His first major film, Cosy Dens, is widely regarded as one of the greatest Czech films ever made. Wikipedia describes it as a bittersweet coming-of-age story set in the months leading up to the ill-fated 1968 Prague Spring. I couldnt find any trailer for this but I did find the first ten minutes.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YWpcGkmZAY
Next is Divided We Fall. Nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film this film still never fails to draw a crow wherever it's played
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAYjBHUIS7A
After that is Up and Down, which was once again the Czech Republic's submission to the 77th Academy Awards however was not accepted as a nominee. Sorry, but I couldn't find anything with subtitles for this one, but I do hear that Czech is pretty easy to learn.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SM1fqPR2jR8&feature=related
He then follow Up and Down with Beauty in Trouble, which stars the lovely Ana Geislerova as a sex-addicted mother who is forced to choose between her convict ex-husband or a wealthy older ex-patriate.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-cpihAw8PCs
After that he came out with Im All Good in 2008. Im sorry to say I don't know much about this film but after watching the trailer (no subtitles again) I'm going to quickly make sure I do.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NIqlyijPTcU
Finally Hrebejk has just recently released Shameless and Kawasaki's Rose. Shameless, which premiered at Toronto was recieved with rave reviews, and like a mentioned in my previous post, Kawasaki's Rose opens at Berlin next month.
Shameless-http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHyeuJg5BQ4&feature=related
Friday, January 29, 2010
Why You Should Known About Jan Hrebejk
More people need to know about Jan Hrebejk. With films ranging from the 2000 Oscar-winning Divided We Fall, a powerful WWII Family Drama, to Shameless, a self deprecating "romantic comedy" that is anything but romantic, Jan Hrebejk has made a name for himself as one of World Cinema's most consistent Auteurs.
Despite his seemingly heavy subject matter, each of his films is injected with a very healthy dosing of "Woody Allenesque" sort of intelligent humor, that many will find refreshing after an unnecessary barrage of Michael Cera or recent Will Ferrell comedies that leave you feeling more insulted than anything.
But, with his latest film Kawasaki's Rose kicking off the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival, and the Directors Spotlight Award that the Cleveland International Film Festival is getting him, his exposure level seems to be rising. So if you want to do yourself a favor, check out the trailers in my next post, and if you find one you particularly like you can purchase it here.
Despite his seemingly heavy subject matter, each of his films is injected with a very healthy dosing of "Woody Allenesque" sort of intelligent humor, that many will find refreshing after an unnecessary barrage of Michael Cera or recent Will Ferrell comedies that leave you feeling more insulted than anything.
But, with his latest film Kawasaki's Rose kicking off the Panorama section of the Berlin Film Festival, and the Directors Spotlight Award that the Cleveland International Film Festival is getting him, his exposure level seems to be rising. So if you want to do yourself a favor, check out the trailers in my next post, and if you find one you particularly like you can purchase it here.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
List of the Day: J.D. Salinger in Film
After his first run-in with Hollywood, an on-screen adaptation of his short story "Uncle Wiggily in Connecticut" went south, Salinger made it a point to never interact with anyone that ever had to do with Hollywood. But grudges aside films were made and characters were based off of his own and even at times were based off the legendary author himself.
Meiko Lindeman at Googobits.com does a good job of putting a list of all these films together.
Meiko Lindeman at Googobits.com does a good job of putting a list of all these films together.
Menemsha Films Review Pt. 2: Beauty in Trouble, and Rashevski's Tango
Today I'm giving you an outsider's perspective, Tim Boxer of 15 Minutes Magazine, on two of our newer dvd releases, Beauty in Trouble and Rashevski's Tango.
Beauty In Trouble is an endearing slice of life in the Czech Republic involving a woman with two kids and a no-goodnik of a husband who runs a chop shop. He’s caught and imprisoned, and she runs off with a sympathetic older gentleman to his comfortable home in Tuscany. A heart warming story, funny at times, that ends with the woman, whom the older man and we, the viewers, have fallen for, having phone sex with the husband she abandoned who’s back at their Czech home. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out a woman. Menemsha Films, 109 minutes, Czech language with English subtitles.
