Luzzu (2021)
Directed by Alex Camilleri
Named after a type of traditional Maltese fishing boat, Alex Camilleri’s Luzzu is a wonderful example of how a small, measured film can be endlessly engaging in the right hands. Showcasing a Malta rarely seen in travel guides, Luzzu follows Jesmark (Jesmark Scicluna) as he navigates the slow eradication of a generation’s old way of life. With the industrialization of the Maltese commercial fishing industry threatening those holding onto a more traditional way of operating, Jesmark is forced to make choices that reverberate through both his immediate family (his infant son and his wife, played by Michela Farrugia) as well as through the legacy left to him by his father and grandfathers before him. Grounded in down-to-Earth performances, Luzzu is a sweet and sincere breath of fresh air that is relatable despite its distant locale and traditions, and whose sentimentality is never overbearing, but instead an asset to the film’s reasoned conclusion.
Dune (2021)
Directed by Denis Villeneuve
Denis Villeneuve’s Dune lives up to a great deal of the hype leading up to its long-anticipated release, but falls short in a few key areas. First, it doesn’t tell a complete story. This is perhaps expected considering the dense nature of the source material, but its rather abrupt ending feels more like jockeying for for sequels than it does a finished thought. This would be fine if it had been marketed as the first in a series of films, but it wasn’t, leaving the spectacle feeling unfinished – which, of course, it is. Further, I find the allegations of white saviorhood and cultural appropriation leveled at the film to be apt and worth discussing. I imagine Villeneuve likely styled his film after a more literal interpretation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel (written at a time when Arab and Asian cultures were still inaccurately romanticized), and the term “white savior” was decades away from being coined, but it seems that, in 2021, there are plenty of creative ways to tackle the same material in a less garish way. However, Dune remains a visual wonder to behold, and I’m looking forward to seeing how some of these wrongs are corrected in subsequent films.
Zeros and Ones (2021)
Directed by Abel Ferrara
In Abel Ferrara’s Zeros and Ones, Ethan Hawke stars as a military man stationed in Italy who is fond of philosophical and moral introspection on the nature of war, the world, and religion – or something like that. He also stars as his own twin brother who’s being tortured for some reason while spouting off uncomfortably hackneyed phrases like “This machine kills fascits,” and the like. Ferrara is no stranger to idiosyncratic filmmaking, but Zeros and Ones gets away from him both visually and narratively. It might get points for its interesting approach to genre and current affairs, but unfortunately remains a rather uninteresting film that fails to fully embrace its weirdness. While Zeros and Ones may be enigmatic enough to appreciate on some levels, it’s far too esoteric to fully appreciate as a whole – even for me, and I love weird shit.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.