Ekwa Msangi’s directorial debut, Farewell Amor is a tender story about an immigrant family facing new beginnings.  Essentially a three-hander, the finely fleshed out characters are brought to life by Msangi and the stirring performances of the principal actors.

It’s time for the character’s rediscovery and director Msangi divides the film into three segments to reflect the adjustments each character is trying to make.  The first segment focuses on Walter, amazingly brought to life by Ntare Guma Mbaho. He left his wife and daughter in Angola 17 years ago to escape a civil war.  Since then, he has been working as a cab driver earning just enough money to pay for his claustrophobic Brooklyn apartment, sending whatever is left to his wife.

The time has finally come when all the immigration red tape has been met and his family can now join him. His wife Esther, played by Zainab Jah, embodies the complexities of her character, and arrives at La Guardia Airport with their daughter Sylvia, played by Jayme Lawson.

There is an awkward greeting between them when they meet again almost as strangers, soon finding themselves caught between two cultures. As the newly arrived immigrants take their first ride through the busy streets, Ekwa Msangi and cinematographer Bruce Francis Cole capture both the grittiness of New York and the wonder reflected in the eyes of the newcomers.

At the family dinner, Esther insists that they say grace first, and Walter begins to get a glimpse of how deeply religious she is, which began when she fled to Tanzania.  Confessing that she’s been celibate since they separated, there is an attempt at lovemaking, but Walter is clearly conflicted and turns his back away from her. It becomes also clear that Esther would rather go to church than participate in any spousal intimacies.  He tries to accommodate some of her wishes by attending a church service, but clearly is having difficulties and doesn’t participate in singing any hymns.  Other forbidden things on her list include drinking wine and dancing, both of which he has been enjoying. Osei Essed’s lively soundtrack is a wonderful blend of African roots music as well as popular American selections. Walter grabs a bag hidden in a closet, and we realize that there is another woman in his life.  He subsequently throws the bag in the trash and continues to remain present and distant at the same time. At one point his daughter says, “Poppa do you love us?”

The next segment is from Sylvia’s point of view. On her first day at school, she meets fellow student D.J., nicely portrayed by Marcus Scribner. He grew up in the south without a father, and on discovering that she likes to dance, suggests that she try out for the Step Team. He walks her home, but when Esther sees D.J in their tiny apartment, she forbids Sylvia to have friends or dance, forcing her to kneel and pray for forgiveness.  At school, Sylvia injures her hand and Walter takes her to the hospital.  While waiting, he shares how he and her mother met at university and what great times they had dancing together, adding “This country is very hard for black people and dancing is the one place I can show myself,” encouraging her to dance. Sylvia doesn’t understand why he didn’t send for them sooner, and he explains that it was difficult due to government red tape.

In the segment devoted to Esther, we see her slowly uncovering Walter’s secret when mail addressed to Linda keeps arriving at the apartment. Though she spends most of her time cleaning, cooking, and talking to her sister back home, she finally confronts her husband about Linda and he replies, “She gave me hope.” We begin to understand that although Walter was in this loving relationship, he is committed to his wife and daughter. In an effort to discuss their dilemma, he takes Esther out to dinner in a beautiful restaurant.  She bought a new dress and looks lovely, exuding a softness we haven’t seen before. They discuss their past, and what takes place is surprising; evoking the audience to smile or shed a tear or two.

Farewell Amor could have easily slipped into a soap opera, but the finely honed script and razor-sharp directing, results in an unforgettable family drama, illuminating aspects of the universal human condition and the inherent challenges therein, including sacrifices for the greater good. While all the performances are fully realized, Ntare Guma Mbaho Mwine’s totally internalized characterization of Walter is spellbinding and we patiently await his next role.

“Farewell Amor”

Release Date:  December 11, 2020

Where: In Theatres and on Digital and VOD Platforms

Language: English

Running Time: 101 Minutes

Rating: Unrated

The post Film Review: Ekwa Msangi’s Directorial Debut With “Farewell Amor” appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Living with the harsh reality that the United States Supreme Court is the most conservative since the 1930’s, we are faced with the possibility of reversal of protections – from healthcare to environmental. In that regard, Alan Ball’s compelling feature length directorial debut,  Uncle Frank, couldn’t be timelier, as it’s a reminder of the harsh laws that governed alternative lifestyles and the severe consequences of getting caught.  Known primarily as the writer of American Beauty and creator of the True Blood franchise series, Ball’s film deals with a very serious subject, but still retains plenty of amusing moments.

Plot Summary:

Set in 1973, Uncle Frank is a family drama told through the eyes of young Beth Bledsoe, wonderfully played by Sophia Lillis. She lives in Creekville, South Carolina where her grandfather Daddy Mac, played by Stephen Root, is the strict patriarch at its head.  Beth has been accepted by New York University, where her Uncle Frank, beautifully characterized by Paul Bettany, is a highly respected professor of literature and has avoided family visits for decades. From his remarks, it is clear that her grandfather does not like his son. Beth doesn’t understand this as she finds her uncle to be the most interesting member of the family. He encourages her to reach her goals and in an intimate conversation, promises that he will always be there for her. What she is about to find out is that her uncle is gay and created an acceptable heterosexual lifestyle story for the family.

