Year: 2016
“The Night Of” HBO series
In the mini-series “The Night Of,” currently on HBO, the opening scene showcases a mysterious and beautiful young woman who dies and someone goes to trial. Will justice prevail?
“The Night Of” combines elements of the popular podcast “Serial”’ and the TV series“Oz”. “The Night Of” depicts the...
“The Tunnel” — Turf War or Building Bridges?
The Tunnel
This British-French bilingual thriller is a PBS television series, adapted from the 2011 Danish/Swedish crime series “The Bridge” [also remade as a 2013 American Fox series with a Mexican/American police team]. Hans Rosenfeldt, the original creator, develops this British-French version, renamed “The Tunnel”, as well.
“The...
“Buen Día, Ramón” –The Sun Will Come Out Tomorrow
The German-Mexican co-production, “Buen Día Ramón” (“Good Day, Ramón”) tells the unusual story of a poor young Mexican immigrant named Ramon who emigrates to Germany after having incredibly bad luck in his multiple attempts to emigrate to the US illegally. Desperately in need of finding work to support his mother and...
“The Past” (Le Passé)—Does the Past Define Us?
THE PAST (LE PASSÉ) was nominated for the 2013 Cannes Film Festival Palme d’Or award, the Iranian entry for the Best Foreign Language Film Academy Award , and a Golden Globe. Directed and written by Asghar Farhadi of “A Separation” fame (winner of the 2011 Academy Award for Best Foreign Film).
Ahmad, an Iranian man (the remarkable Ali...
“The Innocents”—And War
Guest blogger: Barbara Donsky, author of the memoir Veronica’s Grave, and blog owner of www.desperatelyseekingParis.com For the unedited version of this review go to Barbara Donsky’s blog
Les innocentes
Writers and film-makers continue to successfully mine stories stemming from World War II. “The Innocents” is such a film—a...
“Closed Circuit”—We’re Under Surveillance
“Closed Circuit” (2013), an adrenaline-pumping political thriller, portrays corrupt government forces who will stop at nothing. It’s an exciting genre. The title “Closed Circuit” is designed to raise the alarm over both the injustice of closed court hearings and the use of surveillance technology. Covert surveillance amplifies the sense that...
