F.I.L.M. of the Week (August 23, 2013)

23 08 2013

“I let the street speak to me,” says Bill Cunningham of his work.  A fashion reporter for The New York Times, Cunningham rides his bike around the streets of the city capturing the look and feel of the moment.  His column has been a staple of the “Sunday Style” section for decades.

Richard Press’ documentary “Bill Cunningham New York,” my pick for the “F.I.L.M. of the Week,” takes a look at the man behind the byline.  As it turns out, there’s quite a story behind the octagenerian reporter never caught without his simple coat and a camera.  He’s an enigmatic figure at the Times: no one knows where he came from, but many suspect he’s from a moneyed background.  Wherever his origins are, he’s as comfortable with the world of high society as he is with the fashion of the street.

Press does a great job in his documentary of laying out the significance of Cunningham and his column.  While many people dismiss fashion, it’s undeniable that Cunningham has provided the world with a guerilla-style documentation of the way we live.  If culture expresses itself in our wardrobe, then Cunningham’s column may be a defining artifact of the times.

But as “Bill Cunningham New York” ambles on, we observe that the subject is so devoted to his job that there’s actually very little Bill Cunningham for the film to document.  He truly is his work.  That’s a frightening thought for some people; for Cunningham, however, there could be no other way of life worth living.  He has no romantic history, just a love affair with fashion and society.  And Press makes sure that we not only understand and appreciate that passion but also take away a little of it ourselves.


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (August 16, 2013)

16 08 2013

As the summer begins to wrap up, it might be a good time to squeeze in a viewing of Francois Ozon’s steamy “Swimming Pool,” my selection for the “F.I.L.M. of the Week.”  While this scintillating thriller makes the most sense for a seasonal watch, I’m fully convinced it could stand up in any of the other nine months of the year.  It’s a completely engaging film with a plot that will envelop you entirely as it prepares for a killer final act.

The action begins when Charlotte Rampling’s Sarah Morton, a British mystery author beginning to hit a creative wall, settles into her boss’ French country house to get her creative juices flowing.  Just as she begins to find enough quietude in the locale to write a new book, Sarah gets an unexpected house guest: her publisher’s daughter, the young and capricious Julie (Ludivine Sagnier).  The two mix like oil and water as the crotchety Sarah refuses to entertain any of Julie’s whims.

However, as we dive deeper into “Swimming Pool,” we begin to see that Sarah is deriving a sort of perverse inspiration from Julie’s various romantic exploits.  As she begins to observe, the real-life drama begins to spill onto the page … or perhaps it’s the other way around?  Ozon throws the boundary between reality and fiction into complete question towards the film’s finale, one that leaves us reeling for days.

That conclusion would not work, though, were it not for Ozon’s tight and precise direction throughout “Swimming Pool.”  He makes every moment build tension until it bursts by the end.  It also helps that Rampling and Sagnier are quite a devious duo, playing with and off each other in brilliant ways.  Combining all their power makes for one refreshingly original and captivating thriller.


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (August 9, 2013)

9 08 2013

With Amazon.com’s Jeff Bezos buying up the Washington Post this week, I felt it would be an appropriate time to revisit Andrew Rossi’s documentary “Page One: Inside the New York Times.”  The film, which takes a magnifying glass to the paper’s 2010 calendar year, is still fresh even though the news is old.  It’s packed with enough relevant and insightful discussion of the news industry in the age of Twitter that it stands as my pick of the “F.I.L.M. of the Week.”

Rossi follows the reporters and editors of The New York Times as they deal with various journalistic challenges, including Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks revelations and the bankruptcy of the Tribune media companies.  Each provide fascinating fodder for thought on the role of the press in maintaing an open society and an informed citizenry.  Rossi’s camera catches all sorts of intriguing behind-the-scenes action to give the film the pop of an “All the President’s Men” (or even 2009’s Oscar-nominated doc “The Most Dangerous Man in the World“).

But as the slogan of the film hints, “Page One” is most concerned with the state of the paper – because as we are aware, we can get the news from a whole host of sources now.  No one is more painfully aware of this than the staff of The New York Times themselves, feeling tangible effects from the digital revolution in tandem with the collapse of their old advertising model.  They show how often we take the news for granted, often times as if it were some kind of public good.

The documentary finds a fun protagonist in David Carr, the paper’s media reporter whose blunt but always intelligent observations on the state of the industry provide a firm center for the film.  He’s an unconventional reporter who took a wild journey to end up at The New York Times, but he’s also a compelling cheerleader for the necessity of conventional journalism and the integrity that comes with it.

