An emotionally stirring, faithful portrayal
938650
I lived for a few years in Miami as a white and primarily English-speaking college student, spending a good deal of time living in Little Havana where most people spoke Spanish and most signage in the supermarket, dollar store, laundromat, what have you was in Spanish. With that in mind, I can relate to Mariana's issues with communicating her troubles in a film that is kind of heartbreaking to watch. I myself suffered eviction among many other traumatic scenarios and felt myself reliving those horrifyingly scary moments watching this movie. It is heart-warming with its light use of comic relief, but has its dark and serious moments, reminding us all that terrible things happen to good people. The fact that this is a true story is all the more validating, that the filmmaker(s) did not use any cheap story ploys to wrench out the tears that inevitably came on their own. Even tough old me who did not cry during "My Sister's Keeper," "The Notebook," and even "Up" found myself tearing several times... just a little...

It's a great story of the power of the human spirit, revealing a side of humanity never seen until a dire situation arrives on one's doorstep. A powerful drama, I recommend it to foreign film aficionados and those like me who prefer a real story to the crap Hollywood pumps out.
1823505
The most impressive aspect of `Boys Don't Cry' is that it refuses to shy away from the sordid details of much of its protagonist's life, yet manages to convert her (or him if you prefer) into a sympathetic and comprehensible  figure. In our most honest moments, we can all acknowledge aspects of our  own lives and personalities that we don't understand, that we would love to  change and that often make us feel alienated from the `norm' of society at  large. In the case of Teena Brandon - a young man `trapped' in a woman's  body - the anomaly happens to be a more pronounced and certainly less  socially acceptable one than most of us are forced to endure in our lives.  And she paid the ultimate price society demands from those it fears and  does not understand: she was murdered in Nebraska in 1993, simply for being  `different.'
The film builds a convincing case for compassionate  understanding without converting Brandon into a saint-like figure. Not only  do we witness the petty criminality of her life, but we see her propensity  for duplicity and deception, a personality trait that actually leads in  part to many of the troubles she encounters, playing a crucial role to a  large extent even in her death itself. Yet, given society's out-of-hand  rejection of transgendered people, what real options but a life of  dishonesty is Brandon really given? Similarly, Lana, the young woman with  whom Brandon falls in love and the one person who has ever accepted Brandon  unconditionally for what she is, suffers from a number of her own  demons.
Credit writer/director Kimberly Pierce and co-writer Andy Bienen  for not taking the easy commercial path of reducing the moral complexities  of the personalities involved to a black-and-white world where good and  evil are displayed in neatly arranged patterns for our easy consumption.  There are many times in this film when literally none of the people we are  involved with are the slightest bit appealing. The filmmakers, in their  faith in our maturity, ask us to go along on a pretty harrowing journey at  times, but it is one that leads us to a very rewarding destination. The  scenes in which Brandon's companions expose her secret is riveting and  terrifying in its dramatic intensity and human sadness. The utter  humiliation Brandon is forced to endure at the hands of the hooligans who  are tormenting her broadens to become a symbolic representation of every  person who has suffered such an injustice at the hands of unreasoning  ignorance for whatever reason. It is a chilling reminder of the danger of  the mob mentality unrestrained by empathy and enlightenment.
Like so many  of the best off-Hollywood independent productions, `Boys Don't Cry' finds  its truth in two crucial elements: the canny depiction of the bleak  sterility and stifling provincialism of its Midwest setting and the  uniformly first-rate performances by a largely unknown set of  actors.
Hilary Swank, in her Oscar-winning turn as Brandon, and Chloe  Sevigny as Lana achieve a naturalism in their portrayals that neutralizes  any theatricality that might have robbed the film of its indispensable  quality of immediacy and believability. They convert what might, in less  capable hands, have become little more than a sensationalized freak show  into a powerful and understandable drama about real, thoroughly  recognizable human beings. For that alone, `Boys Don't Cry' becomes a  cinematic experience impossible to forget.
2736541
`The Pianist' is one of those films that stays with you long over you've watched it.  In fact, I haven't seen the film for roughly eight years or so and yet I still remember it remarkably well.  The triumph of the human spirit and the will to survive is rarely portrayed with such earnestness and raw honesty.  In fact, there is so much heft to this film that it is almost hard to take in at times.

It's heavy, that's for sure.

