Well, this was a really weird year. The world continues to be weird. But considering that 2020 had no Telluride Film Fest at all, so I’m grateful that we had one this year. And I’ve said this before in previous posts when I’ve written about my love for the Telluride Film Fest, but in 2021, my gratitude for it was exponentially higher. I go for the films, but I stay for the friends. Well, actually… that’s not even true. I go for the friends, and I stay for the friends. Telluride Film Fest is my favorite thing because it combines lifelong friendships with the best films of the year. What could be better?
I saw 23 films of the 80+ films in the 2021 program. Not bad.
Ok, enough blubbering… let’s get to the films!
List in alphabetical order:
A Hero B
The Automat B+
Belfast B
Bergman Island A
The Card Counter A
C’mon C’mon A+
Cyrano A
The Duke B
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain B
The French Dispatch B
The Hand of God B
Julia B
King Richard B
The Lost Daughter A
Marcel the Shell A
Nuclear Family A
The Power of the Dog A
Procession B
Red Rocket B+
River A
The Same Storm B
Spencer B
Unclenching the Fists C
C’mon C’mon
My #1 super favorite!
To me, this is a perfect film. Truthful dialogue and beautiful performances from Gaby Hoffmann is pitch-perfect in her role as a dedicated (and overwhelmed) mother and wife to a man with mental health challenges and sister to an unattached bachelor (and emotionally stunted and soft-spoken radio journalist) played by Joaquin Phoenix. And the kid, Jesse… wow! Played by the remarkable Woody Norman – what a performance! Shot on black and white film, the film is raw, gritty and real. I hope Mike Mills wins for best screenplay… and this film should get a Best Picture nomination. Maybe even a win!?
The Power of the Dog
Prediction (and hope!): Jane Campion will win for Best Director
And Jane Campion should win for this epic film. For many reasons… the Academy likes to celebrate a body of work (even though a nomination is supposed to be this film… we know that they like to give prizes for people who have earned this level of achievement throughout their career). This is not the story I expected. I thought it was your ‘typical 1925 Montana rancher’ story… well, I guess that’s not typical to begin with. But this story is less ‘western’ and more of a cat & mouse with the next generation holding more cards than it appears. It’s the kind of film that, the more I reflect on the nuance and rich story, the more I love it. I can’t wait to see it again when it shows in theaters.
The Power of the Dog trailer here
Now playing on Amazon Prime
The Electrical Life of Louis Wain
Um. Hello!? Have we officially run out of white men to celebrate? I mean, Louis Wain seems like a nice enough guy who enjoyed painting cats, but I mean… can we see an equally-budgeted film about a woman who did amazing things? Maybe Shirley Chisholm? Huda Shaarawi? Lilian Bland? How about Hedy Lamarr (who invented the technology for cellular phones and bluetooth?) Sure, we got a low budget documentary, Bombshell which was great… but come on, Hollywood, you must do better.
No need to watch the trailer.
If you must, you can see this film on Amazon Prime
The Lost Daughter
This is Maggie Gyllenhaal’s directorial debut — and it’s a story that I have ever seen portrayed on film before about a mother (portrayed by Olivia Colman) who has an emotionally-challenged past. Imagine that!? Women telling their own stories! What a world! This is a quiet film full of mysterious mounting suspense between Olivia Colman and Dakota Johnson’s characters.
Now playing at the Oriental (Milwaukee) and streaming on Netflix
Cyrano
Prediction: Peter Dinklage will win Best Actor
There are so many great surprises in this film that I don’t want to say much about it. I’ll just say that if you love love… this film is magnificent. It’s a musical directed by Joe Wright and written by Erica Schmidt, based on Schmidt’s 2018 stage musical of the same name. Schmidt’s husband, Peter Dinklage stars as Cyrano. The original music was composed by The National (Matt Berninger, as well as Aaron Dessner + Bryce Dessner (who basically composed every other great film at Telluride Film Fest this year including: The Power of the Dog + River).
And because we love Peter Dinklage, here’s Peter Dinklage talking about Cyrano.
The Hand of God
We are all longing to travel and see beautiful places. We’ve been cooped up for almost two years, so do yourself a favor and watch The Hand of God to travel, even if just for a couple of hours, to Italy. Immerse yourself in this Italian family full of joy and pain.
Now playing on Netflix
Belfast
Kenneth Branagh’s very personal story that follows his upbringing. The story sets in 1969 and the performance of the 9 year-old Buddy is one of the great performances (the other one was by Woody Norman in C’mon C’mon).
Nuclear Family
Prediction: Best Documentary Oscar nomination
This documentary follows the important historical events of Ry Russo-Young and her sister who were raised by their lesbian mothers in the early 1990’s. In the center of the story is a landmark legal case between her biological mother and biological (sperm donor) father. Worth watching.
Now playing on HBO
The Duke
Everybody loves a good heist movie, right? This is a fun one! I also love me some Jim Broadbent — oh and Helen Mirren (who sauntered leisurely around the Telluride Farmer’s Market and looks like a local — I didn’t want to invade her privacy by snapping a photo, so you’ll just have to take my word for it). Helen Mirren is a beauty.
