After Nazi Germany attacked Poland in 1939, the Soviet Union demanded military bases from Finland. Helsinki refused, whereupon the Red Army attacked Finland in November 1939 in what is known as the Winter War. Using skis, the Finnish army held back the Soviets for several months but ultimately surrendered, signing a treaty of peace in […]
THE CONTRIBUTION OF CRYPTOGRAPHERS IS DECODED IN ENIGMA During World War II British cryptographers at Blentchly Park, a manorial estate some sixty miles north of London, decoded German communications and saved thousands of lives, though their efforts were kept secret until 1975. In Enigma, directed by Michael Apted, those involved in codebreaking are honored through
THE CONTRIBUTION OF CRYPTOGRAPHERS IS DECODED IN ENIGMA During World War II British cryptographers at Blentchly Park, a manorial estate some sixty miles north of London, decoded German communications and saved thousands of lives, though their efforts were kept secret until 1975. In Enigma, directed by Michael Apted, those involved in codebreaking are honored through
Political Film Review #131 Read More »
PRISONERS CAN BE REHABILITATED, ACCORDING TO LUCKY BREAK Are British filmmakers trying to tell the world that prisoners can be rehabilitated? After the delightful Greenfingers (2001), we are now treated to the amusing Lucky Break. After fifteen years of bad luck, that is, unsuccessful robberies, Jimmy Hands (played by James Nesbitt) and Rudy Guscott (played
PRISONERS CAN BE REHABILITATED, ACCORDING TO LUCKY BREAK Are British filmmakers trying to tell the world that prisoners can be rehabilitated? After the delightful Greenfingers (2001), we are now treated to the amusing Lucky Break. After fifteen years of bad luck, that is, unsuccessful robberies, Jimmy Hands (played by James Nesbitt) and Rudy Guscott (played
Political Film Review #130 Read More »
ETHNIC CLEANSING BEFORE YOUR EYES IN HARRISON’S FLOWERS Harrison’s Flowers, directed by Elie Chouraqui, raises the ante on the reality of ethnic cleansing over earlier efforts, notably Savior (1998) and Behind Enemy Lines (2001). Based on the novel Le Diable a l’Avantage by Isabel Ellsen, the film begins in New Jersey on October 9, 1991.
Political Film Review #129 Read More »
Time Machine is a retake of the 1960 film of the same title, inspired by the 1895 novella by H. G. Wells and directed by his great-grandson Simon Wells. Cinematic advances are evidently the sole purpose of the retake. Indeed, the story resembles last year’s retake of Planet of the Apes. Mechanical Engineering Professor Alexander Hartdegen
Kang Je-Gyu, writer-producer-director of the Korean film Shiri has entered the North American film market with the biggest splash of any Korean film to date. After making box office records in South Korea and receiving acclaim in Hong Kong and Japan, Shiri‘s success on a budget of a mere $5 million has served to revitalize the Korean film
Scotland, PA is loosely based on Shakespeare’s Macbeth. The reason for the title is that the venue of Shakespeare’s play is Scotland, but the screenplay has been written for a mythical town in eastern Pennsylvania. Norm Duncan (played by James Rebhorn), a widower, has accumulated enough capital to sell his donut shop to buy a café. He
When a ten-year-old boy loses a mother due to an auto accident in which he was a passenger, he will understandably be grief-stricken and need emotional support. In A Rumor of Angels, directed by Peter O’Fallon, James Neubauer (played by Trevor Morgan) is now twelve years old yet still lacks a shoulder to cry on. He