NOTE: This film festival (now in its 15th year) runs from March 7-17 at AFI in Silver Spring, MD. Click here for more info!
Deep End (FRI, 3/8: 5PM & SUN, 3/10: 5:15PM)
This South African spin on Bend it Like Beckham substitutes surfing for soccer to explore the coming-of-age journey of Sunitha Patel (Carishma Basday), a young woman from a traditional Gujarat family in Durban who aspires to be a surf champion.
Nigerian Prince (FRI, 3/8: 8PM)
When troubled Nigerian-American teenager Eze (Antonio J. Bell) is sent away to his mother’s native Nigeria against his will, he quickly finds himself entangled in a dangerous web of scams and corruption…
The Mercy of the Jungle (SAT, 3/9: 3PM)
Set in 1998 at the outset of the Second Congo War, this movie (2018 TIFF Official Selection) about a pair of Rwandan soldiers lost behind enemy lines between the Democratic Republic of Congo and Rwanda. When experienced soldier Sergeant Xavier (Marc Zinga, DHEEPAN, THE UNKNOWN GIRL) and fresh recruit Private Faustin (Stéphane Bak, ELLE) are accidentally left behind by their battalion just as Congolese militia begin swarming the area, they only have each other.
Pili (SUN, 3/17: 11AM)
In this BAFTA-nominated first feature, Pili (Bello Rashid) lives in rural Tanzania, working in the fields for less than $1 a day to feed her two children and struggling to manage her HIV-positive status in secret. When she is offered the chance to rent a sought-after market stall, Pili is desperate to have it.
Colette (now playing in limited release) starring Keira Knightley, Dominic West, & Eleanor Tomlinson
After marrying a successful Parisian writer known commonly as “Willy” (West), Sidonie-Gabrielle Colette (Knightley) is transplanted from her childhood home in rural France to the intellectual and artistic splendor of Paris. Soon after, Willy convinces Colette to ghostwrite for him. She pens a semi-autobiographical novel about a witty and brazen country girl named Claudine, sparking a bestseller and a cultural sensation. After its success, Colette and Willy become the talk of Paris and their adventures inspire additional Claudine novels. Colette’s fight over creative ownership and gender roles drives her to overcome societal constraints, revolutionizing literature, fashion and sexual expression. -Summary from Bleecker Street
First Man (opening OCT 12th) starring Ryan Gosling, Claire Foy, KyleChandler, Corey Stoll, Jason Clarke, Pablo Schreiber & Ciaran Hinds
This is a biopic of astronaut Neil Armstrong (Gosling), a Midwestern family man and former pilot, and the legendary space mission that led him to become the first man to walk on the moon. Though it’s directed by La La Land’s Damien Chazelle, there are NO songs or dances (no worries- LOL)! Critics are suggesting that you watch this in IMAX (if possible).
Museo (now playing) starring Gael Garcia Bernal
Two 30-something slacker pals (living w/ parents in Mexico City) decide to pull an art heist. This is based on a true story- WOW! This film has been getting good buzz, and I’m a big fan of GGB.
The Hate U Give (opening OCT 19th) starring Amandla Stenberg, Common, Regina Hall, Issa Rae & Russell Hornsby
This looks to be an unique twist on the coming-of-age story (already being praised highly by critics). It was based on best-selling novel by a young black woman, Angie Thomas. A working-class black teen girl from the inner-city, Starr (attending a mostly white private school), experiences the awakening of her racial consciousness after witnessing the killing of her childhood best friend, a black boy, by a police officer.
Venom (opening OCT 5th) starring Tom Hardy, Michelle Williams, Riz Ahmed, Woody Harrelson, & Jenny Slate
I learned that Venom was in Spider-Man 3, though this movie is considered to be outside the Marvel universe. Mild-mannered investigative reporter, Eddie Brock (Hardy), uncovers a secret government experiment and eventually merges w/ a symbiote called Venom. I’m curious to see it mainly for Riz Ahmed (who plays villainous scientist Carlton Drake).
Set in 1892, Hostiles tells the story of a legendary Army Captain (Christian Bale), who after stern resistance, reluctantly agrees to escort a dying Cheyenne war chief (Wes Studi) and his family back to tribal lands. Making the harrowing and perilous journey from Fort Berringer, an isolated Army outpost in New Mexico, to the grasslands of Montana, the former rivals encounter a young widow (Rosamund Pike), whose family was murdered on the plains. Together, they must join forces to overcome the punishing landscape, hostile Comanche and vicious outliers that they encounter along the way.-Synopsis for the film
This “revisionist” Western film is written/directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart). The cast includes Academy-Award winner Bale and nominee- Pike (also a Brit). Veteran character actor Studi (who is of Navajo heritage); you may know him as the imposing antagonist, Magua, on The Last of the Mohicans. The supporting cast includes Stephen Lang, Rory Cochrane, Ben Foster (Hell or High Water), Adam Beach (who is Canadian from the Ojibwa nation; co-starred on SVU), Q’orianka Kilcher (Bale’s co-star on The New World) and up-and-comer Timothee Chalamet (currently on big screens in Call Me By Your Name and Lady Bird).
Official trailer for the movie:
Some of the cast and director talk re: the film at TIFF:
Christian Bale on CBS This Morning:
Bale, Rosamund Pike, & Wes Studi on BUILD (a live interview series in NYC):
A relaxed, in-depth interview (shot in LA) w/ DP30: The Oral History of Hollywood:
NOTE: This review contains MILD SPOILERS for the film.
