China is giving the economy top priority, so capital accumulation for the rich is more important than the standard of life among ordinary Chinese. For those leaving the provinces for the bustling cities, life is frantic. Whereas So Close to Paradise (2001) illustrates the situation in Wuhan, The World (Shijie), directed by Jia Zhangke, focuses […]
In 1938, Orson Welles frightened radio listeners with War of the Worlds, based on the 1898 novel by H. G. Wells, using the mokumentary style that he later perfected in Citizen Kane (1941). Some listeners panicked, believing that Martians had actually arrived and were triumphing over humans, though Welles hoped to arouse some concern about
Star Wars: Episode III – The Revenge of the Sith, directed by George Lucas, is yet another installment that glorifies war in the minds of filmviewers as the only way to settle conflicts. The plot of Episode III has been well understood for several years. Annekin Skywalker (played by Hayden Christiansen) begins as a sensitive
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The Keeper: The Legend of Omar Khayyam (directed by Kayvan Mashayekh) is a fascinating biopic of Omar Khayyam (1048-1122), famous Persian astronomer, mathematician, poet, and author of The Rubaiyat. The biography is recounted in the method of oral storytelling, reminiscent of the television film Arabian Nights (2000), which was based on the tenth century classic,
Directed by Ridley Scott, Kingdom of Heaven is an epic movie that begins in France during the year 1184 (though filmed in Spain). Titles say that the Christians have been in control of Jerusalem for almost a hundred years. (Muslim control began in 638, with Christians and Jews allowed free access to holy sites, but
THE TAKE DOCUMENTS WHY ARGENTINA HAS FORCED IMPORTANT CHANGES IN THE IMF In 2001, the Argentine economy collapsed. The government defaulted on $3 billion in payments to the International Monetary Fund, global corporations pulled out their assets, factories were shuttered, and banks closed so that citizens could not tap their savings. The Take, directed by
FEAR AND TREMBLING, TRANSLATED CORRECTLY, LAMBASTES JAPANESE CORPORATE PRACTICES Fear and Trembling (Stupeur et tremblements), directed by Alain Corneau, is a screen adaptation of a 1999 autobiographical novel by a French-speaking Belgian, Amélie Nothomb (played by Sylvie Testud). The daughter of Belgium’s ambassador to France, she was born in Kobe, left Japan at the age of
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The White Countess, directed by James Ivory, an obvious clone of the classic film Casablanca (1942), is set in Shanghai during 1936-1937. (There are also similarities with the 1993 film The Remains of the Day, both crafted by director Ivory from a story by Kazuo Ishiguro.) Due to tragic events before 1936, Todd Jackson (played by Ralph Fiennes
The White Countess, directed by James Ivory, an obvious clone of the classic film Casablanca (1942), is set in Shanghai during 1936-1937. (There are also similarities with the 1993 film The Remains of the Day, both crafted by director Ivory from a story by Kazuo Ishiguro.) Due to tragic events before 1936, Todd Jackson (played by Ralph Fiennes
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A Wake in Providence, directed by Rosario Roveto, is a variation on the theme of Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? (1967), but the ethnic group is Sicilian, not Greek. And the African American is the girlfriend, not the boyfriend. When the picture begins, Anthony Gelati (played by Vincent Pagano), a macho Italian, is auditioning for a part
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