Film News: Preview of 7th Chicago Critics Film Festival

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FILMS WE MUST SEE

Yesterday

In what is sure to be the most exciting Chicago premiere in 2019, director Danny Boyle’s “Yesterday” is the coup of coups for the Chicago Critics Film Fest (It made its debut at the Tribeca Film Festival in NYC a mere 11 days ago). In one of the great “what-ifs” ever conceived, struggling musician Jack Malik (Himesh Patel) finds himself going through a wormhole where he emerges on the other side THE ONLY person who knows The Beatles existed. Balancing between horror and amazement, Jack starts sharing the catalog with a hungry universe. The premise is solidly astounding, and for this Beatle’s admirer, an essential. A splendid time is guaranteed for all, and even Jon Lennon (Espino) will be there! Saturday May 18th, 9:30pm. (PM)

The Farewell

“The Farewell” is the spotlight of the Chicago Critics Film Festival for a reason, and it’s not just because it boasts an incredible, all-Asian cast that Hollywood is starved for. This film deals with death, duty, family, and tradition. It promises to be a tear-jerker, but it would have earned every drop. It asks a question that we’ve likely all asked ourselves at some point in our life: If you were terminally ill, would you want to know? Don’t expect this film to answer that question for you, but the journey it takes you on will be full of empathy and emotional depth. “The Farewell” features “Crazy Rich Asians” favorite Awkwafina showing us her true range in a dramatic role. Monday May 20th, 7:15pm. (JLE)

Yesterday
Photo credit: ChicagoCriticsFilmFestival.com

FUTHERMORE …

CCFF Short Film Programs 1 & 2



Every year, the CCFF shorts programs are perfectly curated in a way – led by short film expert and Chicago film critic Collin Souter – that brings amazing stories from around the world. A great mixture of fictional narratives, non-fiction human interest stories, documentary-style storytelling, and marmots… yes, the furry, prairie dog-looking animals. Separated in two different programs on two different days, both complement each other and are also a must-see.

The different visual mediums vary as much the topics they are about. Some of my favorites include a revenge story starring some marmots (“Wild Love”), the empowering effects of a strap-on dildo (“Fuck You”), a musical whale answering the call of a lonely trucker (“The Phantom 52”), and a devastating text about the film “Rat Race” (“Squirrel”). Those are on top of the festival favorites like “The Orphan”, “Guaxuma”, “Everything You Wanted to Know About Sudden Birth* (*but were afraid to ask)”, and the winner of the 2019 Sundance Film Festival Short Film Jury Award: International Fiction, “Dunya’s Day”. You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll learn, so pack tissue accordingly. Program 1: Saturday May 18th, 1pm. Program 2: Monday May 20th, 5pm (JLE)

CCFF Special Guests

In what is sure to make you say, “WOWSA,” the list of appearing filmmakers and performers is simply astounding. In the films outlined above, Alex Thompson and Kelly O’Sullivan will appear on behalf of “Saint Frances,” Lead actor Aisling Franciosi will appear on behalf of “The Nightingale,” director Lulu Wang will represent her film “The Farewell” and both Shorts Programs will have filmmaker appearances. Or, how about the 40th Anniversary celebration of Ridley Scott’s classic film “Alien” (Saturday May 18th, 6pm), with an appearance by featured performer and movie character actor legend Tom Skerritt. I could go on, but I’ll let you click here to peruse the CCFF film list, which is also a handy link to purchase tickets.(PM)

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