Just as did director Guillermo del Toro in Pan’s Labyrinth, first-time feature director Benh Zeitlin requires a suspension of disbelief to become part of a world seen and understood through a young girl’s eyes. Just as the creative force of Ofelia’s imagination in that 2006 film fought back against Franco’s fascism, this one, embodied in […]
Kathryn Jenson White
Posted inArts & Culture
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Writer/director Sean Durkin’s unsettling “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” now available on Blu-ray and DVD, explores the dark side of that need for human connection: the giving up of identity and individual will to be included. Those offering that extreme Faustian bargain are most often men, and quite often power-hungry to the point of psychosis: Jim […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Writer/director Sean Durkin’s unsettling “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” now showing at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, explores the dark side of that need for human connection: the giving up of identity and individual will to be included. Those offering that extreme Faustian bargain are most often men, and quite often powerhungry to the point of […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Writer/director Sean Durkin’s unsettling “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” now showing at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, explores the dark side of that need for human connection: the giving up of identity and individual will to be included. Those offering that extreme Faustian bargain are most often men, and quite often powerhungry to the point of […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Martha Marcy May Marlene
Writer/director Sean Durkin’s unsettling “Martha Marcy May Marlene,” now showing at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, explores the dark side of that need for human connection: the giving up of identity and individual will to be included. Those offering that extreme Faustian bargain are most often men, and quite often powerhungry to the point of […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Beginners
They range from the witty (Mae West’s “You’re never too old to become younger”) to the philosophical (Seneca’s “Every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end”). Writer/director Mike Mills’ “Beginners,” a sweet if sometimes irritatingly twee film playing exclusively at AMC Quail Springs Mall 24, encompasses that same range. It doesn’t always succeed in […]
Posted inMusic
Exit Through the Gift Shop’ explores how art becomes commodity, or maybe it’s performance art
When my son, Zachary, was about 12, we visited Memphis. At that city’s most important holy site, I bought Graceland Platinum Tour tickets, which took us not only through the mansion and its grounds, but also the “Elvis Lives in Hollywood” exhibit, Elvis’ Automobile Museum, the “Elvis Presley: Fashion King” exhibit, Elvis’ two custom airplanes […]
Posted inMusic
‘The Art of the Steal’ superbly documents the loss and gain of a massive art collection
The lessons in “The Art of the Steal” aren’t like those generally found in made-for-TV documentaries like those on the Discovery Channel or, even, PBS stations supported by viewers like you. Don’t be mislead by that. Don Argott’s (“Rock School“) compelling film about the transfer of The Barnes Collection of art from its home in […]
Posted inMusic
Mid-August Lunch’ serves up tangible human connection with a side of cultural obligation
“Mid-August Lunch” is so delicate, it’s more like a soft sigh than the written, directed, acted and distributed thing we generally call a film. Under that soft breath of sweetness, however, is an emotional intelligence of a high nature. Written, directed and starred in by Gianni Di Gregorio, this film is an Italian love letter […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The White Ribbon
Most of the films in my metaphorical 3-D category have nothing to do with the illusion of physical dimensionality. Instead, they are defined by multiple dimensions of meaning, interpretation, emotional response, etc. And my “D” doesn’t stand just for “dimensions.” It does double duty by also standing for “dark,” “disturbing” and “difficult.” Haneke, who directed […]