Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 4 cats
Director: Rowan Woods
Starring: Cate Blanchett | Dustin Nguyen | Hugo Weaving | Noni Hazlehurst
Michael says: “On a recent trip to New York City, Scot, Bruce and I went to see the Australian film LITTLE FISH starring Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving. Unfortunately, this intense little film was never released in Boston and is
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Rating: 2 cats
Director: Catherine Martin
Beth says: “Directed by French-Canadian Catherine Martin, this documentary was focused on a once remote part of Quebec called Charlesvoix. 30 years ago a photographer recorded images of the people and the places of this area, and Martin went back
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Rating: 3.25
Director: Lian Lunson
Bruce says: “Delightful to watch, LEONARD COHEN: I’M YOUR MAN is not entirely successful. The man, his poetry and music make the film irresistible on one level. Regrettably, the artistic choices – who sings the songs and who speaks to
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Jean-Pierre Dardenne | Luc Dardenne
Starring: Déborah François | Jérémie Segard
Chris says: “Despite the leisurely pace and authentic stabs at social realism, don’t say nothing ever happens in a film by Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne. Like their previous feature THE SON, this one gradually bottles up a lot of tension
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Kevin Macdonald
Starring: Forest Whitaker | James McAvoy | Kerry Washington
Bruce says: “As Idi Amin, the military ruler of Uganda from 1971-1979, Forest Whitaker develops his character brilliantly. Like many charismatic leaders, Amin is a man who can charm anyone who crosses his path and, at the same time, instill
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Heidi Ewing | Rachel Grady
Carolyn says: “A very well done documentary about children brought up in the born-again tradition. The framing of the film was a big discussion topic afterwards. I especially liked the question at the end of the introductory scene. OK I
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Rating: 4.5 cats
Director: Mohammad Rasoulof
Starring: Ali Nassirian | Hossein Farzi-Zadeh | Neda Pakdaman
Michael says: “IRON ISLAND is a little-seen Iranian film by Mohammad Rasoulof that enjoyed a very brief run at the Museum of Fine Arts. It’s now available on DVD, and I highly recommend that you take a look. Blending captivating
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Rating: 3 cats
Director: James Longley
Bruce says: “I would recommend this film for groups of people to see together, not so they might learn something new but as a catalyst for discussion on Iraq and its future. To adequately discuss the future one must necessarily
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Claire Denis
Starring: Beatrice Dalle | Grégoire Colin | Michel Subor | Yekaterina Golubeva
Bruce says: “SPOILER ALERT! Anyone who has been to a car show knows about concept cars. L’INTRUS is a film equivalent: a concept film. Finished less than a week before its world premiere in Toronto, L’INTRUS was inspired by the
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Spike Lee
Starring: Cassandra Freeman | Chiwetel Ejiofor | Christopher Plummer | Clive Owen | Denzel Washington | Jodie Foster | Peter Kybart | Willem Dafoe
Bruce says: “Spike Lee is one of four directors who have defined New York City on film over the past six decades. The others are Woody Allen, Sidney Lumet, and Martin Scorsese. Early in Lee’s career it appeared he was
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Rating: 1.5 cats
Director: Lucile Hadzihalilovic
Starring: Bérangère Haubruge | Lea Bridarolli | Zoé Auclair
Michael says: “There is a lovely sense of foreboding and mystery in INNOCENCE, but the failure of the film to deliver any sort of payoff make it one of the losers of the festival. Director Lucile Hadzihalilovic is the girlfriend
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Rating: 4.75 cats
Director: David Lynch
Starring: Grace Zabriskie | Harry Dean Stanton | Jeremy Irons | Justin Theroux | Laura Dern | Peter J. Lucas
Chris says: “Instead of a filming a completed screenplay, David Lynch took a piecemeal approach to making INLAND EMPIRE: encouraged by the physical freedom a toy-sized digital video camera allows, he would think of an idea, write it down, and
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Rating: 4.25 cats
Director: Davis Guggenheim
Bruce says: “For the past twenty years Al Gore has been pursuing environmental issues and he has spent the past seven years touring the world with his environmental lectures focused on global warming. AN INCONVENIENT TRUTH, based on Gore’s road
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Ol Parker
Starring: Lena Headey | Matthew Goode | Piper Perabo
Michael says: “What would you do if moments before saying ‘I do’ at your wedding, you lock eyes with your soul mate, and it’s not the man you’re marrying. To complicate matters, it happens to be a woman and you’re
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Caveh Zahedi
Starring: Anastasia Gershman | Caveh Zahedi | Emily Morse | Greg Watkins | Lindsey Tjian | Rebecca Lord | Stephanie Carwin
Michael says: “Caveh Zahedi is a bit of a cult figure in the independent film world. Many people first saw him as an animated character in Richard Linklater’s WAKING LIFE. He was involved in a pivotal conversation about ‘the holy
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Andrucha Waddington
Starring: Fernanda Montenegro | Fernanda Torres | Seu Jorge
Michael says: “Brazilian filmmaker Andrucha Waddington’s visual tour de force HOUSE OF SAND takes advantage of the spectacular, desolate landscape of the desert dunes in Northern Brazil, but benefits even more from the unparalleled acting of its two leads actresses,
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Rating: 4 cats
Director: Yôji Yamada
Starring: Masatoshi Nagase | Takako Matsu | Yukiyoshi Ozawa
Michael says: “With over 60 films under is directorial belt, Yôji Yamada follows up his Chlotrudis Award nominated TWILIGHT SAMURAI with this lovely film THE HIDDEN BLADE. Munezo, like Seibei, the title character in TWILIGHT SAMURAI, is a true samurai
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Rating: 3.5 cats
Director: Heinz Bütler
Bruce says: “According to Cartier-Bresson photography is all about geometry and structure. During the course of the film, Cartier-Bresson looks at his photos with great pleasure and affection and often explains their cultural context to the camera. His photographs often
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Rating: 4.125 cats
Director: Laurent Cantet
Starring: Charlotte Rampling | Karen Young | Louise Portal
Michael says: “Laurent Cantet follows up his compelling TIME OUT with a complex tale of political, sexual, and racial issues set in Haiti. Three middle-aged, American women spend extended time at a resort in Haiti where their every need is
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Rating: 3.25
Director: Kevin Willmott
Starring: Ellen Page | Patrick Wilson | Sandra Oh
Michael says: “It’s difficult reviewing a film that has been so anticipated, and has been much discussed and speculated about for months before its actual release. Fortunately, HARD CANDY is a film, that while not perfect, lives up to the
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