Here in order of viewing are the films I've seen this week.....
GEOGRAPHY CLUB is based on a local writer's young adult book, and it started out feeling like an ABC After School Special, but the technical quality is good, the characters are memorable, and it begins to feel more like an extended episode of GLEE, with out the music, which for those of us who love GLEE, is a good thing. A repressed teen joins up with other gay teens to start a gay alliance group in high school for support from repression, hazing and homophobia. It's witty, insightful and charming. GRADE------B
INEQUALITY FOR ALL is a US documentary featuring former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich who lays out in plain English how the widening income gap in America is very detrimental to our society. GRADE------B+
REDEMPTION STREET---set in Belgrade, this want to be thriller about a young investigative lawyer who suddenly gets in over his head, starts out intriguingly enough, but the final half hour rushes through events (practically in a montage of shots) and the film feels like a three hour plot line that was severely edited to fit a 90 minute slot. Very unsatisfactory by the end. GRADE-----C-
HALIMA'S PATH---set in the aftermath of the Croatian war, this emotional, thoughtful story involves two young adults from different faiths (Christian and Muslim) who marry, and how 25 years later that union had tragic effects. The ending is particularly powerful. GRADE-----A-
IMAGINE has the blind leading (and teaching) the blind, much to the dismay of the school staff, since the new teacher refuses to use a walking stick, putting himself and his students in danger. Taken from the POV of the blind, the film is intensely fascinating, forcing the viewer to try to imagine what these students are feeling. GRADE------B+
SHORTSFEST OPENING NIGHT was a half dozen collection of shorts, some just fine, a couple others just terrific, especially the film which contrasted the birth of a Rwanda woman who has the whole village helping her, and the birth of a seemingly alone woman who wants no help at all. Both women face a dangerous birth process. Also quite excellent was the short with Emma Thompson portraying the Queen when an intruder awakens her in her Buckingham bedroom, and based on a true story. Total GRADE average------B+
TERMS AND CONDITIONS MAY APPLY is a frightening documentary about the civil freedoms we give up everyday by using social networks like Google, Facebook, Twitter, etc, since the government and other agencies have apparently total access to what we do on line. GRADE----B+
TOGETHER---A Chinese film that has absolutely nothing to say, and does so in the most dull and boring fashion that by the time I walked out at the 55 minute mark, nearly half the theatre had beat me out the door. You've been warned...... GRADE-------D
Locally filmed, SCRAPPER is a dark, jaunty little film with smooth photography and at least two very strong lead actors, concerning a lonely junk metal collector (an excellent Michael Beach) who teams up with an 18 year old girl with a lot of problems, trying to teach her responsibility and job skills to keep her off the streets. This is a good solid made in Seattle film. GRADE------B
A BAND CALLED DEATH---Excellent US documentary in the vein of SEARCHING FOR SUGARMAN, featuring the history and rediscovery of the first black punk band who lived in Detroit in the early 1970's. The characters are very funny, the history is informative, the music is great, even for those who think they may not like this music. It's a quality documentary. GRADE----A-
FATAL is a curious Korean film about a young man who feels guilty about a gang rape he participated in 10 years earlier as a student, and when he meets the young woman later in life, becomes obsessed with purging his guilt---by becoming involved with her!!!!! GRADE---B
OUT IN THE DARK is an engrossing Israeli film about a closeted gay Palestinian student who becomes involved with an out Israeli lawyer. The film becomes much more about politics than sex, although sexuality is used against both protagonists in hateful ways. GRADE-----B+
JIN is a curious, wonderfully photographed Turkish film about a young female freedom fighter living in the mountains, who, when she tries to reenter society, finds life just as hard and cruel, which drives her back into the forest and mountains. There is a minimum of dialogue, with vivid and mystical views of nature that lend the film a spiritual quality. Some may find the film too slow, but I found it (and the lyrical musical score) hypnotic. GRADE------A-
IN THE NAME OF ....is a Polish film with a remarkably charismatic and good looking lead actor named Andrzej Chyra, who stars as a priest to a small community of troubled boys living on a reformatory farm. He finds himself attracted to an older boy, and a bored woman tries to seduce him. His faith in his work and in God becomes shaken, and he turns to drink. The film deals with the problems of modern day priests in the Catholic faith. One amazing scene has him drunkenly dancing with a large picture of the Pope. GRADE------B+
JUST LIKE A WOMAN is a poor, poor man's THELMA AND LOUISE, with both characters running from disappointing marriages, with dreams of becoming-------belly dancers! The leads are lovely women, but the plot is not very convincing, and although it is easy to watch with some lovely scenes set in the Southwest states, the film evaporates after viewing. GRADE------C+
IN THE FOG is set in Russia in 1942, and deals with reprisals toward a friend that the villagers think has made a deal with the Germans in order to survive a hanging of resistant fighters. This is filmed in LLLOOOONNNNGGG SSSLLLOOOWW takes where nothing of great importance is discussed, and there are numerous tracking shots where the camera follows the back of some one's head for several minutes as they trudge through a forest or down a road or searching for food. If all those shots were cut, the film would be at least 30 minutes shorter, but still no better. I dozed several times, only to open my eyes and find that the scene had not changed one bit. SPOILER ALERT----every one boringly dies by the end, and we don't care a bit. GRADE-------D+ (the plus is for the good looking production values.)
The oddly entertaining Belgium film THE BROKEN CIRCLE BREAKDOWN is an uncomfortable mixture of passionate love affair, cancer struggles, Bluegrass music, and marriage on the rocks scenes. The country/bluegrass music is cheerful enough, and I liked the main characters, but the film becomes such a downer of death and sadness that it could become the saddest film of the year. GRADE-----B-
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Heading into the long weekend, here are the best bets-----
Dirty Wars, OUT IN THE DARK, Paradise Trilogy (Paradise Love, Paradise Faith, Paradise Hope), GEOGRAPHY CLUB, The Spectacular Now, AFTER TILLER, Anita, C.O.G, The Punk Singer........
I'm looking forward to LAURENCE ANYWAYS, THE WAY WAY BACK, TOUCHY FEELY and SING ME THE SONGS THAT SAY I LOVE YOU
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