Carr and “Page One” make me proud to spend $8 a month to gain access to the newspaper, a decision announced during the timeframe covered in the film.  While I’m sure the monetization of my support has been helpful, the battle clearly isn’t over as I get endless mailers asking me to add home delivery to my subscription package…


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (July 19, 2013)

19 07 2013

Exporting RaymondIt’s all too easy to throw around the word universal; you can look and see I’m guilty of it myself.  While a nice idea, it is a little naive to assume that there can truly be an experience that unites the entire world.  It’s an especially tempting descriptor for comedies, which often play to broadly shared feelings to illicit the desired response.

But in my pick for the “F.I.L.M. of the Week,” Phil Rosenthal’s documentary “Exporting Raymond,” we get a hilarious crash-course in how great a cultural divide can be.  Rosenthal, the creator of the hit CBS sitcom “Everybody Loves Raymond,” takes us along for the ride as he advises Russian television personnel as they struggle to adapt his show for their market.  To his surprise, more has to be changed than just the language.

As creative staff and executives prepare “Voroniny” to hit the Russian small screen, Rosenthal finds himself explaining things about Ray Barone and his family that he took for granted as just being understood.  The entire way in which Americans enact concepts of family, gender, and power are foreign to the Russians.  Rosenthal finds himself in the precarious position of trying to maintain the integrity of “Everybody Loves Raymond” without setting it up for failure in the Russian marketplace.

For those like myself who found Ray’s antics quite relatable, “Exporting Raymond” is a gentle and well-meaning reminder that our response to his character is largely conditioned by the culture in which we watch him.  Rosenthal shows us how hard intercultural communication can be, but he ultimately demonstrates how valuable the additional understanding we gain really is.


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (June 21, 2013)

21 06 2013

As I’ve said, I don’t like Sofia Coppola movies.  And I think I liked “The Virgin Suicides” not because of her but in spite of her.  Perhaps because the films feels nothing like the rest of her work it’s my pick for the “F.I.L.M. of the Week.”

I’m certainly glad I held out on watching the film until I completed Jeffrey Eugenides’ novel, the source text for the film.  “The Virgin Suicides” is a richly observed tale of five sisters who each take their own lives over the course of a single year.  But it’s not from their point of view; it’s told from the perspective of their neighbors, observing their lives from a cool distance.  Specifically, it’s from the point of view of some young boys in the neighborhood who do not just watch – they peer, gaze, and spy.

Suicide becomes an excellent metaphor for the breakdown of community in modern America, a disease that grows when we place each other under a microscope.  It’s what happens when we treat the people in our lives as objects of fascination, not people.  Coppola bottles up this frustration with the suburban social dynamic and regurgitates it on screen with Eugenides’ vision totally intact.

She ultimately cannot compete with all the layers and detail of a novel, but film has never been a medium easily able to indulge in tangents and side stories.  Coppola aims to get at the feeling and mood of “The Virgin Suicides,” and she succeeds at communicating that eerie melancholy.  While we get to know the tragedy of the Lisbon sisters, we never really know anybody.  To paraphrase F. Scott Fitzgerald, we are both within and without of the story.

It turns out Sofia Coppola is actually a great narrative filmmaker, provided that narrative originally belonged to someone else.  Though “The Bling Ring” is adapted from a magazine article, so we will see if the streak continues.  But even if it doesn’t, “The Virgin Suicides” captures the improbable lightning of a novel in a succinct and memorable bottle of a film.


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (June 14, 2013)

14 06 2013

Looking for the ultimate counter-programming this summer?  Heaven knows Hollywood is giving us plenty of comic book films this summer, be it a new Iron Man or a rebooted Superman.  But while those films may feature a man of steel, they certainly don’t feature a man who’s real in the same way that comic book film “American Splendor” does.

Imagine a comic book adaptation where a Woody Allen type (only with even more self-loathing) was the superhero.  Well, Paul Giamatti’s Harvey Pekar is hardly super … or a hero.  He’s just a protagonist, the main character of his life trying to live to fight another day.  Writer/directors Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini find the herculean struggle in these everyday battles and draw them out in appropriately stylized ways.

Why “American Splendor” is my pick for “F.I.L.M. of the Week,” however, is not necessarily because it’s an alternative/indie comic book movie.  Make no mistake about it, this is no “Kick-Ass.”  Berman and Pulcini are incredibly dexterous filmmakers who find clever ways to blur conventional lines in cinema.  Their film is both documentary and narrative, both animated and live-action.

