Two evenings. Two movies. Two brilliant auteurs at the BAMPFA. Márta Mészáros Last Saturday night, I discovered Márta Mészáros, a new, brilliant auteur. Well, not really new. she turned 90 last year. But she's new to me. Before the movie, curator Kathy Geritz told us a bit about Mészáros. She made her first film, The … Continue reading Márta Mészáros & John Ford: Two evenings at the BAMPFA
Category: Drama
Drama
The Duke lacks a clear head
B Historical drama-comedy Written by Richard Bean and Clive Coleman Directed by Roger Michell Note: This review has nothing to do with SFFilm or any other current festival. I also corrected an error in the paragraph below. Kempton Bunton may have thought of himself as a British Gandhi, going to prison for his beliefs. But … Continue reading The Duke lacks a clear head
The Pact: Nothing poetic
C drama Written by Christian Torpe, from Thorkild Bjørnvig's memoir Directed by Bille August There's nothing cinematic about writing poetry. It's not like painting or composing music. Unless the poet reads their work aloud, the audience doesn't experience it. There's little reading aloud in The Pact. Instead of the art of poetry, the filmmakers managed … Continue reading The Pact: Nothing poetic
Parallel Mothers: What you heard at the maternity hospital
A- drama Written & directed by Pedro Almodóvar Some movies are easy to review, but not this one. If I'm not careful, I can ruin the movie for you - and not just in the last act. Pedro Almodóvar's latest film, Parallel Mothers, contains some important surprises over its two-hour runtime, and each new revelation … Continue reading Parallel Mothers: What you heard at the maternity hospital
A “hero” and a cartoon at Mill Valley (but not in Mill Valley)
Saturday night, I attended a Mill Valley Film Festival screening at the BAMPFA, of Asghar Farhadi's new film, A Hero. Then, on Sunday, I streamed The Bears' Famous Invasion. I'll start with the more serious film. It's also the one I saw first. A Hero Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi first caught my eye with A … Continue reading A “hero” and a cartoon at Mill Valley (but not in Mill Valley)
Confetti will make you feel happy
B Gentle drama Written and Directed by Ann Hu Here's a movie to warm the cockles of your heart. Lan, a school janitor in China discovers that her daughter Meimei is dyslexic. There's no help in her native country, so Lan takes her daughter to America, where she struggles to get Meimei into the right … Continue reading Confetti will make you feel happy
Three cinematic views of the Pray Away the Gay movement
Tuesday night I watched the new Netflix documentary, Pray Away, directed by Kristine Stolakis. It's a very good film, that won't be seen by as many who need to see it. This is the third feature-length film I've seen about gay conversion therapy, where Christian fanatics (I assume that in real life there are Jewish … Continue reading Three cinematic views of the Pray Away the Gay movement
12 Mighty Orphans: Football by the numbers
C+ Inspirational sports movieWritten by Ty Roberts & Lane Garrison and Kevin Meyer, from the book by Jim DentDirected by Ty Roberts This is one of those sports movies intended to inspire everyone to root for the underdog. And since it's based on a true story, you might assume that most of it happened. But … Continue reading 12 Mighty Orphans: Football by the numbers
Censor: Is it serious, or frightening
B Either a horror movie or a drama about horror moviesWritten by Prano Bailey-Bond, Anthony FletcherDirected by Prano Bailey-Bond This unique British film starts as a social drama about excessive violence in the movies. But as it goes along, it becomes a movie filled with excessive violence. The censor of the title, Enid (Niamh Algar), … Continue reading Censor: Is it serious, or frightening
An endless movie about nothing
F No recognizable genre Written & directed by Roy Andersson The best thing about Roy Andersson's extremely weird film, About Endlessness, is its length. This Swedish, German, and Norwegian picture runs only 76 minutes. The bad part is that, as the title suggests, the film really does feel endless. When I describe a film as … Continue reading An endless movie about nothing
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