On this episode of Adjust Your Tracking, Joe and I dig into what proved to be a bruising, doomed double feature in “Birds of Passage” and “Donnybrook,” two films receiving small releases that totally belie the towering filmmaking and thematic weight on display in both. The theatrical reach may be small, but these films feel big. That’s where we find so much to appreciate and recommend, despite both films being a hard sell for audiences (both included on our list of the best movies of 2019, we’ve already seen).
READ MORE: The 25 Best Films Of 2019 We’ve Already Seen
“Donnybrook” is the latest film from burgeoning filmmaker Tim Sutton, whose previous efforts like “Dark Night” are dreamy, poetically non-narrative and often employ non-professional actors. “Donnybrook,” which comes to some theaters this Friday and VOD Feb. 22, is an evolution, starting with the cast of familiar names (led by a terrifying Frank Grillo as the film’s Anton Chigurh-like specter of death) and a more genre-inflected style and narrative. (Read The Playlist’s glowing review from TIFF last year). “Birds Of Passage” (yet another glowing review, this one from Cannes) is another arthouse masterwork by Ciro Guerra (“Embrace of the Serpent“), this time he shares director credit with partner Cristina Gallego and the results are one of the most distinctive and gorgeous crime epics of these times, maybe the best since “City of God.” We have lots to champion on this episode, and so, we discuss!
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