Author: Caitlin Abe Gokool

• Sirat [MIFF 2025]

  

  A film that seems so simple ends up being the one asking possibly the most existential questions yet. This is Sirat, the winner of the 2025 Cannes Grand Jury Prize, a film that follows a father Luis and his son Esteban as they travel through the desert of Morocco to a rave hoping to find…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  August 11, 2025

• Twinless [MIFF 2025]

  

  One of the funniest films of the year might also be the most gut-wrenching. This is Twinless, directed, written and starring James Sweeney, co-staring Dylan O’Brien. When an unlikely friendship between the two men form at a support group for twins, whose twin has died, Roman and Denis become a support for the other, as…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  August 8, 2025

• If I Had Legs I’d Kick You [MIFF 2025]

  

  Rose Byrne is already receiving awards buzz for her leading role as a spiralling mother in Mary Bronstein’s If I Had Legs I’d Kick You. The film premiered at the 2025 Berlinale, where Byrne was awarded the Silver Bear for Best Leading Performance, and opened the 2025 Melbourne International Film Festival. Byrne plays Linda, a…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  August 7, 2025

• Dreams [MIFF 2025]

  

  I think it would be hard to create a tone deaf film in 2025. With 24/7 access to outcries on social media about art, and an abundance of access to the reception to media depicting world issues, Dreams is a new film by Michel Franco that unfortunately falls into this category of lacking a sensitivity…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  August 6, 2025

• Oh, Hi!

  

  In this Misery-esque millennial rom-com-drama, Iris and Isaac go on their first couples vacation, at a cabin far out from the city. We follow them in the first few moments of the film, driving further and further from civilization, finally arriving at their romantic weekend getaway. When things go unexpected, Iris faces a crossroads about…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  July 24, 2025

• Jane Austen Wrecked My Life

  

  If there is one thing many young girls feel like, at one point, they could agree on, it is the title of this film. Setting high standards through her stories and reminding women what they are worth, even in a society that was often unfair to them, Jane Austen’s works grasp the lives of young…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  May 25, 2025

• Dandelion’s Odyssey [Cannes 2025]

  

  In 2024, Flow reminded us of the power of animation. The ability to tell a story through animals and moving pictures, without dialogue, asking us to connect with other species that we saw ourselves reflected in. This year at Cannes, we were shown a new way to appreciate this style of film with Momoko Seto’s…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  May 22, 2025

• Caravan [Cannes 2025]

  

  Directed by Zuzana Kirchnerová, Caravan follows Esther, a devoted mother to her son David, who was born with an intellectual disability. Overwhelmed, she steals a caravan after a stressful night and takes David along with her on a van trip through southern Italy. As the pair travel, they meet a young drifter, who slowly starts…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  May 22, 2025

• A Nice Indian Boy

  

  If the queer rom-com we have come to know asks, how will your parents react when you come out and bring home a partner of the same sex, then A Nice Indian Boy complicated this by asking how will your traditional Indian parents react when you bring home your white-orphan-artist boyfriend. Directed by Canadian Roshan…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  March 19, 2025

• She’s the He [SXSW 2025]

  

  Following 2023, the unofficial year of the girl with Barbie and Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour, Emma Seligman’s Bottoms redefined what the queer coming-of-age film could be. A film that film never shied away from being an unrestrained, provocative look at the lives of unpopular teenage lesbians, there was a clear new timeline beginning for the…

  Caitlin Abe Gokool

  March 12, 2025