Rashevski’s Tango is a film from Belgium in which writer/director Sam Garbarski sets out to prove that a tango is just as good a healer as chicken soup. You can dance around that statement but that’s what he maintains. The death of family matriarch Rosa Rashevski, a Holocaust survivor, leaves chaos in its wake, as well as the age-old predicament: What does it mean to be Jewish? Much soul searching among three generations, including Rosa’s son and his Christian wife, a granddaughter who seeks a Jewish husband but falls in love with a gentile who at least knows how to tango, a grandson involved with a French Muslim woman, and a brother-in-law who assumes the role as the new head of the family. Funny and absorbing. Menemsha Films, 97 minutes, French language with English subtitles.
You can find these reviews along with many others Here at 15 Minutes Magazine.
Beauty In Trouble is an endearing slice of life in the Czech Republic involving a woman with two kids and a no-goodnik of a husband who runs a chop shop. He’s caught and imprisoned, and she runs off with a sympathetic older gentleman to his comfortable home in Tuscany. A heart warming story, funny at times, that ends with the woman, whom the older man and we, the viewers, have fallen for, having phone sex with the husband she abandoned who’s back at their Czech home. Sometimes it’s hard to figure out a woman. Menemsha Films, 109 minutes, Czech language with English subtitles.
Rashevski’s Tango is a film from Belgium in which writer/director Sam Garbarski sets out to prove that a tango is just as good a healer as chicken soup. You can dance around that statement but that’s what he maintains. The death of family matriarch Rosa Rashevski, a Holocaust survivor, leaves chaos in its wake, as well as the age-old predicament: What does it mean to be Jewish? Much soul searching among three generations, including Rosa’s son and his Christian wife, a granddaughter who seeks a Jewish husband but falls in love with a gentile who at least knows how to tango, a grandson involved with a French Muslim woman, and a brother-in-law who assumes the role as the new head of the family. Funny and absorbing. Menemsha Films, 97 minutes, French language with English subtitles.You can find these reviews along with many others Here at 15 Minutes Magazine.
J.D. Salinger Dead at Age 91
It pains me to hear that J.D. Salinger, author of such masterpieces as "Catcher in the Rye" and "Franny and Zooey", has died today of natural causes in his highly secluded home in New York.
In high school, Holden Caulfield not only brought me inspiration, but consolation as well. Assuring me that by doing things my own way I was becoming a better man because of it.
But be rest assured, Salinger's everlasting quest to rid himself from the public eye has now come to an end. So to him I say thank you and may your afterlife be free of "goddam phonies."
If you would like to read more, Charles McGrath of The New York Times, has written an excellent article.
In high school, Holden Caulfield not only brought me inspiration, but consolation as well. Assuring me that by doing things my own way I was becoming a better man because of it.
But be rest assured, Salinger's everlasting quest to rid himself from the public eye has now come to an end. So to him I say thank you and may your afterlife be free of "goddam phonies."
If you would like to read more, Charles McGrath of The New York Times, has written an excellent article.
Sundance Update
It is now day 7 of Sundance over in Utah. Where the snow is coming down just as heavily as the police did on Gary Coleman (he could totally play yoda's evil twin brother).
But if you're looking for more than mugshots, Cinematical brings you a list of the films with the most buzz behind them.
http://www.cinematical.com/2010/01/18/the-top-10-sundance-movies-to-watch/
But if you're looking for more than mugshots, Cinematical brings you a list of the films with the most buzz behind them.
http://www.cinematical.com/2010/01/18/the-top-10-sundance-movies-to-watch/
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
List of the Day: Holocaust Films
Sticking with the Holocaust remembrance theme Isabella Snow brings you her Top 5 films concerning the Holocaust
Holocaust Remembrance Day
Today marks the 64th anniversary of the liberation of the Auschwitz-Birkenau by Soviet troops. I've thought about this all day and about how I should approach it, but somehow nothing seems to do it justice. I cant even begin to imagine what happened there so I'm not going to try to add my two cents to this matter.
If you would like to read more about it though, I found this article from Yahoo! news to be very interesting.
Instead, I'm going to add my contribution to the remembering by introducing you to all the films concerning the Holocaust that Menemsha Films has to offer.
First off is Belzec. The horrifically efficient Nazi death camp, Belzec, was in operation for less than one year, but witnessed the murder of at least 600,000 Jews. Once the Soviet counterattacks began, the S.S. eliminated all traces of the camp, and the name Belzec faded from the collective conscience. Conceived of by Executive Producer Claude Lanzman as the last chapter to his epic Shoah, helmer Guillaume Moscovitz has created a chilling account that's as much about remembrance as it is about the past.
