What It’s About
Explosives expert Bob Ferguson (Di Caprio) commits sabotage against an authoritarian government with his foxy, fearless partner, Perfidia (Taylor). Perfidia also has a memorable encounter with the military man who’s been chasing them, the bizarre Captain Steven Lockjaw (Penn). Bob and Perfidia have a daughter, but she doesn’t take to motherhood. Fast forward sixteen years, and daughter Willa (Infiniti) now lives with her paranoid, perpetually stoned dad. When Lockjaw resumes his hunt for Bob and (now) Willa, Bob must snap out of his haze to protect his daughter’s life, and his own.
Why We Love It
Anderson’s sprawling, propulsive film clocks in at 160 minutes, but flies by. Packed with so much incident and such distinctive characters, “Battle” is a wild, colorful thrill ride, with some Kubrickian satire thrown in with villain Lockjaw, played with gusto by Penn. DiCaprio also scores as Bob, a mess we still want to root for, and Del Toro nearly steals it as Sensei Sergio, the ever-mellow martial arts instructor who helps Bob and Willa. This astonishing movie begs to be seen more than once.
What It’s About
Neither charismatic nor telegenic, former columnist Ed Sullivan was the unlikely host of a one-of-a-kind program in the early days of television. The Ed Sullivan Show lasted two decades and became appointment viewing for millions of Americans on Sunday nights. Beyond launching acts like Elvis and the Beatles, Sullivan defied southern CBS affiliates by inviting top African American artists to perform, including Louis Armstrong, Harry Belafonte, Stevie Wonder, The Supremes, Ike and Tina Turner, and many more.
Why We Love It
Jenkins’ fascinating, nostalgic doc brings back the glory days of television and the hugely influential show hosted by the stone-faced Sullivan, who we learn fought engrained prejudice to showcase emerging black artists in jazz, rock and soul. Growing up the child of Irish immigrants in New York, he’d experienced discrimination first-hand, and fought back. Beyond being color blind, Sullivan also had a keen eye for talent. “Sunday Best” combines archival footage with current day interviews (Belafonte’s a highlight) to bring back a special time in America, and the show that helped define it.
What It’s About
In the rural Ganza province of China, struggling, middle-aged itinerant farmer Youtie (Wu) and sickly spinster Guiyang (Hai) are an ongoing burden on their respective families, so the two are hastily united in an arranged marriage. What initially appears a dubious union gradually morphs into something wholly unexpected. As together they struggle and undergo back-breaking labor to (barely) survive in a rapidly transforming China, these two miscasts forge a bond of trust, respect, and affection.
Why We Love It
China did its best to suppress release of this affecting film, as it portrays how the country has turned its back on the plight of rural farmers, threatening a whole way of life and causing many workers in rural provinces to migrate to urban areas. There’s even a move to displace residents and bulldoze houses in farming communities. Through all the indignities and injustice, Youtie and Guiyang draw comfort and solidarity in working the land, even as their own country marginalizes them. Director Ruijun Lee tells his story with finesse and restraint, so “Return” avoids sentimentality or the need for an obvious political statement. Just observing the simple dignity of this couple as they toil each day speaks volumes.
What It’s About
Middle aged immigrant Cheung (Kang-sheng) works construction in New York City, but feels lonely and disconnected. He still supports his wife and daughter in Taiwan, but a dark event from his past prevents his returning. He takes comfort in the companionship of Didi (Haipeng), a masseuse who counts Cheung as a special friend and client. At the Queens massage parlor where she works with her best friend Amy (Wu), the two ladies dream of moving to Baltimore and opening a restaurant. When tragedy strikes, Cheung and Amy find themselves drawn together by grief.
Why We Love It
Tsang’s impressive feature debut evokes the singular experience of Asian immigrants forced to adjust to uncertain new lives in New York City. Since they can’t fully assimilate into the broader society, they exist within their own small, constricted world, marking time and trying to make the best of it. Cheung and Didi share a lovely rapport, but could they sustain any kind of future together? This subtle, observational film takes us places we’d never otherwise go, and it’s a memorable, affecting trip.
What It’s About
Chatila (Bakri) and Reda (Sabbah) are Palestinian refugees who resort to petty thievery to survive in Athens. Chatila has dreams of getting to Germany and opening a café, but Reda’s dope habit gets in the way. Chatila befriends Malik (Alsurafa), a teenage orphan trying to reach his aunt in Italy, then meets Tatiana (Papoulia), a lonely Greek woman. Using his two new friends, he concocts a daring scheme that could solve all his problems.
Why We Love It
Palestinian/Danish director Fleifel scores a bullseye with this, her first narrative feature. With worldwide migration exploding, “Unknown” feels highly specific to our moment. Yet it also tells a timeless human story about male friendship, with shades of “Mean Streets”. Chatila is smart, motivated and desperate – but also protective of the weak, vulnerable Reda, even as he hampers his own progress. The whole cast is superb, making us feel the pain and frustration of these displaced souls, who, we are reminded by this excellent and timely film, are fellow human beings.