At college, Beth becomes friends with Bruce, a duplicitous young man played by Colton Ryan who, although virgin Beth would like to have sex with him, he declines. She surprises Frank by showing up at his office with Bruce who she introduces as her boyfriend. Frank is happy to see her, but is swamped with work so the visit is short. Beth finds out that her uncle is having a party and decides to show up with Bruce. Frank’s lover Wally (Walid,) tenderly played by Peter Macdissi, opens the door and introduces himself as her uncle’s roommate. Bruce finds the professor sitting on the fire escape smoking and offers a sex act. Irritated, Frank tells him to get lost and warns Beth about whom Bruce really is. It is during this visit that Frank reveals his true identity to his niece.

Shortly after the party, Frank’s father dies but he is reluctant to go to the funeral. He knows his father has despised him since he was a teenager when he caught him in bed with a boy named Sam, played by Michael Perez. ­Wally encourages his partner to attend the funeral and to use that time to “come out of the closet.” Wally wants to go with him but Frank says that’s a bad idea.

In the meantime, Beth’s parents Kitty (Judy Greer) and Mike (Steve Zahn) won’t allow her to fly home, so it becomes a fun road trip between uncle and niece. She is curious and wants to know if he ever kissed a girl and when he knew he was gay. It became clear to him when he was 16. In a flashback, he and Sam are swimming in a lake and have their first kiss. Despite telling Wally that he cannot attend the funeral, he follows them down and they run into each other at a gas station. Frank is upset and asks him why he didn’t respect his wishes, to which he replied, “I brought you a razor and a tie.” Frank’s car breaks down so the three of them wind up in Wally’s convertible. It’s a long drive from Manhattan to Creekville so they decide to overnight in a motel. Frank tells his partner that they cannot share a room. “We could go to prison if we’re caught.” In one amusing scene, the desk clerk at the motel demands to know the relationship between them and after answering to her satisfaction, she insists the young girl must have her own room, which leaves the two guys to share a room. But being closeted isn’t the only challenge Frank faces, as it appears he is also a recovering alcoholic. Faced with the prospects of being with his family, he starts drinking again, which is of grave concern to Wally who says, “I won’t go through it again.” After the funeral, there are flashbacks and one where Frank’s father catches him in bed with Sam and tells him, “You can’t see that boy again. If you do, I’ll kill both of you.” The rest of the film focuses on Frank’s grappling with his demons and an event that further cements his father’s contempt for him.

Director Ball’s brilliant script, nicely captured on camera by Khalid Mohtaseb, underscored by Nathan Barr’s music, has skillfully revealed the horrors of being gay in that era without beating you over the head. It’s deft story telling, and Bettany’s exquisite characterization of Frank is Oscar-worthy as is Sophia Lillis’ portrayal of Beth and Peter Macdissi’s Wally. The rest of the excellent cast includes, Lois Smith, Margo Martindale, Jane McNeil, Caity Brewer, Hannah Black, Burgess Jenkins, Zach Sturm, Britt Rentschler, Alan Campell, and Cole Doman.

“Uncle Frank”
Where: Amazon
When: November 26, 2020
Running Time: 95 Minutes
MPAA Rating: R

The post Paul Bettany Gives a Stirring Performance in Alan Ball’s “Uncle Frank” – On Amazon appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Plot Summary:

Pierce plays the Dutch art forger, Han Van Meegeren, an effete bon vivant artist, infamous for his decadent soirees with high ranking Nazis during World War II. The owner of over 500 Amsterdam properties, he had sold forged Dutch paintings to top Nazi officials, including Hermann Göring. While Van Meegeren lived life to the hilt, Bang’s Captain Joseph (Joe) Piller, a Dutch Jew and former tailor, was fighting in the Resistance. His record was spotless and after the war was assigned to tracking down and identifying other stolen works of art, mostly from Jewish people, with the goal of returning them to survivors or families.

It is now May 29, 1945, three weeks after the fall of Hitler’s Third Reich. While Joe searches for stolen treasures, streets crackle with public executions by firing squads for people guilty of collaboration with the enemy. Joe is particularly interested in how Göring came into possession of Vermeer’s “Christ and the Adulteress,” and traces the sale to Han Van Meegeren, with whom he arrests. In a stark jail cell, the arrogant artist requests paints, paintbrushes, and canvases.  He is to be tried and if convicted, will face the firing squad. The stories that Han tells Joe begin to plant doubts that he is guilty. He insists that he painted the Vermeers and sold the fake paintings to the Nazis for exorbitant prices. In the meantime, the Dutch government wants Han in their custody and attempts to snatch him from prison. On hearing this, Joe races back to the prison and takes Han to a loft where he can paint while he continues his investigation.

