02014.04: A Yearlong Film Viewing Balancing Act
Films I'm watching in April 02014. Part of A Yearlong Film Viewing Balancing Act. #yfvba http://olearysreellife.tumblr.com/ @olearysreellife
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- DirectorWes AndersonStarsJason SchwartzmanGiada ColagrandeGiorgio ZancollaItaly, September 1955. A Formula One driver crashes his car during a race, leaving him stuck in a small village but good surprises will come his way.02014.04.01: on Youtube
- DirectorJacob KornbluthStarsRobert ReichCandice BergenConan O'BrienA documentary that follows former U.S. Labor Secretary Robert Reich as he looks to raise awareness of the country's widening economic gap.02014.04.01: on disc from Netflix
- DirectorGuillaume BlanchetStarsMike PatersonLéa Geronimo RondotElastika is not like any other little girl. Firstly, she is made of elastic. Secondly, her universe is a land of cork.
- DirectorKatherine DieckmannStarsPaul RuddKen MarinoMaura TierneyA story about a tight-knit group of friends, who try to maintain their small-town way of life in the face of enormous changes in 1970s Long Island.
- DirectorLouie SchwartzbergViewers will marvel at the majesty of nature's gentle giants as filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg journeys to the Redwood Coast and Olympic National Park.
- DirectorLaura Waters HinsonCould you forgive a person who murdered your family? This is the question faced by the subjects of As We Forgive, a documentary about Rosaria and Chantal-two Rwandan women coming face-to-face with the men who slaughtered their families during the 1994 genocide. The subjects of As We Forgive speak for a nation still wracked by the grief of a genocide that killed one in eight Rwandans in 1994. Overwhelmed by an enormous backlog of court cases, the government has returned over 50,000 thousand genocide perpetrators back to the very communities they helped to destroy. Without the hope of full justice, Rwanda has turned to a new solution: Reconciliation. But can it be done? Can survivors truly forgive the killers who destroyed their families? Can the government expect this from its people? And can the church, which failed at moral leadership during the genocide, fit into the process of reconciliation today?
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsLisaGay HamiltonYolonda RossEdward James OlmosFontayne is enlisted by Bernice - her estranged old friend and current parole officer - along with a disgraced cop to search for Bernice's son, who went missing on the Mexican border.02014.04.03: at IU Cinema during Latino Film Festival. I'd seen via screener before, but it was great to see it again in the cinema.
- StarsMaurice RipkeFrom PBS - Witness the creation of the proud "Chicano" identity and growing Latino activism.02014.04.04: at IU Cinema during Latino Film Festival
- DirectorAurora GuerreroStarsFenessa PinedaVenecia TroncosoJoaquín GarridoAfter being assigned as study partners, two Chicana high schoolers find a bond that confuses them at times.02014.04.04: at IU Cinema during Latino Film Festival. Loved seeing it again.
- DirectorIsrael CárdenasLaura Amelia GuzmánStarsJean Remy GentyYanmarco King EncarnaciónPaul Henri PresuméA Haitian man who recently lost his job as a French teacher begins a desperate search for work in Santo Domingo.02014.04.04: at IU Cinema during Latino Film Festival. One of the directors, Laura Amelia Guzmán, was there for Q&A afterward.
- DirectorSonia FritzStarsLymari NadalYancey AriasRachel TicotinWhile the setting of her Caribbean beach village seems picture-perfect, America's life is anything but peaceful. When their daughter runs away, America's abusive lover unleashes his rage against her. Leaving everything behind, America escapes to New York City hoping for a new life. There she works as a nanny for a wealthy family and at night in a laundry. She befriends three nannies -a Mexican, a Colombian and a Dominican- and with their help and support from relatives in the Bronx, America is determined to bring her daughter back to her. But her past haunts her. America must confront her terror to protect her dream.02014.04.04: at IU Cinema during Latino Film Festival. Sonia Fritz did Q&A after.
- DirectorAbbas KiarostamiStarsJuliette BinocheWilliam ShimellJean-Claude CarrièreIn Tuscany to promote his latest book, a middle-aged British writer meets a French woman who leads him to the village of Lucignano. While there, a chance question reveals something deeper.02014.04.06: Abbas Kiarostami sat across the aisle from me as I watched Certified Copy on Sunday at Indiana University Cinema!
