57th Chicago International Film Festival: Dispatch 1
The Velvet Underground, Todd Haynes’ first feature-length documentary and best film since Far From Heaven, makes excellent use of his music history storytelling gifts. True to its name, this dense yet lively work focuses on the band, though a grand finale montage depicting its players’ prolific post-group output ably conveys just how much talent was present in that formative ensemble. Interviews with surviving group members and peripheral figures provide compelling insights into the Velvets’ brilliant yet tumultuous dynamic, but the true star is the music itself, which remains fresh-sounding and influential. The antidote to disposable music docs with minimal lasting power, Haynes’ layered approach makes his debut foray into long-form non-fiction a film that encourages revisiting on a regular basis. Grade: A-minus —Edwin Arnaudin
Lab Creative Studio
If movies are to be believed, men are only capable of bonding or showing emotion in response to war and death. This oversimplification is of course total nonsense when measured against real life, but it nevertheless saturates the bulk of movie world masculinity. Director Neus Ballús makes a noble attempt at changing this perception with her terrific film The Odd-Job Men, about a trio of handymen who squabble daily about matters big and small.
Valero and Pep (Valero Escolar and Pep Sarrà) are veteran maintenance men working in suburban Barcelona. With Pep retiring soon, Valero is forced to take on a new hire — Moroccan immigrant Moha (Mohamed Mellali), whose work ethic and ability he distrusts, among other things. Told over the course of one work week, The Odd-Job Men subtly demonstrates the complexities of male companionship with all the self-consciousness, insecurity, and stubbornness that exists within each of us (whether we admit it or not) on full display.
Without flash or fanfare, Ballús tackles complicated subjects like racism and ageism, but also how inclusiveness, diversity, and acceptance are the keys to a healthy mind and community. Her film looks like a documentary and, perhaps because of this, it’s easy to feel like we’re being let in on a secret — and maybe we are. The Odd-Job Men might not solve all the world’s problems, but its warmth and humor are a welcomed shift in the masculine film dynamic. Grade: B-plus —James Rosario (U.S. Premiere)
Wyatt Ollestad
When it comes to getting obsessed with conspiracies, one doesn’t have to look far these days for examples. But with conspiracy theories, I often ask myself, “Why? What’s the point of it all?” Broadcast Signal Intrusion is no different and fails to bring any narrative sense to its premise. It might be fun to speculate and chase down clues, but if you think about it for too long, it all falls apart. Harry Shum Jr. is a highly capable actor and I like seeing him in the lead, but he’s just not given much to work with and his performance falls flat — and given that he’s in nearly every frame of the film, it just doesn’t work. With a weak story followed up with messy writing and wooden acting, there ain’t much here to get excited about. Grade: C-minus —Joel Winstead
(Photo: Apple TV+)