The artist reveals that despite having art critics spit on his work, he knew he was an excellent painter and decided he would pull off the hoax of the century by painting a number of pieces and then pawning them off as Vermeers. Those transactions made he and his wife incredibly affluent, owning multiple homes and enjoying a lush lifestyle. However, the government agents ultimately track him down and throw him into their prison. Despite being incarcerated, Van Meegeren maintains his elitist demeanor and still insists he painted those Vermeers. Joe enlists his former army buddy Esper, well played by Roland Møller who discovers a treasure trove of photos and cash hidden under the floorboards of Han’s studio, which included pictures of Joe’s wife attending parties where Nazis were in attendance. He confronts her and she insists that although she worked for a German officer, she was able to funnel information that saved the lives of many people. An attraction begins to heat up between Joe  and widowed Minna, played by Vicky Krieps, who has been assisting him in the investigation.

Han is now on trial and all the Vermeers that he claims he painted are displayed in the packed courtroom. Unfortunately for him, the one person who could back up his claim is deceased. With dramatic flair, he testifies that the art world treated him with distain and he deliberately painted the forgeries that fooled some of the best authenticators in the art world, bragging that one of his counterfeits hangs in Washington’s National Gallery of Art.  Experts are called to testify, all of who had authenticated the paintings as being genuine. The accused explains in great detail how he painted the fakes – from the kind of brushes, paints, and canvases he used, as well as the chemicals applied for the aging process. Joe, who is acting as his co-attorney, begs the judges to let him perform an acid test to prove the paintings are fraudulent, but the judges refuse. They convene and in just minutes render a guilty verdict punishable by death. The courtroom explodes in shock and what happens in the closing minutes will have you on the edge of your seat. Yes. It’s an intriguing but true cliffhanger.

Technically, the film is perfect from the settings to costumes to the music but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention Remi Adefarasin cinematography, which beautifully captures the changing physical portrait of post-war Holland.

The Last Vermeer

Director: Jonathan Lopez
Screenplay: James McGee, a Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby
Based on the book “The Man Who Made Vermeers” by Jonathan Lopez
Executive Producer:  Ridley Scott, Peter Heslop
Producers: Ryan Friedkin, Dan Friedkin, Bradley Thomas, Vijay Waghmare
Production Company:  Imperative Entertainment, Mehra Entertainment

Distributor:  TriStar Pictures
Cinematographer: Remi Adefarasin
Edited By: Victoria Boydell
Music: Johan Söderqvist

Language:  English
Running Time:  117 minutes
Release Date: December 4, 2020 (United States)

Principals: Claes Bang, Guy Pierce, Vicky Krieps, Roland Møller

117 minute
Rating:  R
Release date:  November 20, 2020
Opening On-Screen Via TriStar Pictures

The post Guy Pierce and Clase Bang Give Stirring Performances in “The Last Vermeer” appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Searching for words or names is a familiar phenomenon affecting many people who struggle to find the descriptive noun for familiar everyday objects and experiences. What was the name of that actor? What is that restaurant that serves vegetable curry? What is that thing I use on my teeth every night?  Oh yes, it’s dental floss. The sometimes slow-moving descent into memory loss is fascinatingly unveiled in writer/director Florian Zeller’s film The Father, co-written with Christopher Hampton, based on the director’s 2012 play Le Père, which premiered in Paris, subsequently winning the Molière Award for Best Play.

The film begins with opera music, which is part of Ludovico Einaudi’s  soundtrack interspersed throughout the film and includes some of the most famous arias such as “Casta Diva” from Bellini’s Norma. The camera moves slowly through a beautiful flat in London settling on Anthony (Sir Anthony Hopkins) seated in a chair wearing headphones listening to opera. His daughter Anne, sensitively played by Olivia Colman, enters with bags of groceries and at first we think she is visiting her dad in his flat. She is kind and solicitous and talks to him about the need for a carer.* Having fired three caretakers he is dug in and insists that he doesn’t want any help and is positive the last one stole his watch. Anne is very patient and tells him she’s going to look for the watch in his favorite hiding place in the bathroom and indeed that is where she finds it. He puts the watch on his wrist without saying a word.  His daughter asks him if he’s taken his pills and it becomes clear that there’s something on her mind. Sitting down next to him she takes his hand and tells him she’s moving to Paris with her boyfriend to which he replies, “They don’t speak English in Paris.” This is one of many scenes where Anthony’s reality is fractured into many pieces of a giant puzzle that he is trying to somehow unify. In the kitchen, he unpacks groceries and stops for a moment saying, “Is anybody there?” There is a man sitting in the living room and Anthony thinks it’s Paul, (Mark Gatiss) Anne’s husband.  He asks him if he and Anne are divorced and reveals to him that she is moving to Paris with her boyfriend and is worried about what will become of him.

