In the course of Siddiq Barmaks OSAMA, an old man dangles a string of heavy and ornate locks in front of the child whom he has forcibly married and asks her to choose one. He jingles them playfully while looking at her with an indulgent smile because for him it is a mark of his… Read More »
THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST
There is a reason that the early church did not make the cross its primary symbol. Early tombs display the friendlier, more positive images of the fish, as in, to quote Jesus, “go forth and be fishers of men”, and the good shepherd, as in, again quoting “I am the good shepherd.” People in that… Read More »
IVANSXTC
Based on the Tolstoy story THE DEATH OF IVAN ILLYICH, IVANSXTC takes the Russian bureaucrat from the 19th century and transmutes him into a high-powered talent agent in contemporary Hollywood. Not an intuitive leap, but filmmaker Bernard Rose has taken the essence of the original story, and made it work in the most unlikely of… Read More »
THE ALAMO
Its sad to think that people gave up their lifes blood defending and attacking The Alamo. The loss of human life is always a tragedy. Adding to that very real tragedy is that the film version commemorating that event is such a stinker.Now, any retelling of what happened way back in 1836 in San Antonio… Read More »
JAMES’ JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM (Massa’ot James Be’eretz Hakodesh)
When we first meet the eponymous James (Siyabonga Melongisi Shibe) of JAMES JOURNEY TO JERUSALEM, hes basking in the presence of that city. His bright face is aglow with a smile that can light up the farthest corners of the universe. That glow is reflected in the sun-drenched image of such familiar landmarks as The… Read More »
YOUNG ADAM
There is no one actually named Adam in YOUNG ADAM, based on the novel by 50s Brit Beat Alexander Trocchi. Its use is open to interpretations, biblical and other. Make of it what you will, but be prepared for a harsh, yet mesmerizing dissection of the way morality is often lived rather than how it is always… Read More »
BOBBY JONES, STROKE OF GENIUS
BOBBY JONES, STROKE OF GENIUS is not so much a film as a sermon conceived as a series of lessons designed for moral improvement and delivered by rote by a preacher who long ago exchanged enthusiasm for boredom with the subject matter. It is, I suppose, good for you on some level, in much the… Read More »
SUPER SIZE ME!
About a hundred years ago, the United States government decided that it needed to get involved in regulating the food processing industry and created what would eventually become the Food and Drug Administration. It was a radical idea at the time and there were a few who grouched that it was an impediment to free… Read More »
TROY
Cassandra, my favorite character from Homers Iliad, is missing from TROY, Wolfgang Petersons timely meditation of the futility of war. Its not the only change in this handsomely mounted retelling of the mythic tale of the Trojan War. The others are more in keeping with Petersens theme, though jarring for those familiar with the story… Read More »
EDGE OF THE WORLD. THE
In the late 20s or early 30s, a story about the exodus of Scottish island folk from their home captured the imagination of Michael Powell, the British director of such classics as BLACK NARCISSUS and THE RED SHOES. The result was 1938s THE EDGE OF THE WORLD, long difficult to find and recently released by… Read More »
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