That’s right, the film toggles between different modes of storytelling.  If it sounds weird, it looks and feels just right.  In fact, I think it’s the only way “American Splendor” could have been adapted.  Conventional technique could never pin down such an unconventional person and character like Harvey Pekar.  The multi-pronged approach works on so many levels, all of which I won’t attempt to pin down in a brief review.

But while it experiments with the form in exciting ways, it never forgets what Harvey Pekar said so brilliantly through his “American Splendor” comics for years.  At the end of the day, it’s all about the story of life.  We all have to live it, and everyone has issues that make them want to scream.  “American Splendor,” with emotional potency to spare, makes Harvey’s journey a vivid and infinitely relatable one.  He’s the comic book protagonist we need (but probably don’t deserve).


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (April 26, 2013)

26 04 2013

I’ve now (finally) caught up with David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet” and “Mulholland Dr.”  Those films have given me an idea of what the term Lynchian really means.  Yet while both of those movies have their merits, the director made an entirely different movie called “The Straight Story” that’s virtually unrecognizable in his ouvre.

I saw this simple, straightforward film at the age of 7 upon its release in 1999.  Even then, its beauty was not lost on me.  I recently watched it again only to find that my critical instincts from a very young age were completely vindicated, so I figured it would make an excellent pick for the “F.I.L.M. of the Week.”

Though it’s easy enough for a child to understand, this is a film that works for everyone ages 7 to 77.  “The Straight Story” is about family, love, and dedication at its purest.  The late Richard Farnsworth, nearing the end of his life as the movie was shot, pours his heart and soul into the role of Alvin Straight.  He’s a simple country man in deteriorating health unable to drive a car to visit his ailing and estranged brother, Lyle (Harry Dean Stanton).

But that doesn’t stop the iron-willed Alvin.  He decides to buy a tractor and drive it from his home in Iowa all the way up to Lyle in Wisconsin.  At a speed of never more than 6 miles per hour, Alvin and his trailer chug through America’s heartland.  Along the way, he meets fascinating people that give the journey a powerful emotional component.

Lynch has called “The Straight Story” his most experimental film, a strange distinction given some of the bizarre things that have happened in some of his other movies.  However, the film isn’t merely worth remembering due to the fact that the raw, unadulterated compassion is emanating from David Lynch.  It’s one of  the sweetest, most heartfelt films I’ve ever seen from any filmmaker, period.  This is the ultimate family movie, so gather everyone around the television and watch it with the whole crew.


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (April 19, 2013)

19 04 2013

I’m sure when you hear the words avant-garde or experimental cinema, your first instinct is to run as far as possible in the opposite direction.  There’s no shame in that; heck, it was how I felt for a very long time.  But now I’ve realized that sometimes to find the most exciting and challenging ideas that film has to offer, you might have to venture outside of the mainstream.

That impulse was how I stumbled upon “Koyaanisqatsi,” Godfrey Reggio’s masterpiece of picture and sound that is my pick for the “F.I.L.M. of the Week.”  Over 30 years after its initial release, the film still manages to be jolting and provocative.  It asks tough questions about modern life and our relationship to nature, suggesting that perhaps we are living out the translation of the title: life out of balance.

It engages the audience in this conversation, however, without saying a single word.  No title cards either until the ending credits.  So it’s even more silent than a Chaplin film like “Modern Times” or 2011’s “The Artist.”  Don’t be daunted though!  It’s not hard to pull meaning from this film.

The images are tremendously powerful, speaking volumes in the absence of dialogue.  Yes, that means you can’t text and watch “Koyaanisqatsi.”  But with all that extra attention that has to be paid, just think of all you can observe.  I highly recommend just sitting back and letting the film wash over you like a perfume.  Look at the beauty and simplicity of the natural world … and then contrast it with the hectic industrial and urban world.  Watch how they are different, and yet somehow similar.  See how “balance” was constructed in 1983 … and marvel at how we still grapple with the same issues.


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (January 18, 2013)

18 01 2013

When you think of the films of Spike Lee, I can imagine some of the things that come to mind are didactic, pugnacious, and aggressive political commentary.  In other words, you would think of a movie that looks nothing like “Inside Man,” a tight thriller about the perfect bank robbery.  But precisely because it resists the trappings of a typical Spike Lee movie, it’s my pick for the “F.I.L.M. of the Week.”  (And also because it’s an AWESOME movie!)

