Films that demonstrate how governments or quasigovernmental groups have violated or promoted the values in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
JOHN Q. ENCOUNTERS SICKNESS IN THE HEALTH INDUSTRY John Q. is an exposé about the 40 million Americans who have no health insurance and millions more who belong to health maintenance organizations (HMOs) that provide phony health insurance. The hero, John Qunicy Archibald (played by Denzel Washington), is a family man, a churchgoer, and a […]
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
THAI VOLLEYBALL TEAM TRIUMPHS IN THE IRON LADIES In 1996 a mostly gay Thai volleyball team, the first of its kind, won the national amateur championship. The Iron Ladies (Sa-ree-lex), a film based on the story with clips from some of the games as credits roll, won Audience Awards for best feature film in the
ARTHUR MILLER BRINGS ETHNIC HATRED INTO FOCUS Arthur Miller’s novel Focus (1945) has been brought to the screen by director Neal Slavin at a time of national hysteria over international terrorism. Whereas filmviewers will recall how Gentleman’s Agreement (1947) featured a Gentile news reporter who pretends to be a Jew to dig up a story
THE HIDDEN HALF EXPOSES THE ROLE OF FEMALES IN IRAN Many recent films from Iran focus on the oppression of women in post-revolutionary Iran, but none so deeply as feminist Tahmineh Milani’s The Hidden Half (Nimeh-Ye Penhan). Indeed, she was arrested, charged by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Court of supporting “those waging war against God” and
BORN UNDER LIBRA EXPOSES IRAN’S MORAL MINEFIELD Born Under Libra, directed by Ahmad Reza Darvish, is the latest of several films from Iran that focus on the absurdity of Khomeni-era restrictions in general and the plight of women in particular. Mahtab Peyman (played by Mitra Hajjar) attends a distinguished private university in Tehran where her
THUMBS UP FOR GREENFINGERS The English are inveterate gardeners, proud of turning adverse soil into lush and manicured panoramas of color. Based on a true story, Greenfingers focuses on Colin Briggs (played by Clive Owen), who has spent most of his life in prison for petty vandalism. One day he is transferred to Edgefield, a
LUMUMBA TELLS THE TRUE STORY ABOUT CONGELESE INDEPENDENCE The English are inveterate gardeners, proud of turning adverse soil into lush and manicured panoramas of color. Based on a true story, Greenfingers focuses on Colin Briggs (played by Clive Owen), who has spent most of his life in prison for petty vandalism. One day he is
A STRAIGHT MAN SAVES HIS JOB BY TELLING HIS CO-WORKERS HE IS GAY IN THE CLOSET To come out or not to come out. That is the question for many gays and lesbians at work. The consequences could be no laughing matter. Accordingly, Le Placard (The Closet) is perhaps the most refreshingly therapeutic gay comedy
GOOD AND EVIL PRESENT CLEAR CHOICES IN ATLANTIS: THE LOST EMPIRE Atlantis: The Lost Empire, directed by Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise, is yet another Disney cartoon story for kids, with fantastic beauty and a simple story, though the plot is aimed at teenagers more than toddlers. When the film begins, a quote from Plato
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