Julia
Oscar-winning directors (Julie Cohen + Betsy West — another Betsy!) of RBG show us the fascinating story of Julia Child. We’ve seen a lot about her life, but this depiction shows a more playful side with candid outtakes of her PBS show.
River
Prediction: Best Documentary Oscar nomination
I went to see this as a palette cleanser because I wanted to be immersed in the beauty of nature. And boy! It delivered! I felt like I was floating on a river. Filmed in 39 countries, River is truly an escape.
Spencer
Well, this movie is good, but — haven’t we had enough of Diana’s story? I was engaged with this film, but I left feeling like I didn’t learn anything new. I dug “The Shining” scene of Diana in the giant walk-in freezer in Balmoral Castle was cool. Kristen Stewart’s pouty performance was good, but I am not sure we needed another poor Diana story.
Red Rocket
Yes, this means what you think it means.
This is a fun ride about a porn star (played by Simon Rex) who returns home to turn new tricks with a whole cast of characters from his past. Lots of non-actors makes the story feel real and gritty.
The Same Storm
The film was shot entirely during the lockdown of summer 2020, it’s a snapshot of life during quarantine.
The Same Storm trailer isn’t available at the time of publishing
A Hero
I’m not going to tell you what this is about… except that if there was a Curb Your Enthusiasm soundtrack, this film would have been a comedy. Because what starts with a small mishap leads to tension when the stakes keep going up and up and up and up and up… and the audience almost can’t take it.
Playing now on Amazon Prime
Bergman Island
Love me some Vicki Krieps (I could watch Phantom Thread on repeat) and she’s great in this film along with Tim Roth. I love stories about complicated romantic entanglements and this film feels almost like a documentary. It’s so real. Gritty. Messy. And also full of deep love only shared by longtime partners. Loved the escape of visiting Fårö, an island off the coast of Sweden, where Ingmar Bergman shot many of his films, too.
Marcel the Shell with Shoes On
Love Jenny Slate! She is a true original. Did you see Obvious Child? Well, I did. Many times. And I love Marcel. Yes, it’s the same Marcel with 100+ million hits on YouTube. Only in this film, we get an entire story, not just a hang-glider Dorito joke or two. Instead, we are presented a fun, profound look at humanity. Life and death. Family. Marcel knows what’s important.
No trailer yet. Here’s a “first look” – forgive the awful computer V.O.
And/or if you haven’t seen Marcel before… here’s a look at him.
Unclenching the Fists
I didn’t love this one. A bit tedious.
The Automat
This was a really fun look at the early days of automation… for food. It’s a time-capsule. Bonus: a fun interview with Mel Brooks talking about his memories of the Automats around NYC.
The Card Counter
(this was a sneak preview so it didn’t appear in the program)
Whoa. Oscar Isaac is blowin’ up! He’s in everything! This is a thrill-ride dynomite powder keg (like all Paul Schrader films) about a military intelligence officer who was ordered to torchure prisoners, and learned he was good at it. Tiffany Haddish, Willem Dafoe and Tye Sheridan co-star in this revenge story.
The French Dispatch
Here’s what I have to say about The French Dispatch. Wes Anderson likes making movies. Just like Woody Allen likes making movies… he has a new film coming out in January, Rifkin’s Festival. Imagine that!? He’s 86 years old and he has a new film! Woody has made more than 70 films. And many of them are terrible. A few are good. And then, there’s that pesky stuff about his side interests… molesting kids isn’t great for your career… but I digress… and this is basically how The French Dispatch goes. There’s no real through line. It’s a bunch of short stories. There are fun moments. And as always, the film is art-directed within an inch of its life… but it’s not a great Wes Anderson film. Nope. It’s better than every Fast and Furious film put together, but it’s not a great Wes Anderson film. Like Woody, Wes loves to make movies. So some of them are going to be 7/10 instead of 10/10. That’s ok. I’ll see the next one. And the next one.
The French Dispatch trailer here
Procession
This documentary is bananas. And I don’t mean in a good way. It’s not B-A-N-A-N-A-S in a Gwen Stefani way. This ain’t no hollaback girl. This is a dark and sad film about men who were abused by priests who have never been held accountable. The film depicts six men who were sexually assaulted and their anger in the present day. They are attempting to gain closure. It’s a really hard film to watch… Confession: (on brand) I watched this film on Netflix while folding laundry because I couldn’t give the film my 100% attention.
King Richard
I didn’t see this at the Telluride Film Fest because I figured it would be widely available and it was/is. It’s the story of Venus and Serena and their generous, powerful, domineering, future-proofing dad. Specifically, it’s about Richard Williams’s powerful vision to make tennis superstars. Spoiler: he did it.
Missed these and looking forward to seeing in the theater soon:
The Rescue
The Encounter
Muhammad Ali
The Velvet Underground
Bitterbrush
The Real Charlie Chaplin
Becoming Cousteau
Petit Maman
Fauci
Citizen Ashe
Torn
Hungry for more Telluride Film Fest info? Download the 2021 Program here.
See you in 2022!
betsyrowbottom 
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