How does a white slavery ring work? The Uruguayan film Tricky Life (En la Puta Vida), an obvious pun in the translation from Spanish, demonstrates exactly how, using a fictional heroine Elisa (played by Mariana Santángelo) as a victim to expose a scam involving Uruguayans in Spain. The story is based on Maria Urruzola’s novel […]
KANDAHAR RECEIVES THE FIRST AWARD NOMINATION OF 2002 Kandahar (Safar e Ghandehar) is an Iranian film, with a lot of spoken English, which proceeds as if a documentary because the conditions portrayed are real. Nafas (played by Nelofer Pazira), an Afghani refugee who fled to Canada when the Taliban came to power, receives word in
KANDAHAR RECEIVES THE FIRST AWARD NOMINATION OF 2002 Kandahar (Safar e Ghandehar) is an Iranian film, with a lot of spoken English, which proceeds as if a documentary because the conditions portrayed are real. Nafas (played by Nelofer Pazira), an Afghani refugee who fled to Canada when the Taliban came to power, receives word in
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Time of Favor takes place in a Jewish settlement on the West Bank, where Rabbi Meltzer (played by Assi Dayan) runs a yeshiva. Meltzer’s lectures incite soldiers to act to regain the Temple Mount for the Jewish people. However, the form of action he recommends is nonmilitary, that is, to have thousands of Jews praying at
The native peoples of North American migrated from Asia some 20,000 to 30,000 years ago, bringing various customs and languages, which in turn changed over time. Ironically, one such people, the Navajos, played a part in defeating Japan during World War II, a story told in Windtalkers, directed by John Woo. When the film begins, the
A teenage boy’s fantasy may to be inherit millions and be surrounded by beautiful girls, but the reality is that high school kids are often driven by peer pressure not to strive for anything but chasing girls, and even that pursuit can be frustrating. In Who’s Your Daddy?, directed by Andy Fickman, Chris Hughes (played by
A seven-year-old boy in the United States is likely to be sent to summer camp to learn survival skills and perhaps a little about himself. In The Way Home (Jibeuro), Sang-woo (played by Seung-Ho Yoo) is parked by his mother (played by Hyo-Hee Dong) in the rural hamlet of Youngdong with his mute, aging grandmother (played
The film Vulgar not only lives to its name, but also gives new meaning to the word. Will Carlson (played by Brian Christopher O’Halloran) scrapes out a living as Flappy, a party clown. Aside from his best friend Syd (played by Bryan Johnson), he is bullied by everyone, including creditors, but kids and parents love his performances.
Current films from Iran have been pushing the envelope very far in raising political consciousness about the gap between pious principles and rough realities. Under the Moonlight, directed by Reza Mir-Karimi, continues the effort to persuade those holding back progress to wake up and face social problems. Sayyed Hassan (played by Hossein Parastar), a theological
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The Tuxedo, directed by Kevin Donovan, is a comedy with very little fighting on the part of the forty-eight-year-old martial artist Jackie Chan. The protagonist is James Tong (played by Jackie Chan), and the main joke is that his pronunciation of “James Tong” sounds like “James Bond.” Hilarity abounds, often slapstick, but there is a