What It’s About
In Ocala, Florida, a dispute between reclusive Lorincz (who’s white) and her African American neighbors imperceptibly escalates, leading to tragedy. Lorincz has lodged multiple police complaints about local kids playing too loudly, too near her home. Eventually, Owens, mother of four, makes the mistake of pounding on Lorincz’s door to confront her, whereupon Lorincz shoots through it and kills her. Will the state’s “Stand Your Ground” law get Lorincz off the hook?
Why We Love It
Gandbhir’s unnerving documentary makes generous use of police bodycam and interview footage, with no recreations whatever. Starting with the senseless murder that captured the nation’s attention and working back, we get to know Ms. Lorincz through her recurring calls to police. Even as she tries to sound reasonable, the police can tell there’s something off, an undercurrent of racism. They try to make peace and reinforce the ground rules, but in the moment, these feel like nuisance calls. No one anticipates the danger that’s building. A heartbreaking human story and devastating indictment of the law which allowed Lorincz to claim self-defense, this “Neighbor” bears close scrutiny.
What It’s About
Few outside eyes ever penetrate the walls of state prisons in Alabama, since journalists can’t enter for “safety and security” reasons. Without accountability, the state perpetuates a system characterized by filthy conditions, rampant brutality, and slave labor. Underpaid and understaffed, guards make money selling inmates drugs and cell phones. Risking their lives, incarcerated activists Council, Ray, and others use their phone cameras to finally expose the cruel, inhumane conditions left unaddressed for too long.
Why We Love It
Using raw cellphone footage from inside the walls, directors Jarecki and Kaufman craft a devastating indictment of a corrupt, broken system. Comparing the crusading inmates to the state officials we meet, you have to wonder who the real criminals are A subplot involving the brutal death of inmate Steven Davis only adds to the righteous anger this powerful, important film provokes. Worse yet, these outrages aren’t confined to Alabama. A must-watch.
What It’s About
Theater actor Takeshi (Moriyama) has seen his father Yohji (Fuji) rarely since Yohji abandoned him and his mother years earlier to marry Naomi (Hara). Suddenly, father and son are thrust back together when Naomi goes missing, and it’s revealed that Yohji, a proud, distinguished professor, has advanced dementia. Takeshi experiences a host of complex emotions as he and wife Yuki (Maki) sort through how best to care for Yohji.
Why We Love It
Director Chiki-ura’s second feature (which he co-wrote with Keita Kumano) is remarkably assured, deftly exploring the impact of dementia on victims and their families. Here father and son have long been estranged, so their forced reconciliation is born of necessity, with the father too compromised to make amends with the son he left behind. The whole cast excels, but Fuji’s performance is the stand-out. A man both present and absent, Yohji still projects pride and stature, which only makes his moments of confusion and delusion more heartrending. You’ll want to be fully present for “Great Absence”.
What It’s About
Over Christmas in a downscale LA populated with cheap hotels and strip malls, Sin-Dee Rella (Rodriguez), a transgender black sex worker, reunites with best friend and fellow hustler Alexandra (also transgender), after a brief jail stint. When Sin-Dee learns her pimp Chester (Ransone) has been cavorting with white hooker Dinah (O’Hagan), she’s enraged, and goes looking for them. Meanwhile, Armenian cab driver Raznik (Karagulian) has a secret weakness for these ladies, and soon abandons his wife’s suffocating family to seek them out.
Why We Love It
Sean Baker’s bold, fresh, eye-popping debut feature was shot using just three iPhones and a mostly non-professional cast. The result is miraculous – a story at once sad, funny and inspiring, about two outcasts on society’s bottom-rung who need each other more than they realize. Baker romances the pastely decay of the area, and the story, which could have been grim, bursts with humor and humanity, largely thanks to stellar work from Rodriguez and Taylor. “Tangerine” heralded the arrival of a gifted new filmmaker, and hallelujah.
What It’s About
Rachel Seed has no memory of her mother, photographer Sheila Seed, who died when Rachel was eighteen months. She grew up aware of Sheila’s legacy without really understanding who she was. To take that extra step was too painful, but now Rachel feels ready. Her voyage of discovery involves excavating her mother’s life, studying her photographs, reading from her journals and hearing her voice on “Images of Man”, a series of audio interviews Sheila conducted with preeminent photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson. Gradually, Rachel forms an unexpected bond with the mother she never knew.
Why We Love It
This highly personal, deeply felt film delivers a fascinating profile of Sheila Turner Seed’s groundbreaking work in the sixties and seventies, competing in a male-dominated field. But on a deeper, more profound level, it’s also a tender portrait of a grown daughter searching for the mother who left her much too soon. We feel Rachel’s sense of abandonment as she opens herself up to a more thorough, nuanced understanding of Sheila, followed by bittersweet emotion as she realizes how much of her mother lives on in her. Don’t let this captivating film escape your memory.