From director Thea Sharrock in her feature film directorial debut, and adapted for the screen by novelist Jojo Moyes, the romance of Me Before You is unexpectedly sweet. “Lou” (Emilia Clarke) takes a job as a caregiver to “Will” (Sam Claflin), who was recently paralyzed by a road accident. Lou discovers that her task is not… Continue reading ME BEFORE YOU
Tag: Amelie E. Lasker
SKY
Directed and co-written by French filmmaker and actress Fabienne Berthaud, Sky follows “Romy” (Diane Kruger) as she drives through the open skylines and cities of the American Southwest. Romy is newly separated from her stifling marriage, and she searches for meaning in her new adventures. The fascinatingly dark characters she meets, along with a beautiful… Continue reading SKY
RADICAL GRACE
Editor’s Note: Seen at the 2016 Athena Film Festival. Follow this link for additional screening information. No theatrical release date has been announced yet for Radical Grace, but hopefully that will happen soon! ************************* Written and directed by debut documentary filmmaker Rebecca Parrish, Radical Grace tells the story of the US nuns who have been… Continue reading RADICAL GRACE
SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME
Writer and director Chloé Zhao brings out the joys and difficulties of her characters’ lives on Pine Ridge Reservation with masterful sensitivity. “Johnny” (John Reddy) is working hard to save up enough money to leave the reservation. His sister “Jashaun” (Jashaun St. John) sees the gorgeous South Dakota plains as magical even if Johnny sees… Continue reading SONGS MY BROTHERS TAUGHT ME
ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL
From filmmaker Pascal Plisson and screenwriter Marie-Claire Javoy, the documentary On the Way To School (originally titled Sur le chemin de l’école) follows four children’s morning journeys to school from different places and situations across the world. Jackson and his little sister Salome walk and run two hours across Kenyan grassland each day, in the… Continue reading ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL
WINTER SLEEP
Director Nuri Bilge Ceylan and writer Ebru Ceylan’s Winter Sleep is a social drama of an Anatolian village. Aging landlord “Aydin” (Haluk Bilginer), his beautiful younger wife “Nihal” (Melisa Sözen), and his divorced sister “Necla” (Demet Akbag) languish in their hotel during its tourist off-season. They all believe themselves selfless people, and they pass their… Continue reading WINTER SLEEP
ISN’T IT DELICIOUS?
Written and directed by Michael Patrick Kelly and co-written by Kathleen Kiley, Isn’t It Delicious brings us the comically dysfunctional Weldons as they are forced to confront their familial baggage when their mother, “Joan” (Kathleen Chalfant), is diagnosed with lung cancer. Father “Bill” (Keir Dullea), the more-liked parent and the martyr after Joan’s past affair,… Continue reading ISN’T IT DELICIOUS?
THE FOXY MERKINS
Directed by Madeleine Olnek and co-written by its stars Lisa Haas and Jackie Monahan, The Foxy Merkins brings us the friendship of “Margaret” (Lisa Haas) and “Jo” (Jackie Monahan), a pair of lesbian sex workers who cater to East Village housewives. The comedy often writes itself in the strange situations that come from this premise.… Continue reading THE FOXY MERKINS
GETTING TO THE NUTCRACKER
Dancer Serene Meshel-Dillman’s debut film Getting to the Nutcracker documents Los Angeles’ Marat Daukayev School of Ballet at its most creative and grueling time of year, the production of the Nutcracker. Inspired by Jill Krementz’ children’s book “A Very Young Dancer,” Meshel-Dillman captures the charm and excitement of growing up onstage as part of such… Continue reading GETTING TO THE NUTCRACKER
WATCHERS OF THE SKY
Edet Belzberg’s documentary Watchers of the Sky is a testament both to the victims and survivors of genocide and to the people fighting against it internationally. It opens with an emotionally fraught animated sequence of trees, hills, and thin silhouettes. Overlayed are the words of Dr. Raphael Lemkin, the first person to use the word… Continue reading WATCHERS OF THE SKY