After that we have The Rape of Europa. The Rape of Europa is an epic journey through seven countries, into the violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed, and warfare that threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe. For twelve long years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on a scale unprecedented in history. But heroic young art historians and curators from America and across Europe fought back with a miraculous campaign to rescue and return the millions of lost, hidden and stolen treasures.
Next up we have The Ritchie Boys. The Ritchie Boys is the riveting, untold story of a group of young men who fled Nazi Germany and returned as soldiers in U.S. uniforms. They knew the psychology and the language of the enemy better than anyone. In Camp Ritchie, Maryland, they were trained in intelligence and psychological warfare. Determined, bright, and inventive, they fought their own kind of war; they were victors, not victims.
Another interesting documentary is As Seen Through These Eyes. As Maya Angelou narrates this powerful documentary, she reveals the story of a brave group of people who fought Hitler with the only weapons they had: charcoal, pencil stubs, shreds of paper and memories etched in their minds. These artists took their fate into their own hands to make a compelling statement about the human spirit, enduring against unimaginable odds.
Adding to the list of documentaries, we have Inside Hana's Suitcase. The delivery of a battered suitcase to Fumiko Ishioka at the Tokyo Holocaust Museum begins the true-life mystery that became the subject of Karen Levineʼs best-selling book Hanaʼs Suitcase. The suitcase came from the Auschwitz Museum and had Hana Bradyʼs name painted on it. Larry Weinsteinʼs masterful film follows Fumikoʼs search to discover the details of Hanaʼs life, which leads to the discovery of her brother George in Toronto.
And rounding out the documentaries is Human Failure. The expropriation of assets from German Jews, during the Third Reich, benefitted virtually every other German citizen. It was not the Gestapo who invaded Jewish residences in order to confiscate all property, from bank accounts to the last shirt, it was the German Tax officials.
A bizarre competition evolved between bureaucrats as to how to organize the robbery of the Jews before they were expelled, or sent to their deaths.
Larger assets went to the tax offices, and the smaller assets and goods were sold to friends and neighbors in public auctions of “Non-Aryan“ property.
Finally we have Saviors in the Night. SAVIORS IN THE NIGHT (UNTER BAUERN) is based on the memories of Marga Spiegel. In her narrative, published in 1965, she describes how courageous farmers in southern Münsterland hid her, her husband Siegfried {named Menne} and their little daughter Karin from 1943 until 1945, thus saving them from deportation to the extermination camps in the East. The film tells this story of survival with a sense for the absurd in daily life and not without the typical Westphalian humor.
If anybody has questions about any of these films, feel free to leave a comment or send me an e-mail.
What is your favorite Holocaust-related film?
If you would like to read more about it though, I found this article from Yahoo! news to be very interesting.
Instead, I'm going to add my contribution to the remembering by introducing you to all the films concerning the Holocaust that Menemsha Films has to offer.
First off is Belzec. The horrifically efficient Nazi death camp, Belzec, was in operation for less than one year, but witnessed the murder of at least 600,000 Jews. Once the Soviet counterattacks began, the S.S. eliminated all traces of the camp, and the name Belzec faded from the collective conscience. Conceived of by Executive Producer Claude Lanzman as the last chapter to his epic Shoah, helmer Guillaume Moscovitz has created a chilling account that's as much about remembrance as it is about the past.
After that we have The Rape of Europa. The Rape of Europa is an epic journey through seven countries, into the violent whirlwind of fanaticism, greed, and warfare that threatened to wipe out the artistic heritage of Europe. For twelve long years, the Nazis looted and destroyed art on a scale unprecedented in history. But heroic young art historians and curators from America and across Europe fought back with a miraculous campaign to rescue and return the millions of lost, hidden and stolen treasures.
Next up we have The Ritchie Boys. The Ritchie Boys is the riveting, untold story of a group of young men who fled Nazi Germany and returned as soldiers in U.S. uniforms. They knew the psychology and the language of the enemy better than anyone. In Camp Ritchie, Maryland, they were trained in intelligence and psychological warfare. Determined, bright, and inventive, they fought their own kind of war; they were victors, not victims.
