2012 Films Explore All Films
2012 Posts
Changing the World Through Films: A 2012 SFFF Panel Review
“What we noticed were films made with a real intent to say something, that was in some way a call to enable action,” Schneier Perrin said when explaining how the idea for the “Changing the World Through Films” panel discussion came about.
At the bottom of THE DEEP BLUE SEA: A Review
At the risk of making light of isolation and depression, the audience of director Terence Davies’ “A Deep Blue Sea” may need a pocket guide and a second viewing to gain perspective on the film. A portfolio of…
Tough Love: A Review of MONSIEUR LAZHAR
“Monsieur Lazhar,” Canada’s official entry for the 2011 Best Foreign Film Oscar, concerns an Algerian immigrant that finds work in Montreal standing in for an elementary school teacher who recently committed suicide. It sounds straightforward enough, but nothing…
Wake Up Call: A Review of SLEEPING BEAUTY
“Sleeping Beauty,” which played in a discreet 9:30 slot on Saturday night at the 12th Annual Santa Fe Film Festival, has already gained a reputation for being erotic, insipid, brave, disappointing, groundbreaking, regressive and a host of other…
I’m In! A Review of Ralph Fiennes’ CORIOLANUS
The packed audience at the Screen today on the last day of the Santa Fe Film Festival were all wondering if Ralph Fiennes’ directorial debut, a modern adaptation of Shakespeare’s “Coriolanus”, would give us both a great story…
Ambiguous Storytelling in ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA
In the slow-paced, detail-obsessive, character-rich, Oscar-contender from Turkey at the Santa Fe Film Festival, the story snakes around the characters like the creek through the hills and slopes, occasionally seen, sometimes only heard, but always a part of…
WILD HORSES AND RENEGADES: An Endangered Symbol of Freedom
When the average American thinks of a symbol of freedom, they might not think of a wild horse, mane flying, galloping across a wide open plain. However, that iconic symbol is in danger of being forever lost to…
Normandy Not London: A Review of LE HAVRE
Immigration is a hot button for us here in the US, and films that deal with the topic are as old as “talkies” themselves. But the business of refugees in film is less specific, especially in the US…
Join the Murder Trail in ONCE UPON A TIME IN ANATOLIA
Murder has become such a fun game in US films that we forget it is really a painstaking, methodical plod through evidence discovery, and often it has little to do with the dead body itself. In Nuri Bilge…
Breaking thru Guatemalan Injustice: A Review of CAPSULAS
With a fictional view into the very real world of Guatemalan drug trafficking, director Veronica Riedel’s “Capsulas” delves deep into corruption, violence and greed. Winner of South Florida’s Women International Film Festival for Best Dramatic Feature Film, “Capsulas”…
Actions Speak Louder Than Words: A Film Preview of THE ARTIST
Why make a full-length black-&-white, silent movie these days and what prompts Santa Fe Film Festival to program it on their opening night? Good questions deserve thoughtful answers. I’m going to guess right off that it’s not a…
Behind the Celluloid Closet: A Review of VITO
Okay. Eyes forward. This one is a must see for all LGBT youth, straights of every flavor, and actually, pretty much everyone. It’s a documentary called “Vito”, about the life of gay activist Vito Russo. A man, I…