TEACHER DEALS WITH HOW SCHOOL BULLYING CANNOT BE SOLVED A high school student, Preston Walsh (played by Matthew Gerry), is being bullied by another student, Tim Cooper (Curtis Edward Jackson). The bullying is particularly evident in one of his classes, which is taught by James Lewis (David Dastmalchian), who is close to being awarded tenure […]
THEM THAT FOLLOW DEPICTS SHALLOW LIVES Why do those attending Trump’s rallies seem so eager to chant, cheer, and applaud whatever he says? That might not be the question posed by Them That Follow, but the portrayal provides the answer. Co-directed by Britt Poulton and Dan Madison Savage, much of the film, set in rural
MEMORIES HAUNT NEVER LOOK AWAY When children are inhumanely separated from their loved ones, their future can be very painful and normality may be impossible. Never Look Away (Werk ohne Autor) is a noir film that traces a German artist at several junctions of his life from age 6 to 36 (1937 to 1967), proving
WOMAN AT WAR INVOKES A HIGHER LAW Directed by Benedikt Erlingsson, Woman at War (Kona fer í stríð) focuses on a fictional Halla (played by Halldóra Geirharðsdóttir), who is determined to stop global warming in her native Iceland in the role as a Luddite. She does so by felling power lines, at first near a Chinese-operated aluminum smelter
TERRORIST VIEWS ARE REVEALED IN MY STRETCH OF TEXAS GROUND Director Erich Kemp wants filmviewers to know more about the aims and methods of jihadists. In a fictional account, Abdul Latif Hassan (played by Junes Zahdi) is recruited from Tunis by jihadists to assassinate Texas Senator Cruthers (Mike Gassaway) for a mere $10,000. The jihadists
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MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS IS ANOTHER REMINDER OF SCOTLAND’S INDEPENDENCE The film The Outlaw King, released last month, ends in 1314, when Scotland secures sovereignty at the Battle of Bannockburn, with the monarch Robert I on the throne. England formally recognized Scotland’s independence in 1328. When Robert I died the following year, his 5-year-old son David II
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55 STEPS FEATURE THE ASCENT OF THE RIGHTS OF MENTAL PATIENTS Patients are now accustomed to signing their name multiple times before their blood is drawn or other medical procedures are undertaken. But up to 1985, mental patients were deemed incompetent, so decisions were made for them without consultation, as the opening scene vividly demonstrates. Diagnosed
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MEMOIR OF WAR AGONIZES ABOUT AGONY Directed by Emmanuel Finkiel, the film focuses on Marguerite Duras (played by Mélanie Thierry), whose husband Robert Antelme (Émmanuel Bourdieu) is arrested as a member of the French Resistance during World War II. Marguerite takes his clothes to the authorities so that he will have something to wear while incarcerated
FAHRENHEIT 11/9 ENCOURAGES PROTEST Michael Moore goes negative in Fahrenheit 11/9, attacking Donald Trump, former presidents Barack Obama and Bill Clinton, Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, and the Democratic establishment. Moore begins with the tears of Hillary Clinton supporters on election night 2016 contrasted with the sober expression of winner Donald Trump. Bill Clinton is lambasted for privatizing
CRAZY RICH ASIANS TELLS HOLLYWOOD MOGULS WHAT THEY HAVE BEEN MISSING For years, Asians and Asian Americans have struggled to prove their talents while Hollywood has often cast Caucasians in Asian roles. Now that era may be over, thanks to Crazy Rich Asians, directed by John M. Chu, based on the novel by Kevin Kwan. All actors