The brutal and harrowing atrocities depicted are diluted by the affairs of the heart leaving the film unbalanced as it strives to be both an epic war drama and a tragic love story.
Terry George [the director] has aspirations of “Doctor Zhivago” but the end result is akin to an attempt at turning “Schindler’s List” into a romance film.
-Joseph Friar (FLIX!)
Mikael (Oscar Isaac) arrives in Constantinople, Turkey to begin his medical studies.
Mikael Boghosian (Oscar Isaac) is a small-town “apothecary” (like a modern-day pharmacist) w/ the dream of becoming a doctor. He becomes engaged to Maral (Angela Sarafyan)- a woman w/ wealth in his community. We see that he’s NOT in love with Maral, BUT he needs her dowry (400 gold coins) to finance med school. As their parents hope, maybe love will come later?
Ana (Charlotte Le Bon) and Chris (Christian Bale)
Once Mikael begins school in the big city (Constantinople) in 1914, he makes friends w/ Emre (Marwan Kenzari)- a jovial, world-traveling “party boy” who’d rather flirt than study. Emre’s father is a big shot (pasha), who’s NOT amused by his son’s behavior, which includes hanging w/ foreigners. Emre is a Turkish Muslim male who has privilege in this society.
Ana (Le Bon) and Mikael (Isaac) at Emre’s birthday party.
In his uncle’s house, Mikael meets Ana Khesarian (Charlotte Le Bon), a beautiful dancer-turned-teacher to his cute young nieces. Ana is living w/ Chris Myers (Christian Bale), a famous/hard-drinking American reporter for the AP. She met him after the sudden death of her musician father in Paris. Ana has a French accent (b/c she grew up mainly in Paris), BUT also a an affinity for her people- the Armenians. While Chris is busy covering the growing tension between the Turks and Armenians, Ana and Mikael begin falling in love. After all, they’re of similar ages, personalities, and have a shared heritage. And also b/c Hollywood MUST put a love story in the middle of (almost) every movie!
Chris (Bale) takes photos of a nationalistic parade.
Isaac is one of my fave actors; NOT only does he have GREAT hair (hey, it’s true), he has the range to pull-off MANY different types of characters. With Mikael, he creates a wide-eyed, goodhearted, yet (quietly) passionate young man who yearns to know more and contribute to his corner of the world. Bale does a good job- he’s the privileged American (outsider) who is a witness to history. He sends the story out to the wider world. It was a nice surprise to see some strong (veteran) actors in the cast: Shohreh Agdashloo, James Cromwell, and Jean Reno.
Ana (Le Bon) and Chris (Bale) share a quiet moment.
The Promise looks and feels like a big budget film; there is some gorgeous cinematography. There are moments of intense sadness and acts of bravery (incl. by characters who DO NOT use guns), which take the film to the epic scale. I recommend the film, BUT it wasn’t as GREAT as I’d expected. Yes, it was emotional, BUT I wanted more backstory (history/politics) and characterization.
NOTE: This review contains SPOILERS for the film (now playing widely in U.S. theaters).
Diane Ackerman’s non-fiction book was greatly inspired by the unpublished diary of Antonina Zabinska and Jan Zabinski, the director of the Warsaw Zoo in Poland. The book was published in 2007. While the real life events occurred in Warsaw, the movie was filmed entirely in Prague (w/ real baby lion cubs). This film also has a woman director (Niki Caro) and woman adapter (Angela Workman).
[1] It is still possible to find love and comfort in the darkest of times. Love is all around us. We must be the vessel through which hope and love spreads. Antonina believed this with her whole heart which is why she and Jan did what they did. There are brave people all around us: fighting for our rights, fighting for theirs, their family, their country – bravery comes in so many forms. This film reflects this: there is bravery in combat and ‘silent’ bravery. One is not greater than the other.
[2] One of the key messages seems to come from an early monologue delivered by Antonina where she compares the purity of animals (their eyes tell you everything) with the propensity to deceive and commonplace of ulterior motives in humans.
[3] Caro is able to reflect humanity, sincerity and earnestness in her films, which captivates and entangles the viewer. Caro’s directing prowess brings to mind the ideology of the male gaze vs. the female gaze in films… I feel as though I’m witnessing a life lived, purely, rather than someone’s perspective of that life.
-Excerpts from IMDB reviews
We first see Antonina (Jessica Chastain) as a happy figure riding her bike through a zoo with a young camel trotting beside her. She helps rescue a newborn elephant, interrupting a dinner party. But soon German bombs begin dropping on her city (Warsaw) and this zoo she runs w/ her zoologist husband, Jan (Belgian actor Johan Heldenbergh).
…she is undeniably captivating as the eponymous lead, channeling grit and vulnerability in equal measure as she fleshes out her character’s fears, anxieties and convictions. Among the supporting actors, Bruhl and Haas [the teenaged Israeli actress who plays a pivotal role] are the standouts, the former exercising admirable restraint in what could have been a traditionally villainous act, while the latter surprisingly nuanced in her portrayal…
-Excerpt from IMDB review
The scenes between Lutz Heck (Daniel Bruhl) and Antonina are tense; as he disarms her with his affinity/experience w/ of animals, BUT later scares her (and us) with his unwanted advances and desire to cross-breed animals in hopes of creating a new type of bison/bull (superior beast).
Knightleyemma 