Despite his altered reality, Anthony senses that, “There’s something funny going on” and trying to protect himself, emphasizes, “I am absolutely not going to a facility.” A new caretaker by the name of Laura, played by Imogen Poots, is introduced and for just a few minutes we see Anthony as he must have been in his earlier life – happy, playful, funny, and joyful. He tells her that she’s beautiful and that his daughter is trying to steal his flat.  Knowing his resistance to having a caretaker, Laura engages him in conversation asking what he did before he retired.  He does a few dance steps and says “I was a dancer.” Anne quietly corrects him reminding him that he was an engineer. Having enough, he goes to his room leaving the two women alone. His daughter breaks down in tears at how this once vibrant, successful man is now traveling headlong into senility. Later that evening, she lovingly sits down on his bed but he doesn’t immediately recognize her and once again says he can’t find his watch. There are difficult conversations between Anne and her real husband Paul, well played by Rufus Sewell. He is losing patience with Anthony living in their flat and taking up so much of his wife’s time and energy. He wants to travel and they had to cancel their last trip. Dad gets agitated as he overhears the conversation between Anne and Paul who wants to put him in a facility. There are two scenes that are particularly compelling where no dialogue is necessary: In one scene Anthony is wandering through the flat that is growing more and more unfamiliar as objects like pictures and furniture look differently than he remembers. The other heartbreaking scene is where Anne sees him trying to figure out how to put on his sweater. With the patience of a saint, she quietly helps him and then tenderly touches his cheek.

With the now rapid descent into a black hole, he asks his daughter “What about me?  Who exactly am I?”  And in his profound confusion, he breaks down crying, “I want my mommy.”

In closing, I wish to reiterate that The Father is not an easy film and for some it might be too close for comfort.  However, despite the difficult subject matter, the performances delivered by Academy Award winners Sir Anthony Hopkins and Olivia Colman are absolutely riveting and they should probably make room on their mantles for another Oscar.

THE FATHER

A French-British Production

Director: Florian Zeller
Screenplay:  Christopher Hampton & Florian Zeller
Production Company:  F comme Film, Trademark Films Cine@
Cinematographer: Ben Smithard
Music:  Ludovico Einaudi
Editor: Yorgos Lamprinos

Distributors: Sony Pictures Classics (Domestic)
United Kingdom: (Lionsgate)

Language: English
Running Time:  97 minutes

Release Dates:
Domestic: December 18, 2020
United Kingdom: January 8, 2021

*British word for caretaker

The post Sir Anthony Hopkins Gives an Astonishing Performance in “The Father” appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Any career woman, who has been faced with juggling her work with parental responsibilities will relate to French director Alice Winocour’s “Proxima.” Co-written with Jean-Stéphane Bron, the film is basically a family drama centering on a female astronaut in training for a space trip to Mars.  Driven by the impeccable characterization of Sarah Loreau by Eva Green, the film is a pre-blast-off excursion into the delicate balance between Sarah and her seven-year-old daughter Stella, beautifully rendered by talented Zélie Boulant-Lemesle, who makes her film debut.  Unlike the “Hollywoodish” superficial character and relationship development in the Netflix series “Away” starring Hillary Swank, Winocour’s script delves deeply into the changing family dynamic, which is spot on and intriguing, illuminating the roller coaster of emotions that mother and daughter experience during the pre-flight training process.

Sarah sits quietly with Stella, explaining that she has been chosen to be the only female astronaut and that her training will commence shortly, after which she will be gone for a year. In a very poignant moment, her child asks, “Will you die before me?” Sarah tries to skim over the answer and as she’s tucking her in casually says, “That is customary.”  In order to move forward, Sarah must enlist the aid of her ex-partner and Stella’s dad Lars Eidinger to become the primary caretaker. Nicely played by Thomas Ackerman, at first Lars is reluctant to be a full time dad and can’t understand why his “ex” wants to do this.  She tells him that being an astronaut has been her dream ever since she was a little girl and put a lampshade on her head.  Being in the space business himself, Lars agrees and his daughter moves in along with her cat Laika.

Sarah is the only woman selected for this special mission, the training of which will take place at the European Space Agency in Cologne, Germany under the supervision of team commander, and somewhat sexist Mike Shannon, aptly played by Matt Dillon.  On occasion, he tries to pull her off parts of the training that he thinks might be too daunting, citing that she might not have the core skills.  Offended, she insists that she can do it, and does as well as the male astronauts, including the grueling 9G Gravity machine.  The training scenes are intense and beautifully captured by cinematographer by Georges Lechaptois, who lingers on a frame  before cutting to the next shot.  Leisure time is given to the astronauts who, one night, sat around a campfire reciting poetry:  “Give me a garden of beautiful flowers where I can walk undisturbed.”

As the training nears completion, Stella and her dad are moved to housing in Cologne for families of the astronauts.  Supervised by astrophysicist Wendy, played by Sandra Hüller, she takes Stella under her wing and becomes her surrogate mother.  In between training sessions, Sarah spends time with her daughter and there is there is a sweet scene of them ice-skating together.  But, Stella is quite unhappy as being dyslectic, she is having trouble keeping up with the other kids and can’t do the multiplication tables.  Throughout the film we see Sarah’s devotion to her training, as well as her deep concern for her daughter’s well being.  As the time allowed to spend with her daughter shortens, Stella begins to withdraw and forms a strong bond with Wendy.

