The Zone of Interest | 2023

2.5🟎 | 26.09.26

I get what this movie was trying to do, but in the end it was boring and a bit thoughtless. Zone of Interest follows Rudolf Höss, commandant of the concentration camp Auschwitz, and his family who life an idyllic life in a beautiful house, right by the concentration camp. The movie is about this, the fact that they life perfectly and seem to have no care for the people behind the camp’s walls. You can hear shots, screams, cries, see smoke coming from the crematorium, and you can also see how the family does not care about this. This was reality. Many knew what happened in the concentration camps, either vaguely or in great detail, but did not care. But the way that the movie portrayed this seemed very surface level. It wasn’t a lack of care alone that allowed these people (and many more) to live their comfortable life while people were being horrifically murdered behind the wall, it was also hate, and dehumanisation.

This review is difficult to write, because this movie was so boring despite it’s interesting idea of not showing the violence, but instead showing a big reason why the violence was able to be committed (though it didn’t do that fully). But this movie was, again, very surface level and did not leave me with anything interesting to think about. The fact that the Nazis did not care about Jewish people’s suffering is not new to me, is not groundbreaking. Of course they did not care, of course they did not try to stop it, they’re Nazis! I feel like this movie would have been better if it was shorter, not almost two hours. Maybe then it would be striking instead of gimmicky. I also think this movie would have been better if they did not only show the apathy, but also showed what made it, such as the hate campaigns, the propaganda, the dehumanisation, etc.

I’m by no means an expert, but that apathy towards the fate of an entire group of people, that hatred, is not unique to the Nazis alone. It’s not something that popped up randomly, people aren’t born with a biological hatred towards (in this case) Jewish people. It’s societal, spreads through propaganda, conspiracy theories, scapegoating, and so much more. This movie showed none of that.

Pride | 2014

3🟎 | 10.09.26

This movie was about two hours long, but it felt way quicker than that. I found it so important how Pride talks about solidarity, helping people even if they do not have your best interest in mind. This story actually follows a real organisation: Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners (LGSM) which formed when miners striked for a year in the mid-eighties. I did not know much about this history, and I’m definitely not an expert now, but it is always good to learn what happened in our community, because there are many people in our past who have messages that are needed very much now.

LGSM supported miners, even though the miners were homophobic. They had a common enemy in the government and the police force, so despite this homophobia the people of LGSM wanted to help. In a world where gay people are said they shouldn’t (for example) support Palestine because they’re homophobic, this message is needed. They might hold homophobic views, but should a person be systematically oppressed, mistreated, and murdered by their (or another's) government because of this? I believe not. I can judge a homophobe, belief that every person should acknowledge that homophobia is wrong, but I do not want all homophobes to be targeted in any way by the government. Of course, if they commit a hate crime or harrass a person they should be punished for it, but I don't think it's right to base our support of another opressed group on whether they support the LGBTQ+ community or not.

We should help people in such situations. Every person deserves their rights, deserves to be protected and paid well, whether they’re homophobic or not. Especially since, for example in this case of the LGBTQ+ community and the miners, we often have a common enemy. If we allow our enemies to take rights away from another group, they will not hesitate to take our rights away either once they’re done with that. It reminds me of this Leslie Feinberg speech: https://youtu.be/RwMtMaHiRRo?si=XxzlL1yfBQwzECFn.

“…I’m talking about the kind of solidarity that said: when it’s your life that’s on the line, when you’re struggling, look to the left or the right and I’ll be there. I’ll be there and I will fight for your rights, because your life is as precious to me as my own. And I know that if you go down and I’ve let that happen, then I’ll know they’re going to come for me, too. And shame on me for not having understood that.” is a quote that really stood out to me. We don't have to befriend homophobes, or act like their beliefs don't have an impact just because they're also opressed, but we do have to acknowledge their rights and stand against the people who want to take their rights away.

I don’t think Pride is extraordinary movie-wise, but it was entertaining and sends an important message, along with teaching me about some history that’s important to me and my beliefs. I do recommend this movie, especially if you haven’t interacted with much media that portrays this kind of solidarity, towards people who are both oppressed in one aspect, and our oppressors in the next.

Shoplifters | 2018

5🟎 | 22.09.26

I liked this movie just fine. It wasn’t extraordinary, and it was a little boring at times, but it also wasn’t a bad movie. The cinematography was nice, and from what I can tell the acting was good. I didn’t really think much while watching this at all. As I said, it’s boring sometimes, like in one scene a character gets fired and you kind of expect her to have a bigger reaction, but she doesn’t. Sometimes the characters themselves seemed to be bored. But the dynamics between the characters were fun.

Maid | 2017

4.5🟎 | 04.09.26

Maid follows Alex Russell, who escapes her emotionally abusive boyfriend with her young daughter Maddy. After she leaves, she has to jump a lot of hoops to build a safe life for herself and her daughter.

