PAWN SACRIFICE REVEALS THE LIFE AND DEATH OF BOBBY FISCHER From the age of 4, Bobby Fischer (played by Toby Maguire) was obsessive/compulsive about chess, which was self-taught. Pawn Sacrifice, directed by Edward Zwick, follows his career up the day when he became world champ in 1972, defeating Boris Spassky (Liev Schreiber). Sheltered by his […]
Political Film Review #487 Read More »
STONEWALL RECALLS THE BIRTH OF THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT There was a time when amorous attraction to someone of the same sex was considered a mental illness, a reason for exclusion from government jobs, a basis for police persecution, and even expulsion from one’s own family and school. Even today, as a title at the
STONEWALL RECALLS THE BIRTH OF THE GAY RIGHTS MOVEMENT There was a time when amorous attraction to someone of the same sex was considered a mental illness, a reason for exclusion from government jobs, a basis for police persecution, and even expulsion from one’s own family and school. Even today, as a title at the
Political Film Review #486 Read More »
GUILT & LOVE RISE FROM PHOENIX Jews were well accepted in Protestant Germany for centuries and intermarried with Germans perhaps more than in any other country in Europe. Hitler’s purge of Jews was not easily accomplished, since offspring of mixed marriages had fractions of Jewish blood, so where was the line to be drawn? Phoenix
GUILT & LOVE RISE FROM PHOENIX Jews were well accepted in Protestant Germany for centuries and intermarried with Germans perhaps more than in any other country in Europe. Hitler’s purge of Jews was not easily accomplished, since offspring of mixed marriages had fractions of Jewish blood, so where was the line to be drawn? Phoenix
Political Film Review #485 Read More »
CHLOE AND THEO UPEND NEW YORK Theo (played by Theo Ikummaq) is an Intuit in the Arctic, where the landscape and icescape are receding. With a vision that some day the sun will melt all, he is sent by his community to let “elders” in the South know that something must be done. When he
VIETNAM IS THE SANCTUARY FOR AMERICANS FLEEING CAMBODIA IN NO ESCAPE Most of No Escape consists of an American couple caught in a civil war in Southeast Asia, seeking to escape their execution by rebels, with little explanation why. The film begins with an assassination of the prime minister, then goes back 19 hours to
VIETNAM IS THE SANCTUARY FOR AMERICANS FLEEING CAMBODIA IN NO ESCAPE Most of No Escape consists of an American couple caught in a civil war in Southeast Asia, seeking to escape their execution by rebels, with little explanation why. The film begins with an assassination of the prime minister, then goes back 19 hours to
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STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON ENDS WITH A GAY PUZZLE After the Watts Riots of 1965, some African Americans in Los Angeles thought that a solution to the tyranny of the Los Angeles Police Department over African Americans was to move to a small town and gain majority control. One such town was Compton, not far from
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STRAIGHT OUTTA COMPTON ENDS WITH A GAY PUZZLE After the Watts Riots of 1965, some African Americans in Los Angeles thought that a solution to the tyranny of the Los Angeles Police Department over African Americans was to move to a small town and gain majority control. One such town was Compton, not far from
Political Film Review #483 Read More »