The Banker
Political Film Review #618
Exposé
Films that bring previously obscured truths about the political process to the attention of the public, showing for example how offices of public trust are used for private purposes.
Sorry We Missed You
KEN LOACH IS BACK WITH SORRY WE MISSED YOU Director Ken Loach has long demonstrated genius for portraying the plight of the working class. In Sorry We Missed You he traces the impact of nonunionization of workers on the family of Ricky (played by Kris Hitchey) and Abby (Debbie Honeywood) and their children, Sebastian (Rhys Stone) and Liza
Sorry We Missed You Read More »
Burden
BURDEN IS HEAVY WITH STEREOTYPES Based on an event in Laurens, South Carolina, Andrew Heckler directs Burden as a unique portrayal of Blacks and KuKluxKlan members living side by side in a town of about 9,000 during 1996. The focus is on Mike Burden (played by Garrett Hedlund), a Caucasian who has returned to town
Just Mercy
JUST MERCY HONORS THE ONE WHO GOT 140 BLACKS RELEASED FROM DEATH ROW Bryan Stevenson (played by Michael B. Jordan) decided to establish the Equal Justice Initiative in Monroe County, Alabama, in 1989. Mistreated as an African American while growing up in Delaware, he accepted an invitation from local advocate Eva Ansley (Brie Larson) to utilize
Mob Town
MOB TOWN EXPLAINS WHY THE FBI FINALLY TOOK THE MAFIA SERIOUSLY Sicilian gangsters operated in various Northeastern cities after migrating to the United States in the 1890s, trying to copy the Sicilian Mafia. They smuggled liquor during Prohibition, but started legitimate businesses to cover what they were doing illegally. The Federal Bureau of Investigation mostly
Seberg
SEBERG TRIES TO EXPLAIN WHY A BUDDING ACTRESS DIED AT AGE 40 Iowa-born actress Jean Seberg (played by Kristen Stewart), icon of the French New Wave films, flies from Paris to Los Angeles in 1968. When Hakim Jamal (Anthony Makie) demands to sit in first class, she supports him. When she walks off the plane,
Richard Jewell
RICHARD JEWELL PROVES THAT THE FBI MAKES MISTAKES—TRAGIC ONES On almost the very day when the Inspector General of the Department of Justice filed a report containing criticisms of FBI officials, Richard Jewell was released to provide vivid evidence of the same. In 1996, security guard Jewell (played by Paul Walter Hauser) spots a possible
The Two Popes
THE TWO POPES ANSWERS WHY BENEDICT XVI RESIGNED Popes are supposed to remain at the head of the Catholic Church until death. But Benedict XVI suddenly resigned in 2013, and Francis I took his place. The Two Popes provides an explanation within what is in part a biopic of Francis I with many flashbacks. Filmviewers
Dark Waters
DARK WATERS REVEALS HOW 99% OF THE WORLD HAS BEEN DELIBERATELY POISONED When heat under Teflon breaks the surface while cooking, small particles of Teflon enter the gastrointestinal system as a poison, a fact brought to light in Dark Waters, directed by Todd Haynes. That fact, however, was well known to DuPont, which manufactured the
The Report
THE REPORT EXPOSES HOW WASHINGTON WORKS WHEN TRUTH IS DANGEROUS The 2009 book George W. Bush, War Criminal? Identifies 269 war crimes, but the one that attracted the most attention was torture. Senator Dianne Feinstein (played by Annette Bening) was eager to expose the practice, which yielded nothing of value according to the CIA. The