6 July 2018. 3 FACES **** (vo Farsi) The unending wisdom and gentleness of Jafar Panahi are once again here to delight us. The veteran Iranian director, who is supposedly still under house arrest and prohibited from making films, is back with another tale from a corner of his country. One can only wonder how […]
FILM: SICARIO 2 – day of the soldado
6 July 2018. SICARIO 2 (Day of the soldado) *** But if you’re looking for nerve-wracking tension and thrills, then this film about the Mexican drug cartels is for you. Both Benicio del Toro and Josh Brolin are back in their roles as U.S. agents dealing with cross-border drug problems. Their connections with the highest […]
FILM: BLUE NOTE RECORDS – BEYOND THE NOTES ****
29 June 2018. BLUE NOTE RECORDS – BEYOND THE NOTES **** If you love music, especially jazz, this is your documentary. I couldn’t say it better than the blurb for the film: “A revelatory, thrilling and emotional journey behind the scenes of Blue Note Records, the pioneering label that gave voice to some of the […]
FILM: 3 DAYS IN QUIBERON – celebrity in haunting black and white
22 June 2018. This week we have three distinct films about women, all by women directors. Germany/France; Egypt/Iran; Pakistan/Norway. Who said “it’s a man’s world”? 3 DAYS IN QUIBERON **** (vo German) This haunting black and white film feels more beige or grey, as were the convoluted emotions of Romy Schneider, the Austrian/German/French actress who […]
FILM: POPE FRANCIS – A MAN OF HIS WORD ****
15 June 2018. This is a fine week for films – take your pick from this exceptional selection: POPE FRANCIS – A MAN OF HIS WORD **** To start off, there is Wim Wenders’ superb documentary on the Pope. A man of the people who cares for and identifies with the poor. That’s why he […]
FILM: THE BOOK CLUB – star-powered chuckles
8 June 2018. THE BOOK CLUB **1/2 Diane Keaton, Jane Fonda, Candice Bergen – fine actresses (Keaton and Fonda are both Oscar-winners) and old time troupers. Add Mary Steenburgen and they make up the Book Club, a foursome of close friends from way back who like to read books and discuss literature. Median age around […]
CANNES winners – Neptune’s final report – part 3
25 May 2018. So what was the culmination of the 71st edition of this grandest of all film festivals? I would say the satisfying ‘Palmares’ (awards) handed out by the high-caliber jury headed by the elegant and talented Australian actress, Cate Blanchett. It was indeed a competent jury, since four of its members were among […]
CANNES – Neptune reports from Cannes – part 2
Where do I begin in this second week? Too many films, too many events, so many encounters. But hey, this is Cannes and it’s like the whole world is happening here – beauty, emotions, anxieties, politics…it’s all here in a microcosm of life on this stretch of the French Riviera. So much to report, but […]
FILM: LEAN ON PETE – a film that stays in the heart
4 May 2018. LEAN ON PETE (La route sauvage) **** There are films that stay in the heart. This is one of them – a small gem of an Indy film. It’s about a teenager whose mother left him as a baby. His father tries to be there for him, but there are money problems, […]
FILM: 7 DAYS IN ENTEBBE – a gripping portrait of a real airline hijack
27 April 2018. 7 DAYS IN ENTEBBE *** Here’s a gripping portrait of the hijacking of an Air France airliner in the summer of 1976 by two Palestinians and two German revolutionaries, which ended at the airport of Entebbe, Uganda. Seven days of high tension for the hundreds of hostages, the nervous hijackers, the Israeli […]