Blast-off is nearing and reality of the potential danger of the mission is setting in and each astronaut is asked to write a “just in case” letter to their families.  They are also allowed to bring a few mementoes on board to remember their earth connections, such as favorite family photos, shots of water, forests, and even ladybugs.  They can bring enough stuff to fill a shoebox – no more than that. Being so close to takeoff, and to avoid any contamination, the astronauts can now only see their families through a glass partition and you can see the pain Sarah is feeling in not being able to hold her child one last time before she leaves for outer space.  It is about here that she takes what is an implausible dramatic action that endangers not only herself, but also the mission.  Perhaps it was to heighten the drama and to hammer home Sarah’s devotion to her child. However, taking that action flies in the face of all her training and leaves you doubting her commitment.  Not a good message as breaking serious rules doesn’t shine a positive light on Sarah and brings into question the ability of a woman to walk the line between parenting and career.  Despite this contrived dramatic moment, the schedule is maintained and all the astronauts are suited up. But is it a “go?”

“PROXIMA”

A Vertical Entertainment Release
Where:  Digital HD from Amazon Video, iTunes & Pay TV
Genre:  Action/Drama
Running time: 1 hour 47 minutes
Languages:  French, English, Russian, German (sub-titles when appropriate)
Not rated.

The post Eva Green Shines in Alice Winocour’s “Proxima” Now Streaming on Amazon appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Wonderfully produced and directed by Laura Naylor, this enchanting film presents an intimate look at the daily lives of a group of working class men, some of whom have been showing up for the harvest drive at the Jacques Selosse vineyards for the last twenty-five years.  The film captures the heart and soul of this particular harvest experience, which takes place from August through November, culminating with the bottling of the wine.

Complimenting the excellent direction, the film is exquisitely shot by cinematographer Ryan de Franco, and begins with a series of establishing shots – an outdoor barbeque, men working in the vineyard, a worker tasting a grape, and scenes of women brought in to prepare meals for the workers.  As the men arrive from different parts of France, they greet each other warmly as most of them have known each other for years. Sleeping accommodations have been made and after a slight discussion over the arrangements, everything is settled amicably.  Soon, we are taken into the vineyard where every day the grapes are carefully cut and placed into crates.  It’s backbreaking work, but the men are cheerful, playful, very respectful of each other, and take their work seriously.

These workers are not just pickers.  They are wine experts capable of detecting and identifying the inherent complexities of a particular variety.  On their cigarette breaks, they lie down amongst the vines and playfully joke with each other or share family stories.  The wife of one of the workers is part of the group of women who will be preparing the mouth-watering meals and there are delightful scenes of the cooks comparing recipes, deciding what food items needed to be purchased, and fun shopping trips to the markets. But, with the younger members of the family taking on greater roles in the running of the business, there are occasional culture clashes between the aging pickers and the younger family members who might not embrace all of their traditions. However, at the end of the harvest, they all gather in a beautiful, candle-lit dining room and between the gourmet food, plenty of fabulous wine, and singing, any tensions during the harvest melt away. Brian Bender and Deniz Cuylan’s rousing musical score fully accents the joy and spirit of these people. There are sweet scenes of the workers with their families illuminating their lives away from the vineyard.  Director Naylor was meticulous in painting the crew with a fine brush so that they are multi-dimensional showing how they spend their days away from the vineyard.   A very delightful scene is with one of the workers playing a variation of bocce ball with his wife, who also happens to be one of the fabulous cooks.  At last, with the harvested completed, the dorm is stripped, floors are mopped, pay is handed out, and these dedicated workers, most of whom will return next year, are once more headed home to their families.

For anyone interested in an intimate look at a complicated wine harvest, this film walks you through the process from beginning to end, capturing the humanity of everyone involved as well as the symbiotic relationship between the owners and the workers.  It also reveals the pivotal role Mother Nature plays in the final product, which could impact on the level of success of the harvest.  However, one can see why the Domain Jacques Selosse, now run by the founder’s son Anselme, has earned an excellent reputation for producing very fine champagne, perhaps due in part to using oak barrels for fermentation rather than the usual stainless steel.

The film features: Miguel Delhaye, Samuel Delhaye, Bastien Favier, Léa Favier, Bruno Santiago, Anselme Selosse, Caroline Selosse, Corinne Selosse, Guillaume Selosse, Michel Waret, and Renelle Waret.

*Cinéma vérité or “truth cinema” was a French film movement of the 1960s that captured  people in everyday situations with authentic, unscripted, predominantly  improvised dialogue.

The post “Wine Crush (Vas-y Coupe!)” – A Peek At Harvest Time in France appeared first on Traveling Archive.

The very talented Danish actor Claes Bang may not exactly be a household name.  However, as a reminder, he starred in The Square, and more recently, in The Burnt Orange Heresy, which co-starred Donald Sutherland and Mick Jagger. He is the kind of actor who compels your eye to stay riveted to the screen and his highly textured performance as Will in The Bay of Silence continues in that tradition.

Paula van der Oest directed Caroline Goodall’s screenplay, based on Lisa St. Aubin de Teran’s novel of the same name. The film begins with a series of rapidly changing scenes starting with a haunting scream of a little girl that immediately gets your attention. Following that opening, quick cuts to a confessional, a bicycle, and finally we see Will, a civil engineer, and his beautiful artist girlfriend Rosalind, wonderfully played by Olga Kurylenko, who delivers a highly nuanced performance. They are playful young lovers and are splashing around in the lake in Liguria, Italy where he feigns drowning.  Seeing how terrified Rosalind became, he immediately apologizes and proposes marriage. Eight months later she is pregnant. They are having a housewarming reception in the backyard of their London home. She is about to take a photo of the kids playing below, when the railing breaks and she falls to the ground, but is not injured.

