I am a retired father of two living with my wife in Vancouver, B.C. who has had a lifelong interest in the arts.
“And we’re lost out here in the stars. Little stars, big stars, blowing through the night” — Kurt Weill Though the consensus of mainstream science is that ghosts do not exist, people’s shared experiences throughout history tell us that disembodied spirits do wander the earth, unfortunate souls who are unable to let go of their…
The chasm between what parents want for their children and what kids want for themselves is rarely addressed in films, especially in romantic comedies where the focus is primarily on young couples falling in and out of love and then back in again. Of course, we know that parents are usually involved, especially immigrant families…
“We are not lost, we are just finding our way” — Stephen Meek, “Meek’s Cutoff” As depicted in “Wendy and Lucy” and “Meek’s Cutoff,” Kelly Reichardt’s characters are lost without a significant guidepost to hold on to, adrift in a society in which they struggle to fit in. Based on short stories from the 2009…
In Israeli-American director Joseph Cedar’s masterful film, Norman: The Moderate Rise and Tragic Fall of a New York Fixer, a ridiculously expensive pair of shoes given as a gift leads to a friendship between rising Israeli politician Micha Eshel (Lior Ashkenazi, “Encirclements”) and Norman Oppenheimer (Richard Gere, “Time Out of Mind”), an American businessman, consultant…
Searching for the sublime, we are all explorers in our own way, seeking relief from “tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow creeping in this petty pace from day to day.” The quest for such a magical land is what drove British military officer, archaeologist, and explorer Percy Fawcett (Charlie Hunnam, “Crimson Peak”) to search the Amazon…
Mike Mills’ 2010 film “Beginners” was based on his relationship with his father who, at the age of 75, announced that he was gay and developed a relationship with a younger man. Mills takes another look at family life in 20th Century Women, a semi-autobiographical film about three adult characters looking back with nostalgia on…
Observing, feeling, thinking, day dreaming, or simply throwing up your hands in exasperation. You may be engaged in all or none of the above when watching Terrence Malick’s (“Knight of Cups”) Song to Song, a dreamlike exploration of love and betrayal. Whatever does come up for you, however, and whether or not you have any…
