The root of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can be found in the history and development of Zionism. Colliding Dreams is a documentary that traces that history ?as seen through the eyes of the inhabitants of the land.? It provides a good introduction to some of the...
?The Pilgrim's Progress from This World to That Which Is to Come; Delivered under the Similitude of a Dream? Those words open Terrence Malick?s Knight of Cups. They are the full title of John Bunyan?s seventeenth century allegory of Christian life. The film itself is...
I think one of the most impressive things about Zootopia is not its animation quality (which is very good) or its storyline (which is certainly worthy of the Disney trademark), but the prescience of the filmmakers to have this film coming out when it does. Animated...
?To be a butterfly the caterpillar has to become a chrysalis first even if it never for a moment wanted to become one.? Only Yesterday is a 1991 anime film from Studio Ghibli that is just now being released in North America as a 25th Anniversary Edition. It is a...
In Jack of the Red Hearts, a castoff from the foster system finds a place to belong through dishonesty, ending up with a sense of self, responsibility, and care for another person to move to a better life. Hmm. When I put it like that doesn?t it sound so bad. And to...
?Dear Almitra, we don't need to be afraid of death, for life and death are one, even as the river and the sea are one. How would we know the secret of death unless we look for it in the heart of life?? Back when I was in high school and college, Kahlil Gibran?s book...
?Would that it were so simple.? The Coen Brothers? Hail, Caesar is an entertaining look at the old Hollywood Studio System with a load of insider references. (I would love to have a Cliff Notes type of resource to identify all those references.) But like nearly all of...
I?m sure that many people head to the kitchen for dessert when the Oscar is awarded for Best Foreign Language Film. But that is one of the categories that I pay special attention to. Films that come from other countries and cultures often give us wonderful insights...
?Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. Have mercy on us. Give us peace.? A group of aging priests live in a house outside a remote seaside town, looked after by a former nun. They spend their days in recreation and training a greyhound for the local races....