Rosalind has twin girls from a previous marriage who Will embraces as his own. Eventually, she has a baby boy but, beginning her downward mental spiral, insists that she had twins and that they were hiding the other baby. Will tries to reassure her that she only gave birth to their son named Amadeo and slowly, ever so slowly we begin to see her unravel.  She has nightmares and walks in her sleep which her loving husband tries to understand. He is very playful with her twin girls and one evening they ask him to tickle them, which he does. Rosalind gets upset at his touching her children and snaps, “They need to sleep.” It is about here that we begin to get a glimmer of what might have taken place in her childhood, and perhaps there is a deep-rooted secret, but we still don’t have the facts. Her mother, Vivian, (Alice Krige) is married to Milton, well played by the always spot-on Brian Cox, who exhibits love and caring for Rosalind and is quite protective of her. After she gives birth, he visits his stepdaughter, bringing her a beautiful piece of gold piece jewelry and champagne.

Will’s latest project puts him in charge of constructing a bridge in Newcastle. One night, he returns home from work and finds everything in total disarray, the word liar scrawled in giant letters on a wall, and his wife and kids are gone. Milton shows up informing him that Rosalind called to say that she was leaving her marriage but even though he knows where she went, he won’t help. He has good reasons to resist guiding his son-in-law in his search for his family.

Will is desperate to locate his family and while searching the attic for clues of where she might be, he sees an old suitcase, which he breaks open. He finds a parcel had arrived from Normandy the day she disappeared which contained a camera case with strips of negatives hidden inside the lining. Also concealed were a bunch of photographs of his wife as a young girl. On the back of one of the photos are the words “I forgive you.” Will deduces what is pictured is a small coastal village in northern France and decides that’s probably where she went.   Armed with the photographs, he heads to what he believes is the village shown in the photos and goes in and out of local stores asking if anyone saw her or the children. Someone had indeed seen her and directs him to this old run-down house that appears to be boarded up, but on arrival he sees the twin girls fighting on the beach below with a baby carriage nearby. He goes down to where they are and finds the interior of the carriage covered with twigs and leaves. He slowly removes the debris and discovers Amadeo’s lifeless body. Rosalind is in the house sitting in a dark corner and her decent into total madness is clear. Now, during Will’s quest to find his family, one young man in town seemed to be popping up consistently. At first, Will is suspicious of Pierre Laurent, nicely played by Assaad Bouab, but eventually they become allies as he unveils the unthinkable truth about the wife’s past and the secret that has been causing her mental decline. Eventually, through perseverance, he unearths a hornet’s nest of family falsehoods and deceptions.

Aiding and abetting the intriguing story telling is Guido van Gennep haunting cinematography, John Swihart’s music, and perfect editing by Sander Vos and Paul Tothill, all of whom contributed immensely to creating this mysterious mosaic of intersecting lives and the duplicitous nature of some of the people inhabiting this tale. Like any Hitchcockian thriller, just when you think you’ve figured everything out, along comes another shocking twist so like Yogi Berra once said, “It ain’t over  ‘till it’s over,” but in this case, you’re not actually sure it’s over and what you’re seeing might not be the truth of what you’re seeing.  If that’s vague, well it’s meant to be.

The Bay of Silence*

Director: Paula van der Oest
Screenplay: Caroline Goodall
Distributor:  A Vertical Entertainment Release
Cinematographer: Guido van Gennep
Editors: Sander Vos, & Paul Tothill
Music: John Swihart

Language:  English
Running Time:  95 Minutes
Cast: Claes Bang, Olga Kurylenko, Alice Krige, Brian Cox

The film will screen through Virtual Cinemas and on digital and VOD platforms beginning Friday, August 14.

*The beautiful Bay of Silence in Liguria is a small picturesque bay located on the Italian Riviera and is frequented by locals during the summer months.

The post Paula van der Oest’s “The Bay of Silence” — An Intriguing Mystery Thriller appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Atom Egoyan’s film is one that you will either love or hate.  I fall somewhere in the middle as the following review will demonstrate.

The movie begins with a haunting scene of a young girl “playing” wine glasses, emitting a beautiful sound.  We immediately segue to Veronica (Laysla De Oliveira) who, wearing a red dress, arrives at a church to speak with Father Greg (Luke Wilson) regarding services for her deceased father.  She describes his work in detail explaining that he devoted his life to being a Department of Health Inspector and spent his days going from restaurant to restaurant to ferret out any animal droppings with the preciseness of a skilled brain surgeon.

In a series of flashbacks that take us into a variety of restaurants, we see Jim, embodied by the gifted actor, David Thewlis, doing his job.  He pays meticulous attention to detail as he pokes his nose into every nook and cranny where an unwelcomed pest might be hiding.  His mantra is that he has devoted his life to keeping people’s food safe and clean. It is about at this point, that a series of flashbacks begin, spanning a 15-year period, taking us from Veronica’s childhood to the present time. In one scene, we see dad giving his young daughter a baby rabbit, whose ears and feet will play a part later in both their lives.

