Scene These Reviews

OCA: A Profound Meditation on Faith, Control & God's Will

“Father, I often think about the wind, how it moves things and how God moves the wind to bring everything where it should be, where it belongs.” These opening words in Karla Badillo’s debut feature OCA set the tone for everything that follows, a meditation on faith, doubt, and the mysterious ways belief shapes human lives. Photo Courtesy of Cinema Tropical The film follows Rafaela, a nun who claims to receive visions from God, visions that often come true, though those aroun

Oct 153 min read

If I Had Legs I'd Kick You: Motherhood, Metaphors, and Missed Connections

I’m usually the first to champion an abstract film that leans on allegory, but If I Had Legs I’d Kick You is a big swing with too many...

Oct 32 min read

The Smashing Machine - Attempts To Be A Knockout Punch, But Lacks The Decisive Blow

The Smashing Machine attempts to deliver a hard-hitting portrait of Mark Kerr, the legendary mixed martial artist whose career was...

Oct 23 min read

Eleanor The Great: Scarlett Johansson's Directorial Debut Aims For The Heart, But Lacks The Spark

The Great Eleanor sets out to be sweet, charming, witty, and historically resonant, but its lack of dynamism leaves it striking only a...

Sep 252 min read

Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband): A Spiritual Battle To Reclaim Promised Love

Inuit filmmaker Zacharias Kunuk breathes life into Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband) , a spiritual love story that fuses history, culture,...

Sep 152 min read

Three people sit in a grassy field on a mountainside, with misty blue mountains in the background. One person in the foreground is out of focus, while a woman on the left and a bearded man on the right are in focus, both looking toward the camera with solemn expressions.

Bajo El Mismo Sol (Under The Same Sun): Subtle, Yet Palpable Tension Around Cultural Hybridity

Spanish filmmaker Ulises Porra’s latest film is a tense and moving exploration of colonialism in the early 19th-century Caribbean. At its...

Sep 122 min read

Promotional graphic for the film review of “Aki” at TIFF. The image shows a snow-covered wooden structure with wooden beams extending from its roof, set against a forest of snow-dusted trees under a gray sky. Text on the image reads: “Aki: A Wordless Nature Documentary That Also Lacks Any Dynamism.” Logos for TIFF and Scene This appear at the top corners. Photo credit: Route 504 PR

Aki: A Wordless Nature Documentary That Also Lacks Any Dynamism

I’ll be the first to admit, I love a good nature documentary. When I sit down for one, I want to learn something new, be swept away by...

Sep 111 min read

Two men stand on a boat in a tense moment from the film Little Lorraine. The man in the foreground wears a dark beanie and stares ahead with a serious expression, while the man behind him wears a yellow-and-white cap and smokes a cigarette. Text on the image reads “Little Lorraine: A Lifetime Melodrama Masquerading as a Thriller,” alongside TIFF and Scene This logos.

Little Lorraine: Lifetime Drama Masquerading as a Thriller

Little Lorraine sets up a promising premise: a coal miner whose opportunities have dried up reluctantly turns to his shady uncle’s...

Sep 52 min read

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