GREEN BOOK FOCUSES ON A BLACK PIANIST IN THE SEGREGATED SOUTH Dr. Don Shirley (played by Mahershala Ali) was a Jamaican-born American musician whose talents Igor Stravinsky described as “virtuosity is worthy of Gods.” After studying and performing in his youth, he decided to pursue a doctorate of Music, Psychology, and Liturgical Arts. The film Green Book features […]
55 STEPS FEATURE THE ASCENT OF THE RIGHTS OF MENTAL PATIENTS Patients are now accustomed to signing their name multiple times before their blood is drawn or other medical procedures are undertaken. But up to 1985, mental patients were deemed incompetent, so decisions were made for them without consultation, as the opening scene vividly demonstrates. Diagnosed
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OUTLAW KING REMINISCES ABOUT SCOTLAND’S INDEPENDENCE The Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England joined on May 1, 1707, to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. Separate parliaments became one parliament, though the two legal systems remained separate. Scottish educational, religious and other institutions have remained distinct from the rest of the UK, maintaining Scottish culture
OUTLAW KING REMINISCES ABOUT SCOTLAND’S INDEPENDENCE The Kingdom of Scotland and the Kingdom of England joined on May 1, 1707, to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. Separate parliaments became one parliament, though the two legal systems remained separate. Scottish educational, religious and other institutions have remained distinct from the rest of the UK, maintaining Scottish culture
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THE FRONT RUNNER EXPLAINS WHY GARY HART NEVER BECAME PRESIDENT Colorado Senator Gary Hart (played by Hugh Jackman) was an up-and-coming political star in 1984, when he threw his hat into the ring to seek the presidential nomination from the Democratic Party. Although he lost to Walter Mondale that year, he carefully planned for 1988 with
THE FRONT RUNNER EXPLAINS WHY GARY HART NEVER BECAME PRESIDENT Colorado Senator Gary Hart (played by Hugh Jackman) was an up-and-coming political star in 1984, when he threw his hat into the ring to seek the presidential nomination from the Democratic Party. Although he lost to Walter Mondale that year, he carefully planned for 1988 with
Political Film Review #576 Read More »
AT LEAST 600,000 NEED TO SEE BOY ERASED In small towns throughout the United States, where college education is a rarity, many children grow up in authoritarian families and attend church services where the pastor tries to explain what is happening by referring to the Christian bible as the only source of wisdom. Jared Eamons (played
AT LEAST 600,000 NEED TO SEE BOY ERASED In small towns throughout the United States, where college education is a rarity, many children grow up in authoritarian families and attend church services where the pastor tries to explain what is happening by referring to the Christian bible as the only source of wisdom. Jared Eamons (played
Political Film Review #575 Read More »
22 JULY SHOWS HOW A TERRORIST EVENT CHANGES NORWAY In 143 minutes, director Paul Greengrass gives more than enough time in 22 July to explain Norway’s version of 9/11. On that date in 2011, Anders Behring Breivik (played by Anders Danielsen Lie) set off a bomb near the prime minister’s office and then opened fire on Utøya Island,
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MEMOIR OF WAR AGONIZES ABOUT AGONY Directed by Emmanuel Finkiel, the film focuses on Marguerite Duras (played by Mélanie Thierry), whose husband Robert Antelme (Émmanuel Bourdieu) is arrested as a member of the French Resistance during World War II. Marguerite takes his clothes to the authorities so that he will have something to wear while incarcerated