World War II

Film Interview: Talking to Zach Baliva, Director of “Potentially Dangerous”

March 20, 2023
Posted in , ,

Potentially Dangerous is a documentary about an era during World War II when Italians living in the United States were persecuted and, in some cases interned, as “enemy aliens” because the US was at war with Italy.

Read More

Book Review: “V2” — Robert Harris’s Gentler, Kinder World War II

November 19, 2020
Posted in , ,

This is history from a distance. Harris’s characters feel more real when they’re working out the equations that will make a missile fly or fall than when they’re fleeing a double agent or a misfiring rocket.

Read More

Film Review: “The Painted Bird” — A Memorable Vision of the Worst That Can Be Imagined

July 18, 2020
Posted in , ,

The Painted Bird is a coming-of-age story populated by the worst of humankind.

Read More

Theater Review: “Hold These Truths” — A Vital Lesson

December 11, 2017
Posted in , ,

Hold These Truths is an invaluable reminder that alternative facts are not a new thing.

Read More

Film Review: “The King’s Choice” — Norway’s Stand Against Hitler

October 22, 2017
Posted in , ,

The King’s Choice is a thoughtful nail-biter, a suspenseful historical drama.

Read More

Film Review: “Dunkirk” — Overwhelming Immediacy

July 23, 2017
Posted in , ,

The Wermacht cut its swathe through France at a rate that amazed Winston Churchill in no small part because it was on speed.

Read More

Film Review: “Dunkirk” — An Epic Celebration of the Communal Spirit

July 21, 2017
Posted in , ,

Dunkirk is a rousing testament to how common people, when called, can unite against adversity.

Read More

Book Review: “A Hero of France” — An Insider’s Guide to the French Resistance

June 16, 2016
Posted in , ,

Alan Furst’s books are spy thrillers infused with a crisp, rather than a flowery, literary sensibility.

Read More

Theater Review: “Copenhagen”—A Dazzling Production Conceals Moral Confusion

October 17, 2015
Posted in , ,

Despite the dazzling rewards of this virtuoso Underground Railway Theater production, Copenhagen short circuits its central theme.

Read More

Theater Review: “The Wakeville Stories” – Theater as Civic Ritual

June 26, 2015
Posted in , ,

Dramatist Laurence Carr has a gift for vivid characterization and for creating a concrete sense of time and place.

Read More

Recent Posts