ScreenFish

where faith and film are intertwined

Australia

Nitram: Creating our Monsters

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Directed by Justin Kurzel, Nitram is a harrowing look at what creates our ‘monsters’. Beginning as the story of one young man struggling to connect with a family who struggles to know how to properly care for him, the film unravels into tragedy and darkness. Based on the true story of the 1996 Port Arthur Massacre in Tasmania, Australia, Kurzel has noted that he wasn’t sure if this film could be made due to the sensitivity of its content. Although 25 years removed from the tragedy, the events of 1996 still carry emotional weight. As a result, he treats his subject matter with reverence and humility without ever shying away from the more difficult questions that these moments require.

Set in the mid-1990s, Nitram tells the story of Martin Bryant (Caleb Landry Jones), a young man with mental health issues who lives with his mother and father in the Australian suburbs. Frustrated by his inability to connect with others, Nitram (or Martin, backwards) lives an unintentionally isolated life. Things begin to change for him when he begins a complicated relationship with a reclusive heiress. Even so, when their bond is broken by tragedy, Nitram internalizes his loneliness and anger in ways that push him towards the brink of disaster.

Kurzel’s confident direction and slow-moving cameras give the viewer the feeling that they are watching life unfold before their eyes. However, it’s the powerful performance by Landry Jones that anchors the film. Portraying Nitram with an anger-infused innocence, Landry Jones manages to create empathy for his suffering yet never excuses his actions either. What’s more, veteran actors Anthony LaPaglia and Judy Davis do a phenomenal job as Caleb‘s overwhelmed parents. Most notably, Davis provides an absolutely chilling and compassionate performance as Nitram’s mother. Struggling to deal with her family’s mental health issues, there is a quiet rage about her character as she seems to feel like she does not deserve her situation and yet she still wants to be a loving wife and mother. It’s a complex performance and complex character and Davis does a wonderful job.

Focusing entirely on the events that create disaster, Nitram chooses to lean in to the causes rather than the effects. Keeping the tragic events off-screen, Kurzel never focuses on the lives of those who are killed but instead attempts to unravel the mind of the killer. In other words, the film does its best to understand the incredible tragedy as opposed to sitting in the impact on those involved. By the film’s end, we feel as though we have some insight into Nitram but are forced to watch as those around him refuse to get to know him themselves.

In this way, NItram is very much a film about inclusiveness and how we care for one another. At one moment, the news in the background highlights the fact that everybody felt that this particular person in question seems like such a nice person. At the same time though, they are still left with questions as to how a person can commit such active violence. Featuring conversations regarding mental health, isolation and abuse, Nitramnever points the finger and says that it is because of this one thing. However, Kurzel does seem to indicate that these moments could maybe have been avoided if those around Nitram had offered compassion as opposed to cruelty.

To Kurzel, the most important question to be asked is how do we treat each other? 

While one always expects that a film will end on a notion of hope, Nitram chooses instead to sit in the darkness of the moment. Instead, like the rest of us who mourn, the film recognizes that the reasons why these moments take place are often unknowable to those on the outside. However, at the same time, the film also points a call for us to love one another as a (potential) solution for future tragedies. Featuring solid performances across the board, Nitram is both a painful and poignant portrait that invites the viewer to open their eyes to the struggles of those around them.

To hear our interview with director Justin Kurzel, click here.

Nitram is available in select Canadian theatres in Toronto, Edmonton, Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina and Kitchener, while expanding to Ottawa on the 13th.

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High Ground: Gaining a Broader Perspective

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Directed by Stephen Johnson, High Ground follows Travis (Simon Baker), a policeman in northern Australia tasked with supporting a local missionary amongst the Indigenous peoples. Once a sniper in WWI, Travis is meant to maintain control of the operation from above with his bird’s-eye view of the situation. Then, when the operation results in a massacre of an Aboriginal tribe, Travis leaves in disgust. However, years later, Travis is forced back into action as he and mission-raised Gutjuk (Jacob Junior Nayinggul), the only known massacre survivor, must work together to hunt down Baywara, an Aboriginal warrior intent on gaining revenge for their attack years earlier.

