Yes Israeli criminals can be big bunglers as we see in “Forgiveness”. I would say it is a low toned comedic film full of subtleties you might easily miss if you are not familiar with Israeli society. At times its premise is delightfully absurd. Shaul and Nissan are robbing a post office safe. Shaul isContinue reading ““Forgiveness”: A Subtle Israeli Comedy: Toronto 2021 Jewish Film Festival”
Tag Archives: Robert K. Stephen film reviews
“Asia”: Israeli Academy Awards Winner and the Inevitability of the End: Toronto 2021 Jewish Film Festival
After several years of reviewing Israeli films there is nothing second rate about them. Sure I have seen a few clunkers but such are very rare! No more than in the North American film industry. If one pays attention to the introduction of the film on the TJFF website one might be left with theContinue reading ““Asia”: Israeli Academy Awards Winner and the Inevitability of the End: Toronto 2021 Jewish Film Festival”
“Hors Normes” (The Specials): The 2021 Toronto Jewish Film Festival
“Hors Normes” leaves you a bit dazed when it begins but let it run and the pieces fit in very nicely. While in many senses it is a sort of tragedy about how the most difficult mentally challenged youth and young adults in France have no place to go for treatment. And treatment in theContinue reading ““Hors Normes” (The Specials): The 2021 Toronto Jewish Film Festival”
“Being Thunder”: Sometimes Interesting But Mostly Meandering: 2021 Inside Out Film Festival
The 2021 Inside Out Toronto LGBTQ Film Festival features many “LGBTQ” films one of which is “Being Thunder”. The promo material indicates the documentary is about Sherenté Harris, a two-sprit genderqueer teenager from the Narragansett tribe in Rhode Island in the United States as she “boldly challenges the status quo of what it means toContinue reading ““Being Thunder”: Sometimes Interesting But Mostly Meandering: 2021 Inside Out Film Festival”
“Thunderbird”: A Complex Film Packing a Wallop and Leaving Tantalizing Questions Unanswered
The last 6 minutes of the film will leave your head spinning and if you are looking for a clean resolution of the conflict and mystery it as if you are being taunted to use your imagination to glue together the pieces. This is solid and complex filmmaking and aside from a few awkward linesContinue reading ““Thunderbird”: A Complex Film Packing a Wallop and Leaving Tantalizing Questions Unanswered”
“Jenny”: Classic Greek 1960’s film shows beautiful lampooning ahead of its time
A couple of years ago in Greece I had to spend a couple of months taking care of certain estate matters. I was on Samos, a beautiful mountainous island, very close to Turkey. We were staying in Samos City as it is called but the locals call it by its old name Vathi. Vathi was,Continue reading ““Jenny”: Classic Greek 1960’s film shows beautiful lampooning ahead of its time”
“Coral Ghosts”: Stunning photography but a sad story
Toronto Filmmaker Andrew Nisker’s “Coral Ghosts” presents the viewer with stunning cinematography but a tragic story about the death of the world’s coral reefs. Coral is a living organism and as it is extremely sensitive to increases in water temperatures it is “bleaching out” and dying. With its death the ecosystem that inhabits these reefs isContinue reading ““Coral Ghosts”: Stunning photography but a sad story”
“The Long Way Back “: Some Reflections on an Indie Film
Breaking Glass Pictures (BGP) in Philadelphia has an interesting portfolio of films they have sent my way over the past few years. Not all are great but some are gaspingly delightful and not to mention the LGBTQ film inventory they have. And they don’t carry the Hollywood slop I have little interest in. In theContinue reading ““The Long Way Back “: Some Reflections on an Indie Film”
“The Last Forest” (A Última Floresta): The Next Step Genocide? Toronto Hot Docs
The Yanomami indigenous people live in Northern Brazil and in Southern Venezuela. They have been there for at least 1,000 years which is 500 years longer that the nation states of Brazil and Venezuela. The greed of gold, oil natural resources and hydro electric projects threatens the indigenous way of life. The processing of goldContinue reading ““The Last Forest” (A Última Floresta): The Next Step Genocide? Toronto Hot Docs”
“Kimmapiiyipitssini”: The Scourge of Fentanyl and Opioids in the Kainai Blackfoot Community in Southern Alberta: Toronto Hot Docs
“Kimmapiiypitssini” in Blackfoot in short means empathy and involves giving kindness to each other and feeling for others and you are blessed if you show it. Perhaps for me it is a vital component of mindful living. Aa one police officer on the Blackfoot Reserve in Southern Alberta muses what would our people be likeContinue reading ““Kimmapiiyipitssini”: The Scourge of Fentanyl and Opioids in the Kainai Blackfoot Community in Southern Alberta: Toronto Hot Docs”
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