Olivia review – unhurried, painterly fable about loss aims to expose the meaning of grief

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Argentinian director Sofía Petersen’s self-conscious film tries for the weight of slow cinema, but is formless, inert and hibernating within its own heavy unlit gloom Argentinian director Sofía Petersen’s film is a mysterious depiction of loneliness and loss in the stark landscape of Tierra del Fuego; it is extended and unhurried, unfolding often to the sole accompaniment of a thin, desolate wind. It was well-received at last year’s Locarno film festival, but despite believing in the importance of slow cinema, I have to admit that this defeated me. Often formless and inert, I found its still life painterly compositions shot on 16mm film, heavy on lingering closeups on old spoons and watch-faces, redundant and self-conscious. The film seemed to be hibernating within its own heavy unlit gloom and its central theme – the meaning of grief – was not really exposed. Continue reading... from Film | The Guardian https://ift.tt/r6CT4pk via IFTTT
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‘It has become a sort of silver bullet’: why are rap lyrics being put on trial?

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In compelling documentary As We Speak, a controversial legal practice that uses rap lyrics to secure convictions is explored

In September 2001, McKinley Phipps Jr, also known as the rapper Mac, was sentenced to 30 years in prison for manslaughter. It had been a year and a half since gunfire erupted outside a club where he was slated to perform in Slidell, Louisiana, resulting in the death of 19-year-old Barron Victor Jr. Phipps, then 22, maintained his innocence, and the case against him was weak – there was no gun linking him to the crime, several witnesses recanted their testimony and another person confessed to pulling the trigger. And yet, prosecutors had their trump card: Mac, a former New Orleans rap prodigy who began releasing music at the age of 13, had rapped about murder.

“Murder, murder, kill, kill”, Phipps recites in As We Speak: Rap Music on Trial, a new documentary on the criminalization of rap lyrics. Prosecutors spliced that line with one from a different song – “Pull the trigger, put a bullet in your head” – to create the portrait of a killer; Mac’s art was the evidence that DNA, solid confessions, or a missing weapon couldn’t provide. An all-white jury bought it. Phipps served over 21 years in prison before being granted clemency in 2021.

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