Telling the story of Wladyslaw Szpilman, `The Pianist' recounts the horrors of the Holocaust with riveting action.  This true story centers on Szpilman's escape from captivity and his journey of survival and he is forced into hiding.  As he moves from one are to the next, we see those who aided in his survival by putting him up, bringing him supplies and food and yes, even those who left him to die on his own.  Some balk at the fact that Szpiman's story isn't of much importance; that he didn't accomplish anything remarkable or that this one man's story isn't impactful enough, but to them I balk at their reasoning.  This singular tale is really a universal story of triumph in the face of adversity and shows that dwelling in each and every one of us is the power and strength of overcome and prevail regardless of the perils in front of us.

Beautifully acted and directed, both Brody and Polanski earned those Oscars.  Brody is phenomenal as the tortured Szpilman.  He ages remarkably with the time, allowing the true nature of his situation to impact his every being as the film progresses.  Polanski uses the right amount of restraint, reigning in so as not to allow his film to become a saccharine mess, which it so easily could have been reduced to.  Instead, `The Pianist' becomes something so much more.  It has heart and soul but it maintains a grit that allows it to speak volumes with an honest interpretation of one of the most heartless times in human history.
1685272
engaging story; superb acting; wonderful cinematography
3310320
Begins with Otto Frank's 1945 return to The Annex, informed that he is the only surviver of the eight inhabitants, gone are his wife and daughters.

He recognizes a scarf knitted by Anne, picks it up and cried deeply upon it.the scarf seems to represent all that is now lost.

  Millicent Perkins ***** is enchanting in the role of Anne Frank, her glossy eyes and energetic playfulness which keeps her deluded from the tragic fate of the eight. She's full of soul and depth.

Shildkraut is also realistic in his portrayal of a very compassionate father trying to keep the children's spirits up and insuring that the children continue with their studies,providing them with as normal a life as possible under the very oppressed ,disturbing circumstances.

Shelly Winters,well she was well awarded for her  convincing role.

All in all it is a very great, though extremely disturbing and saddening film.

Watching this touching movie spreads into your heart, and makes the eyes flood up with pity and sorrow.

This movie Should be seen At Least Once. It is easy to forget that we should count our blessings and be reminded of human torture the Holocaust brought. This film has a humbling effect.

The ending can easily move one to be more appreciative of his family and how little time we have on earth to love. As they stand , the eight of them terrorized, and yet somehow seem accepting and still hold dignity despite the doom they face.

One Last Look at Each Other and the movie closes.

ly recommended, especially for anyone who tends to pity themself too much.
1453038
I finished The Ones They Left Behind on Veteran's Day, which added an additional layer of poignancy to an already touching story. The moral dilemmas then that pitted family against family, brother against brother, and divided the nation, still resonate clearly and strongly today, due to Mr. Elmaleh's ability to imbue the characters with sensitivity and tenderness. More compelling, however, is his portrayal of the universal quest that strives to give purpose to life, and that is compassionately and genuinely portrayed in this book of love, loss and healing.
1097075
This is a beautifully played version of one of the most enthralling novels I have ever read, Elizabeth Gaskell's North and South.  All roles, both primary and supporting, were spot-on realizations of their characters as written for the screen and magnificently delivered.  Although I hesitate to make distinctions among the uniformly appealing cast, I found Anna Maxwell Martin's Bessy brilliant, compelling, and, if it's not an oxymoron to say so, breathtakingly understated.  At times I could not make out Richard Armitage's words (as John Thornton), but his face said what I could not hear, and other reviewers do not mention the problem.

I did have some difficulty with the translation from text to screen, not because I was looking for a faithful rendering, but because I felt some of the changes did the screen version a disservice.  I mention these next, giving a ***SPOILER ALERT*** for those who do not know the story:

In the movie, the meeting of Margaret Hale and John Thornton is changed from the drawing room to the factory, where Thornton roughs up and fires a worker for smoking.  Although his motives are depicted as worthy--the safety of everyone else--physical violence is not in the character as developed either in the book or on screen.  More integrally, Gaskell's scene in the drawing room provides a more apposite premise to the early stages of Margaret and Thornton's relationship than the factory scene does.  As Gaskell depicts the situation, these two cannot communicate with one another--about mere trifles.  To have instead Margaret's outrage at Thornton's treatment of his workers at the factory is heavy-handed, especially when her noncomprehension of his positions and policies can be easily shown in other ways, as Gaskell demonstrates.

The movie evidently opted to eliminate the dialect in which Gaskell had the working class characters speak.  I think retention of at least some dialect would have helped to accentuate the class divide and portray it as it existed, as well as to highlight the openness of the characters on both its sides to reaching across it.

