Change Your Image
rachellevy39
Reviews
The Kite Runner (2007)
followed the book, fairly accurate
The book was compelling and the movie is more so as the characters come to life on screen. The film was heart wrenching and the actors, especially the young boys. They were excellent as the victims of an intolerant and violent country that continues to deny people basic human rights. This film is a must and is a reminder of what freedom really means. It also brings to light how difficult it will be to bring about real meaningful change in a society that is controlled by backward, cruel, inhumane and uneducated tribes.
The sadness of life in Afghanistan is magnified by the camera as it captures the bleak, rugged terrain, the extreme poverty and the worn faces of men and women who have become old at a young age. Anyone who sees the film or who has read the book cannot help but be moved.
The Mondavi Gang (2009)
A Remarkable Depection of Politics
The politically inspired film is certainly alive and well. Take The Mondavi Gang, a new short film dealing with the 2008 U.S. Presidential campaign. Documenting a conversation between close friends where politics becomes a fiery dinnertime subject, the film is a remarkable depiction of politics as they register in everyday people, not the media talking heads who typically lost their minds. The film is brilliant and a blessing. When one thinks about it, it's also wonderfully subtle, because it formulates a round table critique of the candidates without being boringly or boorishly partisan. We get dissections of all the candidates and x-rays of their supporters' passions. David Morwick is especially excellent as the Hilary Clinton advocate. One feels not only entertained but instructed by his point-by-point assessment.
However, neither his character nor any of the others seem didactic to the viewer; to each other, however, they can be hilariously pedantic. The ensemble cast is uniformly strong. This is the kind of film to alleviate the doldrums of Hollywood visions of presidential derring-do and dirty tricksaroo. Here is (finally!) some intelligent cinema which helps this viewer, this citizen, understand a little more about the different people with whom he shares this vast, confusing land. Bravo, The Mondavi Gang!