Movie Reviews
THE WHITE CROW was inspired by the book “Rudolf Nureyev.” The drama focuses on the iconic dancer’s famed defection from the Soviet Union to the West in 1961, despite KGB efforts to stop him. Rudolf Nureyev was a superstar/sacred monster who changed the very nature of ballet, especially the roles of the male dancers. Acclaimed dancer […]
This is one of my favorite nights at the movie theater, ‘The Exhibition on Screen”. This exhibition focuses on the highlights from the final years of Rembrandt’s life, commonly thought to be his finest years. The masterpieces he produced during this final period could be called his defining works, with each piece so soulful, sincere, […]
The French title “Double Lives” describes this movie better than “Non-Fiction”. A celebrated publisher, Alain, runs a famous publishing company. One day he refuses to publish a book by a controversial author, Léonard. They are friends! Alain’s company adapts to the digital age. From there the story will start slowly and go around their circle […]
It is a 2002 French documentary film. The title translates as “to be and to have”, the two auxiliary verbs in the French language which I have been studying. It portrays a primary school in the commune (population of about 200) of Saint-Êtienne-sur-Usson, Puy-de-Dôme, France. The school has one small class room for mixed ages, from four […]
This movie is one of my lifetime favorites, and I have already seen it so many times. Again I saw it the other day. This time on my computer! It was my first time to purchase a movie online to watch. I prefer movies at the theater though…. The movie is just wonderful. I cried […]
“Cold War” has been advertised and talked. So I went to see it. Yes, it is beautiful and romantic. The picture (black and white) is gorgeous. The music is great. But the story is not convincing to me. I suppose the story does not matter in romance?? Each scene is almost a segment, and sometimes […]
I saw this movie just before Christmas. “Capernaum” blurs the line between fiction and reality. The performers are not acting. They are real people, like the characters in the movie. The movie is from Lebanon, and directed by Nadine Labaki. The movie starts with the scene which a 12 years old, Zain (Zain Al Rafeea), […]
I have been looking forward to seeing this movie since this summer. Finally it is showing at the nearby theater. I love Kore-eda’s movies. “Shoplifters” won this year’s Palme d’Or! Kore-eda revisits the theme on “Family”, this time even deeper. The made-up family lives with an old lady in the very tiny house in Tokyo. […]
She is Maria Callas!! And she talks about herself. So it is easy to imagine what we may see in the movie 🙂 What a life! She died when she was 53 in her apartment in Paris. When I was in Paris I happened to spot her tomb. It is very simple, unlike her real […]
This movie is based on David Grann’s 2003 New Yorker article about Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford), a criminal expert (!) who robbed many banks, escaped from prison on at least 18 separate occasions (he escaped from San Quentin at the age of 70….), and went on his final crime attempt at the age of 79! That […]