The movie's final scene is again changed for the worse from the book. ***SPOILERS*** In the book, Margaret and Thornton meet again at a dinner party that segues two days later to a private meeting in a closed study, where all comes clear and their feelings for one another are gently and humorously acknowledged.  In the movie, they meet, improbably, at a railway station during the simultaneous (!) stopovers of trains traveling in opposite directions, each character coming from a simultaneous (!) visit to the place associated with the other one.  Then, although it's the 1850s, they kiss publicly on a bench--about which another reviewer has commented.  The story doesn't need the contrivance.  Line by line, Gaskell's quiet ending brings tale where it needs to be, providing the natural next step of what has been developing all along, such that the reader can imagine the contented life these two will lead together.  The movie's end was less well prepared, in addition to being contrived, and as it faded I imagined the discord between the two continuing after the honeymoon.
2754792
Usually when I'm told that anyone is "complicated," I shy away, having too often found the term a cover for someone who is a self-dramatizing bore. However this movie presents complicated people who are inherently interesting, and a complicated situation that is inherently moving and not just a layer-cake of contrived emotion.

This might be one of the few movies you'll see that does NOT assume a young enlisted person who fought in Iraq is automatically "a hero." In fact, much of the compelling drama of this film revolves around the viewer's discovery of just how unheroic young Mike Deerfield was.

The disillusionment is made all the more poignant in that we see it through the eyes of the young man's father when he goes to his son's state-side base to find out the circumstances of the young man's grisly death. The disappointment in who his son had grown up to be comes in subtle ways at first, as when Tommy Lee Jones goes to Mike's regular off-duty hangout and finds it's a sleazy strip-joint. One could dismiss that - boys will be boys. But the realization of the young man's character flaws starts to go deeper.

Two mysteries haunt this drama. The first is the obvious one about who killed the young man. But the second mystery, the one that is legitimately complicated, revolves around how this young man, born with so much promise, could have devolved into such a flawed and actually corrupt human being.

Was it his father's stern military influence skewing the boy to place more emphasis on spit-and-polish appearance than on warm human exchange? Was it the brutalizing circumstances of the guerilla war in Iraq? Was it humankind's innate propensity for evil?

The bonus material on this DVD includes one particularly telling outtake. I usually agree with Director's decisions about which scenes were best left on the cutting room floor. But in this case, the main outtake would have added a lot to the character study. In any case, be sure to check it out in the DVD extras.

Susan Sarandon doesn't have a great deal to do in this movie, and outside of one or two wrenching scenes, is almost wasted in the role of the quietly suffering, marginalized wife. However Tommy Lee Jones gives a tour de force performance, really making us feel the consequences of a family's emotional estrangement. This is a memorable film all the way around.
11928
The AIDS-ravaged landscape of gay America in the 80s sets the stage for a sprawling, complex drama of love, betrayal, and redemption.  There are too many characters and intersecting subplots to address in a brief review; this is a substantive work that will surely reveal fresh dimensions and new insights on repeated viewings.  Writer Tony Kushner and director Mike Nichols seem to be suggesting that, although the human race has attained a critical mass of loneliness and pain, we must go on struggling with existence because life itself, however agonizing, is still desireable.  Love and loyalty make it bearable, even pleasureable.  It's a beautiful theme.  I feel sorry for those who watch a film like this and see nothing but a soap opera about a bunch of liberal fags.
155559
This is masterful and precious storytelling about two middle-aged people: a has-been actress and a homeless man whom she's bumped into on the street and mistaken for a movie director. Intrigued, hungry, and lonely, he  assumes this director's identity and they spend the day together, deceiving  each other in the most loving and heroic ways.  This movie must be watched  over and over again, listened to carefully, savored.  The poetic honesty of  the two lovers and the plight of the homeless men in the shelter where the  man lives are all interwoven and depicted so fleetingly, so powerfully,  that you'll want to stop the tape and rewind it in several places just to  get the full impact of the characters and how they influence each other's  destinies.  The scuzzy realism of the homeless shelter is juxtaposed  beautifully with the lyrical speeches of the lovers as they woo each other  with their individual stories about life and disappointment and lost youth.  But, they haven't lost hope, and that's why I adore this film.  If you  want to see a small, beautifully crafted film acted by two world-class  Shakespearean-trained British actors in the lead roles, I guarantee you  won't be disappointed.
4941152
A very well done, feeling, sensitive portrayal of Alzheimer's.
2365838
For most, this movie will come across as a complex tale which seems to be in disarray. For others, it is a beautiful journey artfully shot with a riveting message of personal reflection. Say what?
What not everyone will realize is that this movie is actually capturing the past life regression of many souls. To appreciate that, understand that past life regression is about recognizing and overcoming the challenges our souls have consistently faced throughout our lives (yes plural if you believe your spirit has been here before). This movie, if the viewer is keen to recognize such a thread, details the challenges faced by each incarnation of the souls focused on throughout this movie - greed, cowardice, courage, bravery, slavery, death, love, loss and so on. In some lives, you win some, and in others, you lose some.
The movie isn't shot in disarray as much as it is showing you the similarity of a situation, or challenge a character faces throughout the ages. Ie: a character may make many mistakes and commit crimes against humanity/nature in one life (or two or three), while in another, they may actually do something valiant and different from what they had done before. Watch as Tom Hanks greedily goes after a little gem, like Gollum with his precious.
So whether you take this movie as a great story packed with an insightful message (thank you Wachowski's for picking such a poignant story to capture on film), or the artful tale of a book turned to film, or just a confusing bunch of clips sewn together with a great cast, you will be in for a wild ride of make-up mastery and some cool special effects.
4307702
I got this movie when i was 12 years old.. i am now 19 and i still feel the impact of this movie in my life. I am studying Biblical studies and theatre in college right now, and I believe this is by far the best portrayal of Christ in the New Testament. I still watch parts of these movies from time to time and it never fails to reignite a child-like love and adoration for the Lord.

