What Will People Say was one of my favorite films at AFIFest this year. I wasn?t alone in my estimation of the work; it also won the Audience Award in the New Auteurs section. It is a powerful and engaging film in which two different value systems collide within the...
?That?s how we?re going to win. Not by fighting what we hate, but by saving what we love.? Okay, so millions of people are going to see Star Wars: The Last Jedi, the newest installment of the Skywalker saga. They will go for many reasons: They?ve been following this...
?I was loved for a minute, then I was hated.? Figure skating is all about elegance and grace. So when in 1994 the sport took on a violent aspect with an attack on a top skater before the Olympics, it became one of the early examples of TV tabloid journalism. I, Tonya...
?I wish I could live through something.? The senior year of high school, the cusp of adulthood, is the setting for Lady Bird, the coming-of-age comic drama from writer/director Greta Gerwig. Christine ?Lady Bird? McPherson (Saoirse Rowan) is at that point where she is...
As Summer 1993 opens, children are playing in the street. One of them looks at six-year-old Frida (Laia Artegas), and asks, ?Why aren?t you crying?? Is that part of the game or does Frida have reason to cry? As viewers we don?t yet know why she should cry, but when we...
Strange things happen in Thelma, the horror thriller from director Joachim Trier. Thelma (Eili Harboe), who has been raised by very protective, devoutly Christian parents, goes off to university. Her parents are fearful of what might happen. All seems to be going well...
?He mobilized the English language and sent it into battle.? Winston Churchill is an icon. He is most certainly counted among the greatest (if not the greatest) statesmen of the twentieth century. His voice and inspiring speeches are well known. He led Britain when...
AFI Fest this year screened 137 films (93 features, 44 shorts) representing 53 countries. The program included 14 official Best Foreign Language Film Oscar??submissions. I managed to make it to 18 films (17 features) during my time at the festival. My top films for...
The final day at AFI Fest gave me a chance to finish off with two more films before I made my way home to a more reasonable schedule and eating habits. Both films played before good sized crowds for a Thursday afternoon. Claire Denis?s Bright Sunshine In (aka Let the...