Drenched in the intensity of the dry heat of the Outback, High Ground undergirds its storytelling with a bubbling rage. Delving into painful historical practices such as racial injustice and conquest, Johnson pulls few punches regarding the harsh realities of the time. As a result, this is a film that wants to be felt. Unfortunately, despite the complexities of the issues at hand, the script leaves much of the cast little space to build their characters. As a result, High Ground feels like a bit of a missed opportunity, even though it both entertains and challenges.

Though the characters around them may be lacking, High Ground features some wonderful performances from leads Baker and newcomer Nayinggul. As battle-weary Travis, Baker plays his character with a dark edge that never allows him to become too safe for the viewer. Although we follow the film primarily through his perspective, Baker manages to give his character enough nuance for him to never fully take on the name of ‘hero’. (In fact, it could be argued that we only see him as a hero because those around him are so villainous in their motivations and actions.) Even so, it is Nayinggul who ultimately steals the film. For a first-time actor, Nayinggul shows incredible maturity in his performance as he brings out the soul of his young character who wishes to reconnect to his roots and family. As the film’s anchor, the complex relationship between these two actors keeps High Ground compelling, even in its lesser moments.

Ultimately, High Ground is a film about power and control. As the settlers attempt to broaden their territory, their reckless actions reveal their intent to conquer, rather than to partner with the Indigenous peoples. (“You don’t share land,” Moran groans.) Though, while it may begin with the theme of dominating the land, it quickly becomes apparent that this is much more about the power to dominate the people that make it their home. From the opening sequence, Ground establishes that the goal of the white population is to expand their culture and ideas at the expense of tribal cultures. Led by the military and a (largely ineffectual) priest, the primary interest of these settlers is to mould their surroundings into their own image. (Incidentally, this battle for cultural dominance becomes a key character arc for Gutjuk, who struggles to reconcile his indigenous roots with the values of the people who raised him.)

With this in mind, the film also uses Travis to shine a light on the relationship between control and perspective. From his perch as a sniper, Travis sees everything. However, that also makes him distant from it as well. By remaining so far away from the battle, Travis claims less responsibility for its outcome. In doing so, he can show his disdain for the actions of the settlers without ever fully disowning them either. Whereas he argues that his distance gives him control over a situation, it also provides him the chance to ‘wash his hands’ of its outcome as well. 

Having said this, his range of view also allows him to see all that’s going on during the skirmish. While he has the opportunity to disavow his involvement, so too does he recognize when wrongdoing is happening and he wants no part of that. As he grows closer to Gutjuk, Travis becomes more deeply invested in the events taking place around him and his perspectives begin to shift. Though his mind is entrenched in a European way of thinking, he starts to see the value of lifestyles other than his own.

With some fascinating conversations surrounding the arrogance of colonialism, there is a lot to like about High Ground. Although it lacks character development from anyone other than its protagonists, the film fully understands what it wants to achieve and does so effectively.

High Ground is available on VOD on Friday, May 14th, 2021.

Day4 at NBFF

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The interaction of news events and the journalists covering the events made up the focus of the first two films of the day. Another News Story, directed by Orban Wallace, follows the story of immigrants to Europe from the time they land on the Greek island of Lesbos as they work their way through various countries to find new homes in Germany. You may remember the events from the evening news, especially when Hungary closed its borders to immigrants creating a refugee crisis at the border with Serbia. The film also focuses on the news media that is covering the story. For many (most?), they are there doing a job. They’ll go home to a nice hotel each night and come back again tomorrow to film more. For some, it becomes an issue about if they should act as journalists or as humans. To what extent are the journalists using the suffering of people just to get a story? To what extent are they responsible for the suffering?

Playing with Another News Story was a twenty minute short doc, Fight for the First, directed by Sharon Liese. It covers journalism students who work at the Columbia Missourian as they cover a breaking story on the campus of the University of Missouri and a few other stories. This is not just a student newspaper. They are assertive in their role of reporting as a way of making sure facts and truth are available for the people—even if those they are covering want to stop them. Both of these films make reference to claims of “fake news” that have been leveled against the news media by the current American Administration.

