FILM REVIEWS:
AUTOBIOGRAPHY (Indonesia/Singapore/Philippines/France/Qatar/Germany/Poland 2022) ***1/2
Directed by Makbul Mubarak
Eighteen-year-old housekeeper Rakib (Kevin Ardilova) has been living idly in a gloomy rural mansion when Purna, the lord of the house, unexpectedly returns. A retired general, Purna aims at winning the local mayoral election, running a campaign focused on modernization and development, which involves evicting poor farmers in order to build a power plant. With his father in prison and his brother working abroad, there is a void in Rakib’s life that Purna suddenly promises to fill. The film is basically a two-handler, one innocent hero and the other a guilty villain, with a solid confrontation at the very end. Director Mubabrak proves himself an excellent director in his debut feature, his camera both doggedly tagging his characters while accomplishing some magnificent night shots as well. Through the capsule examinations of these two, one can see the problem balloon into the political and social problems of the country Indonesia, which I have noted as I have close relatives living in Jakarta. AUTOBIOGRAPHY is a must-see at TIFF as this is the kind of excellent work that would unlikely receive a commercial release in North America.
AUTOBIOGRAPHY was Indonesia’s 2023 Oscar submission for Best International Feature. It makes it North American premiere, including Canada, on Film Movement Plus on April 11, 2025.
Trailer:
SHADOW OF GOD (Canada 2024) **
Directed by Michale Peterson
Easter sees the Resurrection of Christ, Easter Monday and Good Friday 3 days apart, 3 days between the crucifixion and his resurrection. The new Canadian horror movie arrives at Easter right in time with the subject of resurrection from the dead.
So, arriving just ahead of Easter is the new exorcism horror movie Shadow of the God, which appears to introduce a new twist in the trailer that just debuted: an elite exorcist, Father Mason Harper (Mark O’Brien) realizes he may be dealing with a holy entity. Unfortunately, a twist does not necessarily translate to a good thing, SHADOW OF GOD being a prime example.
The film begins with an exorcism in which Father Harper’s fellow Vatican exorcists is killed. During the exorcism, they try to extract the name of the demon, but without success. Father Harper returns to his childhood home to spend time with his childhood friend while he awaits orders from the Church. However, this small town holds dark secrets about Mason’s past and the religious organization once run by his father, Angus. Angus is supposedly dead, but he reappears, resurrected. Their past resurfaces. Though dead, Angus reappears, forcing a reunion between father and son. But Angus is different now, and before long, Mason suspects he’s possessed, and he is. Again, the demon does not identify itself but turns out to be the SHADOW OF GOD, and hence the film’s title. Thongs go absolutely amok from here - and not in a good way.
The fault lies in both Peterson’s direction and Tim Cairo’s script. The film is unfocused and all over the place. None of the story’s characters are worthy of the audience’s sympathy. The story also contains a covet of demon worshippers that appear from nowhere and then are totally destroyed in a minute. Despite some quite well-executed special effects, the film turns out to be quite boring and unimaginative from start to end.
SHADOW OF GOD is a Canadian film, shot largely in the province of Alberta. It opens for streaming on the horror streaming service Shudder on April the 11th, 2025.
Trailer:
