THE IMITATION GAME EXPOSES HOW A GAY CRYPTOGRAPHER SHORTENED WW2 Up to 1967, consensual sexual acts between male adults in Britain could result in two years of imprisonment. The most celebrated case is that of Oscar Wilde in 1895, whose health so declined in prison that died three years after his release. A lesser known
Political Film Review #463 Read More »
Although Daily Show Jon Stewart claims that he has not directed a “political film,” he is not fooling anyone: Titles at the end of Rosewater note that hundreds of journalists have been at risk of their lives for trying to let the world know what is happening. The film focuses on Newsweek journalist Maziar Bahari
BHOPAL: A PRAYER FOR RAIN SHOWS HOW THE PRAYER WAS ANSWERED In 1984, 40 tons of chemicals leaked from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India, resulting ultimately in some 22,000 deaths and 550,000 injuries. Two years earlier, the company was warned about the problem, as alarm and safety systems were scaled back to
ROSEWATER REVEALS HOW A JOURNALIST SURVIVED AN IRANIAN PRISON Although Daily Show Jon Stewart claims that he has not directed a “political film,” he is not fooling anyone: Titles at the end of Rosewater note that hundreds of journalists have been at risk of their lives for trying to let the world know what is
Political Film Review #462 Read More »
THE BETTER ANGELS IS ABOUT A MORE HUMBLE USA In a very slow moving, black-and-white film, The Better Angels is a study of how 8-year-old Abraham Lincoln (played by Braydon Denney) is brought up in a log cabin in 1817 within the Indiana backwoods. The two angels are his first mother, who died, and his
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING IS ABOUT HOPE A biopic about the personal life of Stephen Hawking (played by Eddie Redmayne), The Theory of Everything traces his life from 1963, when he was a brilliant Cambridge University physics student until he has an audience with the queen and turns down knighthood. He impresses his professor, Dennis
The Theory of Everything Read More »
THE THEORY OF EVERYTHING IS ABOUT HOPE A biopic about the personal life of Stephen Hawking (played by Eddie Redmayne), The Theory of Everything traces his life from 1963, when he was a brilliant Cambridge University physics student until he has an audience with the queen and turns down knighthood. He impresses his professor, Dennis
Political Film Review #461 Read More »
DIPLOMACY IS ABOUT THE ART THAT SAVED ART The order had been given by Hitler—destroy Paris. As allied forces approached in mid-1944, ailing General Dietrich von Choltitz (played by Niels Arestrup) was transferred to be the city’s occupying general who would carry out the order; disobeying the order would mean that his own children would be
GIOVANNI’S ISLAND PROVES THAT A FABLE CAN SERVE TO SUSTAIN HOPE An animated Japanese film, the historical setting of Giovanni’s Island (Jobanni no shima) is another occupation—Russia’s seizure of Shikotan, a Japanese northern island—which took place after the surrender on August 15, 1945, is announced by the emperor. Kanta and Junpei are been named respectively
DILOMACY IS ABOUT THE ART THAT SAVED ART The order had been given by Hitler—destroy Paris. As allied forces approached in mid-1944, ailing General Dietrich von Choltitz (played by Niels Arestrup) was transferred to be the city’s occupying general who would carry out the order; disobeying the order would mean that his own children would
Political Film Review #460 Read More »