FILMMAKER MAGAZINE PICK OF THE WEEK: ATTENBERG

“The world would be a much less grating place if certain cinematic sub-genres were to be banned from the table immediately. Reading a description of Athina Rachel Tsangari’s Attenberg, one might worry that she has committed the double-sin of embracing two of the more increasingly overused and deplorable ones: 1) the “stunted-to-the-point-of-retarded adult-child;” and 2) the “quirky art film for quirky art film’s sake.” But from the startlingly unbroken first shot of this film, in which one 20-something female friend teaches her innocent 20-something female friend how to tongue kiss, it’s readily apparent that we are in the hands of a filmmaker who is going to instead use two very important attributes to put those pitiful sub-genres in their place: 1) a unique personal vision; and 2) a sincere mission to say something genuinely heartfelt about living and dying in the real world. That Attenberg manages to retain a stylistically original, inventive, and daring flair in the midst of all this? Well, that’s just parsley on the hummus.”

Read the rest of my “Pick of the Week” review over at the Filmmaker Magazine blog—it will be published at HTN on Monday morning—and definitely add it to your gotta-see list.

— Michael Tully

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