoed Captain Malcolm Reynolds from ‘Firefly’. But the stand-out performance is Sophie Thatcher in her feature film debut as the teenaged Cee. She carries the entire film, and does so brilliantly. I look forward to seeing more from her, and more from the filmmakers Chris Caldwell and Zeek Earl, for whom this is their first feature as well.

Distribution: The directors told us that they have just gotten a distributor for a theatrical run, so look for this one to show somewhere soon!

‘Revenge’

Buckle up for a grindhouse-style thrill ride with ‘Revenge’, from writer and director Coralie Fargeat. When a romantic weekend away with her married boyfriend turns nightmarish with the arrival of his hunting buddies a day early, Jen transforms into a vengeance-focused badass in her drive to survive.

Not only is this a fantastic femme-revenge story that delivers satisfying justice to those who’ve wronged her, it’s a really well-crafted piece of cinematic art. Almost every frame in this film could be printed and hung as a photo - it’s well-composed and stunningly shot, even when the blood and guts start to splatter across the screen. Fargeat doesn’t shy away from having substance in her film either - the sexual politics are forefront, and the men stand accused of their crimes not just of assault, but also of complicity. Here, the victim gets to become the judge, jury, and executioner, taking back the power and using their own weapons against them in a joyous rebirth, borne in blood and fire. Set against a scorchingly beautiful desert landscape, you’ll be rooting for her ‘Revenge’ too.

Distribution: This film has already played in numerous limited markets, and is also available on Prime Video to rent or buy. I highly suggest seeing it in a theater though!

‘First Reformed’

When this film ended, I walked out of the theater with a smile on my face I couldn’t shake. No, this is not a funny film. No, this is not a heartwarming film. It’s brutal, and stark, and the ending is so bizarre and hard to watch. But this film had me gobsmacked in the best way, and I loved it. (I feel like this is an appropriate time to mention that I loved ‘mother!’, and I felt similarly gobsmacked by that film. So adjust your views accordingly with that information.)

First off, ‘First Reformed’ is a stunningly shot film. (You may be noticing a pattern here - as a photographer, I’m really drawn to visually striking films.) Especially the shots inside the stark white church, where the pews are outlined by deep mahogany, where everything looks almost black and white - it was just beautiful. The story centers on the reverend of this small church, a church that is more a landmark than a congregation now, as it is nearing its 250th anniversary. He encounters a young couple, the husband of whom is involved in environmental activism, and it plunges him into a crisis of faith and tormented despair for the future. This is a standout performance from Ethan Hawks, who infused his character with layers of guilt, self-revulsion, and an ever-deepening despair that spirals to a dramatic conclusion ripe with symbolism and a visceral clash of desire versus religion. ‘First Reformed’ carries itself with the gravity of a sermon at times, yet in its execution never strays so far as to feel preachy.

Distribution: This should be getting a wider release in the U.S. soon. If not, definitely will be available on some streaming service in the near future.

‘Pick of the Litter’

Look, my review could just be ‘PUPPIES!!!’ and you would go see this film. It’s fun, it’s furry, and it has all the feels.

However, this is also a well-crafted documentary that follows a litter of puppies as they go through the raising and training to eventually become guide dogs. It shows the in-depth process that the dogs must get through to graduate as fully-fledged guide dogs, and it also looks at the all the people along the way who help the dogs get to that final stage. Not all dogs make it through the training, and as the film goes along you find yourself really rooting for these fuzzy faces to make it. The film also shows you how much guide dogs really do open the worlds of those they help. At the end of the day, this is just a wonderfully feel-good film… with adorable puppies.

Distribution: This film does have a theatrical distributor, and it’s about adorable puppies, so I would expect it to be available to watch in the near future.