Currently Browsing: September 2010
From Oct ’10 Spotlight: Howl will be called a “BioPic” about Allen Ginsberg (played by James Franco), but it’s really a “PoemPic” about the genesis and impact of one of the 20th Century’s most ground-breaking art works. Meeting face-to-face with co-directors Rob Epstein and Jeff Friedman recently, I asked them point blank: “Is Howl a […]
From Oct ’10 Spotlight: A Film Unfinished by Israeli director Yael Hersonski analyzes recently discovered film stock buried deep in German archives. Even as the Nazis were building Treblinka, cameramen were sent into the Warsaw Ghetto to make a “documentary” for the Red Cross. Some of this footage was eventually released and assumed to be […]
CIFF 2010 Sneak Peek: Jessica Hentoff (founder of the St. Louis Arches) & Rabbi Mark Rosenstein (founder of the Galilee Circus) are animated by the same basic idea: since all kids love the circus, maybe they can learn to love each other under the Big Top? In Alexandra Lipsitz’ new doc Circus Kids, Hentoff brings her […]
CIFF 2010 Sneak Peek: Little Rose is a riveting story about internal rot in a country trapped behind the Iron Curtain after WWII. The main character is “Kamila” (Magdalena Boczarska), a beautiful young woman pursuaded to seduce & then inform on a famous author/university professor (Andrzej Seweryn) under the code name “Little Rose.” Her runner is a brutal […]
CIFF 2010 Sneak Peek: “Reuben” (Vincent Piazza) kinda lost his way when his father died & then his Mom (Janet Ulrich Brooks) married an Orthodox attorney (Richard Belzer) & had two more kids. His father’s brother “Uncle Sol” (Judd Hirsch) has tried to provide some structure, but Reuben has no intention of wasting his life working […]
CIFF 2010 Sneak Peek: Nothing beats starting a film with “guarded optimism” & ending it completely entranced. Yes, I try to go into every new film “living in hope” (as my Richard always says: “No one sets out to make a bad movie!”), but sometimes it’s hard to have an open mind when your heart’s been broken in […]
Mazel Tov to Eran Riklis who “won big” for his new film The Human Resources Manager at last night’s Ophir Awards (presented by the Israel Film Academy). And note that The Matchmaker (which won Best Actor & Best Actress) will screen next month in our Chicago International Film Festival (dates = 10/11, 10/17 & 10/19). More […]
So a couple of weeks ago, I’m here working away at my desk when the phone rings. It’s my Rabbi. She wants to know if I’d like to do one of the Meditations on Rosh Hashanah morning? These honors are usually arranged months in advance, so I’m guessing she’s in a bind. Someone “important” must have backed […]
The 5770 book is now closed. As I begin posting 5771 content, I’d like to take a moment to thank my JUF News editors (Aaron Cohen & Cindy Sher) for the oportunity to learn about all the fascinating actors, artists, authors, filmmakers, playwrights, scholars, & etc etc who made their way to Chicago this past year. Special shout-out to those of […]
Playing at this year’s CIFF: Daniel Burman’s new film Dos Hermanos (from Argentina). Siblings “Marcos” (Antonio Gasalla) & “Susana” (Graciela Borges) must each find ways to put the past behind them & move on after their elderly mother dies. Burman’s adaptation (based on Sergio Dubcovsky’s novel Villa Laura) is tender & charming, but doesn’t have the weight & […]