“Why do you come like you want a war?” protagonist Augusta (indie-darling Brit Marling) asks her Union soldier attacker. He states that, after all the fighting he has done, it is impossible to stop. Set during the last days of the Civil War, The Keeping Room presents a distinctly revisionist Western, taking a feminist approach […]
Written and Directed by Hubert Sauper Produced by Sauper and Gabriele Kranzelbinder Released by BBC Worldwide North America English, French, Chinese, Arabic, Dinka, Nuer, Bari, and Zande with English subtitles France/Austria. 110 min. Not rated Austrian filmmaker Hubert Sauper has spent years exploring the heart of darkness: colonialism’s impact on Africa. We Come as Friends […]
Directed by John Pirozzi Produced by Mr. Pirozzi and Andrew Pope DVD released by Virgil Films English, Cambodian and French with English subtitles USA/Cambodia/France. 105 min. Not rated Don’t Think I’ve Forgotten: Cambodia’s Lost Rock and Roll lives up to its title. It provides a primer of Cambodian rock ’n’ roll from the 1950s to […]
Written and Directed by Zaza Urushadze Produced by Urushadze and Ivo Felt DVD released by First Run Features Estonian and Russian with English subtitles Estonia/Republic of Georgia. 89 min. Not rated. With Lembit Ulfsak, Mikheil Meskhi, Giorgi Nakhashidze, Elmo Nüganen, and Raivo Trass In 1992, during the war between Georgia and the breakaway region of […]
The classy thriller Maryland singlehandedly jolted me from encroaching jet lag during my first full day at this year’s Cannes Film Festival. (The not-as-elegant English title is the blunter Disorder.) The screening was in the early afternoon after lunch, making it particularly sleep inducing. The movie’s initial slow pace and the often dreamy, bordering on […]
Directed by James Kent Written by Juliette Towhidi, based on the memoir by Vera Brittain Produced by David Heyman and Rosie Alison Released by Sony Pictures Classics UK. 129 min. Rated PG-13 With Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Taron Egerton, Emily Watson, Hayley Atwell, Colin Morgan, Joanna Scanlan, Dominic West and Miranda Richardson World War One […]
Written and Directed by David Oelhoffen, based on “The Guest,” a short story by Albert Camus Produced by Marc du Pontavice and Matthew Gledhill Released by Tribeca Film French, Arabic, and Spanish with English subtitles France. 110 min. Not rated With Viggo Mortensen, Reda Kateb, Vincent Martin, and Djemel Barek Loosely based on a short […]
Directed by Simon Curtis Produced by Kris Thykier Written by Alexi Kaye Campell Released by The Weinstein Company US/UK. 110 min. Rated PG-13 With Helen Mirren, Ryan Reynolds, Daniel Brühl, Katie Holmes, Tatiana Maslany, Max Irons, Charles Dance, Antje Traue, Elizabeth McGovern, Jonathan Pryce, Frances Fisher, Moritz Bleibtreu, Tom Schilling, Allan Corduner, and Henry Goodman […]
Written, Directed and Produced by Oren Jacoby Released by the Film Sales Company USA. 92 min. Not rated English and Italian with English subtitles What Americans may know of World War II’s impact on Italy is often centered on the Allies’ liberating invasion and the many World at War-type documentaries that repeat the footage of […]