Etz Limon (2008)

A government official moves to the edge of one of Israel's borders with Palestine. One the Palestinian side, a lemon grove grows right to the border of the back yard and this is seen as a security risk by the Israeli government as a sniper could easily hide in the grove and harm the official. So the grove is ordered to be cut back with significant impact to the grove's owner, a Palestinian widow.

This David and Goliath battle happens in the press and in court.

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The Pool (2007)

The Pool is a gracious look at the severe class divisions in India. A hotel worker becomes infatuated with a wealthy family's pool and then the family itself. The relationship between the two parties grows and understanding starts to form.

I quite enjoyed it, mostly because the poorer characters were so interesting and risk-taking.

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Shichinin no samurai (1954)

Japanese master director Akira Kurosawa presents Seven Samurai, a 3.5 hour epic film set in 19th century rural Japan.

A peasant village is at the mercy of marauding seasonal thieves, so they hire people of great moral fibre (at least that is their intention) and military prowess to come and protect them.

I really enjoyed this film over 2 nights. The characters were colourful, flawed and unpredictable. The setting was thoroughly original and it was interesting just seeing agrarian Japan.

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Tickets (2005)

Three master directors give us a collection of short films all set on the same train. The stories are all very unique and give us a flavour of humanity and Europe that we don't often get in film - or as isolated passengers on a train. Very lovely!

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L'illusionniste (2010)

The Illusionist is a lovely tale from the makers of The Triplets of Belleville - this one is far more melancholy and far less violent.

A French illusionist ends up on the road in a rustic and remote island off of Scotland. There he picks up a loyal fan who has is urbanized slowly when they settle in Paris. The film centres on his resourcefulness, her quaintness, and their devotion to each other.

The animation is lively which is good because the film is rather slow. Great story telling though and you will find yourself responding out loud with the emotional movement.

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Hors de prix (2006)

Audrey Tautou portrays a skillful gold digger on the French Riviera in Priceless. After a misunderstanding which leads to a tryst with a bartender, she makes it clear that she is not interested in pursuing a relationship that doesn't produce pricy gifts and extravagant holidays.

The bartender is willing to bet his entire savings and credit on winning her over though and so goes the tale. The film does a great job of making you suffer with the poor man's weakness in spending money so to win over his cruel muse.

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Never Let Me Go (2010)

This terribly moving film begins at the edge of sanity where children are raised in an idyllic setting and then harvested for their organs once they reach adulthood. The organ donors live out their purpose without questioning why or without really believing that they have any other purpose. Aside from the heavy sentimental reaction I got from watching their young lives get snuffed out, I was pushed to consider the idea of free will as it was presented in the film - and I always appreciate that opportunity!

As I often do, I really appreciated the gentleness in the film and the easy pace as it massaged the fate of the characters into our minds.

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Inside Job (2010)

This is the detailed account of how the wealthy financial sector is robbing the world. The details are calmly presented in a clear, well connected way to draw us to a very dismal conclusion. In fact the film is absolutely infuriating. It covers a lot of the same ground that Michael Moore covers in Capitalism: A Love Story, but it is perceived as much less polemic.

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The Two Escobars (2010)

When I saw the opening credits state that this was an ESPN Film, my hopes dropped. Wow! Was I ever impressed. This documentary chronicles the lives of two of Columbia's most prolific men: Pablo Escobar the drug lord and Andrés Escobar the soccer star and the amazing symbiotic relationship they both had with their nation and each other.

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Ride with the Devil (1999)

Once again, Ang Lee's versatility is stunning. Here he takes on the American Civil War by focusing on a rag tag group of Confederates in Missouri. The state doesn't have a formal militia, so they are formed ad hoc to defend the South's principles and autonomy.

Jake, a "duchy" or German immigrant's son, is as young and innocent as they come. He joins with a rich man's son, another friend and a freed slave. Together they patriotically join various groups and experience great personal loss. The group changes over time and ultimately includes a fair maiden. The transformation among these Americans is tremendous to behold and Jake is a character that will blow you away by his modest resolve (a very able and long haired Tobey Maguire).

Top marks for this one.

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Rosewood (1997)

This drama is based on actual events that were only recently recorded and acknowledged. The grim account of a massacre outside of Gainesville, Florida in 1923 that was essentially ignored by the state government and police.

