AURORA’S SUNSHINE Graphically Explains the Armenian Genocide A biopic about Arshaluys Mardiganian, Aurora’s Sunrise is also a biopic and mini-critique of the previously forgotten film Auction of Souls (1919). The latter film is a story (though she was renamed Aurora to sell to an American audience), of a 14-year-old who is evicted from her home […]

Oppenheimer Tries to Restore a Reputation A biopic about physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer (played by Cillian Murphy), scenes shift back and forth throughout his life, with particular attention to those trying to destroy his reputation after his face appears on Time magazine as the father of the atomic bomb. Although he mostly speaks softly in

WE SAID NO! NO! A STORY OF CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE FOCUSES ON JAPANESE Although most Japanese sent to ‘internment camps’ during World War II appeared compliant, some were not. We Said No! No! A Story of Civil Disobedience, a re-enactment with historical film footage and interviews with participants, is the story of those who resisted. The

THE WIND AND THE RECKONING DESCRIBES AN ANTI-COLONIAL STRUGGLE IN HAWAIʽI After titles inform filmviewers that the Kingdom of Hawaiʽi was overthrown in 1893, the context is on a new law of the Republic of Hawaiʽi that required all persons with leprosy (Hansen’s disease) to be rounded up and sent to a “leper colony” on

CHEVALIER FEATURES WHITE SUPREMACY Historical information about Joseph Bologne has been pieced together, and the film Chevalier has a lot of interesting subplots that are doubtless fictional. But the message of the film is one of the most fascinating of 2023 and seems very timely indeed, with White males infuriated by an upstart Black whom

BEST POLITICAL FILMS OF 2022 Among eleven films nominated by the Political Film Society for 2022 in each of four categories, members of the Political Film Society selected the best in each category. The winning film directors will receive awards: The best film promoting DEMOCRACY was Argentina, 1985, which covered the trial of those found

88 IS A FILM ABOUT “DARK MONEY” Many political messages are poured into the film 88—perhaps too many. The spotlight is on the financing of a presidential campaign of African American Harold Roundtree (played by Orlando Jones) for the year 2024. His SuperPAC, OneUSA, is chaired by Agatha Frost (Amy Sloan), with Fred Fowlkes (Michael

FINAL VOTING CONTINUES FOR BEST POLITICAL FILMS OF 2022 Among eleven films nominated by the Political Film Society for 2022 in each of four categories, select the best in each category. The winning film directors will receive awards: Because only one film promotes democracy, voters can say Yes or No: FILM TITLE YES NO UNDECIDED

FREE SKATE EXPOSES RUSSIAN EXPLOITATION OF FEMALE SPORTS Russians believe they are strong, while Westerners are effete. They also believe men are stronger than women and, in Free Skate, men are determined to show their prowess. The film depicts a father who cultivates his daughter to be a top ice skater in Russia. At a

FINAL VOTING FOR BEST POLITICAL FILMS OF 2022 Among eleven films nominated by the Political Film Society for 2022 in each of four categories, select the best in each category. The winning film directors will receive awards: Because only one film promotes democracy, voters can say Yes or No: FILM TITLE YES NO UNDECIDED CONTENT