Another interesting documentary is As Seen Through These Eyes. As Maya Angelou narrates this powerful documentary, she reveals the story of a brave group of people who fought Hitler with the only weapons they had: charcoal, pencil stubs, shreds of paper and memories etched in their minds. These artists took their fate into their own hands to make a compelling statement about the human spirit, enduring against unimaginable odds.
Adding to the list of documentaries, we have Inside Hana's Suitcase. The delivery of a battered suitcase to Fumiko Ishioka at the Tokyo Holocaust Museum begins the true-life mystery that became the subject of Karen Levineʼs best-selling book Hanaʼs Suitcase. The suitcase came from the Auschwitz Museum and had Hana Bradyʼs name painted on it. Larry Weinsteinʼs masterful film follows Fumikoʼs search to discover the details of Hanaʼs life, which leads to the discovery of her brother George in Toronto.
And rounding out the documentaries is Human Failure. The expropriation of assets from German Jews, during the Third Reich, benefitted virtually every other German citizen. It was not the Gestapo who invaded Jewish residences in order to confiscate all property, from bank accounts to the last shirt, it was the German Tax officials.
A bizarre competition evolved between bureaucrats as to how to organize the robbery of the Jews before they were expelled, or sent to their deaths.
Larger assets went to the tax offices, and the smaller assets and goods were sold to friends and neighbors in public auctions of “Non-Aryan“ property.
Finally we have Saviors in the Night. SAVIORS IN THE NIGHT (UNTER BAUERN) is based on the memories of Marga Spiegel. In her narrative, published in 1965, she describes how courageous farmers in southern Münsterland hid her, her husband Siegfried {named Menne} and their little daughter Karin from 1943 until 1945, thus saving them from deportation to the extermination camps in the East. The film tells this story of survival with a sense for the absurd in daily life and not without the typical Westphalian humor.
If anybody has questions about any of these films, feel free to leave a comment or send me an e-mail.
What is your favorite Holocaust-related film?
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
All Awkward Filmmakers Report to Cannes
If you've got a clever film with an uncomfortable leading role (bonus points for animation or stop motion) then find the fastest way to ship it to Cannes, because guess who is Head of the Jury this year.
Menemsha Film Review Series pt. 1 - Live and Become
Live and Become is one of those rare films that is truly identifiable across the globe. No matter what color your skin is, what language you speak, what economic status you come from etc... We have all contemplated the subject matter that this movie bases itself around: Identity. And we have all asked ourselves the questions this movie attempts to answer. Who am I? Where do I come from? What am I supposed to be and how do I become it?
The film follows Schlomo, an Ethiopian Christian masquerading as a Jew upon orders from his mother, in hopes he be transported to Israel and live a better life. It is broken up into three parts of Schlomo’s life and is very effectively played by three different actors (Moshe Agazai, Mosche Abebe, and Sirak M. Sabahat).
After a troubled stay at an Israeli boarding school (fights, attempts to run away etc.) Schlomo is adopted by “a very left wing family,” a proud father, a standoffish mother, a loud rude son, and quiet polite daughter. Here he has difficulty accepting them as his family but eventually does so, supplemented by secret prayers and letters sent back to his birth mother with the help of his Ethiopian Rabbi-mentor.
Cut to 7 years later where Schlomo (now 17) is a well assimilated adolescent and is going through all the inevitable ups and downs that come with the age. There are girl problems; his girlfriend’s father doesn’t approve of him because he is black. He must prove himself to the community; which he does by winning what the film calls “Controversies,” a debate of sorts in order to show ones knowledge of the Torah. And there are family problems; as his relationship with his adopted mother grows stronger, so do feelings of losing his birth mother.
After another 8 year jump into the future Schlomo is now a grown, mature 25 year old Med Student. He is studying abroad but does a good job of staying in touch with those whom he loves. Upon return he is married. This then poses the question will he reveal his secret to his bride? This, paired with an ending that brings the story full circle, will make this 2 hour and 15 minute movie well worth the time spent watching.
You can watch the trailer here.
Or, purchase the film here.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Sundance 2010
The leader in Independent Film Festivals, since its beginning in 1978, has undeniably been the Sundance Film Festival. It started in Salt Lake City as the Utah/US Film Festival in order to attract more filmmakers to Utah. It was founded by Sterling Van Wagenen, John Earle, Cirina Hampton Catania.
