Trees are everything. In a settlement near the Russian-Finnish border, a traditional family keeps shamanistic rituals alive. The children play in the same forest where photos nailed to trees remind us of Stalin's bloody repression. Spirituality and politics meet in this intuitive montage of poetic impressions, historical material, nature shots, family scenes and probing testimony.
Of all the many great people that have contributed to Hip-Hop and radio, I was fortunate enough to speak with James Rosseau, founder of The Corelink Solution, a nonprofit that owns and operates Holy Culture Radio.
Stevan Lee Mraovitch’s film is a beautiful tribute to family, found family, and the lengths people will go to support their loved ones.
Despite its glaring flaws, First Girl I Loved is not entirely undeserving of a watch. For people who can handle the more difficult aspects of the story and graphic scenes, it is worth looking into. It’s not a film worthy of rewatch, but it may still resonate somewhat with those who need a story like this. It is a genuine, if flimsy attempt at a coming-of-age tale. Were the film to be directed by someone with experiences more similar to Anne, it would likely be more powerful--as it is, it feels like a man’s perspective of what it means to come to terms with your identity as a lesbian.
Leveraging the cockiness of many of his interview subjects, Theroux created an exposing documentary that shows just how scary these sections of the internet can be.
On the Road captures the bleak, hyper-masculine world of long-haul trucking in Northern Mexico, where anything can and will happen. A hard-boiled, neon-noir romantic thriller, it shows the gritty reality of roadside diners, truck stops, and truck cemeteries alongside the expansive, breathless beauty of the Mexican desert highways.
The Djinn is about childhood traumas and lifestyle changes. It tells the story of Dylan (Ezra Dewey), a mute boy who blames himself for his mom’s death. He also condemns himself for being speech-impaired, and he thinks that if he did not have that condition, everything could had been different.