As Veronica talks to a most sympathetic Father Gregg, we learn that she was in prison for sexual misconduct with one of her students named Clive (Alexandre Bourgeois). A music teacher, Veronica was friendly and supportive of all her students but found Clive to be especially talented and gave him a lot of extra time. A school bus driver named Mike, played by Rossif Sutherland, has a crush on Veronica and becomes increasingly jealous of the friendship with her student.  He fiddles with her cell phone, which was customarily left on the bus during recitals, figures out her password, and sends a seductive email to Clive who thinks it’s from his teacher. Despite being innocent of raping her young student, she pleads guilty and goes to prison, which is somehow connected to her perception of her father’s behavior when she was a child.  Before going to prison, driven by a flawed memory from her childhood, she had been acting out by indulging in a string of one-night stands. So, the plot gets a little tricky as sub-plot upon sub-plot is introduced. I know this all sounds a bit “soap opera-ish” and you would be right to some extent. However, the rotating timeline is executed so delicately as to be almost imperceptible, and it takes a bit of concentration to navigate these mercurial time-line transitions.  Some might call it “clunky,” but I call it creative.

In one mysterious scene, Jim carefully plants rat droppings in the bathroom of a Brazilian restaurant.  At first I was surprised, but his reason become clear as to why he commits such a fraudulent, dishonest act and slowly, ever so slowly, the narrative begins to crystallize.

Despite a flawed script, David Thewlis’ brilliant performance is worth the price of admission. I found myself hanging on to his every word, delivered in a precise, non-melodramatic way, one of the real dangers of precise in his moment-to-moment reality and delivers a perfect, steady performance with the quiet sub-text permeating his every word. For any actor out there, it is a lesson in “not playing the text.”  I also thought that it was interesting story telling, slowly revealing the reason for Veronica’s strained relationship with her father.  Rather than being critical of the sometimes confusing timeline, I like to think of this film as a giant puzzle, with pieces scattered all over the table, requiring a patient assembly to achieve a coherent completion.  It should be noted that the film was an Official Selection at the Venice International Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, BFI London Film Festival, and is currently being screened via virtual cinemas through Kino Marquee.

The post Atom Egoyan’s “Guest of Honour” Receives Mixed Reviews appeared first on Traveling Archive.

From the very first opening shot, one knew immediately that RESIDUE* was going to be a brilliant, cinematic work of art.  Graduate of USC School of Cinematic Arts, first-time film director Merawi Gerima took his time in shooting the establishing shots — a series of slightly veiled, sometimes muffled sounds ranging from a protest evolving in slow motion and a police presence, to a street performer entertaining a crowd of spectators. Fulfilling the directorial vision, cinematographer Mark Jeevaratnam captured every nuanced moment in this 90-minute film, sometimes employing the shaky look associated with a handheld camera. The low lighting used in parts of the film was entrancing, creating shadows, which augmented the occasional disembodied, muffled voices. Those moments are skillfully supported by assistance from Alex J. Bledsoe on sound and Cam Poles, who co-supervised the music. These kinetic cinematic elements could perhaps be symbolic of the lead character of Jay’s ongoing disappointing discoveries. At first, the connective tissue was not immediately clear, but became so as we move further and further into the film.

The story line revolves around a young filmmaker named Jay, brilliantly portrayed by Obinna Nwachukwu, who, after many years in Los Angeles, returns to his old neighborhood in Washington, D.C. to gather up research for a film he plans to make about growing up on Q Street. His first order of business in returning is to visit his parents who still live in the same home in which he grew up. They are not happy with what’s happening to their neighborhood, which is becoming gentrified, with  long-time African-American residents selling their properties to white developers. Despite receiving lucrative offers, they stand tight and refuse to sell. Jay is greeted warmly by his parents and says, “It’s good to be home.” In a symbolically telling moment, a white couple allows their dog to poop on his parents’ front lawn. Jay’s mother scolds them and they reply, “We’ll clean it up” but mom says, “But it always leaves a residue.” Jay’s overriding desire is to reconnect with Demetrius, his best childhood friend. He asks a number of people who knew him from the past, but no one seems to know what became of him. Director Gerima’s script seamlessly moves back and forth in time delicately blending the protagonist’s present experience as compared to his past.  

Jay continues to meet with residents of “Q Street” meticulously taking notes that he will turn into a screenplay. In one of the tender flashback scenes, Jay is in the woods with his friend Demetrius and they talk about how relaxing it is to hear the birds chirp and savor the sweet smell of the woods. The two young boys playfully wrestle and the bond between them is quite evident. It also becomes quite evident that Jay’s childhood memories of what it was like growing up in his neighborhood do not connect to what he is seeing today. In addition to the gentrification, he is basically unable to reconnect with his childhood friends who seem to be scattered in different directions. This is a heartfelt story of someone who finds that the childhood he knew has virtually disappeared and the emptiness that his discoveries engender.