- DirectorPhyllida LloydStarsMeryl StreepJim BroadbentRichard E. GrantAn elderly Margaret Thatcher talks to the imagined presence of her recently deceased husband as she struggles to come to terms with his death while scenes from her past life, from girlhood to British prime minister, intervene.02014.04.07: at IU Cinema as part of the Meryl Streep Film Series. She will be with us in person next week.
- DirectorChristine YooStarsBrian TeeKang Hye-jeongBobby LeeAfter being abandoned at the altar, Jason courts the girl of his dreams in cyberspace. When she arrives in LA for their wedding, she turns out to be completely different than expected.02014.04.09: on disc from Netflix
- DirectorSébastien PiloteStarsGabriel ArcandGilles RenaudLucie LaurierWhen his grown daughter returns to the family farm in desperate need of money, solitary and stoic Gaby will be asked to sacrifice everything for those closest to him. WINNER - Cannes Film Festival02014.04.10: on disc from Film Movement
- DirectorLuís da Matta AlmeidaJúlio VanzelerA giant carries a little girl in his heart. His heart is like a large window from where the little girl discovers and understands the world where we live. One day she will have to leave. With her bag full of dreams and hopes she will start to create a new world from her parent's heritage. This is growing up!02014.04.10: on disc from Film Movement
- DirectorLaura Waters HinsonCould you forgive a person who murdered your family? This is the question faced by the subjects of As We Forgive, a documentary about Rosaria and Chantal-two Rwandan women coming face-to-face with the men who slaughtered their families during the 1994 genocide. The subjects of As We Forgive speak for a nation still wracked by the grief of a genocide that killed one in eight Rwandans in 1994. Overwhelmed by an enormous backlog of court cases, the government has returned over 50,000 thousand genocide perpetrators back to the very communities they helped to destroy. Without the hope of full justice, Rwanda has turned to a new solution: Reconciliation. But can it be done? Can survivors truly forgive the killers who destroyed their families? Can the government expect this from its people? And can the church, which failed at moral leadership during the genocide, fit into the process of reconciliation today?02014.04.08: at IU Cinema
- DirectorDavid TwohyStarsVin DieselKarl UrbanKatee SackhoffLeft for dead on a sun-scorched planet, Riddick finds himself up against an alien race of predators. Activating an emergency beacon alerts two ships: one carrying a new breed of mercenary, the other captained by a man from Riddick's past.02014.04.11: on disc from Netflix
- DirectorEmily AbtStarsSonequa Martin-GreenSamantha EustaceLouisa KrauseA story about two lacrosse teammates from opposite sides of the track.02014.04.11: on disc from Netflix
- DirectorReuben AtlasFor the eight young men in the Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, "brotherhood" is literal: they're all sons of anti-establishment jazz legend, Phil Cohran. Cohran and their mothers raised them together on Chicago's South Side on a strict diet of jazz, funk and Black Consciousness. Family band practice began at 6 AM. Now grown, as they raise eight brass horns to the sky, they make music that is at once indescribably joyful, unremittingly exciting, and undeniably together. But as the brothers try to make their own way in the wide world-while playing in the streets of New York City, collaborating with Mos Def, or wowing a jazz festival-they find the values their father bred into them constantly tested. They must decide whether his principles really are their own. Brothers Hypnotic is a coming of age story, for eight brothers, and for an ideal.02014.04.12: on PBS
- DirectorCarlos LascanoA couple of pencil-outlined birds escape from a little girl's drawing, leading us through the life she dreams of.02014.04.13: streamed on Vimeo
- DirectorGöran Hugo OlssonStarsAngela DavisStokely CarmichaelBobby SealeFootage shot by a group of Swedish journalists documenting the Black Power Movement in the United States is edited together by a contemporary Swedish filmmaker.02014.04.13: downloaded from Amazon Prime.