With Robert Redford as the Chairperson, the goal of the festival was to showcase strictly American-made films, highlight what the potential of independent film could be and to increase visibility for filmmaking in Utah. At the time, the main focus of the event was to conduct a competition for independent American films, present a series of retrospective films and filmmaker panel discussions and to celebrate the Frank Capra Award; it highlighted the work of "regional" filmmakers who worked outside the Hollywood system.
The Festival has changed over the decades from a low-profile venue for small-budget, independent creators from outside the Hollywood system to a media extravaganza for Hollywood celebrity actors, paparazzi, and luxury lounges set up by companies that aren't even affiliated with Sundance. Recently though, the Festival itself has tried to curb these activities in recent years, beginning in 2007 with their ongoing "Focus On Film" campaign.
And with the emergence of a new director this year, John Cooper, the festival seems to be heading back towards its roots. Some of his more notable changes have been getting rid of the glitzy opening-night tradition of a premiere that's not competing for festival prizes as well as adding a new program of eight films with tiny budgets of less than $500,000 to ensure a place for do-it-yourself works amid high-profile Sundance premieres.
"I really felt a responsibility to, and actually permission, to not think about anything but what was core to us, and that is going for excellence and creativity in the films we choose, and nothing else," Cooper said.
True.Good.Beautiful brings you the pre-festivalbuzz, before the festival started on last Thursday.
Here is where you can find all the latest buzz.
And here is the link to the official Sundance website.
With Robert Redford as the Chairperson, the goal of the festival was to showcase strictly American-made films, highlight what the potential of independent film could be and to increase visibility for filmmaking in Utah. At the time, the main focus of the event was to conduct a competition for independent American films, present a series of retrospective films and filmmaker panel discussions and to celebrate the Frank Capra Award; it highlighted the work of "regional" filmmakers who worked outside the Hollywood system.
The Festival has changed over the decades from a low-profile venue for small-budget, independent creators from outside the Hollywood system to a media extravaganza for Hollywood celebrity actors, paparazzi, and luxury lounges set up by companies that aren't even affiliated with Sundance. Recently though, the Festival itself has tried to curb these activities in recent years, beginning in 2007 with their ongoing "Focus On Film" campaign.
And with the emergence of a new director this year, John Cooper, the festival seems to be heading back towards its roots. Some of his more notable changes have been getting rid of the glitzy opening-night tradition of a premiere that's not competing for festival prizes as well as adding a new program of eight films with tiny budgets of less than $500,000 to ensure a place for do-it-yourself works amid high-profile Sundance premieres.
"I really felt a responsibility to, and actually permission, to not think about anything but what was core to us, and that is going for excellence and creativity in the films we choose, and nothing else," Cooper said.
True.Good.Beautiful brings you the pre-festivalbuzz, before the festival started on last Thursday.
Here is where you can find all the latest buzz.
And here is the link to the official Sundance website.
List of the Day
Everybody loves a good countdown. So, each day I'm going to post a new list, either made up by me (in which case I will attempt to support my arguments) or a list from an outside party I found to be particularly interesting. This one is brought to you by the Auteurs. Here is a list of the top grossing Independent films of the past decade.
What makes it an Indie?
Prior to starting this blog I was asked by somebody "What is it that makes a film an 'Indie'?" (and yes they really did make quotation marks with their fingers as they said the word Indie, as if it was some sort of mythical creature that could never actually exist.) I told him there were two answers: a long one and a shorter one.
The shorter answer is simple. An Independent film is any film that receives less than 50% of its funding from any of the Major Movie Studios. Too easy? Of course it is.
The long answer is one that begins in the early days of American Filmmaking concerning the likes of Thomas Edison and continues right up to the present, growing ever more confusing with the successful emergence of new independent film studios and festivals as well as digital filmmaking. If you would like to learn more about this topic, I encourage you to check out this page.
The shorter answer is simple. An Independent film is any film that receives less than 50% of its funding from any of the Major Movie Studios. Too easy? Of course it is.
The long answer is one that begins in the early days of American Filmmaking concerning the likes of Thomas Edison and continues right up to the present, growing ever more confusing with the successful emergence of new independent film studios and festivals as well as digital filmmaking. If you would like to learn more about this topic, I encourage you to check out this page.
Thursday, January 21, 2010
List of the Day: Stealing or Honoring?
