Big Sonia, produced by Leah Warshawski, is a heartfelt documentary that chronicles Holocaust survivor Sonia Warshawski’s life. Complete with interviews of family and adoring friends and colorful animation, Big Sonia is a poignant documentary that capturing a story everyone should hear. (RAK: 5/5)
Author: Rachel Kastner
ONE OF US (2017): Review by Rachel Kastner
One of Us, a new Netflix documentary by Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing tells the heart-breaking stories of individuals leaving the Hasidic lifestyle. This documentary empathetically shows the real anger and communal hatred towards these individuals by their former friends and family, and shows how difficult of a decision it is for these people to leave… Continue reading ONE OF US (2017): Review by Rachel Kastner
FUN MOM DINNER (2017): Review by Giorgi Plys-Garzotto
Alethea Jones’ Fun Mom Dinner is a charming but unoriginal addition to the genre of “group of busy urban friends without much time to go out has a rare wild night together, which quickly goes off the rails due to drugs, crime, or sexual escapades the characters would not usually participate in.” (GPG: 3/5) Review… Continue reading FUN MOM DINNER (2017): Review by Giorgi Plys-Garzotto
LOOK & SEE – A PORTRAIT OF WENDELL BERRY: Review by Rachel Kastner (2016)
Look & See: A Portrait of Wendell Berry is less a portrait of the American novelist-poet-farmer than it is a portrait of the issues facing rural American farming communities. In this documentary, directed by Laura Dunn and Jef Sewell, the audience is offered stories and testimonies of rural American voices—voices not often heard onscreen. The film loses… Continue reading LOOK & SEE – A PORTRAIT OF WENDELL BERRY: Review by Rachel Kastner (2016)
CHURCHILL (2017): Review by Rachel Kastner
Penned by historian and screenwriter Alex Von Tunzelman, and directed by Jonathan Teplitzky, Churchill follows Prime Minister “Winston Churchill” (Brian Cox) as he attempts to put a stop to what he thinks is the worst mistake the Allied Forces could make: going through with their D-day plans. The older Prime Minister is angered by the thought of… Continue reading CHURCHILL (2017): Review by Rachel Kastner
HEAL THE LIVING (2016): Review by Rachel Kastner
I was fortunate enough to see Katell Quillevere’s third feature film, Heal The Living at this year’s Rendez-Vous with French Cinema festival in New York City. It is an incredibly moving medical drama surrounding the issue of organ donation: how difficult of a decision it is to decide to donate organs, and how it changes the lives of those… Continue reading HEAL THE LIVING (2016): Review by Rachel Kastner
ALL THIS PANIC (2016): Review by Rachel Kastner
From director and cinematographer husband and wife team, comes All This Panic, the next installment in the “millennial coming of age” documentaries. This one, though, is different. Director Jenny Gage brings us into the inner lives of seven young women as they navigate hardships of life, including divorce, drugs, sexual identity and love over the… Continue reading ALL THIS PANIC (2016): Review by Rachel Kastner