- DirectorCarlos SandovalCatherine TambiniThe turbulent battle over illegal immigration in Arizona that came to a head with Senate Bill 1070 frames this riveting documentary tracking multiple perspectives as America eyes the results all the way to the Supreme Court.02014.04.14: on PBS
- DirectorJohn WellsStarsMeryl StreepDermot MulroneyJulia RobertsA look at the lives of the strong-willed women of the Weston family, whose paths have diverged until a family crisis brings them back to the Oklahoma house they grew up in, and to the dysfunctional woman who raised them.02014.04.15: at IU Cinema
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsLily TomlinMeryl StreepWoody HarrelsonA look at what goes on backstage during the last broadcast of America's most celebrated radio show, where singing cowboys Dusty and Lefty, a country music siren, and a host of others hold court.02014.04.16: at IU Cinema with Meryl Streep
- DirectorAlex StapletonStarsRoger CormanMartin ScorseseQuentin TarantinoA documentary on DIY producer/director Roger Corman and his alternative approach to making movies in Hollywood.02014.04.17: at IU Cinema (2nd time I'd seen it)
- DirectorMichael PolishStarsJean-Marc BarrKate BosworthJosh LucasA recounting of Jack Kerouac's three sojourns to the cabin in Big Sur owned by his friend, poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti.02014.04.18: streamed on Netflix
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsPeter FondaNancy SinatraBruce DernThe "Angels", a San Pedro motorcycle gang, party their way through the Coachella Valley while searching for a bike stolen from them by Mexicans, clashing with police along the way.02014.04.18: at IU Cinema with ROGER CORMAN
- DirectorRoger CormanStarsPeter FondaSusan StrasbergBruce DernA disillusioned TV-commercial director is guided by his friend through an LSD trip, during which he evaluates his identity and his relationships with women.02014.04.18: at IU Cinema with ROGER CORMAN
- DirectorKar-Wai WongStarsTony Leung Chiu-waiZiyi ZhangJin ZhangThe story of martial-arts master Ip Man, the man who trained Bruce Lee.02014.04.19: on disc from MCPL
- DirectorJohn MaloofCharlie SiskelStarsVivian MaierJohn MaloofDaniel ArnaudA documentary on the late Vivian Maier, a nanny whose previously unknown cache of 100,000 photographs earned her a posthumous reputation as one of the most accomplished street photographers.02014.04.20: at IU Cinema.
- DirectorAlan PolskyGabe PolskyStarsEmile HirschStephen DorffDoc DivecchioA pair of working-class brothers flee their Reno Motel after getting involved in a fatal hit-and-run accident.02014.04.20: at IU Cinema with novelist Willy Vlautin present
- DirectorMelissa JohnsonRobertino ZambranoStarsMelissa JohnsonMelissa Johnson hit 6'4'' tall in 8th grade. Although this made her an instant basketball star, LOVE IN THE TIME OF MARCH MADNESS explores her hilarious and awkward true-life misadventures in romance as she dates shorter men and gets cheered or jeered wherever she goes. Blazing with honesty and dark humor, this animated 'tall short' about embracing difference is certain to disarm and delight.02014.04.21: streamed on Tribeca Film Festival online site
- DirectorMeul OStarsMin-chul SungJung-won YangYoung-soon OhIn 1950's, a populace of a South Korean island rebels against police brutality. The protesters are labeled as communists and the army is dispatched. One small village will be hit especially hard that day. Based on historical events.02014.04.21: at IU Cinema
- DirectorDebs PatersonStarsEriya NdayambajeRoger Jean NsengiyumvaSanyu Joanita KintuThe story of four children who walk three thousand miles to get to the world cup. On the way they encounter many things such as HIV and child prostitution.02014.04.22: at IU Cinema
- DirectorEamonn O NeillStarsSam DeniaTim PrestonAbby JacksonJoe is preparing to leave home, triggering flashbacks to his time with childhood friend Neill, through fun times, adventures, divisions when a girl comes on the scene and also the bad path that Neill goes down.02014.04.22: streamed on Vimeo
- DirectorJessica SharzerStarsKristen StewartElizabeth PerkinsRichard HagermanAfter a blurred trauma over the summer, Melinda enters high school a selective mute. Struggling with school, friends, and family, she tells the dark tale of her experiences, and why she has chosen not to speak.02014.04.23: on disc from Netflix
- DirectorCarlo VerdoneStarsCarlo VerdoneSilvio MuccinoAna Caterina MorariuWhen a man fires a hotel maid for stealing, the woman's son gets his revenge.02014.04.24: at IU Cinema
- DirectorDuncan JonesStarsJake GyllenhaalMichelle MonaghanVera FarmigaA soldier wakes up in someone else's body and discovers he's part of an experimental government program to find the bomber of a commuter train within 8 minutes.02014.04.25: watched Source Code - AGAIN - on disc.
