A Short Synopsis of Film

What’s black and white and red all over? With the exception of the ending, the film is shot in monochrome. There are nuns, a traveling carnival, a one-eyed villain complete with eye patch, lots of liquor, and oh yes there will be blood.

Bleeding from both face and hands, the movie’s protagonist is evicted from his apartment and loses his job. Whispers that he is a saint with supernatural healing powers spreads throughout the town. The next logical course of action is for him to take up work as a side-show freak. The cinematic imagery is great. Dialogue is sparse but effective (the film’s main character is definitely the strong, silent type).

Venue: Seattle International Film Festival, 2010
Genre: Drama

IMDB

Every now and then a film comes along that I never want to see a second time. Not because it’s bad, very much the opposite. But because it’s so dark and depressing that it’s not something I ever want to experience again. I don’t know if the father in this film is manic depressive, bipolar, or just vanilla insane. He’s verbally abusive to his employees, drives his son to develop a stutter and attempt suicide, and in his spare time enjoys torturing small animals and running over cats with his car (he makes the son keep count ..3..4..5).

The cinematography is excellent, and so is the acting. The mentally ill behavior of the father’s character and its effect on his wife and children is disturbing. There’s very little dialogue or explanation of the setting, but I think it takes place in Morocco. There is no happy ending.

Venue: Seattle International Film Festival, 2010
Genre: Drama

IMDB

Venue: Seattle International Film Festival, 2010
Genre: Drama

Are passions for bank robbery and marathon running really all that different? One of those pastimes is potentially more destructive than the other. Opportunities for a different path in life repeatedly present themselves, but the main character doesn’t seem to be able to change. On one level, this is a story about addiction to an endorphin rush. The screenplay is adapted from a novel by Martin Prinz, and based on actual crimes committed in Austria.

IMDB

Venue: Seattle International Film Festival, 2010
Genre: Documentary

An examination of a photo journalist, accomplished author, and the youngest woman PhD of her time. The use of her former collegues’ descendants as interviewers gave the film a very personal feel. If you’re interested in the history surrounding the resettlement of Jews after World War II or the accomplishments of extraordinary women, this is for you.

IMDB

Don’t compare Canada to the United States. Don’t talk politics. Don’t come across as humble. Those are some of the rules for the staff of a cruise ship that ferries western passengers up the Yangtze in this film. This documentary by Canadian filmmaker Yung Chang follows the experiences of two Chinese teenagers named “Cindy” and “Jerry” who take employment as agents of foreign hospitality in the shadow of the Three Gorges Dam project. As the water level quickly rises, farmlands are obliterated and subsistence farmers are rendered homeless. As China’s economy transitions from communism to capitalism, the commoners might be all but forgotten. But there are some entrepreneurs in this new China that try to bridge the two ideologies while sticking to some of their traditional values. Finding a place in the future isn’t always easy (or even possible).

Up the Yangtze (at IMDB)