Teaching audiences to view films actively
By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Louie Psihoyos
Michael says: “Structured like a caper film of international espionage, THE COVE is actually a shocking documentary about a tiny Japanese fishing village that traffics dolphins to the hundreds of sea parks across the world, then slaughters the remaining to
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Cherien Dabis
Starring: Alia Shawkat | Hiam Abbass | Joseph Ziegler | Melkar Muallem | Nisreen Faour
Bruce says: “Muna (Nisreen Faour) is a single parent raising her son Fadi (Melkar Muallem) in Bethlehem. Each day they spend considerable time negotiating checkpoints, often humiliated by Israeli soldiers. Muna works at a bank and Fadi attends private school
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Cheang Pou-Soi
Starring: Alexander Chan | Louis Koo | Michelle Ye | Richie Ren | Shui-Fan Fung | Suet Lam
Bruce says: “Not often do I wish that a foreign film would be remade by Hollywood but ACCIDENT is the perfect candidate. My hope is that some clarity would be added to the film, thus ratcheting it up the cat
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Kelly Reichardt
Starring: Michelle Williams | Wally Dalton | Will Patton
Bruce says: “Kelly Reichardt from the looks of things is the modern chronicler of quiet desperation. WENDY AND LUCY is similar in many ways to her critically acclaimed earlier work, OLD JOY. The story is sparse, almost non-existent. There are
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Ole Bornedal
Starring: Jonas Wandschneider | Mollie Maria Gilmartin | Nikolaj Falkenberg-Klok | Paprika Steen | Ulrich Thomsen
Michael says: “This Danish science fiction/comedy/suspense film hits all the right notes, especially with the casting of the divine Paprika Steen in the title role. What’s a willful and rowdy class of students to do when they discover that the
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Shinji Aoyama
Starring: Eri Ishida | Ken Mitsuishi | Kengo Kora | Tadanobu Asano | Yuka Itaya | Yusuke Kawazu
Michael says: “Despite an intriguing, adept cast, and some skillful camerawork, Shinji Aoyama’s SAD VACATION has a little too much plot to be entirely successful. In fact, more than once I wondered if this film was a sequel and I
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Fernando Meirelles
Starring: Alice Braga | Don McKellar | Gael García Bernal | Julianne Moore | Mark Ruffalo | Yoshino Kimura | Yusuke Iseya
Beth Curran says: “Okay, I first must talk about the spectacle first – the film’s premiere was at the Elgin, and it was beyond zooey. Seating took forever, and it was unbelievable how large the reserved section was. While looking
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Joaquín Oristrell
Starring: Alex Brendemühl | Leonor Watling | Luis Tosar
Bruce says: “The Spanish are becoming quite proficient in the farce department. This delightful comedy is a period piece involving a Freud disciple named León (Alex Brendemühl) who suddenly disappears thereby creating havoc in his intersecting professional and family circles.
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Kim Ki-Duk
Starring: Ha Jung Woo | Park Ji-Yeon | Seong Hyeon-A
Beth says: “The latest from Korea’s Kim Ki-duk. A woman undergoes secret cosmetic surgery then reappears as a new woman who romances her boyfriend – is it the ultimate sacrifice, to make yourself anew for love, or the ultimate test,
Read the review...By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Rating: 3.75 cats
Director: Doris Dörrie
Michael says: “German feminist filmmaker Doris Dörrie is best known for her narrative features, such as 1985’s MEN, 1988’s ME AND HIM, or 2000’s ENLIGHTENMENT GUARANTEED. It is this latter film that serves as a connection of sorts to her
Read the review...