Tag: film-reviews
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After the Devil Is Dead (2025)
Director: Paul Catalanotto | Country: United States | Runtime: 1 hour 44 minutes | Type: Documentary Paul Catalanotto’s film After the Devil Is Dead begins as an ordinary true-crime documentary, until it unfolds before the viewer something far more personal, painful, and tragic: the story of a man who goes back in time to his…
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BACKSTAGE (2026)
Director: Émile V. Schlesser | Writers: Émile V. Schlesser, Jonas Brand | Country: Luxembourg | Runtime: 26 minutes | Type: Fiction short “BACKSTAGE” is a short narrative film by director, screenwriter and producer Émile V. Schlesser. It examines the theme of power abuse in the entertainment industries, which the story sets within theatre circles. Even…
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KinoCritic’s October 2026 Picks: Preview
This month marks a first for us: the debut of KinoCritic’s Monthly Picks. As our pilot edition, we began the submission season with modest expectations and two months to gather the finest films we could find. We were delighted to see far more filmmakers take part than we had anticipated. Around ten films were submitted.…
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Nature versus Human: Last Tropics (2025)
Last Tropics is one of the most visually stunning films I had the chance to see at the In The Palace International Film Festival this year. Directed by Thanasis Trouboukis, the film explores a segment of the existence of three young fishermen and their life of scarcity after a marine crisis threatens the small, almost…
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The Earliest Moments of Great Realization: Tears of Knowing (2026)
The American short film Tears of Knowing, directed by Miles Marti, reminds us of the first time, probably at a very young age, when we came to realize that the world is not as bright as an innocent child’s worldview perceives it to be. The narrative follows a little girl named Ava, who encounters death…
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Afraid to Be Good: The Ghosts (2025)
The first time I had the chance to see the Italian film I Fantasmi by Federico Papagna, I encountered a story that felt like déjà vu from the news broadcasts in my own country — I saw characters of boys, hooded, in dark tracksuits, with an aggressive look in their eyes, the kind I’ve crossed…
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What’s behind Mona Lisa’s Smile: Mona Lisa (2021)
The mystery behind the subtle mimicry of the “smiling woman” is the subject of endless debate. Time will tell whether a definitive, historical answer will ever be given to the secret guarding within itself the philosophy of a smile. I believe, however, that this long-sought philosophy is right before our eyes, but in another sense…
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The Price of Dreams in an Age of Inflation: HAWAII (2024)
I first saw Hawaii at the Sofia International Film Festival last year (2025). It was screening alongside one of my own films—they were competing in the same category—and, quite honestly, after watching it for the first time, I found myself hoping it would win an award. I remember it with remarkable clarity even a year…
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THE TIES WE CARRY: ON KRISTINA SPASSOVSKA’S “MOTHERLAND”
After an accident, a young woman is forced to stay home and be her mother’s two hands. A family made up of an emigrant mother and daughter is on the verge of being split apart, just as the moment arrives for the daughter to set out on her own path. Right at this fateful moment,…
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THE HEALING POWER OF ARTISTRY: “CANCER, CAPRICORN, PISCES”
I am sharing with you an English version of a review of a Bulgarian short film I have published on the platform Kinematograf.bg. I have been thinking about this one for a long time after I first saw it. Furthermore, with the link provided, you can stream it absolutely free with English subtitles online. I…