- DirectorKhyentse NorbuStarsShahana GoswamiSwaroopa GhoshDevesh RanjanIn rural India, a young woman named LILA and her mother VINATA, a temple dancer wed to a Hindu god, find themselves on the fringes of society, struggling to make ends meet.02014.04.26: streamed from Tribeca Film Festival
- DirectorPeter StebbingsStarsClé BennettPeter MooneyTommie-Amber PirieTrapped in professional purgatory, four junior bankers must decide what they truly want before it's too late.02014.04.26: streamed from Tribeca Film Festival
- DirectorGreg 'Freddy' CamalierStarsRick HallAretha FranklinKeith RichardsA documentary that celebrates Rick Hall, the founder of FAME Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, and the signature sound he developed in songs such as "I'll Take You There", "Brown Sugar", and "When a Man Loves a Woman".02014.04.26: TV (PBS)
- DirectorEnid ZentelisStarsCara SeymourMary Kay PlaceNoah FleissA young girl seduced by a boy's affluent, seemingly idyllic family, goes to extremes to gain acceptance and escape her poverty-stricken homelife.02014.04.26: on disc from Netflix
- DirectorFrançois CampauxStarsGérard MatisseHenri MatisseJean MatisseDocumentary film about artist Henri Matisse.02014.04.27: at IU Cinema with Barbara Freed's A Model for Matisse.
- DirectorPeggy HolmesStarsMae WhitmanChristina HendricksTom HiddlestonWhen Zarina steals Pixie Hollow's Blue Pixie Dust and flies away, Tinker Bell and her friends sets on a journey to get them back.02014.04.28: on disc from MCPL
- DirectorFamke JanssenStarsMilla JovovichBill PullmanMarcia CrossA con artist moves her son to a conservative neighborhood in Oklahoma in an effort to build a better future, but it doesn't take long for her past to catch up with her, and for her son's behavior to cause problems of its own.02014.04.28: on disc from MCPL
- DirectorAl CorleyStarsMarcus ThomasAmy SmartJohn CorbettA recently-dumped man with a boring personality, job, and life auditions at the community theater and gets the lead role as Cyrano despite no acting experience. It changes his life forever.02014.04.29: on TV
- DirectorDanielle LurieStarsJennifer LafleurRoss PartridgeBryce RudykWhen Sam Cabbage (Jennifer Lafleur) decides to show her appreciation for her mailman (Ross Partridge - The Off Hours, Baghead) by leaving him a present in her mailbox, she is delighted when he leaves her a present back. Through a delightful gift giving exchange via Sam's mailbox, an anonymous romance blossoms until the pair takes the next step, culminating in a twist ending of a real love connection Sam could never have imagined. 'Tiny Miny Magic' is a new genre of film from writer/director Danielle Lurie ('In the Morning', Sundance 2005). Original score by Matt Whyte of the Indie rock band Earl Greyhound.02014.04.29: streamed on Vimeo
- DirectorNadeem UddinStarsYogmata Keiko AikawaKali BaabaBike BabaThe Kumbh Mela is the "Festival of the Urn" that pours out the nectar of immortality to Humanity. It is a great roving festival that has moved around India for more than four thousand years, erecting temporary cities along the Ganges River. Millions of Hindu faithful gather there to wash away their sins in the holy waters. The 2001 Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, India was the largest gathering of humanity in recorded history. It was not just the final Kumbh Mela in a 12-year cycle of festivals. It was the final festival of 12 cycles - the conclusion of a giant 144-year cycle, making it "Maha" Kumbh Mela, the Great Festival. This 144-year buildup of spiritual meaning made it a powerfully auspicious time for pilgrims to bathe in the Ganges. Even the planets and stars joined in, providing heavenly alignments not seen for 144 years. Here, East joined West at the opening of the 21st Century. Roughly 70 million people came from all over the globe to pray for peace and rebirth for self and the world, truly a meeting of ancient and future in a remarkable moment.02014.04.30: on disc from Spiritual Cinema Circle