Warnings of Personal and Political Ambition at the 60th Chicago International Film Fest

The Chicago International Film Festival kicked off its 60th anniversary Oct. 16, running until Oct. 27. The Fest invites filmmakers and actors from across the world to celebrate moviemaking in the heart of Chicago.

Spanning 12 days and six venues, this year’s catalog boasts an array of independent premieres and Academy Award hopefuls.

“The Rule of Jenny Penn” unravels eccentric horrors within a New Zealand senior living home. Joshua Oppenheimer’s “The End” redefines musical film with a vibrant apocalyptic setting, while Malcolm Washington’s “The Piano Lesson,” set in the Depression-era South, reminisces on sacrifices made by a fortunate family.

Between absurd horrors, experimental musicals and passionate dramas, each Festival entry presents audiences with a different vision of what artistry can be.

“Transplant”

“Transplant” examines the dangers of dedication through an unlikely lens — heart-transplant surgery.

From director Jason Park, “Transplant” follows medical student Jonah (Eric Nam) in his unyielding efforts to perfect his craft in surgery. The son of a South Korean immigrant family, Jonah’s drive to prove himself comes from both personal ambition and generational pressure.

Jonah’s one-track mind is derailed upon taking an apprenticeship with famed surgeon Edward Harmon (Bill Camp). Under Harmon’s tutelage, Jonah is belittled by his mentor at the operating table and pressured to stay away from his sick mother for the sake of work.

Groveling at the will of an ego-driven teacher, “Transplant” parallels the likes of “Whiplash” in depicting passionate dedication spiraling into personal destruction. The film raises tension through the vehicle of surgery — where any mishap has life or death consequences.

“Transplant” is a film for the dedicated, not the faint of heart. The film bleeds with unfeeling focus as complex operating procedures are filmed casually. Surgical sequences are grotesquely lifelike, acting as the film’s pumping organ behind a ribcage of character work.

“Transplant” is yet to be given an official release date. 

“Apocalypse in the Tropics”

The death of democracy is theocracy, according to “Apocalypse in the Tropics.”

From documentary filmmaker Petra Costa, “Apocalypse in the Tropics” details the extremism fueled rise of former Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro.

In office from 2019 to 2023 before losing his second bid in 2024, Bolsonaro’s Christofascist campaign is documented from the Brazilian rise of evangelism to the attempted presidential coup on Jan. 8, 2023.

With incendiary rhetoric, economic turmoil and implications of corruption, his brief presidency is painted as having drastically shell-shocked Brazilian politics. Even in the wake of his polarizing defeat, Bolsonaro supporters continue to stew violent rhetoric in Brazil.

Yet “Apocalypse in the Tropics” isn’t an admonishment of one figure alone. The documentary unmasks a fundamentalist movement between government and church officials for state control. 

“Apocalypse in the Tropics” acts as a warning not just for Brazil’s future, but one for the future of governing bodies across the globe, too.

“Apocalypse in the Tropics” is yet to be given an official release date.

“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” 

A fractured family tree grows from “The Seed of the Sacred Fig.”

Directed by Mohammad Rasoulof, “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” follows a family split by the contemporary Woman, Life, Freedom movement within Iran’s capital, Tehran.

When devout judge Iman (Missagh Zareh) notices the disappearance of his handgun, he suspects his wife Najmeh (Soheila Golestani) and daughters Rezvan (Mahsa Rostami) and Sana (Setareh Maleki) of participating in rebellion against the state.

Violent unrest surrounds Iran’s dogmatic Islamic Republic, inciting Iman’s paranoia when grappling with his duties as husband and father. “The Seed of the Sacred Fig” damningly condemns the violent misogyny of Iran’s government and its draconian action taken toward dissidents.

“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” is an appeal to humanity in the midst of a militant theocracy. Following the film’s selection to premiere at the Cannes film festival, Iranian authorities banned the cast from leaving the country to promote the film.

“The Seed of the Sacred Fig” releases Nov. 27.

“Conclave”

The Pope is dead — and a new one must be elected.

Directed by Edward Berger and based on Robert Harris’ novel by the same name, “Conclave” is a fictionalized modern-day telling of how the Catholic Church appoints a new Pope.

Ralph Fiennes stars as the presiding official over the conclave election, Cardinal Lawerence. With the arrival of 118 clergymen vying to be Head of Church, Fiennes (“The Grand Budapest Hotel,” “Quiz Show”) portrays a man split between his commitment to God and his commitment to justice.

While the film’s characters are fictitious, the appointing process is zealously accurate. Catholic tradition spills from the granular recreation of the Sistine Chapel to the decadent robing of Vatican leadership.

The film assumes the framing of a political thriller as factions brew between ambitious Cardinal sects. Split by nationality, ethnicity, ideology and faith, “Conclave” is a film driven by religion as much as statecraft.

“Conclave” comes to theaters Oct. 24.

Tickets for the Chicago International Film Fest are available online.