Film-Forward

About Benjamin Tran

Benjamin Tran is a Los Angeles–based freelance writer, focusing mainly on film and politics.

Of Fathers and Sons

Posing as a war photographer, filmmaker Talal Derki travels deep into a Jihadist enclave in northern Syria.

By |November 26th, 2018|Documentary|0 Comments

Bikini Moon

An unsettling and cerebral genre mishmash of documentary, found footage, fantasy, and family drama.

By |October 11th, 2018|Satire|0 Comments

This Is Congo

A catch-up exposé on what’s been going on in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for the past 20 years, and the catch-up is horrifying indeed.

By |June 28th, 2018|Documentary|0 Comments

Leave No Trace

Actors Ben Foster and Thomasin McKenzie have a bond so achingly real that expositional dialogue seems almost superfluous.

By |June 27th, 2018|Top Picks|0 Comments

The Most Unknown

A gorgeous and intellectual tour of the world’s most curious scientific endeavors.

By |May 22nd, 2018|Documentary, Top Picks|0 Comments

In the Last Days of the City

Part-fiction, part-documentary, In the Last Days of the City captures beautifully and powerfully the ebb and flow of a city mired by constant political struggle and uncertainty.

By |April 27th, 2018|Middle East|0 Comments

Little Pink House

A working-class town’s relentless legal battle against the state government’s use of eminent domain, anchored by a powerfully subdued Catherine Keener.

By |April 19th, 2018|Book adaptation|0 Comments

Outside In

A poignant film bolstered by Jay Duplass’s and Edie Falco’s powerful performances.

By |April 2nd, 2018|Indie|0 Comments

Isle of Dogs

Wes Anderson's new and visually stunning escapade, flavored by the Japanese cinema of the Kurosawa and Miyazaki persuasion.

By |March 25th, 2018|Animated|0 Comments