A relatively affluent black town neighbours a white town and while racial tensions persist, they coexist peacefully until a woman makes a grave accusation that she was beaten and raped by a non-descript black man. A posse is formed and lynching ensues - men, women and children are beaten and the atrocities persist for days. Black women and children hide for their lives in the nearby swamps as they are tracked by hounds.

The film embellishes the story by including a black superhero (Ving Rhames), but the essence of the story is enraging and you can not watch this film without considering what kind of country simply allows this kind of injustice.

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Fanny och Alexander (1982)

Fanny and Alexander is one of Ingmar Bergman's most celebrated films. It is the intimate account of a brother and sister born into the aristocracy of 19th century Sweden. The story begins at Christmas time where opulence is exposed as a deep root for the sadness in the family. It carries through a death into the bleak and cheerless world of a bishop's manse. The third chapter of this grand film is punctuated by the surreal inside a Jewish home.

Bergman helps us interpret these worlds through the discerning eyes of children. One does not necessarily leave the film filled with hope making it tough to watch at times. The engaged viewer should finish with more wisdom though, making it quite worthwhile.

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Metropolis (1927)

This classic film about class struggle pulled out all the stops to generate a bleak, futuristic world where the masses were simply cogs in the wheel of progress (or at least labourers in an unfriendly factory). There are plenty of dials and steam in this analog future and not many smiles. Director Fritz Lang incorporates plenty of grouped choreographed movement and solo modern dances to demonstrate visually the moral of the film:

"The head and hand need a mediator, and that mediator is the heart!"

At the heart of the film is class struggle and considering that the film was made during the interwar period in Germany, I think it captures much of the sentiment of the Weimar Republic.

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The Social Network (2010)

The Social Network is a hipped up version of Mark Zuckerberg's rapid and ruthless rise to wealth and power as the founder of Facebook. The remarkable thing is that even if you don't care about Facebook or Zuckerberg, the film stands on its feet as an innovative and a supercharged pace narrative about relationships.

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Prestuplenie i nakazanie (1970)

This Russian adaptation of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment paces itself like the book, taking ample time inside protagonist Rodya Raskolnikov's head. It is done in black and white and the lack of colour adds the only other real joyless feature to the film beyond the glorious performances by the actors - who are unknown to the west.

Raskolnikov is pained by the conflict of his philosophical conclusion, that great men can accomplish whatever they like and should live without guilt and with impunity by virtue of the fact that they are great! He can not justify his philosophy because in his mind he himself is greater than his ignorant peers, but he and his mother and sister live in abject poverty. He decides to live out his philosophy by murdering a pawn broker, someone he views as a leech of society. The story plays out from here demonstrating his struggle to mute his conscience.

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She's Out of My League (2010)

Remarkably funny flick about feeling inadequate. Jay Baruchel does a great job playing an honest and meek guy dating an outrageously beautiful, wealthy, high-class, educated woman.

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Dog Day Afternoon (1975)

Al Pacino at his very best, playing a desperate man on a suicide mission to save his lover. Based on a tremendously tragic story.

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The Trotsky (2009)

An upperclass Jewish Montreal high school student believes he is the reincarnation of Leon Trotsky, a Russian revolutionary, and that his life's calling is to bring revolution to Canada. He leaves private school to attend public school for his final semester where he immediately begins to challenge the established authority garnering attention from the press and the woman he believes must be his future wife.

The film is fun and the actors perform well, and while I did enjoy it, it bears a clear taste of Canadian cinema which Canadian films can't seem to escape - a neediness to be different.

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Reel Injun (2009)

This survey of Native Americans as depicted on film and television is both enraging and inspiring which makes it a very useful documentary, Canadian made no less!

The film's opening line is delivered by the host who grew up on a northern Canadian reservation. He describes going to watch movies, usually westerns, in the church basement and cheering for the cowboys as they shot the indians not realizing that they themselves were indians.

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The Blind Side (2009)

A bit heavy on the sap, but considering the true story it's based on, a pleasantly passionate retelling. The Christian element of sacrifice and love seemed secondary to the grave class division - a dire consequence of Christianity gone amiss in the United States. Again, I did enjoy the film and I was moved by the compassion.

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