This series portrays so many complex issues and it does it so beautifully: generational trauma and breaking it, family law and custody, how women are so often treated like they’re being ‘difficult’ for not wanting to stay with their abusers and for wanting to better the lives of their children, and so much more. There are so many creative decisions that I absolutely loved that I can’t name them all. The writing was beautiful, so was the sound track. Margaret Qualley played Alex and she did it so well, and Andie MacDowell’s work as Paula Langley (Alex’s mother) blew me away. She did amazing. Everyone’s acting was good, but these two (mother and daughter in real life as well) really stood out to me.

It was painful to see how no one in Alex’s life stood up for her (at least in the beginning). The series really began to go from good to great for me after episode five. I don’t want to give away too much because I do think watching this series is better when you don’t know everything that’s going to happen (though, of course, don’t ignore that this series touches heavily on abuse) but at some point I did believe that Sean, Alex’s abusive boyfriend, took a turn for the better, that he stopped drinking and that he would also break away from what happened to him when he was a kid. Though I never expected Alex to forgive him. I believe that some people can get better, but I don’t think it happens often and I also don’t believe that they should be immediately forgiven just because they changed. But they really showed how someone can get lulled back into an abusive relationship so easily by giving the viewer that experience as well.

The only reason I took off 0.5 stars is because I did get a lot of secondhand embarrassment, which did fit the moment but sometimes I really could not handle it. The first few episodes also felt a bit too montage-heavy for me.

I really do recommend watching this because I cannot give you the full experience, all the beautiful and realistic details, with just a review. There are triggering things though: emotional abuse, mentioned physical abuse, mentioned child neglect/abuse, alcoholism and mentioned drug addiction, victim blaming, so please be aware of that.

Moonlight | 2016

5🟎 | 31.07.26

This is the second time I’ve watched this movie, so I did have the important plot points memorized. And yet Moonlight still managed to blow me away. I thought I understood what I was getting into when I started watching it again, but I got so much more than I expected. Through a fault of my own, I hadn’t been able to appreciate the film when I first watched it (perhaps I wasn’t paying enough attention).

Moonlight follows Chiron through three major stages in his life. The film therefore is split into three parts: Chiron as a child (Little), Chiron as a teen (Chiron) and Chiron as an adult (Black). As a child, Chiron is chased by his bullies and ends up in a crackhouse, where he ends up meeting Juan, a drug dealer. Juan ends up becoming very close with Chiron, and teaches him many things. As a teen, Chiron still gets bullied at school and has feelings for his friend Kevin, who he ends up having a sexual encounter with. After Chiron gets beaten at school (in which Kevin is involved) he comes back the next day and smashes a chair against the back of the boy who’s been tormenting him the most. Chiron ends up getting arrested for this. As an adult, Chiron is a drug dealer just like Juan. Kevin calls him suddenly, and the two reconnect after they haven’t seen each other in over a decade.

This is a very general description of what happens. There’s so much more, like Chiron’s relationship with his mother. But I don’t want to spoil every moment.

I like that at the end, there isn’t a clear answer about how Chiron’s life will end up unfolding after the movie ends. There’s not one thing that made Chiron (and Kevin) afraid of being himself. It’s not just his mother, or the bullies, or the city he grew up in. It’s the entire world. It’s even more complicated for him, since he’s not only queer but also black and someone with a criminal record. One scene that sticks with me is his reconnection with Kevin. For the past few scenes, you get used to the “new” Chiron — the drug dealer, the man with an expensive car, the man who seems very confident. But when he’s with Kevin, you see him become who he used to be as a child and teen: silent. Deep down, he hasn’t changed a bit, he has only learned to harden himself for survival.

Overall, the film is tender. That’s the best way I can describe it. The cinematography is great, tension was built beautifully in multiple scenes. I also think the actors did a phenomenal job. I particularly loved Naomi Harris’s performance as Chiron’s mother Paula. I definitely recommend watching it.

Heartstopper Forever | 2026

2.5🟎 | 20.07.26

I’ve been a fan of Heartstopper for a while, since around 2021 (I remember the hiatus & guest comics happening) and I was so excited when the series finally came out. Now, we’ve gotten the finale as a movie.

To be honest, I wasn’t much of a fan of the first season, or the second, the acting didn’t feel the best, the dialogue wasn’t always good either. But I enjoyed it enough. The pace was quick, and the scenes did look nice. It felt mostly fun to watch a movie in which a group of queer teens go through shit together and come out on the other end together.

I’m not much of a fan of the movie either. I don’t think it was terrible, but it was just a montage of the parties the characters had. The movie felt like 90% music and skippable moments, 5% of worthless dialogue and 5% of actual plot that mattered. With the series I was able to say oh, it’s "cringe", but it’s for younger teens (like, 13-14), but Heartstopper Forever is way more mature with the sex stuff, so it’s definitely meant for people a bit older, but it felt like a young teen’s fantasy of what young adulthood would look like.

I do like how it talks about different routes relationships can take, and the acknowledgement of how trans rights are being very much endangered right now. I mostly recommend watching it if you have nostalgia for Heartstopper, though being a fan of the comics might also make you hate the movie adaptation, especially if you grew up with Heartstopper and are a bit older now (like me).