Afire Is The Best Movie You Didn't Get Around To Watching This Month
(Welcome to Under the Radar, a column where we spotlight specific movies, shows, trends, performances, or scenes that caught our eye and deserved more attention ... but otherwise flew under the radar. In this edition: the pain of artistry takes centerstage in "Afire," "Passages" breaks down all boundaries, and "They Cloned Tyrone" puts a sci-fi twist on the American dream.)
You've heard of Barbenheimer, the phenomenon currently sweeping the globe (and getting Warner Bros.' social media team in trouble), but may I introduce you to Pass-afire? The one-two punch of director Ira Sach's "Passages" and Christian Petzold's "Afire" might not have the big-budget cachet of the two blockbuster behemoths currently duking it out in theaters, but this pair of shockingly complimentary character studies takes a much quieter, moodier, and thrillingly vibrant approach to dissecting much more relatable, everyday issues. Centered on two maddening artists who struggle mightily to articulate their wants and needs at any given moment, this double feature provides everything that certain moviegoing circles (lookin' at you, Film Twitter!) claim they want: complicated characters, thoroughly adult ruminations over life and love with no easy answers, and, yes, a whole lot of horniness.
But that's not all that July had to offer. Ordinarily, I wouldn't be inclined to feature a Netflix original as an "under the radar" offering, but the famously finicky streamer doesn't always bother to market their most exciting releases. That appears to be the case with "They Cloned Tyrone," the John Boyega-starring genre flick that no longer even shows up on the main page. With these three movies, July went out on a high note and reaffirmed that, as WGA and SAG-AFTRA fight on for fair deals and living wages, it's more important than ever to cherish the work of genuine, talented, and altogether human creatives.
Afire
"Afire" follows an absolute wet blanket of a protagonist, novelist Leon (brought to life brilliantly by Thomas Schubert), as he retreats to a vacation home by the German coast with his carefree friend Felix (Langston Uibel) for a work vacation. Leon is reaching crunch time to deliver his second book to a demanding publisher, while Felix is rather less preoccupied by the photography portfolio he's meant to put together than he is with soaking in the sights and sounds of the idyllic countryside. For Leon, frustration mounts almost from the start: their car suffers an inopportune breakdown that forces them to make the rest of the trek on foot, a room in the house has been mistakenly rented out to another guest (the passionate Nadja, played by Paula Beer), and all the while the threat of uncontrollable wildfires loom in the distance.
All the ingredients are in place for a lighthearted, breezy story about getting Leon to loosen up and find inspiration in the beauty surrounding him, but director Christian Petzold is wholly uninterested in playing to such clichés. At every opportunity, Leon turns down relaxation, fun, and even the hint of sex and romance in favor of the dark cloud hanging heavy over his head, poisoning all who dare come near. In outright denial that the manuscript he's been working on is actually unsalvageable pablum and consumed by jealousy as Felix, Nadja, and her sometimes-lover Devid (Enno Trebs) constantly find ways to enjoy themselves, Leon becomes a reflection of the absolute worst kind of artist — one so fixated on his work that he forgets to live. Petzold's clever script both repels and beguiles us as we rarely leave Leon's perspective, blindsiding us with an absolutely unforgettable conclusion.
"Afire" is currently playing in theaters in limited release.
Passages
If you thought Leon was insufferable enough, please meet the perpetually indecisive Tomas. Played by German actor Franz Rogowski in one of the year's most invigorating and incisive performances, the abrasive filmmaker is first introduced in "Passages" at the tail-end of a movie shoot in a scene that tells us everything we need to know about him. As his assistant director calmly attempts to wrap this final stretch of production, Tomas interrupts and increasingly badgers his actors and background extras on the most minute of details — how they walk down stairs, how they hold drinks, and how they enter a room. But as much as he knows precisely what he wants out of his art, he's completely at a loss when it comes to communicating that ... much less navigating a relationship with his longtime husband Martin (the always reliable Ben Whishaw).
The cracks begin to show immediately, as a tired and out-of-place Martin politely rebuffs Tomas at the ensuing wrap party in Paris and inadvertently steers Tomas right into the path of Agathe (a fiery Adèle Exarchopoulos), a schoolteacher who draws Tomas in like a gravitational well. Intrigued by his own openness to sleeping with a woman, he confesses his infidelity to his husband the next morning — who receives it almost painfully matter-of-factly, as Martin is similarly curious about the "who" of the matter more so than the cheating itself. Casually tabling the discussion on his way out by sadly reminding himself that Tomas "always forgets" when he reaches the end of a film shoot, this is only the beginning of a love triangle that ultimately interrogates notions of self-worth, identity, and the fraught intricacies of modern love.
"Passages" will come to theaters on limited release this week.
They Cloned Tyrone
And now for something completely different! Where "Passages" and "Afire" achieve their unique alchemy by investing viewers so deeply in the everyday minutia of daily life, "They Cloned Tyrone" makes it clear from its very title that verisimilitude is the absolute last thing on its mind. From first-time director Juel Taylor, the sci-fi film ping-pongs between different aesthetics, tones, and production design throughout the course of this ambitious big swing. Initially following the drug-dealing Fontaine (John Boyega, having an absolute blast) in a purposefully vague neighborhood called "The Glen," it's easy for viewers to lull themselves into a false sense of security about what exactly this movie is about ... until the clone storyline abruptly intrudes on this inelegant treatise on low-income life in a disenfranchised American town.
While some may struggle to switch gears along with Taylor's energetic and deeply confident feature debut, those who find themselves on its wavelength will inexorably find themselves sucked in, thanks in no small part to the performances of self-professed pimp Slick Charles (Jamie Foxx, grinding up the scenery like only he can do) and sex worker Yo-Yo (Teyonah Parris, reminding us that she's one of our most exciting performers around) as all three are sucked into a deeper and darker conspiracy that bluntly (but no less effectively) circles back to thorny issues of which demographics are put in position to succeed in this country and why. Equal parts madcap, insightful, and uproariously funny, "They Cloned Tyrone" borrows the best of movies like "Groundhog Day," "The Truman Show," and more to arrive at something delightfully original.
"They Cloned Tyrone" is currently streaming on Netflix.