You’ve seen plenty of movies about bank robbers, but none quite like Clive Owen’s Dalton Russell.  He’s got a master plan to pull off the perfect heist, one that slowly and cryptically unveils itself in Spike Lee’s film.  Russell is interested in more than just getting quickly in and out with the money; he’s willing to play the long game with the police and the hostages in unconventional ways.  The tension is high as you wait to see when, if ever, his master plan will unravel.

Remarkably, it manages to hold up as some curious players with some very powerful ulterior motives enter the fray.  Namely, there’s the wild-card of Jodie Foster’s power broker tampering with everything she can to keep some secrets hidden inside the bank.  With so many people operating in the shadows and shades of grey, it makes the the quest of the righteous Detective Keith Frazier (Denzel Washington) all the more urgent and compelling.

There’s rarely a dull moment in “Inside Man,” and Lee manages to pull it off without ever needing to pull out a boombox and blare “Fight the Power.”  There’s a little bit of commentary on multiculturalism in New York, but it’s hands-off and not particularly distracting from the point of the film.  Which is, of course, to entertain for two hours and then yank the rug out from underneath the audience.


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (January 4, 2013)

4 01 2013

The recession has manifest itself in many obvious ways in American cinema.  There has been the vilification of the rich in movies like “Arbitrage” and “Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps,” excoriation of big business excess in “Tower Heist” and “Margin Call,” and glorification of the average joe worker-bee in “Win Win” and “The Company Men.”

Though “Take Shelter”, my pick for the “F.I.L.M. of the Week,” does not indulge in direct tapping of the zeitgeist, perhaps it best embodies it.  In a statement posted on the film’s website, director Jeff Nichols wrote:

“I believed there was a feeling out in the world that was palpable. It was an anxiety that was very real in my life, and I had the notion it was very real in the lives of other Americans as well as other people around the world.”

This brilliant realization of such post-recessional anxieties has made his “Take Shelter” a superb film that plays timely now but I suspect will ring timeless in the future.

“Take Shelter” opens with its protagonist, Curtis, experiencing a rain of motor oil.  This is quickly revealed to be a hallucination, but it feels like a very real way to bring some internal storms to expressionistic life.  The movie’s magical realism is a perfect compliment to the beguiling veracity of Michael Shannon’s performance as Curtis, a man who puts on a brave face for his family in tough times but ultimately struggles with some very deep demons.

As these apocalyptic delusions get worse, Curtis becomes a sort of modern-day Noah (nothing like Steve Carell’s hokey character in “Evan Almighty,” I’ll have you know).  He quietly sets out to protect his wife and daughter from a cataclysmic event that apparently only he is able to recognize on the horizon.  This tension builds until he ultimately explodes in a fit of rage directed towards a community that doesn’t understand his worries.  In the hands of Shannon, these harbingers of doom sound completely righteous, almost like the words of a prophet.

Grounding the film in an unfair and unkind reality, on the other hand, is Jessica Chastain as Curtis’ loving wife Samantha.  She plays a very different kind of Madonna than her mother in “The Tree of Life,” one fiercely committed to the safety and stability of her family and doesn’t hesitate to fight for it.  She’s the heart and soul of “Take Shelter,” trying to work through Curtis’ torments with patience and level-headedness.  Sweet as can be, it really makes an impact when she snaps after Curtis puts a preventative tornado shelter in their backyard above their own daughter’s health.

All the while, Nichols punctuates the superb performances of Shannon and Chastain with sporadic bursts of nightmarish imagery.  Whether it’s a biting dog, masses of birds, or the mysterious motor oil, Nichols sets the mood for a constantly shape-shifting modern American anxiety.  No matter who watches this and when they watch it, I believe they will find something floating in the ambience of “Take Shelter” that will accurately represent their inner fears.


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (December 28, 2012)

28 12 2012

There has been a lot of talk about Russell Crowe’s singing abilities in “Les Misérables,” and most of it has been negative.  While I will defend (although not without a few reservations) his voice as appropriate for the role, he was an excellent choice to act the part of Javert.  And if you need any reminder as to why he was cast, look no further than the brilliant drama “The Insider,” a crowning jewel of the Michael Mann canon and my pick for the “F.I.L.M. of the Week.”

As Jeffrey Weigand, a major whistleblower for Big Tobacco in the 1990s, Crowe more than adequately portrays the internal storm of a man torn by doing what is ethical and what is easy.  Dr. Weigand’s research uncovered just how addictive nicotine is and how the cigarette companies can amplify the delivery of that kick – at the expense of his own job.  Bound by a confidentiality agreement, he must sacrifice the safety and security of himself and his family in order to do the right thing.