Monday evening was the time for the Pacific Rim Showcase which featured films from The Philippines, Korea, Japan, China, and Australia. I chose the Australian film, The Pretend One, directed by Tony Prescott. It’s always nice at this point in a festival to have something with a lighter tone. Charlie lives with her father on a remote cotton farm in Queensland. Ever since she was six, Hugo has been her best friend. Now as a young woman, she and Hugo still do everything together. But Hugo is only an imaginary friend. When a flesh-and-blood rival turns up, Hugo, who is in love with Charlie, refuses to give up easily. He does his best to interfere with the courtship. How can he stop her from going with this man? And how can he not allow her the happiness of real-life romance? An entertaining look at just what love means.

The Daughter – The Sins of the Father

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Do lies undermine lives—or does the discovery of the truth bring ruination? In The Daughter, an Australian adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s The Wild Duck, Christian (Paul Schneider) returns home after several years abroad for his father Henry’s (Geoffrey Rush) wedding to the much younger Anna (Anna Torv). The estrangement between father and son has tension enough, but when Christian decides to spend his time with old friend Oliver (Ewen Leslie), Oliver’s wife Charlotte (Miranda Otto), and daughter Hedvig (Odessa Young) the distance between Christian and Henry seems to widen even more. As Christian learns more about Charlotte, he uncovers a secret that could tear apart Oliver’s family—and his own.

There is much going on in the background that impacts the main plot of the film. Henry is the owner of a lumber mill which is an important employer in this logging town. But he has just announced that the mill will be closing (costing Oliver his job). As Henry plans for an elaborate wedding, most of the people around him are scrambling to find a future. As Christian tries to bridge these two worlds his animosity towards his father becomes obvious.

There are also wounded animals in the film, cared for by Oliver’s father Walter (Sam Neill). The most to notable is a duck wounded by Henry early in the film. As the film progresses many of the characters will be emotionally wounded, all tracing back to Henry’s actions years before, but only because of Christian’s action as he uncovers the secrets and lies from the past.

The truth has been buried for years. Are these people happier or better off because Christian brings them the truth he has discovered? It is not unimportant that he is motivated by his malice towards his father. In this, the pain that is brought into people’s lives rests with him, even though Henry is culpable for the origin of the problems.

The difference between the two is that Henry acts out of indifference. Just as when he shoots the duck, he really doesn’t pay attention to what harm he may cause. With the duck, he just turns it over to Walter. With the past, he arranges things to be hidden away. As the mill closes down, his wedding seems to be a bit ostentatious for a community in turmoil. But Christian acts out of spite. He knows the damage he is doing, but plows ahead to create emotional chaos. Even when asked by some involved to spare the innocent, he cannot stop himself from revealing anything that will spoil lives.

What I found disappointing in the film is the lack of any kind of redemption. The past is not redeemed. None of the people involved find any redemption. Christian does not find any satisfaction for the sins of his father—he only adds more people to the list of those who can trace their pain to Henry. These are wounds that may never heal. Then again, sometimes even a wounded duck may learn to fly again.

Photos by Mark Rogers, courtesy of Kino Lorber

The Light Between Oceans – Hard Choices, Consequences

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The Light Between Oceans is set on Janus, a small island far off the coast of Western Australia. The Roman god it is named after has two faces and is often thought to be looking to both the past and future (hence the year starts in January, also named after Janus.) Janus Island we discover in the story is placed between two oceans, but it is also a place that lies between hope and despair, joy and sorrow, injury and pardon, and love and . . . love?

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Tom Sherbourne (Michael Fassbender), a veteran of the Great War, signs on as the lighthouse keeper on Janus. He is looking to get away from everything after the war. He will be about one hundred miles from another living person. And he likes the idea. But just before he goes, he meets Isabel Graysmark (Alicia Vikander), a lovely young woman who is grieving the loss of two brothers in the war. After a bit of a long-distance romance, they marry and head to their own little Eden on Janus. Their happiness seems complete—until two miscarriages brings darkness into their lives.

Two days after the second miscarriage, a rowboat drifts toward Janus. Inside Tom and Isabel discover an infant and a dead man. At Isabel’s insistence, they do not notify anyone and begin to raise the child as their own. And so now they are a family of three—Tom, Isabel, and Lucy. But when they take Lucy into port to be baptized, Tom notices a grieving woman, Hannah (Rachel Weisz), in the church graveyard. He sees that she has been at a memorial to a man and child lost at sea the day before they found Lucy. His guilt at her deep grief sets the story for the various dilemmas that Tom and Isabel will face—emotional, moral, and eventually legal. It also means that everyone will have to face sorrow in unexpected ways. There are no possibilities for everything to work out nicely. In fact we may wonder if there will be any happiness for anyone.

