CCFF2024 Preview: ‘I Saw the TV Glow’ and ‘Little Women’ 30th Anniversary on May 5, 2024

Printer-friendly versionE-mail page to friendPDF version

CHICAGO – The 2024 Chicago Critics Film Festival is off and running, and the third day – Sunday, May 5th – screens and the 30th Anniversary of a modern classic and a highly anticipated upcoming release. “I Saw the TV Glow” by Jane Schoenbrun and “Little Women” (the 1994 version) anchor a full day of cinema heroics. For the full schedule, info and tickets, click CCFF May 5th. For individual films, click titles below.

30th Anniversary, LITTLE WOMEN

Little Women
Photo credit: ChicagoCriticsFilmFestival.com

Based on the classic 1868 novel about love, family and the female spirit, Louisa May Alcott tells the domestic saga of the March family in post-Civil War America with a cast that includes Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon, Clare Danes, Christian Bale, Kirsten Dunst, Gabriel Byrne, Samantha Mathis, Eric Stoltz and Trini Alvarado.

CAPSULE REVIEW: Greta Gerwig’s 2019 re-imagining aside, the 1994 version – directed by Gillian Armstrong – of the oft-filmed classic combines the elements of 1990s filmmaking with a tilt towards the more classical elements of the book, combined with a turned-up volume of the feminine spirit elements of Alcott’s enduring Great American Novel. Winona Ryder as Jo and Susan Sarandon as Marmee are particularly memorable. (Shown in 35mm at 11:30am).

I SAW THE TV GLOW

I Saw the TV Glow
Photo credit: ChicagoCriticsFilmFestival.com

Owen (younger - Ian Foreman, older - Justice Smith) is just trying to make it through life in the suburbs when his classmate Maddy (Bridgette Lundy-Paine) introduces him to a mysterious late-night TV show, “The Pink Opaque” … a vision of a supernatural world beneath their own. In the pale glow of the television, Owen’s view of reality begins to crack.

CAPSULE REVIEW: The film is a journey of two people towards identity, in visual elements that are a kaleidoscope of cinema technique. The days of 1990s cable television are lovingly reproduced, as the TV show itself is filtered through a glow of a fantasy memory and borrowed videotapes. We’re all looking for something, after all. Director Jane Jane Schoenbrun is scheduled to appear for a post screening Q&A. (7:15pm).

The 11th Chicago Critics Film Festival is the the only such festival in the country curated by film critics, and highlights the 2024 films from the early year festivals like Sundance, SXSW and more. Other films on May 5th are ”The Dead Don’t Hurt” directed by Viggo Mortensen, ”The Remarkable Life of Ibelin” by Benjamin Ree and ”The Last Stop in Yuma County” by Francis Galluppi.

By PATRICK McDONALD Editor and Film Writer HollywoodChicago.com pat@hollywoodchicago.com