AMMAN: As the film and TV industries continue to tread water during the COVID-19 pandemic that has caused productions across the world to grind to a halt, Netflix has tasked 17 filmmakers with documenting their own unique takes on life in lockdown. The result is “Homemade,” a collection of short movies, all wildly different in their tone, approach, style and subject matter, yet linked by a common, intrinsic thread.
Maggie Gyllenhaal. (AFP)
Each of the films in the first volume of “Homemade” offers a glimpse of lockdown life, but as you’d expect from such a diverse collection of filmmakers, those insights range from deeply personal documentaries (including Rachel Morrison’s lyrical poem to her son, David Mackenzie’s intimate portrait of his 16-year-old daughter, and Gurinder Chadha’s loving chronicle of her time spent with her family) to the spectacularly idiosyncratic (such as Nadine Labaki and Khaled Mouzanar’s observational film of their daughter’s imaginary world and Sebastian Schipper’s surreal take on monotonous routine).
Kristen Stewart. (AFP)
It’s hard to choose standout films from such a varied collection — though Kristen Stewart’s unsettling insomnia story, Maggie Gyllenhaal’s extrapolative apocalyptic tale and Ana Lily Amirpour’s eerie road movie would certainly be contenders — and far easier to enjoy the commonality found in each of these distinct films. Each of the directors grapples with isolation in their own, unique way. And whether that involves quiet introspection, surreal melodrama, musical theatricality, phone-based exchanges or video-conference confessions, that sense of uncertainty is pervasive.
Lovingly curated and tonally diverse, “Homemade” casts a wide net. Chances are there will be some films that appeal and some that don’t — and which movie falls into which camp will vary from viewer to viewer. But through its variety this anthology reinforces just how much we have in common.
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