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This is a story that deals with consequences. Each action creates consequences not just for the person involved but for others as well. Even when characters try to do what seems the right thing, there are severe, unforeseen costs involved. In such a situation, how can we hope to make choices that will lead to what is right? And we often have to balance what is right for whom, because what helps one person injures another.

The film also touches briefly on forgiveness. In a flashback we meet Hannah’s husband, a German who must live with the resentment of most of the community because of the past war. Yet he lives a life that does not repay those who treat him badly. He notes that you only have to forgive once, but resentments have to be brought up over and over and that is just too much work. This comes up again in the film, but could have been explored a bit more fully than it is.

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I think we often find ourselves on Janus Island—that place that looks in two directions (or even multiple directions) at once. We are always on the cusp not just of past and future, but of the many possibilities of where our lives can lead. The choices we make may open some doors and close others. How we live in the aftermath of our choices often determines whether we will find happiness or not.

Photos courtesy of DreamWorks Pictures

Editor’s note: Special features include “Bringing the Light to Life,” a look at how Cape Campbell, New Zealand, became the background for the film via the cast and crew as Cianfrance’s work made the film what it is; and see the history of the lighthouse at Cape Campbell played out. 

Lion – A Story of Being Lost and Found

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In Lion a child faces perhaps the most frightening of all prosepects—being separated from his family and far from home. That he manages to find a new family in a faraway land may seem like a rescue (and it is), but what of the family he lost?

The film is divided into two approximately equal halves. Five year old Saroo (Sunny Pawar) lives with his mother, older brother, and younger sister in India. They live mostly by scavenging—sometimes dangerously. When his brother Guddu heads off one night to look for work in another city, Saroo demands to come along. After a train ride, Saroo is asleep. Guddu leaves him on a bench in the station to go get his bearings. When Saroo wakes up the station is completely empty. He searches for Guddu, but cannot find him. In time he finds a spot in a train to go to sleep, but while he sleeps the train leaves. By the time Saroo can get off he is about 1000 miles from home in the big city of Kolkata. There he falls in with other homeless street children until he ends up in an orphanage. Because he doesn’t know the basic information such as where he is from, he can’t be returned to his family. In time he is adopted by a couple (Nicole Kidman and David Wenham) from Australia and flies away to live in Tasmania.

Nicole Kidman and star in LION

The film leaps ahead twenty years for the second half. Saroo (Dev Patel) is now grown and getting ready to head to the Australian mainland for a course in hotel management. There he meets Lucy (Rooney Mara), an American student, and others from around the world. He tells them his story and he begins to have brief glimpses of memories. He wonders what became of the rest of his family, but has no way of knowing where to look. Someone suggest approximating a search area and using Google Earth to find places he remembers. This becomes an obsession. How can he find anything in such a vast land as India? And what would he do if he actually found what he was looking for?

Dev Patel stars in LION

Family is obviously one of the central themes of the film. Saroo’s family in India was impoverished, but the bonds of love are very obvious. When he is cut off from his family, he is in great danger. That he managed to survive the streets for as long as he did is miraculous. Even in the orphanage, things are only marginally better. When he is sent to his Australian parents he finds a new life—one of comfort and possibilities for happiness. Here is another family with bonds of love—even though there is a side plot dealing with another Indian adopted by the family who brings emotional issues with him, even as an adult.

But family isn’t just about parents who love him. He also must come to consider what it means to be a son and a brother. To truly understand that he must try to better understand the family of his birth and the love that he found and strives to remember in that setting. The storyline with the adopted brother wasn’t really developed enough see how Saroo had to come to terms with his feelings both for that brother and the one he lost as a child.

