MR. HOLMES IS NOT EXACTLY WHO CONAN DOYLE WROTE ABOUT Conan Doyle’s novels have been made into excellent films, so how can Sherlock Holmes appear in another movie? The answer is Mr. Holmes, directed by Bill Condon and based on a novel by Mitch Cullin, which depicts a retired 90-year-old Holmes (played by Ian McKellen) […]

JAGUAR AND MAN LIE TOGETHER IN ARDOR The lumber harvest from jungles has seriously damaged the world ecosystem while disrupting lives of those who have lived for generations amid pristine conditions, foraging for themselves while respecting the environment. One such place, along the Río Parana in Argentina, is featured in the Argentine-Brazilian film El Ardor,

CLOSER TO GOD ASKS WHETHER CLONING IS ETHICAL OR LEGAL On July 5, the TV program Sixty Minutes enthusiastically presented a new medical procedure in which genes of unborn children are withdrawn from the mother, examined for defective cells, and modified to avoid the possibility of later adult breast cancer and many other unwelcome conditions.

“BUMPY” KANAHELE STARS IN ALOHA In 1993, “Bumpy” Kanahele organized an occupation at a famous tourist beach, protesting the illegality of America’s possession of Hawaiʽi, which was annexed by military force without a plebiscite. After fifteen months, Governor John Waiheʽe offered his group a 45-acre parcel if the protesters would leave. They agreed and received

THE FOURTH NOBLE TRUTH SHOWS THE LIMITS OF BUDDHISM IN HOLLYWOOD An egotistical Hollywood star, Aaron (played by Harry Hamlin), is in trouble with the law. His attorney suggests that he see a meditation specialist, Rachel (Kristen Kerr), who can report on his improvements so that the judge will give an appropriate sentence for his

GOOD KILL ESTABLISHES THE TITLE AS AN OXYMORON Few anti-war films about Vietnam occurred until after the American military pulled out. The same appears to be the case with the “war on terror,” which (according to one line in the film) is doing as well as the “war on drugs.” But Good Kill, an anti-war

CAMBODIANS ABANDON AMNESIA IN DON’T THINK I’VE FORGOTTEN A documentary of the musical history of Cambodia from 1954 to 1975, Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten traces the country’s music stars until most die in the Pol Pot era. Directed by John Pirozzi, Cambodia is depicted as a musical capital of Southeast Asia, with Prince Sihanouk as

SKIN TRADE EXPLOITS THE SKIN TRADE Titles at the end indicate that 20-30 million persons, 98 percent of whom are women and children, are involved in human trafficking each year. Directed by Ekachai Uekrongtham, Skin Trade involves efforts to free women captives and eliminate an small army involved in the trade. The head gangster is

Meanwhile, Hungary has not ratified the European Convention for the Protection of Pet Animals of 1987, unlike neighboring Bulgaria and Romania. The film White God (Fehér isten) implicitly implores the county to do, thereby joining most of the rest of Europe. The term “white god” is presumably selected to challenge the view that Hungarians act

FAR FROM MEN IS ALSO ABOUT SEEKING NEUTRALITY IN A WAR ZONE Albert Camus’s short story L’Hôte has now been brought to the screen. Daru (played by Viggo Mortensen) is a Spanish settler born in Algeria who was a major on the side of France in World War II. Having lost his wife in 1944,