Ok, so there is a "certain transgression" I must admit to. I stole my post name, ackMERMAN, from my cousin. Now that doesn't mean I'm a thief, I have my reasons. First of all we share the same last name the nickname is in reference to, but that's not the point. Second of all the aforementioned nickname was given to him by somebody else, which means that the complaining party really has no claim to their so-called property to begin with. Finally, I chose this name because I like it. I found it a clever nickname so I took it as my own (mainly because I didn't think any of my friends or extended family members would actually read this).
Which leads me to my point and the subject of this rant. Is it an honor when somebody copies something of yours, or is it just downright thievery? Now I'm not going to try to solve this age-old debate but I will add my opinion. People have influences, no matter what line of work your in, you are going to be influenced by somebody who has done it before you. So why not acknowledge those influences.
Which now leads us to the list of the day - Top 10 Remakes of all time. Brought to you by Film School Rejects.
And if anybody out there has any films they think should be on the list or their opinion on the matter, I encourage you to leave your comments.
Which leads me to my point and the subject of this rant. Is it an honor when somebody copies something of yours, or is it just downright thievery? Now I'm not going to try to solve this age-old debate but I will add my opinion. People have influences, no matter what line of work your in, you are going to be influenced by somebody who has done it before you. So why not acknowledge those influences.
Which now leads us to the list of the day - Top 10 Remakes of all time. Brought to you by Film School Rejects.
And if anybody out there has any films they think should be on the list or their opinion on the matter, I encourage you to leave your comments.
Menemsha Films
"Film as dream, film as music. No form of art goes beyond ordinary consciousness as film does, straight to our emotions, deep into the twilight room of the soul." Ingmar Bergman’s powerful statement about film connects with Menemsha’s commitment to this art genre. Menemsha Films is a film distribution company founded in 1998 by Neil Friedman. The typical genre of its films consists of foreign narrative films as well as art house documentaries; or as they prefer “intelligent films for the intelligent film fan.” By setting intelligent film fans as it’s target, Menemsha quickly hit it’s mark; setting a record five films nominated for an Academy Award in five consecutive years in either the Best Foreign Film or Best Documentary categories (Divided We Fall, Son of the Bride, Zelary, Story of the Weeping Camel, and Prisoner of Paradise). Adding to the prestige of it’s Oscar-nominations, is the praise Menemsha’s films have received overseas; receiving various awards from prestigious festivals such as Toronto, Berlin, Karlovy Vary, Venice and Cannes among others.
However, looking beyond the awards one will find the true backbone of this company lies in the subject matter covered by each film. While the bulk of its library consists of Jewish-themed family films (Live and Become, Rashevski’s Tango, Belzec, Saviors in the Night, A Matter of Size etc.), Menemsha is also dedicated to finding top films from countries all around the world, each with a highly universal message packaged in an intriguing, original form. Films such as “A Touch of Spice” from Greece (the most successful film in Greek history), “Cozy Dens” from the Czech Republic (directed by one of the Czech’s most beloved and successful filmmakers, Jan Hrebejk), “Gloomy Sunday” from Germany (recently voted as one of the top 10 films of the decade by Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle), or “Machuca” from Chile (Chile’s 2004 Academy Award Entry For Best Foreign Language Film) will not only reveal something about their own country of origin, but will also provide a new insight into some of the events that may occur in your life.
But if narratives aren’t your thing then its wide variety of documentaries should certainly be something to catch your interest. Ranging in topics from Major League Baseball (The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg) to the plundering of centuries of invaluable art by the Nazis in World War II (The Rape of Europa) to everything in between: “Midnight Movies”, an official selection at Cannes 2005 about the history of classic horror films, “The Ritchie Boys”, which was shortlisted for The Academy Awards in 2005, documents a group of young men who fled Nazi Germany to return as soldiers in U.S. uniforms, and “Inside Hana’s Suitcase”, a youth-driven documentary about a grammar-school class doing some detective work on an old suitcase to educate themselves on The Holocaust.
With a library consisting of 30+ films, and a dedication to growing faster than ever, no matter what your taste might be there is assuredly something here for you. So if the films released in theatres these days just aren’t doing it for you, then it’s time to broaden your horizons and take a step into Menemsha Films’ library.
