What does music mean? Its an interesting question and one posed with grace and not a little irony by Chen Kaige in TOGETHER. Using the backdrop of the uneasy cultural shifts in contemporary China and the ever mysterious dynamics of the father-son relationship, he has brought forth film that is deeply affecting and rapturously beautiful.… Read More »
AT ANY PRICE
The genius of Ramin Bahrani’s AT ANY PRICE is the way it talks about things without actually talking about them. This is a story of cause-and-effect, with the failings of a father reflecting the corruption of the American Dream. Though it takes place in the heartland, on that most homespun and wholesome of enterprises, the… Read More »
Vincent LaMarca Takes Us to the CITY BY THE SEA
As a child, Vincent LaMarca had to deal with the arrest and execution of his father for the kidnapping and accidental murder of an infant. As a retired New York City police officer, he had to contend with the arrest and murder conviction of his younger, drug-addict son. With his sons run-in with the law and… Read More »
Chen Kaige is TOGETHER
Having lived through the political and cultural turbulence of China’s recent past, it’s hardly surprising that Chen Kaige’s films reflect his preoccupation with the changes his homeland has, is, and will continue to experience. While is other films, such as FAREWELL MY CONCUBINE, have dealt with history, his latest, TOGETHER, looks as the present using… Read More »
Taiki Waititi’s BOY
Taika Waititi returned to his actual hometown, and his actual childhood home, to make BOY. The story, set in 1984, is fictional, but when I talked to him on March 15, 2012, one of the things we talked about was the reality behind the fiction. It’s not just the eponymous character’s abiding devotion to ice… Read More »
Martin Sheen & Emilio Estevez Find THE WAY
The seeds of the idea for THE WAY, about a man walking an ancient pilgrimage route with his son’s ashes, began years ago when actor Martin Sheen was on vacation with his grandson, Estevez’s son, and he wanted to drive the pilgrimage route of El Camino de Santiago in Spain. Over time, the story changed, but… Read More »
Ewan McGregor & Mike Mills are BEGINNERS
BEGINNERS is based on writer/director Mike Mills’ experience of having his father come out as gay when he became a widower after forty years of marriage. The film is fictionalized, the father is Hal, played by Christopher Plummer, the son is Oliver, played by McGregor, as far as the details go, but is emotionally true… Read More »
Lou Taylor Pucci & Jim Kohlberg Reveal Why THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED
When I spoke with director Jim Kohlberg and actor Lou Taylor Pucci about THE MUSIC NEVER STOPPED on March 2, 2011, it was hard to know where to start. The film, based on an essay by Oliver Sacks about a man who lost his short-term memory, but not his love for music, raises many questions… Read More »