I'm Not Rappaport (1996)

The problem isn’t that it’s bad. It's good. But it fails to stand out from a crowd of similar films.

Asha, the main character, is a biracial woman who discovers the power of magic wishing dust.

As legal dramas go, we rarely see an African-American actor in the lead role. "The Burial" has several.

The social issues The Half of it takes on are handled well, between the antagonization brought on to Ellie for her race and the conflict that arises from her being gay. Both aspects of her character are built up over the course of the film and don’t seem abrupt or rushed. The film shows racism towards Ellie and her and father in varying levels, from having her schoolmates specifically address her as "Chinese girl” to the fore mentioned way her Dad is treated due to language barriers. The same can be said about Ellie being a lesbian. While she never truly “comes out” in the narrative, that does not undermine her journey of self-discovery from being meaningful. These ideas aren’t thrust upon the viewer in a preachy manor, the scenarios that occur feel believable given the rural setting. The film presents watchers with problems whom those like Ellie may face, and leaves us to sit with them and reflect.

Steven Spielberg's West Side Story (2021) improves on the original's terrible representation, poorly written romance, and more. --> check out reviews & film summary

The Brazilian filmmaker Alexandre Alonso’s Hunter is a film with a lot of ideas, but with very little holding those ideas together.