Iana Murray, Author at The Playlist

‘Broker’: Human Trafficking, Murder & More Are Softened By The Warm, Empathetic Touch Of Hirokazu Kore-eda [Cannes]

May 26, 2022 4:41 pm

In Hirokazu Kore-eda’s Palme d’Or winner “Shoplifters,” a group of small-time thieves forms their own makeshift family, living every day not only through pure survival instinct but a genuine love for each othe...

‘Tori And Lokita’ Review: The Dardennes’ Trademark Sense Of Urgency & Empathy Missteps Into Exploitation [Cannes]

Iana Murray

May 25, 2022 9:10 am

Festivals, News, Reviews

“Tori and Lokita” opens on a tight close-up on the teenage Lokita (Joely Mbundu) as she struggles with the questions delivered by an immigration officer. She has fabricated a story about how she found her brot...

‘Decision To Leave’ Review: Park Chan-Wook Conjures Elusive Illusions & A Seductive Romance [Cannes]

Iana Murray

May 24, 2022 7:45 am

Features, Festivals, News, Reviews

“Decision To Leave” deals in illusions. Is Song Seo-rae’s dress blue or green? Is she really the innocent wife she claims to be? In her living room, she sits surrounded by sapphire wallpaper, its lines suggest...

‘Eight Mountains’ Review: Felix Van Groeningen Returns To Form With A Sentimental Ode To Friendship In The Alps [Cannes]

Iana Murray

May 19, 2022 8:50 am

Festivals, Reviews

For his most subdued film yet, Belgian director Felix van Groeningen, along with co-directing partner Charlotte Vandermeersch take to the Italian Alps for a decades-spanning story of friendship. Following Groe...

‘Belle’: Mamoru Hosoda Crafts A Hopeful & Joyful Vision Of Utopia That Is Vibrant Maximalism [Cannes Review]

Iana Murray

July 17, 2021 11:35 am

Festivals, News, Reviews

While the internet IRL is drenched in morbidity and toxicity, Japanese filmmaker Mamoru Hosoda imagines a brighter semi-utopia in "Belle." Five billion users have signed up to a virtual society called “U,” a v...

‘Blue Bayou’: Justin Chon’s Wong Kar-Wai Influenced Story Of Identity With Alicia Vikander Says We All Belong [Cannes Review]

Iana Murray

July 13, 2021 4:06 pm

Features, Festivals, News, Reviews

“Where are you really from?” It’s an invasive question that’s awfully familiar to people of color, one that intrudes its way into our everyday lives. Though it can have innocent intentions, it's often hostile ...

‘The Worst Person In The World’: Joachim Trier Latest In An Exuberant Delight Reminiscent Of ‘Frances Ha’ & ‘Reprise’ [Cannes Review]

Iana Murray

July 9, 2021 10:33 am

Features, Festivals, News, Reviews

Midway through “The Worst Person in the World,” everything stops. Everyone in the streets of Oslo is frozen in an instant. Pedestrians are suspended mid-stride, a couple passionately making out against a tree ...

‘Everything Went Fine’: François Ozon’s Assisted Suicide Drama Is Too Restrained To Connect [Cannes Review]

Iana Murray

July 8, 2021 6:15 am

Festivals, News, Reviews

You can never really predict what François Ozon might do next. As evidenced by his wide-ranging works, from the lush historical drama “Frantz” to the lazy summer romance “Summer of 85,” the prolific director c...

Author Iana Murray