Belgium gangsters, Nazis, socialists, roadies, and a closer look at San Francisco’s Hunters Point district. What do these things have in common? They’re all featured in new films opening this week in San Francisco theaters. To see the full list of films and where they’re playing follow the jump. Read More…
Director: Joshua Marston (Maria Full of Grace)
Showtimes: Thu. Oct 13, 2011, 4:00pm @ Sequoia Theatre – Mill Valley (Tickets)
Sat. Oct 15, 2011, 12:15pm @ Sequoia Theatre – Mill Valley (Tickets)
Being a teenager is never the easiest of things, especially when your family is involved in an escalating land conflict resulting in your father taking part in a murder, along with the subsequent consequences of such an act. In this case, it’s Blood Law, which means the males of the family are under house arrest until the conflict is settled, which could take years, and if they leave the house they could be shot on sight. The first thing that struck me about this film is that modern-day Albania has some screwed up laws. The second thing I noticed was that all the elements that go into a film being a worthwhile outing (script, acting, sound, costume, and photography) were spot on, making The Forgiveness Of Blood an uniquely claustrophobic coming-of-age drama. – Adam Cuttler
Reviews for Heritage and What Happened Here? after the jump
My eyes briefly widened with excitement before scrunching into squint skepticism after reading the brief synopsis in this year’s Film Festival guide for the spy-thriller, Little Rose. The reason for the sudden change in my facial feature was that Jan Kidawa-Blonski‘s tale of espionage was being compared to the Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck 2006 Oscar winning film, The Lives of Others. A bold comparison.
Both films take place in the past under oppressive regimes, both feature writers under suspicion of treason, spies reexamining their own moral codes, and clichéd secret meetings in the park. The main differences between the two is that The Lives of Others contained characters developed enough for me to care about what happens to them, a musical score devoid of smooth, jazzed-up Kenny G. saxophone numbers one might hear while watching a soft-core porno, and it lived up to the reputation of being a taut thriller. As for Little Rose… Read More…
A meditative, beautifully simple journey through time in the Italian countryside of Calabria. A highly unique film in content and seeming lack of story, which is told through the changes of the country and the fluid continuous movements of nature, in which man becomes engulfed.
Lech Majewski’s recreation of the works of Pieter Bruegel placed into the dimensions of film, allowing them to tell the story of the Spanish oppression of the Flemish people in the 16th century. Visually amazing; questionable use of English-speaking actors who do not feel like they fit in the film.
Azazel Jacob’s… “came of age”… story about an awkward high schooler as he tries to float through life. Full of unexpected, realistic scenes and empathy for all involved, Terri is a unique film to grace the “coming of age” genre, if it may so be called.
Click on the jump to see trailers for all three films Read More…
World War II is still a very personal subject to the Polish people. It saw the conclusion of their newly acquired independence after 200 years of being part of other countries; it saw the destruction of their cities (in particular Warsaw); it saw the creation of concentration camps of mass-murder which were constructed primarily on their soil; it saw the massacres of their populace by both the Soviets and the Nazis; it then saw the weakening of the Polish government and then a Stalinistic communist regime thrust upon them, which only finally dissipated completely in 1990.
Warsaw’s story during World War II in particular is seen by many Poles as a magnification of Poland’s tragic story. After the occupation, rights were slowly taken from the Jews of the city until finally they were forcedly placed in a quartered off Jewish ghetto. Eventually, in 1943, the people of the Warsaw ghetto rose against the Nazis with help from partisan-supplied weaponry, resulting in the total destruction and liquidation of the ghetto. The stand that the Jews took against the Nazis, seemingly unthinkable to many, caused a great deal of inspiration, and then in 1944 the general populace of Warsaw rose against the Nazis. Follow the jump to continue reading and see the review of the Andrzej Wajda‘s entire War Trilogy Read More…
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