Browsing: Film Reviews

Japan’s oldest motion picture studio, Nikkatsu (Nippon Katsudō Shashin), which incidently gave Akira Kurosawa his start, produced- “Plains Wanderer” in 1960. Daisogen no wataridori is film number five in the nine-episode “Wandering Guitar” series, where idol Akira Kobayashi is Taki, a wandering symbol of justice across Hokkaido for the oppressed. Taki is equipped with all the accoutrements for righting the wrongs of society: a pistol, a trusty steed, a black fringed leather outfit and crimson scarf.As the quintessential lawman without a home, Taki finds himself in the domain of the Ainu people (the indigenous people of Japan), coming to their…

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Winner of numerous awards at various film festivals, “Owl and The Sparrow” superbly directed and written by Stephane Gauger, focuses on an orphaned 10 year old little girl named, Thuy (Pham Thi Han). Submersed rapidly into the heart of Saigon’s street culture after leaving the side of her martinet uncle who owns and runs a bamboo factory, Thuy must be proactive and do what she can in order to survive.Armed with her Barbie backpack, she encounters other young girls in the city, who instruct her on how best to contend with life on the street. She first sells postcards and…

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Richly evocative, heart-warming and beautifully crafted, Makoto Shinkai’s animated feature is a three part episode infused with emotion, naturalistic elements bonded with measurement, heartbreak, love and longing.The first part, “Cherry Blossom Story”, speaks to us first about the rate at which cherry blossoms fall to earth- 5 centimeters per second. Secondly, we learn about young love, and time with Takaki and his beau, Akari who eventually become separated. The story builds to a seemingly endless amount of delays for Takaki who wants to see Akari, but is held back by heavy snowfall and changing train schedules. Keeping in contact with…

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It is 1987 as communism is coming to an end in Romania, two girls Otilia and Gabita are college students and roommates in Bucharest. Gabita is pregnant and has decided to have an illegal abortion. After Gabita decides to contact Mr. Bebe, who performs abortions, Otilia and Gabita meet him in a hotel where he will perform the abortion. Unfortunately they don’t have enough money to pay for his services, so instead his asks to be paid with sexual favors, this is a decision that both girls will have to make and in the end come to terms with the…

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For nearly 20 years Northern Uganda has been devastated by Africa’s longest-running conflict, The Lord’s Resistance Army has engaged in a continual armed uprising against the Ugandan government. The poignant documentary War/Dance takes place in the remote northern Uganda refugee camp of Patongo where thousands of civilians have been subjected to unimaginable injustice. War/Dance tells the story of three children from the Acholi tribe who are living in a refugee camp in their own land. The film tells their stories of disparity, courage and survival all the while illustrating their memories and capturing their drive and wishfulness for a better…

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A resplendent tale interwoven with other stories throughout the film. As the third motion picture by Tunisia-born, Nacer Khemir, Bab’Aziz (Parviz Shahinkhou) is about an aged, blind dervish, who travels across the barren desert lands with his sprightly granddaughter, Ishtar (Maryam Hamid).The two are in search of a grand convening of dervishes which only occurs once every thirty years. The path to it is not readily known to them but for those who possess faith, and who have been invited, will find the way.While traversing the endless scorching terrain, Bab’Aziz spins an ancient tale for his beloved granddaughter regarding a…

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The new film Santoori by the accomplished Iranian director Dariush Mehrjui tells the tale of a drug addict fighting with his inner and outer demons. With a raw and honest look, the film captures the devastation of drug addiction and how a society can push someone in that direction. Santoori an artist vs. society musical drama, goes deep within Tehran’s society, its problems with drugs and the ill treatments of drug addicts. Ali (Bahram Radan) is an exceptional musician and a master of the Santur (a Persian zither-type stringed instrument played with two delicate wooden mallets). He is indeed a…

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Director Chico Teixeira departs from his documentary work to give us his first feature presentation. The film takes us into the working class household of Alice, in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Emotionally charged and with enough secret affairs, deception and dysfunction to whet any telenovela’s whistle, “Alice’s House” moves us with the sheer rawness of its characters.The story, richly woven with dynamic characters which draw you into their convoluted yet colorful lives, as we are introduced quickly and made part of their family. Alice is wonderfully portrayed by Carla Ribas in the lead. Alice is a lonely manicurist at a local…

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Stylistically shot and emotionally charged, “Undoing”, is the next Asian film noir in line for Korean-American Director Chris Chan Lee, nine years after his first, “Yellow”. Centering around Sam Kim’s (Sung Kang) year-long absence, he returns to Los Angeles hard-pressed to make right for things done wrong in his past.We open with the death of his best friend in L.A.’s Koreatown. Joon is a small time drug dealer- Joon (Leonardo Nam) caught up in a big time mess. Sam who inadvertently finds himself in the middle of a drug deal gone bad, quickly leaves both body and car off the…

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The Kite Runner begins by introducing Amir, a writer living in San Francisco California who when receiving a phone call from Rahim Kahn an old family friend, is taken back to his childhood in Kabul Afghanistan. Here we meet Hassan who is Amir’s childhood friend as well as a servant boy in Amir’s house. Both Amir and Hassan enjoy flying kites and end up winning a kite fighting tournament. On that same day Amir witnesses Hassan being sexually assaulted by a group of bullies and this ultimately ends up fracturing the friendship permanently. As the film progresses, Amir is persuaded…

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