One of the cruelest, heart-wrenching, valid portraits of grief, loss of a loved one, on today’s screen; it is the future and the family of three is suffering from the disintegration of a fourth member, of what was a nuclear brood; “Yang” (Justin H. Nin) an android, constant companion of “Mika” (Malea Emma Tajandrawidjaja) is loved and held dear by …

Years ago, while doing a stint in Bollywood, I had the opportunity of interviewing Soni Razdan (actor/director) and Mahesh Bhatt (director) parents of now prodigious actor Alia Bhatt; during the interview she returned home from school, meeting this sprite, never imagining her career would grow exponentially with her age; at 28 she is truly remarkable in the role of “Gangubai …

The complexities, literary, cultural references are vastly entertaining, if you recognize the sources of enlightenment, but even if you enter this divine diversion with a pure mental slate “Drive My Car” will cling fervently, entrenched perpetually in one’s filmic library. Admirers of Russian playwright and short story writer, Anton Chekhov (1860-1904), introducing modernism, revolutionizing the short story genre, a symbol …

Edmond Rostand’s (1867-1918) 1897 play “Cyrano de Bergerac” loosely based on fact, romanticizing one cousin’s fatal attraction for another has assaulted the most hardened of hearts, leaving them weakened by its poetic effulgence. Director Joe Wright’s 2021 spin on the pungently prestigious tale is a masterful metaphor on idioms: “don’t judge a book by its cover”, “looks can be deceiving”, …

Earlier this week I was privileged to be included in a lecture on “Identity” given by the eponymous, brilliant Founder of “The Nourishment Projects”, Soma Roy; a mind of infinitesimal scope, encompassing vast cultures, wondrous landscapes, elements of all matter; religion, philosophy, mythology, varied forms of music, art; as an engineer, “master of the universe” she heuristically enables her audience …

Kenneth Branagh’s second venture into Agatha Christie’s world of wealthy, smarmy miscreants as “Hercule Poirot”, a savant sleuth, whose flawless deductive reasoning is on full throttle; Branagh’s characterization of the brilliant, damaged, singularly virginal, mustached detective is starched perfection. Poirot has the meatiest role supported by a super cast on a flimsy diet of glamour, jewels and jazz: handsome reprobate, …

Both films based on actuality, finely tuned truthful tales, handled with keen finesse by directors Rachel Griffiths (Ride…) and Felicity Morris (Tinder…); females depicting, with esteem, diplomacy, and admiration, the triumphs and travails of notable women. “RIDE LIKE A GIRL”. In the recently reviewed “Jockey” we witnessed the excruciating process of a man’s mission to stay in the horseracing arena; …

“A HERO”. Academy Award winning  director Asghar Farhadi’s (“A Separation”, “A Salesman”) latest auteur challenge is just as complex and ambiguous as his previous winners; he is a man whose pleasure lies in allowing viewers subjective interpretations of characters, events; filling in the blanks, solving the complexities; just when you feel the issues have been answered, Farhadi, with supple skill, …

Director Clint Bentley’s flawlessly compelling film pulsates with refinement as did 2017’s “The Rider”; there is nothing more satiating, or fulfilling than viewing a mistake-free movie as it races to its finality; “Jockey” with knowledge, sensitivity and truth gifts viewers the “inside scoop” of a jockey’s existence: dedication, starvation, bulimia, fractured bodies, camaraderie among peers, and the enigmatic bond, intimacy …

Bollywood treats its cricketers with reverence, without eradicating human frailties, giving them life and vibrancy, palpating exuberance informs every scene, seizing the viewer’s attention from commencement to conclusion; director Kabir khan, focuses on the 1983 World Cup and India’s gut-wrenching march to grasp an almost unattainable victory; the “march” is worthy of every moment, every second of “83’s” compelling quest. …