Top 5 – Movies You’ve Never Heard of that Played at the Chicago International Film Festival
This week, the 55th Chicago International Film Festival kicks off and it is a festival near and dear to my heart. I first attended the festival in 2008, where I got to see Darren Aronofsky’s masterpiece The Wrestler I was also lucky enough to meet Mr. Aronofsky after the screening and talk to him about wrestling and filmmaking, which, for a 20 year old film student, was mind-blowing. I have attended the festival every year since and my favorite thing about the Chicago International Film Festival is the diversity in the films that they show. In one day, I can see a star-studded prestige pic, a bizarre and ambiguous foreign film, and film made by a Chicago local. I have seen movies at this festival over the years that only a couple hundred of people around the world have seen. Here is a list of my favorite films that you have probably never heard of that played at the Chicago International Film Festival.
Oh, and you’re welcome in advance.
5 – THE DEFILED (Julian Grant, 2010)
This is one of the most mind-blowing cinematic experiences I have ever had. Made on an extremely micro-budget, director Julian Grant made a nearly wordless zombie flick that is one of the great horror movies of the 2010’s. In the near future, a virus has turned almost everybody into mindless cannibals. When one of them (Brian Shaw) finds a newborn baby, he uses what little mind he has left and partners up with an uninfected woman (Kathleen Lawlor) to protect the baby from the other cannibals. The Defiled is a mixture of old-school George Romero meets 28 Days Later (2002) with a little Buster Keaton mixed in. Dialog is said through grunts, moans, body language, and a lingering, haunting score. The blood, gore, and terror never let’s up. This is a film I will never forget. It’s also available on YouTube right HERE, so watch it.
4 – WOMEN WHO KILL (Ingrid Jungermann, 2016)
Women Who Kill was on of the first films I saw at the 2016 festival and my initial reaction was that it was a cool, micro-budget film, but nothing special. However, days after I saw it, I was still thinking about it. This is a slow-burn of a film about Jean (Ann Carr) and Morgan (Ingrid Jungermann), former girlfriends who run podcast about serial killers. When Morgan starts dating Simone (Shelia Vand), Jean begins suspect that she might be a murderer. Jungermann, who wrote and directed the film along with starring, crafted a tightly wound, simple thriller that has a great romantic triangle and captivating mystery. This is cool, fun, interesting thriller with an ending that will leave you speechless.
3 – PARADISE (Andrey Konchalovskiy, 2016)
Another entry from 2016, only on the complete opposite end of the cinematic scale and genre. Paradise is a beautiful and haunting Holocaust film that looks at this horrible time from three different perspectives. Never before have I seen a Holocaust film quite like this one. The way the film cuts back and forth between each story, showing how they are connected and showing how the all affect each others lives is tragic and beautiful. The film features stellar acting, especially by Julia Vysotskaya as a Russian member of the French Resistance, brilliant direction, and striking black and white cinematography. This was one of the best movies of 2016 and one of the best movies about the Holocaust I have ever seen.
2 – THE MERCILESS (Sung-hyun Byun, 2017)
I remember The Merciless being one of the first movies I saw at the 2017 Chicago International Film Festival. It was a Friday afternoon and with it being early on in the festival, I wasn’t expecting too much. I was blown away by this film. It’s a slick, twisty, wildly entertaining crime thriller with some great performances. Reminiscent of The Departed, The Merciless looks at the relationship between an undercover cop and crime kingpin, and does this by using a non-linear story, stylized action, and quick editing. The performance by Kyung-go Sol as our kingpin is incredible, full of charisma and depth. It was one of my favorites of the 2017 festival and is a movie I wanted to watch again as soon as it was over.
1 – CHICAGO OVERCOAT (Brian Caunter, 2009)
Chicago Overcoat is a perfect ode to classic gangster films and the great city of Chicago. The late Frank Vincent is sensational as an aging hitman who’s life gets entangled with a washed up detective as he goes on one last job to settle an old score. This is a classic gangster story and director Brian Caunter shows he has done his research in the genre, perfectly executing the tone and themes of a great gangster film. This also doubles as a love letter to the great city of Chicago. Caunter, a Chicago local, shows the beauty of the city and shows what really makes Chicago great. This is an incredibly entertaining, thrilling, and smart movie that is as pure of a gangster movie as it gets.
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