The West may have been won by the men, but The Dead Don’t Hurt wants to show that the most difficult fight may have lain with the women. Written and directed by Viggo Mortensen, The Dead Don’t Hurt tells the story of Vivienne Le Coudy (Vicky Krieps), an independent woman who falls in love with Danish immigrant, Holger Olsen…
No matter how old you get, everyone dreads their high school reunion. In Reunion, Mathew (Chace Crawford) and Ray (Lil Rel Howery) may not be living their best lives but they’re (mostly) happy. After they receive an invite to their high school reunion though, suddenly their lives don’t seem so glamourous. One of them a local…
By Robert Bellissimo “Je, Tu, Il, Elle” was Chantal Akerman’s debut feature film from 1974. She co-wrote the script with Eric De Kuyper, and Paul Paquay. Chantal is also the star of the film, alongside Niels Arestrup, and Claire Wauthion. The film is about a young woman named Julie, (Chantal Akerman) and is told in…
Fledgling movie star? Check. Struggling local business owner? Check. Strained parent-child relationship? Check. A delightfully heartfelt movie about the fledgling movie star acting his way through a scenario to help the struggling business owner while navigating a strained relationship with his father? Also check. After blowing his first big gig, actor Erwin Vandeveer (Rudy Pankow)…
No matter how strong you may be, no one can run forever. In You Can’t Run Forever, Miranda (Isabelle Anaya) is a young woman who is plagued by anxiety and grief as the result of a recent trauma. However, when she inadvertently finds herself the target of Wade (J.K. Simmons, a psychotic serial killer, she must…
The Israeli-Palestinian situation is obviously complex and often controversial. It has been an area of conflict for nearly a century—even before the establishment of the state of Israel. Documentary filmmakers Idit Avrahami and Noam Sheizaf seek to show the Palestinian city of Hebron as a microcosm of what is happening there Israel/Palestine in H2: The…
Directed by Mike Cheslik and co-written by star Ryland Tews, Hundreds of Beavers tells the story of a drunken applejack named Jean Kayak who, in his love for apple cider, accidentally destroys his business leaving him with nothing. He is forced to embrace the wilderness and the beavers that lay within it, only to discover…
“My dad used to say that the beginning of liberation is to raise your flag. The highest level of liberation is to burn it.” In Alam (The Flag), directed by Firas Khoury, we see Palestinian youth struggling with a world in which they have had no voice. It is not just that they live under…
By Robert Bellissimo Writer/Director Liliana Cavani based The Night Porter on real events. She had been making a documentary for Italian TV on prison camps when she met a woman who was a concentration camp survivor, whose lover was an SS Nazi Officer. He had been executed by the Americans. This woman had moved to…
“Please, let it all out. That’s what I’m here for.” In The Listener, directed by Steve Buscemi, we eavesdrop on callers to an emotional support helpline. I view such services (and I have volunteered at one many years ago) as emotional first-aid. That is not meant to denigrate such work. Indeed, first-aid often saves lives….