Thankfully, that’s where Al Pacino’s Lowell Bergman comes in.  A producer for “60 Minutes,” Bergman is an expert at coaxing sensitive information out of unwilling informants.  Convincing them to sit down with Mike Wallace, played here with a firm conviction by Christopher Plummer, and spill their guts on television is no easy task, yet Bergman pulls it off with finesse by offering the vast resources of CBS to shield and protect the interviewee.

Everything seems to be working out for “60 Minutes” to run a searing exposé of the tobacco industry’s vicious practices, but the network cowardly balks just before airing, putting Weigand and Bergman both in a lot of hot water.  The journey to make the truth known the American people is made compelling in an “All the President’s Men” kind of way thanks to the bravura performances of Crowe and Pacino, a team deserving of dual Oscar glory.

And beyond the work of Pacino and Crowe, “The Insider” also boasts some of the most precise directing I’ve ever seen from the brilliant Michael Mann.  When he’s on his A-game, there is no one better than him at creating tense, thrilling moments.  His editing rhythms are enthralling and perfectly calibrated to have your heart beating to the pace he wants it.  If watching the movie makes you think of “The Dark Knight,” that’s not really a coincidence; Nolan has clearly taken good notes from a master and expounded upon what Mann does so well in films like “The Insider.”


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (December 21, 2012)

21 12 2012

There are few movies in the world that can make me laugh harder than “Role Models,” my pick for “F.I.L.M. of the Week.”  An R-rated romp that slipped through the cracks for most upon release in 2008, David Wain’s riotous comedy is fantastic through and through.  It’s held up miraculously well, too – trust me, I’ve watched it dozens of times and still bust a gut.

As the two leads doing a comic man/straight man routine, Seann William Scott and Paul Rudd are absolute perfection.  Scott gets to play the absurd variation of the Stifler character for “American Pie” that made him famous, while Paul Rudd plays perhaps his best bleakly blunt pessimist yet.  Though Rudd rings real in opposition to the ridiculous Scott, that doesn’t mean he’s grim or depressing.  Rather, he’s all the funnier and relatable as Paul Rudd proves once again he might be the most adept actor at bringing all our frustrations and annoyances to comedic light.

The free-wheeling Wheeler (Scott) and Danny (Rudd) find themselves in a world of trouble after a particularly bad day on the job peddling energy drinks to kids.  But rather than go to prison for their trail of destruction, they wind up getting community service at Sturdy Wings, a Big Brother-Little Brother type program.  The two quickly find out that prison is a more appealing option than most people would consider.

First of all, Sturdy Wings is run by a crackpot ex-alcoholic and drug addict, Gayle Sweeney – played by Jane Lynch pre-Sue Sylvester (this part probably got her that character).  And to say she steals the show is a vast understatement.  You only hear every other line from her because your laughs from one line bleed over well into the next one.  She speaks in bizarre metaphors that don’t make sense and LOVES reminding everyone of her former habits to a painstakingly hilarious extent.

And Gayle pairs them with two “littles” that scared off everyone else who was volunteering.  Wheeler gets stuck with a firecracker in Ronnie, a crude and manipulative little version of himself.  Danny, on the other hand, is given Augie, an introvert with a good heart that loves nothing more than a good live-action roleplaying game.  Their adventures are strange and funny, leading them to campfires and virtual battlefields, but David Wain brings a funny-bone and a heart to every moment of it.  His “Role Models” packs an excellent message of mentoring and guidance towards becoming a better person without ever being sappy or cheesy; rather, he finds a way to get it across smoothly with laughs, smiles, and good feelings all around.


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (December 14, 2012)

14 12 2012

Blue Steel

It’s rare these days to find a taut, well-constructed thriller.  Usually these genre pics fall victim to throwing on cheap frills and pointless scenes that disrupt the forward momentum of the picture towards a heart-pumping finale.  Not Kathryn Bigelow’s “Blue Steel,” though.  This pick for “F.I.L.M. of the Week” is an early example of the director’s incredible ability to build tension to nerve-wracking effect, making it an interesting companion piece with her Oscar-winning “The Hurt Locker.”

Beyond just a thriller, “Blue Steel” is also a remarkable movie to watch from a feminist perspective.  Ironic that Bigelow would wind up being the first woman to win the Academy Award for Best Director as the film deals with many themes of male castration anxiety in the wake of female empowerment.  Bigelow uses a common symbol for masculinity, the phallically shaped gun, and makes many powerful and provocative suggestions in the film’s subtext.

