It is time again for AFIFest Presented by Audi. While there is almost always some sort of film festival taking place in Los Angeles, AFIFest is the time that American and world cinema are center stage here. The 2019 event will feature 142 titles (80 features, 1 episodic, 40 shorts, and 21 AFI Conservatory Showcase… [Read More]
The Peanut Butter Falcon – Heart of a Hero
Road movies such as this are usually about the change the journey brings to the characters. The Peanut Butter Falcon is not so much about transformation as it is about revealing what might be hidden in rough or seemingly broken exteriors.
Disco’d – Meet Your Neighbors
In 2016 the homeless population of Los Angeles grew to 58,000 people. Disco’d is Matthew Siretta’s look at a handful of those people. Siretta gives us a very personal look at some of those who live in homeless encampments. The title comes from a slang term that means confused, disconcert, or discombobulate. An early scene… [Read More]
Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man
“Turning poop culture into pop culture is the fastest way to solve the sanitation crisis” (Jack Sim) Yes, there is scatological humor in Lily Zepeda’s documentary Mr. Toilet: The World’s #2 Man. How can there not be given the subject: a worldwide sanitation crisis. It tells us that 2.5 billion people (about 40 percent of… [Read More]
Parasite: Class Struggle
The intersection of the haves and have-nots is the world of Parasite, for which director Bong Joon-ho won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival this year. Set in South Korea, where I’m told the difference of economic divisions is very real, the story also taps into a more universal understanding of the disdain… [Read More]
Harriet: Prophet Motif
“God showed me the way.” Harriet Tubman was given a boost into the national consciousness when she was chosen to be put onto the $20 bill (a plan that has been put on hold by the Trump Administration). But being on money is not all we need to know about her. Kasi Lemmon’s biopic Harriet… [Read More]
By the Grace of God – The Sin of Silence
“Deep down I knew. We all knew. We did nothing.” Although it is not limited to the Catholic Church, sexual molestation of minors by clergy is an issue that continues to burden the church. In France, a notable example centered on a priest, Bernard Preynat, and the Archbishop of Lyon, Cardinal Barbarin, who oversaw the… [Read More]
Cyrano, My Love – So Many Loves
Cyrano, My Love is an intersection of live and art. It could be debated which is imitating which as we follow fin-de-siècle French poet/playwright Edmund Rostand as he struggles to create the play which brought him fame and success, Cyrano de Bergerac. The film opens as Edmund (Thomas Solivérès) is opening an unsuccessful play. He… [Read More]
Dilili in Paris – Vive le Belle Époque
Dilili in Paris is a celebration of fin de siècle Paris. While it is an animated story of a young dark-skinned girl’s adventure, the core of the film is to meet some of the amazing men and women (especially women) of the Belle Époque. The center of the film is Dilili, a young girl from… [Read More]
Collisions – ICE-y Road Trip
“Some are born under a lucky star, some are born into collisions” (Mexican proverb) A title card at the beginning of Collisions tells us “Every four minutes a US citizen child is separated from a parent by deportation.” The film is told from the perspective of two such children. When twelve year old Itan (Izabella… [Read More]
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