I feel i have a very high and very conservative view of God and His holiness, and this portrayal is not at all blasphemous in my opinion and knowledge of Scripture. It is real and applicable to our life today, unlike the Gospel of John film which i thought had a very strong medieval and stoic feel to it. As mentioned before, it shows a range of very real and very righteous emotions in the portrayal of Jesus, from grace to the forgotten and repentant, and holy anger toward the hypocritical religious leaders.

I will admit this movie is radical in comparison to others, but i feel that is it's strongest point. In order to feel it's full effect, you must lay down your pre-concieved notions and see it with a child-like faith, but then again, isn't that what faith in the Christ of the Bible is all about?

I think it's a frightening thing when we believe so strongly in the portrait we have painted of Christ for ourselves, that we dismiss anything to the contrary, even IF IT IS in line with what we find in Scripture, just because it is not comfortable to us. Let's remember that He came as fully God and fully man, and while preaching truth, and living a perfect and sinless life, He also loved on sinners, many of whom would not recieve a second glance from many churches today.

If for no other reason, i love this film because it is obvious that Jesus is portrayed by a man who knows the Character He is portraying personally. What better way to take on the likeness of the character you must portray, than to know them personally, know their heart, and even be given the "same mind." (1 Corinthians 2:15-17) I think this is a trait that lacks severely in most "Jesus actors."

I recommend the movie, and also the books written by Bruce Marchiano, the actor who portrayed Jesus, even perhaps before seeing the film, as it gives even more depth to what you see there. Also the music from the film is beautiful.

It should be obvious that i believe strongly in this film if even after 7 years of recieving it, i still feel the desire to right a positive review for it... does that tell you anything? :)
2020329
I saw 'Requiem for a Dream' in a very small theatre with about 20 strangers.  During the entire film, i was fastened to my seat, my mind and body enraptured in it all. Ellen Burstyn deserves to snatch that Oscar away from Julia; her performance is one of the few rare ones that I've seen by a lead actor that is so hauntingly real and exhibits beauty and realism that few actors possess, especially nowadays. The refrigerator scene is marvelous, and brought me to tears. She is a beautiful woman, and very brave; not many actresses would throw themselves into a movie that requires them to look about 50 pounds heavier and 25 years older. I never thought Marlon Wayans would move me as he does in this movie. The story about his mother is heartbreaking. Both Ellen and Jared were willing to transform their bodies (Jared lost quite a lot of weight), and were not afraid to fall apart piece by piece, so realistically, so devoted to look for a way out that would destract them from what is lacking in their lives. Jennifer Collenny is also outstanding.  She is a delicate beauty, surely not the 'ideal' picture of a junkie, yet she goes through an agonzing process to feed her habit, and like the rest of the actors; puts every blood cell and heartbeat into her role. The scene where she screams while in the bathtub made me jump out of my seat. It was also intresting to notice two actors from 'Happiness' having roles in this film. It's sad to notice the lack of recognition that this film has received, but critics and Hollywood usually miss the mark anyway. So open your third eye, take a deep breath, and enjoy the ride.
907536
Although being fluent in French is almost a prerequisite to watch this movie, it's something that anyone with an interest in intelligent and emotive drama should see. The direction is for the most part light and sure, with the actors given the opportunity to convey pathos, optimism, pain, and regret without the imposition of treacly sound tracks or hackneyed editing.  Hollywood will never be capable of making movies like this, and we can only be thankful that the French invest in their movie industry because periodically it turns out gems like le huitieme jour (which means "the eighth day" - a reference to the Judeo-Christian notion that their god made the world in seven days; on the eighth day he accomplished lesser, flawed, work).

