Terrance Malick creates films that are spiritual experiences. Sometimes, it is more about the experience than story. (Personally, I love going through those experiences, but understand why some find it difficult.) In A Hidden Life, Malick creates an experience that relies on the real-life inspirational story of Franz Jägerstätter, an Austrian conscientious objector during World… [Read More]
Transit – Just Passing Through (Or Not)
There is an old gospel song, “This world is not my home, I’m just a-passing through”. A bit of that sense of temporariness is what we find in Transit from German director Christian Penzold. There are various aspects of this film that may leave us a bit off-balance, but that just adds to the depth… [Read More]
The Captain – Responding to Authority
The power of authority is at the center of The Captain, a German film from Robert Schwentke. But the authority in the film is based in a lie.
The Exception: Will Love or Duty Win the Day?
Christopher Plummer is quite dapper as exiled Kaiser Wilhelm II, under investigation by the Nazi Reich’s Stefan Brandt (Jai Courtney). Brandt has his own disgraces to deal with – having been forced into this ‘undercover’ assignment. But instead of uncovering who the British spy is in the Wihelm estate, he falls for a maid, Mieke… [Read More]
