Betsy Sherman

Film Review: “France” — A Comic Drama about the Shallowness of Contemporary Journalism

December 13, 2021
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Léa Seydoux claims the spotlight as the title character in Bruno Dumont’s pithy and entertaining France, giving a performance that’s cunningly calibrated to mesmerize.

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Film Review: “Surge” — In the Grip of an Irresistible Force

September 23, 2021
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Ben Whishaw crackles aplenty in Aniel Karia’s fresh and primal debut feature.

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Film Appreciation: “History is Made at Night” — Transcendent Love on Screen

June 8, 2021
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Director Frank Borzage’s wonderful 1937 History Is Made at Night, newly restored and released on Blu-ray and DVD by the Criterion Collection, defies pigeonholing.

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Film Review: “Poly Styrene: I Am a Cliché” — Courage and Artistry Relevant to Our Moment

May 10, 2021
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The documentary strikes a remarkably rich vein, covering not only music, fashion and a late-1970s social critique, but also matters of race, class, gender, mental health and spirituality.

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Film Review: 1930’s “Ingagi” — An Elusive Beast from the Dark Shadows of American Cinema Emerges

March 22, 2021
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In its day, Ingagi raked in the crowds with a promise of weird African animals and “wild” women, and a teasing of bestiality.

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Film Review: “News of the World” — An Intimate Two-Shot of a Western

December 31, 2020
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The filmmakers use their story to point towards a way to help us navigate through our own polarization; it has something to do with each of us widening our perspective to take in more than just our immediate experience.

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Film Review: “White Riot” — The Superb, Sadly Relevant, Story of Rock Against Racism

October 19, 2020
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Director Rubika Shah ends her film on this high note, but no one watching could conclude that the struggle is over

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Arts Remembrance: Old-Time Radio Announcer Frank Gallop — A Wonderful Set of Pipes

July 22, 2020
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Feisty, funny, frightening when necessary, Boston’s Frank Gallop classed-up the airwaves.

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Film Review: “The High Note” — Too Many False Notes

May 28, 2020
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This is a feminist battle where all participants wear marshmallow boxing gloves.

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Film Review: “The Ghost of Peter Sellers” — A Riveting Postmortem

May 24, 2020
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The documentary has a “why me?” element to it, with a dark comic edge, but it isn’t a pity party.

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