Josh Bell
This week’s minor VOD releases take journeys of self-discovery across Europe and the American South, along with explorations of immigrant rights, law-enforcement abuse, and erotic gamesmanship.
Finding Lucinda (VOD September 9): Although it’s generously soundtracked with her music, this documentary isn’t really about Lucinda Williams. The alt-country legend serves as a focal point for the artistic journey of fellow singer-songwriter Avery Hellman, who travels to various locations associated with Williams’ career and speaks to some of her peers and musical collaborators, culminating in a meeting with Williams herself. Hellman, who performs under the name Ismay, clearly feels a deep connection to Williams’ work, and when they express that connection through music, it makes for some affecting moments. Hellman is much less effective as an interviewer, though, and their conversations with musicians like Charlie Sexton, Buddy Miller, and Mary Gauthier produce minimal insight. The meeting between Williams and Hellman is more awkward than affecting, but director Joel Fendelman generates enough goodwill that it’s still endearing to see Hellman meet their idol. Hellman builds confidence in their own distinctive voice, and the movie demonstrates that these songs — both Williams’ and Hellman’s — can successfully speak for themselves. Grade: B-
The Compatriots (VOD September 16): Just a year after its film-festival premiere, writer-director Spencer Cohen’s dramedy about the struggles of an undocumented immigrant seems almost quaint, although its message remains timely. The plight of Peruvian-American college student Javi (Rafael Silva) is about more than just his legal status, and The Compatriots isn’t a political treatise. It’s mostly a clumsy comedy about the gay Javi reconnecting with his high school best friend Hunter (Denis Shepherd), five years after an ill-advised attempted kiss led to their estrangement. The straight, privileged Hunter wants to make up for his knee-jerk homophobic reaction, while Javi just wants to make ends meet so he can stay in the country, finish school, and support his ailing father. To that end, Hunter eventually proposes a green-card marriage, but thankfully this isn’t the indie version of I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. It’s not much of anything else, unfortunately, with a shapeless, meandering plot, weak humor, sloppy social commentary, and performances that are more smarmy than sweet. Grade: C
Hidden Face (VOD and DVD/Blu-ray September 16): The 2011 Spanish-Colombian production The Hidden Face has one of those high-concept set-ups that have been remade multiple times internationally, and this South Korean version is the sixth overall iteration. Director Kim Dae-woo, known for his erotically charged films, adds a welcome queer element to the story about a man connecting with a new lover after his partner leaves him under mysterious circumstances. It takes less than two weeks for orchestra conductor Sung-jin (Song Seung-heon) to move on from his absent cellist fiancée Su-yeon (Parasite’s Cho Yeo-jeong) to seducing her professional replacement Mi-ju (Park Ji-hyun). What starts out as a steamy but relatively straightforward soap opera takes some wild turns as the plot doubles back to months earlier, revealing hidden connections among the players. Kim delivers consistent erotic jolts even when the story starts to drag, and the actors dig into their characters’ duplicity, shifting viewers’ sympathies with each outlandish development. Kim maintains that nasty streak all the way to the devious, kinky end. Grade: B+
Just Breathe (VOD September 16): What if a Lifetime-style movie about a woman driven into the arms of a creepy stalker had her terrible ex-boyfriend as the main character instead? Writer-director Paul Pompa III answers that question in this laughable thriller, which puts volatile protagonist Nick (Kyle Gallner) through anger-management therapy, a botched proposal, a brutal beatdown of an unsuspecting waiter, a yearlong prison stint, and a lesson in mindfulness from a never-seen-again cellmate all within the first 15 minutes. Nick emerges from prison to discover that his almost-fiancée Mel (Emyri Crutchfield) has attracted the attention of the disturbingly friendly Chester (Shawn Ashmore), who is conveniently both Nick’s parole officer and Mel’s landlord. Chester is so cartoonishly evil that it makes the short-tempered Nick seem comparatively tame, but the real solution would be for Mel to run away from both of them. Pompa instead opts for a disingenuous redemption story, but even the reliable Gallner can’t make Nick’s reformation convincing. There’s no satisfaction in seeing him foil Chester’s far-fetched schemes, only begrudging obligation. Grade: C-
Live a Little (VOD September 16): Swedish best friends Laura (Embla Ingelman-Sundberg) and Alex (Aviva Wrede) begin their backpacking trip through Europe with a sense of excitement, and writer-director Fanny Ovesen sets up the possibility of a lovely travelogue as the two women meet new people and strengthen their bond. That prospect is quickly soured, though, as Laura wakes up after a night of drinking with no memory of an apparent sexual encounter with temporary housemate Lucas (Oscar Lesage). She attempts to brush off the experience as a one-night stand, but the trauma lingers, compounded by the dismissive attitudes of the people around her. Ovesen confronts theoretical gray areas around sexual assault that aren’t actually so gray, while keeping her focus on the enduring friendship between the main characters. Live a Little still gets to be a lovely travelogue, and while the shifting balance between exuberance and solemnity can get unwieldy, the earnest, appealing dynamic between Laura and Alex makes it a trip worth taking. Grade: B
