Most stories we see about the Holocaust focus on the noble actions or withstanding of suffering in the midst of such a dark evil. Stella: A Life, from director Kilian Riedhof, provides a more ethically challenging view. To what extent should we judge someone who was...
The challenge of career and family is something that is familiar to many. It seems that women are often seen as the focal point of this challenge, because (in a masculine-centric world) they are supposed to focus on family, even if it means giving up a career. There...
“Life is long.” For a young girl and her family, a summer at their island summer cabin is filled with many things: boredom, excitement, discovery, loss, the passing of wisdom, and through it all, hope. The Summer Book, from director Charlie McDowell, based on the book...
“Who am I and who are the ghosts?” Philosophers often note that our mortality brings insight into our understanding of life. For example, Samuel Johnson noted: “When a man knows he is to be hanged in a fortnight, it concentrates his mind wonderfully.” Such is the...
“If a bad person pretends to be a good person, does that make them bad? Or good?” The Ugly, written and directed by Yeon Sang-ho based on his graphic novel, strikes me as a kind of fictional real crime podcast. Each step along the way brings new information, some of...
Teachers inspiring students is a familiar theme in films. Tinā, from writer/director Miki Magasiva, is the latest in a long line of such films. In this film, as in most such films, it is a two-way street as a teacher may not only bring something new to the students,...
“Into death and beyond it.” There are many times that I will think of a film derisively as hagiography (life of a saint). I say derisively, because it seems to be making someone look far better than they really were. So what am I to do with Anthony D’Ambrosio’s...
On the surface, Pools, written and directed by Sam Hayes, is about escaping the heat into the cool blue water. There are currents at work below the surface that occasionally take us deeper into questions of how we find the meaning of our lives. Kennedy (Odessa A’zion)...
Real life is often fodder for filmmaking. Films that are “based (or inspired) by true events” are not uncommon. That is true for shorts as well. Here are a few of the films at the Oscar-qualifying HollyShorts Film Festival that have their genesis from real...