The Legend of Bagger Vance, based on the novel by Steven Pressfield, probably makes more sense if you believe that angels come to the earth from time to time with an assignment to bring joy to others while themselves having a good time in the process. Indeed, “Bagger” appears to be an Americanization of “Bhagavad,” […]

After the Korean War ended in 1953, the government in Seoul cultivated a culture of military preparedness second to none in the world. Military training became so rigorous that many died before completing the required three-year stint; daily beatings of various body parts have been reported by recruits. Even male children have, until very recently,

When a woman decides to take the vows to be a nun, she is choosing to be closer to the everlasting love of God rather than the transitory love with a man. This is the premise of the Italian film Not of This World (Fuori dal mondo), directed and cowritten by Giuseppe Piccioni. Set in Milan, when

The Korean film Nowhere to Hide (Injong sajong polkot opta), directed by Myung-se Lee, reveals how detectives in Pusan go about their business — no holds barred. The film begins with a cold-blooded murder. Somehow the detectives link the murder to a drug gang. One after another gang member is roughed up through brutal fight scenes in

Pay It Forward, directed by Mimi Leder, is about favors done to others rather than favors paid back. When the film begins, Eugene Simonet (played by Kevin Spacey) is in front of a seventh grade social studies class in Las Vegas on the first day of school. After explaining the rules of conduct, he gives

The world diamond capital is Antwerp, Belgium, but in Paris the diamond trade is located principally on the street that is featured in the title of a 1997 French film, Place Vendôme, directed and written by Nicole García, which opened in Los Angeles in September 2000. The film focuses on Marianne (played by Catherine Deneuve), who

Who was the Marquis de Sade? Was he a sadist, a lecher, a madman, or what? In Quills, directed by Philip Kaufman as an adaptation of Doug Wright’s stage play, we encounter the Marquis (played by Geoffrey Rush), whose actual name was Comte Donatien Alphonse François de Sade, in Charenton Asylum, compulsively writing ribald stories. (Although

Are young Mexican girls kidnapped by recruiters for Tijuana brothels and held against their will to serve rich American clients? The Spanish-language film Santitos [in Spanish, little saints], directed and produced by Alejandro Spingall, with John Sayles as executive producer, is based on this premise of white slavery. The film begins in the small town of Tlacotalpán in

The current film Shaft is a sequel to the 1971 film of the same name (and the two Shaft blaxploitation sequels of 1972 and 1973), having been tentatively entitled “Shaft Returns” while in production. But there is considerably more resemblance with Dirty Harry (1971). The movie’s director, John Singleton, who has twice won Political Film Society awards for profound

Ethnic humor used to play an important role in vaudeville, as immigrant Europeans learned to get along by gently ribbing others and themselves. Today, ethnic jokes are the mainstay of Frank De Lima, the most popular stand-up comedian in Hawai`i. But the civil rights revolution on the U.S. mainland destroyed ethnic humor, which was seen