Tag Archives: drama

The Color of Paradise (1999); Dir. Majid Majidi

Expect Spoilers A little blind boy named Mohammad sits on a bench outside his school in Tehran. It is the beginning of summer vacation and parents from all over Iran have come to collect their children. We have seen the … Continue reading

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Curfew: A Masterpiece in 19 Minutes

Shawn Christensen, Fatima Ptacek, in “Curfew” I called it. Curfew, 19 minutes long, which I saw at the Tribeca Film Festival this past year, is a masterpiece. Here is my review. Curfew is nominated for an Academy Award this year … Continue reading

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06/05 (2004); Dir. Theo van Gogh

Director, Theo van Gogh On November 2, 2004, Dutch film director Theo van Gogh (his great-grandfather was Vincent van Gogh’s brother, Theo) was killed in broad daylight by Dutch-Moroccan Mohammed Bouyeri. Van Gogh was cycling to work, and Bouyeri shot … Continue reading

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Melancholy Manifest

I first saw this film at the NYFF in 2011, and have seen it 5 or 6 times since. It won’t let me go, and some of its images have actually been incorporated into my own psyche. I have felt … Continue reading

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The Slow Burn of Once Upon a Time in Anatolia

Taking place over one long 24-hour period, Once Upon a Time in Anatolia, winner of the Grand Prize at Cannes, directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan, tells the story of a police unit driving endlessly through the monotonous grandeur of the … Continue reading

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Melancholia

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Donya (2003): “You Have Exhumed My Life.”

When we first see real estate mogul, Hadj Reza Enayat (Mohamad Reza Sharifinia) he is collapsed in a chair, his swollen feet being washed by his whining wife (Gohar Kheirandish). Hadj is a grotesque person, in our first impression. He … Continue reading

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Only Angels Have Wings: The Atmospheric Opening

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What Mirabelle Needs Is Some Omniscient Voice

EXCERPT FROM Shopgirl, by Steve Martin the weekend It is 9 a.m., and for the second time that morning Mirabelle is awake. The first time was two hours earlier when Jeremy slipped out, giving her a kiss good-bye that was … Continue reading

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The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)

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