Artblog | Movie Reviews

July 30, 2017 By Michael Lieberman

The Absolute Beauty of Samuel Barber’s Works

Michael reviews the documentary film “Absolute Beauty” directed by H. Paul Moon, which details the life and work of composer Samuel Barber. The title of the film rings true for Michael who says about Barber that “his music has the special quality of unifying people during tragic times.”

July 16, 2017 By Roberta

Elsa Dorfman, in love with Polaroid and with people’s smiling faces

Roberta writes about the new Errol Morris documentary on a trailblazing portrait photographer who made her career through a couple good breaks and a strong sense of optimism that she could do it all.

June 30, 2017 By Nancy Chen

On film, The Sense of an Ending delivers a dull edge

Nancy reviews a film adaptation of “The Sense of an Ending,” Directed by Ritesh Batra and based on the novel by Julian Barnes, which loses track of the depth that made the original a classic.

June 4, 2017 By Michael Lieberman

95 and 6 To Go, an eccentric life on film

Michael reviews a film exploring the last years of a Japanese American grandfather’s life, filmed by his own granddaughter, which he only agreed to allow her to publish at the end of his life.

April 3, 2017 By Martha Kearns

Jimmy past, present, and future

I knew Jimmy. He was brilliant, charming, passionate, humane, intellectually and emotionally complex, fun and funny, and utterly fascinating and exciting to be with. I knew him the last few years of his life, late 1980s. He was traveling throughout the United States to see old friends and haunts. It was his last lap, his stomach cancer was incurable. He also wanted to take measure of his country–if life had changed for the better for African-Americans in a decade.

February 22, 2017 By Flora Ward

The Spanish eye – From Doodles to Pixels at International House

Spain is not a country that I immediately associate with either historical or avant-garde animation, so I was curious–what is Spanish animation, and what makes it distinctly Spanish? Will these films be interesting for normal people who aren’t obsessed with Spain like I am, or will my boyfriend resent me for dragging him out to see obscure Spanish short animations on a Friday night?

February 9, 2017 By Neil Marcello

Tall tales, short films – 2017’s Oscar-nominated live action shorts

The five nominees for short live action films showing at the Ritz at the Bourse don’t waste much time getting down to business, starting with the French entry, “Ennemis Interieurs,” directed by Selim Azzazi. The fictional story is set during the Algerian civil war (1991-2002) and at a time when French citizens on French soil were being targeted by terrorists. The two main characters of the film, known simply as the Applicant and the Interrogator (both from Algeria), enact an interview for French citizenship. If you ever have been through an interview for citizenship in the west–and I am speaking from experience–there aren’t too many pleasant moments in which you feel like you are welcome during the interrogation about your background, name, or religion.

February 9, 2017 By Neil Marcello

Big visions, short films – 2017’s Oscar-nominated animated short films

With the charming exception of Disney-Pixar’s avian mini-adventure, “Piper,” this year’s Oscar nominees for best animated short film is a mixed bag of tales of whimsy, nostalgia, coming-of-age, tragedy, and personal loss. Whether it’s an existential crisis of a girl in “Blind Vaysha” or the unrequited affection and generosity of a friend in “Pear Cider and Cigarettes,” all nominees offer a personal vision and emotional subtlety that vary in tone, style, subject and inspiration.