Another key theme is what it means to be lost and found. In Christian thought, salvation is often described as being found. Saroo understands being lost: alone in a strange city, knowing no one, unable to speak the language. He has nowhere to turn. Yet, through various circumstances, he manages to be “found” and saved by strangers who take him in and make him their own son. But Saroo also comes to realize that the trauma of being lost applies to his birth family as well. He knows that they must have been devastated and searched for him. His obsession with finding them is as much to bring them closure as it is a search for his roots. But in his obsession he runs the risk of cutting himself off from those who love him and ending up lost in an emotional sense. His salvation is not limited to being sent to a loving family, but also in finding himself as he seeks to reconnect with his other family.

Hillsong | Let Hope Rise — It’s Time to Rise Up and Sing

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hillsong2When a person heads into a movie theater, there are a number of things they typically expect to find—the smell of popcorn wafting in the lobby, somewhat comfortable seats, and a decent film.  In the case of PureFlix’s latest film Hillsong: Let Hope Rise, the viewer can expect something additional–a concert they’re asked to participate in.  Part documentary, part worship experience, this is a film that needs to be experienced in person in order to appreciate its full effect.

Let Hope Rise centers around Hillsong United, “the biggest band you’ve never heard of,” according to band member Jad Gilles. The band’s social media stats serve to spell this out, with over five million Facebook likes and more than one million Twitter followers. Based out of Sydney Australia, their shows sell out worldwide. But why?

hillsong1According to singer Taya Smith, they’re teaching people how to worship God.  At the same time, they’re learning to do the same.  Part of Let Hope Rise is a somewhat standard documentary chronicling the band’s early—and often hilarious—endeavors, leading up to the present day. We get to see the lives of the singers as they work together composing songs, recording tracks, and dealing with struggles such as limited time with family due to touring (no mansions here—they live in regular houses and apartments), past familial issues, and the pressures of making sure their songs point people to the Lord while keeping them lyrically relevant. In fact, as the clock ticks down to a concert performance at the Forum in Los Angeles, they’re feverishly trying to finish songs—and the crowd hears a composition completed less than an hour before showtime.

Director Michael John Warren’s documentary is quite good on its own merits, but what sets Let Hope Rise apart is the mini-concert sprinkled throughout the film. A quick notice appears before the start of the movie stating, “The filmmakers welcome your participation.” Filmed in widescreen HD, the viewer gets thrown into the very same concert the band was preparing for in the documentary. The words of the songs are on the screen (with no bouncing ball, thankfully!), so there’s no reason to sing along. A number of United’s songs are presented, including the very popular “Oceans,” giving Smith an opportunity to show off her impressive vocal skills.  At the screening I attended, the crowd was getting into the music, singing up a storm, and a few raised their hands.  Some I talked to afterward said they even wanted to stand up—and felt bad they didn’t.

It’s a unique take on the concert experience. The goal was to capture the essence of what it would be to actually be at the Forum in person, and it works pretty well. In fact, the film is a bit too heavy on the documentary portion, since most people are going to come for the music. It’s not overly preachy, but you know from the outset of the film who the focus is on.  The singers, including lead Joel Houston, don’t want it on themselves, but Jesus.

hillsong3Let Hope Rise is the type of film word of mouth will benefit, and it’s a unique idea that could be potentially viable for other musical acts—both Christian and secular. So expect to do some singing, some watching, and perhaps some standing as the auditorium becomes an extension of the concert itself. In fact, the movie theater may never be the same again.  Rise up . . . and enjoy!

Last Cab to Darwin: “Cab Driver’s Death Drive”

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“I’m a cab driver. I’m going to drive my cab till I can’t drive it no more.”

When mortality suddenly becomes a reality, a cab driver in the Australian Outback decides he wants to face death on his own terms. Rex Macrea (Michael Caton), a crusty loner in Broken Hill, New South Wales, learns he only has three months to live. When he learns that a Dr. Farmer (Jacki Weaver) in the Northern Territory wants to test a new euthanasia law, he starts off on a 1,900 mile journey, hoping to use her suicide machine to end his life. But is it that easy?

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Rex has tried to live his life without attachments. He has his mates at the local pub, but he doesn’t figure they’ll miss him. He doesn’t want his indigenous neighbor (and lover) Polly (Ningali Lawford-Wolf) to have to take care of him. So without telling anyone, he sets off on his trek across the continent. Along the way he manages to collect Tilly (Mark Coles Smith), a young indigenous footballer who has let fear stand in the way of a possible career, and Julie (Emma Hamilton), a nurse from London who is backpacking Australia. When he arrives in Darwin he discovers that there is more to dying than he had expected. He also, in making the journey, discovers that there is more to life than he ever realized.