Director Gerima has meticulously assembled a sterling cast starting with Obinna Nwachukwu in the lead role.  He gives an Oscar-worthy performance mining through the myriad emotions the character experiences as he discovers the changes to his childhood neighborhood.  His understated, but searing performance, is reminiscent of the characterizations delivered by such Hollywood giants as Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, Dustin Hoffman or Robert DeNiro. Other cast members include, JaCari Dye, Jamal Graham, Dennis Lindsey, Derron Scott, Julian Selman, Taline Stewart, Melody A. Tally, and Ramon Thompson — all of whom deliver pitch perfect performances — so perfect and so fully actuated that it almost feels as though they are improvising — a tribute to great direction.

It took a small village to create RESIDUE, starting with the superb writer/director/editor, a gifted production team, and a talented cast.  This outstanding cinematic journey is now streaming on Netflix.

*RESIDUE made it’s world premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival, receiving the Audience Award for Best Narrative Feature and the Acting Award for star Obinna Nwachukwu. The film is also an official selection of the 77th Venice International Film Festival’s Giornate degli Autori. Gerima is the son of Haile Gerima, a famous Ethiopian filmmaker noted for the L.S. Rebellion film movement.

The post Director/Writer Merawi Gerima’s Captivating RESIDUE — Streaming on Netflix appeared first on Traveling Archive.

Jess, exquisitely brought to life by a very talented Jasmine Batchelor is best friends with Josh, tenderly played by Chris Perfetti, and his husband Aaron, well played by Sullivan Jones.  They want to have a baby and Jess has agreed to be the egg donor and surrogate.  The dipstick turned pink and they are jubilant that she tested positive and a new life has begun.  They have agreed to cover all the attendant expenses to having their baby and the three of them are delighted.  Jess continues her work as a web designer for a local non-profit and it seems all is well.  There are lots of fun dinners, yoga classes, laughter, and great excitement over the arrival of the baby.  All is well until they receive some unsettling news.  After the third month, the prenatal test is positive for Down syndrome and thus begins a painful decision journey for the three friends. Jess wants more information and the three of them go to a community center that specializes in working with Down children.  It appears to be a happy place and the children are engaged in all sorts of activities.   There Jess meets young, really adorable Leon, beautifully played by Down actor Leon Lewis, and his devoted mother Bridget, excellently played by Brooke Bloom.  Jess asks if she could visit their home. Bridget says yes and invites her for dinner during which she shares her experiences in raising her child, some of which are quite challenging.  Leon is reasonably verbal and cheerfully responds to whatever instructions he receives from his mom.  Back at Josh and Aaron’s apartment in Williamsburg Brooklyn, the guys are clearly conflicted and are having second thoughts on the prospects of raising a Down child, citing what they perceive to be the on-going attendant costs. With much sadness, they tell her that they decided they don’t want to have the child and ask her to abort the fetus and, at the moment, she agrees.  To find a temporary respite from the horrible choice that lies before her, Jess has sex with her old boyfriend Nate, a really sweet guy characterized by Brandon Micheal Hall.  He wants to marry her and says he will be supportive of whatever she decides, whether her decision is to abort or not to abort, in which case he would help her raise the child. At 29 years of age, and apparently commitment phobic, Jess doesn’t want to get married or even have a steady boyfriend. After giving it a great deal of thought, she decides that she does not want to abort and goes to her mother, Karen (Tonya Pinkins) to seek $100,000 from the trust fund left by her grandparents and would use the funds to buy a house for she and the baby.  With a Masters Degree from Columbia, her mom patiently points out the pitfalls of raising a special needs child and refuses the request.  She defends herself pointing out all the money she donates to charities with Jess shooting back that such generosity was to “assuage guilt for living a privileged life.”  In the meantime, Josh and Aaron are under the impression that she is going to have an abortion.  The day before the scheduled procedure, Jess goes back to her friends to try to reason with them, saying they could co-parent the child, but Josh has an unpleasant memory from his childhood of a Down kid named Devon and doesn’t want that for his child.  In a heartfelt plea, he tries to explain that being a gay married couple was hard enough which is why they want to at least have a normal kid.  She doesn’t commit one way or the other and moves in with her loving sister Samantha, sympathetically played by Eboni Booth.

The guys visit Jess at her sister’s house and propose that instead of aborting the child that they put it up for adoption.  At that point, Jess gets angry and refuses that suggestion telling them she is going to have the child and that they will never be allowed to visit.  Still there is the slightest question mark as to what action she will ultimately undertake and we are left with a lovely cliffhanger.

The Surrogate, which is director Hersh’s first feature, is a pitch perfect, fascinating, well-crafted, highly intelligent film.  His narrative does not take a moral position on abortion and allows each of his characters to make his or her own case, as to abort or not to abort, in non-diatribe, non-exploitative, crisp dialogue, with valid points of view.  Enhancing this captivating, excellent movie with his extremely fine theatre trained acting ensemble, is his production crew starting with Mia Cioffi Henry’s sensitive cinematography, D’Vaughn Agu’s delicate production design, culminating with Cecilia Delgado’s spot-on editing, all working together for this absorbing 93-minute Indy film which can be viewed through the Vimeo on Demand platform.

The post Jeremy Hersh’s Quietly Powerful “The Surrogate” appeared first on Traveling Archive.