But even if you don’t really want to do an intellectual read on the film, there’s still plenty for you.  “Blue Steel” also works as an grittier, pared-down “Fatal Attraction”-esque story, a narrative that captivates when combined with Bigelow’s remarkable ability to generate suspense.

The film begins with Jamie Lee Curtis’ policewoman Megan Turner gunning down an armed robber in a convenient store, but it quickly spirals into so much more as her bold gesture piques the interest of a bystander, Eugene Hunt (Ron Sliver).  Bizarrely inspired – or threatened – by Turner’s aggression, he begins committing strange deeds in her name to get her attention.  We never quite get a logical reason for his breakdown, but we don’t need one to be terrified and riveted by his sociopathic quest.

Even though it was released in 1990, “Blue Steel” still feels incredibly intense and gripping today.  It might have something to do with the odd parallels Megan Turner bears to Kathryn Bigelow’s journey to notoriety.  However, the more likely reason is that every scene in her film is essential towards progressing the film and not a moment seems wasted.


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (November 30, 2012)

30 11 2012

It’s once again the most wonderful time of the year … which means time to dust off the Christmas favorites again.  Though the most family-friendly choices might be “Elf” or “It’s a Wonderful Life,” and the most heartfelt movies might be “Love Actually” or the extremely underrated “The Family Stone,” sometimes you want something a little different.

If you need a raunchy comedy and a Christmas movie all wrapped up in one, you have basically only one choice: Terry Zwigoff’s “Bad Santa.”  Thankfully, it’s a really good choice and I’m featuring it as my “F.I.L.M. of the Week” to kick off the Christmas season. The movie has got laughs to spare thanks to an incredibly witty script and some kick-ass performances … and it’s even unexpectedly sweet.

Billy Bob Thornton plays a familiar sardonic role in the film, here embodying boozing con man Willie Stokes.  He makes his living as a mall Santa, but not from any salary or profits – he and his companion Marcus, a dwarf who acts as his elf, rob the mall where they work that year and then scoot out of town.

However, their year in Phoenix turns out a little differently.  Willie is a little more sex-crazed and erratic than usual, catching the attention of the pushover store manager Bob Chipeska (played with brilliant naïveté by the late John Ritter).  That also puts Chipeska’s top security guard, the stoic Gin Slagel (played by another late comic, Bernie Mac), hot on their trail.

But the more significant development is that Willie starts to develop a heart for “The Kid,” a dim-witted overweight youngster with an undying loyalty to Santa.  His kindness in the face of insult and injury at first annoy Willie yet eventually force him to see some of the error in his ways.  He even begins to give generously out of his greatest strength: his unfeeling toughness.

And isn’t that what Christmas is about?  Giving?  I’ll tell you one thing “Bad Santa” can give you this holiday season: an aching body from laughing so hard.


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F.I.L.M. of the Week (October 19, 2012)

19 10 2012

Illegal immigration is quite a hot topic, and growing up in Texas, it’s one that is discussed with flared tempers and higher stakes.  With all this talk of self-deportation and failed reforms, it’s easy to treat people like statistics and forget that what happens in our halls of legislation affects people’s lives.

“Which Way Home” reminds us of the perilous implications of our immigration policy and its failures, putting a human face on the issue.  Documentarian Rebecca Camisa cleverly avoids politics, never inter-cutting her stories of Central American children attempting to cross into the United States with shots of lawmakers in dark rooms far away.  We only get to see what directly affects the voyage of these journeymen, such as the Border Patrol and the other Mexican agencies designed to curb illegal border crossing and deport those who have made it into their country from Guatemala and Honduras.

From this perspective, we are trapped with the migrants, confined to their point of view, left to wander with them.  Camisa literally gets her cameras on top of the freight trains that transport so many immigrants to America and gently prods into the souls of the children (yes, some are even as young as 9).  She gets a peek into what motivates and scares them, what makes home so awful as to abandon it and what makes the United States so great as to flock to it.

It’s these revealing, in-the-moment revelations that give “Which Way Home” such a quiet power.  And while there are the occasional moments of sensationalism like a dead body floating in the river (that’s the opening shot), the movie draws its strength from the words and faces of the immigrants themselves.  Who needs second-rate dramatizations of the passage like “Sin Nombre” when Camisa provides a much more jarring glimpse with real life?


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Categories : F.I.L.M. of the Week, Movie Reviews

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