News From Home

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Benjamin R Terminally slow and boring. The repetitive whiny messages from the mom “write more. I feel sad when you don’t write.” That over endlessly long and mediocrely framed, seemingly purposefully bland footage of 1970’s NY. Just because someone makes something “experimental”, or in this case more likely lazy, since they didn’t have any real idea for a full script, or a cast or crew, doesn’t mean we have to applaud it. Maya Deren this is not. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 10/18/24 Full Review S R Good for the time capsule, but it was a bit tedious. Saw on HBO. Rated 2.5/5 Stars •  Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 03/28/24 Full Review Mikey H Indescribably beautiful. My favorite film from my favorite filmmaker. Rated 5/5 Stars •  Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/27/23 Full Review Taylor L But did Chantal Akerman ever receive that package of summer clothes? I might be getting more superficial with age; many avant-garde films don't hold the same allure to me that they once did, but I think it's more likely that I've always just been impatient if I'm not being stimulated with a bit of variety. News from Home is a neat concept for a low-budget story about breaking ties and gaining independence, plus all these years on the period footage has its own kind of appeal. It consists of a series of candid street shots of grubby 1976 New York City as writer-director Chantal Akerman (of Jeanne Dielman fame) provides narration in the form of letters sent from her by her mother, living in Belgium. As time goes on, the number of letters being added and the volume of the narration begins to fade away, an indication of Akerman losing touch with her roots as she grows accustomed to life in the city. It's neat, and the visuals in particular are interesting with their very atmospheric depiction of the city, but it's almost a short-film premise stretched to feature length for no reason other than length=insight. Again, it's just my Neanderthal brain complaining about the lack of bright lights, and by the end I did find the film much more compelling than I did about a half-hour or so in - seeing the protracted shots of the railway car, full arcs of people getting on and off, gives the impression of a series of interconnecting stories and a relentless river of time pulling everyone along, and apart. It seems like if your movie takes place in New York City between the '50s and the '80s, you're obliged to stick a shot of a bunch of kids playing in an open fire hydrant somewhere in there. (3.5/5) Rated 3.5/5 Stars •  Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 01/04/23 Full Review joe m Interesting avant garde film, "News from Home" was more compelling as a series of free flowing shots of NYC street and subway scenes, none with any purpose, from the late 1970s. Interspersed over these scenes is a voice narration from the mother of the presumed filmmaker with news from home in Belgium. Extremely slowing moving, with no real 'technique' other than its artistic pretense - which the director, Chantal Akerman, manages to pull off. I fast forwarded through most of it. Rated 2/5 Stars •  Rated 2 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Audience Member This movie has already been done many times before, but it was written better and acted much better in just about every other Western. Poorly written, Hanks acting is one dimensional. The best part of the movie was the music, which seemed like it was taking you on a journey you never got to and preparing you for an event that never arrived. Waste of money and time. Watching weeds grow is more stimulating. Rated 1/5 Stars •  Rated 1 out of 5 stars 02/12/23 Full Review Read all reviews

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