Harry is a classic single-minded salesman whose marriage is in tatters; yet he's not heartless - he's simply become caught up in the rat-race.  When he forgets to collect his children from the train station, the shock and remorse he feels is powerfully conveyed and we grieve with him that it's too late.  As he drives home his guilt leads him to close his eyes and take his hands off the steering wheel.  It's a moment of tremendous pain and occurs sotto-voce so we feel it all the more.

Harry, needless to say, doesn't die.  Instead he hits something and thus begins his encounter with Georges, a Downs-syndrome man who is on a quest to find his mother.  In reality his quest is to find himself and Harry, though initially reluctant to saddle himself with the responsibility, comes to befriend him.

Of course this is a classic "finding yourself" movie in which Harry discovers humanity through witnessing the travails of Georges.  But unlike a traditional syrupy Hollywood movie, there's at best an ambiguous ending.  Georges does indeed discover himself, and thereby discovers how great and ineluctable a gap exists between his dreams and harsh reality.  While Harry and Georges are eating at a diner, with Georges wearing his sunglasses which effectively disguise his condition, the waitress flirts with him.  Georges, an open-hearted soul who is also a man with wants and desires, responds happily... only to be crushed when the waitress sees him for what he is and rejects him brusquely.

Georges' end is shown without sentiment, and is all the more affecting because of the crisp direction and well-considered camera angles.  And Harry's grief pushes him to make one last effort to regain the hearts of his children.

The acting is first-class, the direction assured, and the overall treatment of the themes is weighty enough to engage the viewer from first to last, without being over-wrought or histrionic.  If you only watch one "foreign" movie this year, make this the one to see.
2643421
Days after watching  writer-director Scott Boswell's first film effort, it still resonates with me. Well written characters present a story of profound simplicity regarding attraction, loneliness, commitment and the various complications. A fine cast is on hand to deliver the goods, and Mr Boswell has a good handle on what he's trying to convey. The shifting time-frames may seem confusing,  but it doesn't take long to know Anthony so well that it all falls in place. The beginning and end are solidly in place, and if there's confusion in the middle, it all makes sense in the end; the viewer can figure it out if you pay attention. Indeed, Raphael Barker's Anthony is multi-layered and completely presented with dignity and integrity. Scott Cox' Stephen is also multi-dimensional, though his reality isn't as well-explored. Especially good is the enigma of Gavin, an amazing and confident performance by the very handsome Adam Perz, a kid experienced well beyond his years. Anthony's dilemma is whether he wants to be controlled by one or the other. He's smitten by both; it's really about control, whereas Anthony is very much of a free-thinking individual looking for a mutual relationship. The DVD extras are plentiful, including Mr Boswell's delightful Indie short film "One Fine Morning". I recommend this film mostly because it's non-judgmental and brutally honest and sincere. Films regarding gay society are too often laden with stereotypes; temper tantrums or other similar histrionics.  Mr Boswell told his story simply, without sympathy. The character of Anthony is a sort of Everyman, and the whole experience was satisfying, at least to me.
3994314
This latest screen version of Janette Oke's stories presents a beautiful and believable portrayal of Christian virtue in real life.  A strong sub-theme of racial inclusiveness as what should be part of authentic Christian belief and practice, adds great value to this story.  Our family opted out of network television and cable years ago and have chosen to order quality dvd series.  This movie, along with the previous releases are excellent.  I especially appreciate that the Christian witness is clear but not delivered with sledgehammer blows.  Persons are "won over" subtley and embraced with Christ-like grace and love long before they make their own personal discovery of redemptive grace.  Conversion, in these movies, does not follow a predictable "born again" model, but clearly people's lives are changed.  A telling line in the movie is when one of the older hands says (and I can only roughly paraphrase), "If what they believe makes them act like they do, then maybe they deserve a hearing."

I enthusiastically recommend these movies to anyone.  For me and my house, Love's Long Journey is a delightful and edifying tale.  It well fills the prescription in Philippians 4:8.  "...whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, ... meditate on these things." (NKJV)