Review coming. Directed by: Charles Burnett Produced by: Thomas S. Byrnes Caldecot Chubb Michael Flynn Danny Glover Linda Koulisis Edward R. Pressman Darin Scott Ron Stacker Thompson Harris Tulchin Written by: Charles Burnett Music by: Stephen James Taylor Cinematography by: Walt Lloyd Editing by: Nancy Richardson Release Date: 1990 Running Time: 102 Language: English Arts…
In Close-Up, Abbas Kiarostami retells the true story of the trial of Hossein Sabzian who fraudulently convinced a family that he was the famous film director, Mohsen Makhmalbaf. The entire incident comes about in a seemingly innocent way; however, the moral struggle surrounding the deception involves a complex wrestling with themes of identity, belonging, forgiveness and repentance. Sabzian is arrested, imprisoned,…
Simon Kessler is a psychologist high up in the human resources department of the Paris branch of the German company chemical company SC Farb. Kessler’s boss gives him what must be an intimidating job, though he never shows any hesitation. He needs to investigate the company’s CEO, who has been acting irregularly, deteriorating quickly from…
In 1974, Mohsen Makhmalbaf stabbed a young police officer while attempting to steal his gun. Makhmalbaf was only seventeen at the time but had already been actively involved for a number of years in organized resistance to the Shah’s government. He served four-and-a-half years of his sentence before being released in 1979, soon after the…
Steely with conviction, luminous with wisdom and wit, Fred Zinnemann’s impeccable film of Robert Bolt’s play about the life of Thomas More explores what defines a man, or what is left to a man who has no defining center that cannot be bought or coerced. Successful, urbane, gregarious, ridiculously talented and accomplished, Thomas More was the…
A romantic triangle is one of the most common storylines in film. The characters are usually pretty well defined: a well meaning guy with a raging libido, a gorgeous woman with loose morals, and a sweet sensible girl pining for a husband. And of course, there is sex. But what if a film replaces this…
“There are moments when the social world seems more evident in an object or a gesture than in the whole concatenation of our beliefs and institutions.” In this quote, anthropologist David MacDougall encapsulates the ambition of observational cinema with perfect precision. “Through our senses we measure the qualities of our surroundings—the tempo of life, the…
Appreciation coming. Directed by: Maurice Cloche Produced by: Viscount George de la Grandiere André Halley des Fontaines André Lejard Georges Maurer Written by: Jean Anouilh Jean Bernard-Luc Music by: Jean-Jacques Grünenwald Jean Dalve Cinematography by: Claude Renoir Editing by: Jean Feyte Release Date: 1947 Running Time: 111 Language: French Arts & Faith Lists: 2016 Top…
Marc Rothemund’s fact-based Sophie Scholl: The Final Days is a riveting portrait of a young woman of formidable intellect, dogged self-possession, and excruciatingly steady nerves. At 21, Sophia Magdalena Scholl (Julia Jentsch) is old enough to have outgrown the brash overconfidence of immaturity, but not too old for the purity and ardor of youthful idealism. She is…