Betsy Sherman
Happily, Blythe Danner is the central figure in an immensely pleasurable indie film that blends the integrity of an art film with the cozy accessibility of the mainstream.
The comedy-tinged-with-drama touches on themes tackled by a bunch of recent indie movies that center on characters in their thirties and forties who feel like imposters in the world of adults.
H. relies on clever editing manipulations and pithy reaction shots rather than on flashy special effects.
Two powerful documentaries that explore the dark side of America, past and present.
Oh, to be a lead character in a Borzage movie. You might expire during the final dissolve into “The End,” but man oh man, you will have loved. And you will have been loved.
Xavier Dolan’s up-close look at a mother-son relationship has the intensity of a John Cassavetes film — it can be gut-wrenching to watch.
Rosewater is a movie for the idealists, with the implied hope that a principled and conscientious mass media can give the new breed of technologically savvy activists a louder voice.
An exciting complement to the new book is a traveling retrospective of Hou Hsiao-hsien’s films, a rare opportunity to see 19 of the director’s movies shown on 35mm film: at Cambridge’s Harvard Film Archive through November 2.
No No: A Dockumentary presents a textured portrait, on and off the field, of ’70s pitching phenomenon Dock Ellis.
Writer-director Catherine Breillat’s Abuse of Weakness is a fascinating, nicely restrained look at what in retrospect was a parasitic relationship.
Arts Commentary: The Orchestra Gap — Europe vs. the US