However, looking beyond the awards one will find the true backbone of this company lies in the subject matter covered by each film. While the bulk of its library consists of Jewish-themed family films (Live and Become, Rashevski’s Tango, Belzec, Saviors in the Night, A Matter of Size etc.), Menemsha is also dedicated to finding top films from countries all around the world, each with a highly universal message packaged in an intriguing, original form. Films such as “A Touch of Spice” from Greece (the most successful film in Greek history), “Cozy Dens” from the Czech Republic (directed by one of the Czech’s most beloved and successful filmmakers, Jan Hrebejk), “Gloomy Sunday” from Germany (recently voted as one of the top 10 films of the decade by Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle), or “Machuca” from Chile (Chile’s 2004 Academy Award Entry For Best Foreign Language Film) will not only reveal something about their own country of origin, but will also provide a new insight into some of the events that may occur in your life.
But if narratives aren’t your thing then its wide variety of documentaries should certainly be something to catch your interest. Ranging in topics from Major League Baseball (The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg) to the plundering of centuries of invaluable art by the Nazis in World War II (The Rape of Europa) to everything in between: “Midnight Movies”, an official selection at Cannes 2005 about the history of classic horror films, “The Ritchie Boys”, which was shortlisted for The Academy Awards in 2005, documents a group of young men who fled Nazi Germany to return as soldiers in U.S. uniforms, and “Inside Hana’s Suitcase”, a youth-driven documentary about a grammar-school class doing some detective work on an old suitcase to educate themselves on The Holocaust.
With a library consisting of 30+ films, and a dedication to growing faster than ever, no matter what your taste might be there is assuredly something here for you. So if the films released in theatres these days just aren’t doing it for you, then it’s time to broaden your horizons and take a step into Menemsha Films’ library.
My First Time
You know how it goes, "If everybody else is doing it, it must be cool."
Now i've never considered myself a conformist, so I'm going to justify my actions as well as let you know what this blog is all about.
I've had a passion for film for as long as I can remember, but up until now it has only manifested itself by way of petty arguments such as justifying my hatred of Christian Bale, or explaining why Jon Lovitz is the most underrated actor/comedian of our time. However, just recently I took a more proactive approach, I got a job with Menemsha Films (which I will continue to describe with great detail throughout this blog), and began to immerse myself in the world of Independent and Foreign Film.
Like any other submersion I started off slowly. I dipped my toes in to test the waters by watching the classics - Seven Samurai, The 400 Blows, 8 1/2 etc... Then, after finding out which directors I liked more than others (Akira Kurosawa, Jan Hrebejk, and Ingmar Bergman), I dove into their filmographies. Discovering the waters to be quite refreshing I now find myself coming back as often as possible, by keeping my eye open for new releases as well as searching for older, more obscure films (Harakiri, Zabriskie Point to name a few) and setting up an account with The Auteurs, a site where you can stream classic films for a small fee.
So if you are interested in the world of Independent Film, yet find it overwhelming and intimidating, consider this blog a Independent Film 101 without any of the homework or papers. Where I will be doing less leading but more wandering in wide-eyed innocence along with you.
Now i've never considered myself a conformist, so I'm going to justify my actions as well as let you know what this blog is all about.
I've had a passion for film for as long as I can remember, but up until now it has only manifested itself by way of petty arguments such as justifying my hatred of Christian Bale, or explaining why Jon Lovitz is the most underrated actor/comedian of our time. However, just recently I took a more proactive approach, I got a job with Menemsha Films (which I will continue to describe with great detail throughout this blog), and began to immerse myself in the world of Independent and Foreign Film.
Like any other submersion I started off slowly. I dipped my toes in to test the waters by watching the classics - Seven Samurai, The 400 Blows, 8 1/2 etc... Then, after finding out which directors I liked more than others (Akira Kurosawa, Jan Hrebejk, and Ingmar Bergman), I dove into their filmographies. Discovering the waters to be quite refreshing I now find myself coming back as often as possible, by keeping my eye open for new releases as well as searching for older, more obscure films (Harakiri, Zabriskie Point to name a few) and setting up an account with The Auteurs, a site where you can stream classic films for a small fee.
So if you are interested in the world of Independent Film, yet find it overwhelming and intimidating, consider this blog a Independent Film 101 without any of the homework or papers. Where I will be doing less leading but more wandering in wide-eyed innocence along with you.
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