Angela Gosselin – Page 3

PREVIEW: Portrait of a Lady on Fire

February 12, 2020June 18, 2020 Angela Gosselin Leave a comment

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a film I have heard much about, despite its lack of attention in mainstream media and throughout the American awards season. Depicting the story of a portrait created in confidence, this French film features arresting cinematography and a look at an intense relationship between two women. This film has been nominated for everything from best actress to costume design to the Palme d’Or, and so there’s definitely something worth seeing here, even if it hasn’t been on many people’s radar.

Come out to the State tomorrow at 7 to see this surely fascinating film and support international cinema!

PREVIEW: Oscar Nominated Shorts – Live Action

February 7, 2020February 7, 2020 Angela Gosselin Leave a comment

In preparation for the Oscars this Sunday, I implore you all to head to the Michigan Theater and check out the often neglected category of shorts. The live action category offers strong contenders this year, coming from international backgrounds and touching on a variety of important subjects. I’m looking forward to my own first time previewing the shorts before the (inflated and problematic, but still undeniably enjoyable) Oscars.

What’s more is that admission to all the shorts is free with a Passport to the Arts Voucher through the 13th of February! No excuses!

REVIEW: Les Misérables

January 28, 2020January 28, 2020 Angela Gosselin Leave a comment

Les Misérables was one of my favorite films I’ve seen in the past few months. In describing the film and what I liked about it (at a hundred miles a minute) to my friend, she responded saying, “It’s really interesting that even Paris has these kinds of disparities and issues.” She was referring to police corruption and brutality and its role in lower income communities. This surprised me, but at the same time the American idea of Paris (and France in general) has always been a highly contrived product of the global imagination. So before I even go into the content of the film, straight out the gate I think it’s important that it is shown in the US. In a related way, it’s easy to apply our context of race relations to all media we encounter, but the construct of race is as highly pervasive as it is contextual.

Before I praise the film, I do want to address that it isn’t perfect. The narrative of police brutality given mostly from the perspective of the police team didn’t sit super well with me, though I did find the nuance behind (most) of the officers to be effective in illustrating the logic of power abuse. Ultimately, the community and after effects of the police force’s actions feel underrepresented as well. I think it’s important to be critical about the representation of power structures in media. My perspective is quite limited here and so I highly recommend consulting other reviews in constructing your takeaways from Les Misérables.

I thought the tension achieved in this film was both amazing and highly uncomfortable. The fact that the chronology of the story is condensed into two days in such a skillful way contributes to this. Throughout the movie, we come to understand the different hubs in the community’s network through a series of telling interactions. These confrontations alternate between severe escalation and de-escalation of tension, culminating in an electrifying conclusion. It all feels very quick, but at the same time, I left the theater feeling an acute sense of dislocation.

Don’t let the subtitles scare you; I thoroughly recommend this highly relevant film. I equally recommend being critical about it and using it as a catalyst for conversation and reflection.

REVIEW: The Believers Are But Brothers

January 26, 2020January 26, 2020 Angela Gosselin Leave a comment

The Believers Are But Brothers was a theatrical experience I’m glad to have taken a part of. And I do feel as though I took part in it, as the show felt sort of like a conversation between performer Javaad Alipoor and the audience. The fact that a WhatsApp group of the audience was constantly ringing in my hands was also a pretty big part of this feeling.

And I know everyone wants to talk about what it means to have a communal theater experience via our phones and the interest of this choice is obvious. But I’m still going to talk about it too.

I’ve been to a handful of UMS and SMTD performances, and the age disparity has always been there. Can I say it’s surprising that the majority of attendees at these shows are much older? No, to be quite honest it’s hard to get student foot traffic to go anywhere if free food isn’t offered. I found this imbalance to be really clear during the show, though, and really intriguing. At the beginning of the show, a large group of older attendees leaned over to ask what everyone was doing on their phones–they didn’t have the app and throughout the show leaned to watch the conversation (I guess that’s the word for it?) on my phone or the person’s in front of them. I’m sure this experience was equally meaningful, though, as it most likely mirrored the disconnect they have towards the darker parts of the internet.

And that’s a lot of this show; Alipoor would describe internet phenomena that I’m sure was new to plenty of the audience, and then offer narratives of young men taking part in and affected by such concepts. I found the rhythm of the show to be really engaging, as it alternates between the unfolding of intense, affecting stories and more casual audience interaction.

This show feels like a piece of a puzzle. These concepts are monumental and I realized that there are so many connecting pieces and stories that I left The Believers Are But Brothers wanting to see more. I wanted to understand Alipoor’s more complete idea of this whirlwind of a decade (that is definitely kind of impossible to do, but I digress). Turns out, there is a sequel: Rich Kids: A History of Shopping Malls in Tehran, and ultimately Alipoor is making a trilogy. Here’s hoping that we have the chance to see his work again soon.

PREVIEW: Les Misérables

January 25, 2020January 26, 2020 Angela Gosselin Leave a comment

No, the 2019 film Les Misérables isn’t a musical. It’s a French drama detailing unrest in the Parisian suburbs as police brutality fuels rioting. Inspired by a short film from the same director, Ladj Ly, this gritty drama is sure to provoke thought and make us reconsider the power structures in place at home and abroad.

Descriptions of the film have added the word “Thriller” to its genre description. Though political unrest is tense and in some ways scary, I’m really interested to see the angle this film took that caused it to pick up that label. A drama with thriller elements that also has real-life source material could go many different directions; I look forward to seeing it.

Les Misérables is playing at the State Theater, student tickets are $8.50.

PREVIEW: The Believers Are But Brothers

January 23, 2020January 23, 2020 Angela Gosselin Leave a comment

The Believers Are But Brothers is a production that I already know will stand out in my mind when I think of theater in the future. Showing tonight and throughout this weekend, this show portrays the radicalization of young men today, using multimedia techniques to illustrate what it means to become a politically-minded person in the internet age.

For a $15 student ticket, you can come see this piece something that will either be a great statement on the polarization political culture of the United States or a cheesy attempt at alt-right condescension. This piece is an important venue of self-reflection, not only in ourselves but in how our peers are digesting and translating an alarming sector of American culture– and more importantly, of youth culture.