The 55th New York Film Festival took its final bow last Sunday. This year’s event, which ran September 28-October 15, 2017, had its highs and its lows.

On the bright side, the core film slate delivered. The talks, both free and paid, were illuminating and featured the likes of Isabelle Huppert, Agnes Varda, Noah Baumbach, Vanessa Redgrave, Greta Gerwig, Kate Winslet, Ed Lachman, and Vittorio Storaro.

On the downside, the festival appeared to lose a bit of steam during its last week, perhaps 18 days was a hair too long, and the special events section lacked its usual gusto. Also looming over the proceedings were the revelations about Harvey Weinstein.

In previous years, a buzzy film with a star-studded cast has been added to the lineup last minute. Films that have filled this slot include Jackie, The Martian, Hugo, and Lincoln. For 2017, audiences were given Paul Schrader’s somber spiritual drama First Reformed, and sneak preview of Netflix’s serial killer series Mindhunter, which premiered a few days later on the streaming service. While both of these projects were well-received, they didn’t stimulate excitement.

The fest also took a small hit when Ava DuVernay, who was supposed to do a “conversation with”, cancelled citing a scheduling conflict. She must have informed the organizers late in the process, as the festival program featured the talk. DuVernay subsequently turned up in New York the same weekend to appear at the New Yorker Festival. Not a great look. Is DuVernay’s cancellation a sign that the festival has lost some of its prestige? Usually filmmakers are clamoring to be involved, yet DuVernay, whose film opened the festival last year, decided to participate in a rival event.

Toward the end of the festival’s first week, the news of Harvey Weinstein’s predatory behavior broke. There were no Weinstein Company films at this year’s event, but there was still fallout. Receiving the most flak was the closing night feature, Woody Allen’s Wonder Wheel. Allen has been a divisive figure ever since allegations surfaced in the 1990s that he sexually assaulted his adopted daughter Dylan. The Weinstein story seemed to stoke the flames of the Allen controversy, and a lot of hate, more than we believe was warranted, was directed toward his film. The festival made the decision to cancel the red carpet, but Allen and the cast were in attendance at the screening.

Also impacted by the Weinstein story was the free festival talk on dramatizing real stories. Michael Mitnick, the writer of The Current War, a Weinstein Company release, cancelled his participation in the panel.

As for the films, we already highlighted some standouts from the slate over here. Below are additional thoughts on other films we were able to catch.

Ismael’s Ghosts, Director’s Cut
Dir. Arnaud Desplechin

We had heard about the lukewarm reception an alternate, shorter version of Ismael’s Ghosts received when it opened the Cannes Film Festival in May. Could a director’s cut that adds 20 minutes to the running time be an improvement? In the case of Ismael’s Ghosts, we’re going to say yes, bearing in mind we haven’t seen the Cannes version. During the post-screening Q&A with Arnaud Desplechin, the filmmaker explained that his distributor requested the shorter version but he preferred the longer cut. This was a departure from what he told reporters at Cannes. He resisted saying he had a preference, but instead said that there were tonal differences between the two cuts. In New York, when discussing what was edited out in relation to the overall film, it became clear that a pinnacle scene that ties his chaotic narrative together was removed from the version that screened at Cannes. Desplechin added that he saw this scene as the heart of the picture.

Ismael’s Ghosts plays out like a frenetic, entrancing dream. Mathieu Amalric is cast as Ismael, a neurotic filmmaker whose life is upended when his wife Carlotta (Marion Cotillard), who vanished some 20 years ago, returns. Ismael, who has done his best to move on, must now choose between Carlotta and his current girlfriend Sylvia (Charlotte Gainsbourg). All the while, he’s on the hook to finish his latest film, a spy thriller inspired by his brother.

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The Square
Dir. Ruben Östlund

Ruben Östlund’s latest film The Square is at once a tour de force satire on the art world and a commentary on human nature. Centering on Christian, a charismatic curator played by Claes Bang, the film follows this antihero of sorts as he faces a number of ethical and moral dilemmas. Christian’s latest project, entitled The Square, is an installation that encourages altruism. However, the curator’s behavior seems to run counter to the work he’s championing.

The film, while having a storyline with forward momentum, also plays like a series of vignettes strung together by the director’s interest in exploring the primal nature of humans. Human psychology is a familiar theme in Östlund’s work. Force Majeure examines the martial tension that results after a husband abandons his family during an avalanche, and Play is based on real court cases and is about a group of boys who rob other boys by means of a psychological game.

The Square, which earned Östlund the Palme d’Or at Cannes, is no doubt among the most thought provoking films of this year.

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The Venerable W.
Dir.Barbet Schroeder

Barbet Schroeder’s The Venerable W. is a disturbing, timely and important documentary about Ashin Wirathu, a Burmese monk who is encouraging hate and violence against Muslims in Myanmar. The film completes Schroeder’s Trilogy of Evil, which includes General Idi Amin Dada (1974) and Terror’s Advocate (2007).

Schroeder creates a chilling portrait that is constructed from interviews along with archival and amateur footage. The film has great implications for what is transpiring in the West. It’s a must-view.