It is easy to miss the joys of life when we are in the midst of the day to day. For Rex, who has lived his whole life in Broken Hill, it is a wonder to see the various landscapes of the Outback. He marvels at the beauty of sunsets. He meets new people. Finally, he comes to discover that those he has left behind are far more special than he knew.

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The writer of Ecclesiastes sets his reflections within a framework of considering mortality. What do all our works, our strivings, our desires, our accomplishments really mean if we are all going to die anyway? What of the daily grind of life? Is it just one thing happening after another, or does it have rewards for us if we just recognize them?

It is just such questions that Rex faces on his trip to Darwin. He thinks he is going off to take control of his life by controlling his death. But in the end, he discovers that there is beauty and love in his life that he’s just not willing to let go of one second too soon.

Photos courtesy of First Run Films

Sunday at Newport Beach Film Festival

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after 16

The Easter Rising of 1916 may be the Irish equivalent of America’s Battle of Lexington. It marks the effective beginning of the road to independence. To celebrate and commemorate the centennial of the Rising, the Irish Film Board curated “After ’16”, a collection of short films that look at those events with various styles and perspectives. The collection showed at NBFF as part of the festival’s ongoing connection with Irish film. The shorts give a nice introduction to the events. The first two shown were both memoirs. A Terrible Hullabaloo features the memories of a 90 year old who took part in the Rising as a child. As we hear his voice over, we see the actions in puppetry. A Father’s Letter shares the memories of a 102 year old Jesuit priest whose father was one of the leaders of the Rising. He recalls visiting his father in prison just before his execution and the letter his father sent to his family. My Life for Ireland is an entertaining story of a young man trying to get to Dublin to take part, but ends up taking over a small town post office instead. Styled like a 1940s film it has a great sense of comedy about the situation. Granite and Chalk is a documentary about two spies for the British who might well have short-circuited the Rising if they had been successful. Goodbye Darling is the most poignant and artistic of the films. As her husband is leading a group of volunteers in the Rising, a pregnant wife is in her well-appointed home playing the piano. It really is very effective. Baring Arms shows various Irish people getting tattoos to remember the Rising and its leaders. The Cherishing reminds us of the children who were killed in the Rising. As two boys go off to loot the candy store there is tragedy that will mark their families. Mr. Yeats and the Beastly Coins tells of the creation in 1926 of Ireland’s first set of coins. The committee chaired by poet W. B. Yeats worked to give Ireland a distinctive set of coins, but it was a convoluted road to make it happen.

There was a good crowd for the showing of the documentary South Bureau Homicide that focuses on the homicide detectives in one of Los Angeles’s most violent neighborhoods. It shows their desire to work with the community and forge bonds. Not only the detectives, but some of the neighborhood community leaders tell their stories on screen. Many reflect a religious foundation for what they do.

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Papa: Hemingway in Cuba tells the story of a young writer who connects with the author Ernest Hemingway during the late 1950s when Hemingway is living in Cuba. Although the relationship starts out as hero worship, a true friendship develops, even though Hemingway is in the midst of a suicidal depression. This is the first Hollywood film shot in Cuba since the revolution. The film opens in theaters Friday.

The Innocents (Agnus Dei) is set in the aftermath of World War II. A female French doctor in Poland finds a convent with several pregnant nuns—the result of abuse by both German and Russian soldiers. The nuns do not wish to be discovered by the authorities. They are reticent to have any outside help and believe their vows of chastity must still be observed even in giving birth. Questions of faith and loss of faith—and of the lies that are told and crimes that continue to be committed in the name of doing good–all come into play.

For romcom fans the festival has Alex and Eve, an Australian film about a Greek Orthodox math teacher who meets a Lebanese Muslim lawyer. As they fall in love, their families are both trying to fix them up with spouses from their own communities. The conflicts really arise out of cultural issues. The religious aspects are treated fairly superficially. It follows the typical sweep of a romantic comedy, and tries to see just how close they can come to missing each other before they claim their happiness.