Pause

Fryogeni, who bears a striking resemblance to Frances McDormand, appears in almost every shot, and she carries the film with a bravura performance of a woman at her wit's end.

A work of considerable tonal complexity, as it stirs moments of pitch-black humor and short and violent reveries into an otherwise austerely told tale of spousal strife that wants to smash the patriarchy with feats of cinematic derring-do.

Pause is not an easy or a pleasant film to watch, but it does have individual moments and sequences that are simply transfixing, as well as a strong, well-defined painterly aesthetic.

There may be an absence of comedy, dry, situational, or otherwise, but Mishiali certainly didn't intend to squash any personal hopes and daydreams with this film. Rather, she made a film that demands them to flourish.

Pause is dark, dry, and completely ruthless when it comes to admonishing the patriarchal structures that keep women down, particularly in the film's Cyprus setting.

The film is observant, and Mishiali uses deftly its main character towards her self-regulated journey to freedom.

Pause is a thoughtful, quietly provocative film that spotlights an individual whom most films relegate to the sidelines.

A vivid, near soliloquoy, men distorting women and bypassing the soul. And relief for suppressed passions and frustrations do eventually break free for moments, but with only elusive windows of dramatic conjecture provided - as perhaps it should be.

A gender-specific and culturally unique crisis done up in a lively landscape fraught with a wide range of emotional, vengeful, and feared imaginations.

Tonia Mishiali's film is gorgeous in its solemnity...there is a quiet tension that carries you through the film.