Foreign

Possibly living so close to the edge, their series and films soar in depicting a world the masses could not envision. At this Dystopian hiatus, here are a few enthralling, captivating slices, experienced by a nation that dauntlessly refuses to die: Watch back to back:  “SHITISEL”/ “SRUGIM”; (NETFLIX) Two versions of orthodoxy: “Shitisel” extreme Haredi Jews living in Geula, Jerusalem; …

“INSPECTOR MORSE” (1987-2000): John Shaw, (1942-2002) is impeccable as a detective solving crimes in the elite environs of Oxford, England. “Morse” is the embodiment of a quintessential Renaissance man: cultured, sublimely well-read, inebriate of Opera, savant culprit decimator; for all his indurate instincts in the world of criminality, he is hopelessly naïve when his heart “lightly turns to love”; Shaw’s …

For years Amazon Prime has serviced my rousing, perpetual interest in detective investigations, serial killers (in another life I was either a victim or perpetrator), forensic science; loving the elimination process, exclusion of the obvious, excavating the mendacious. I have suggested some of these in the past, but they are worth repeating, especially at this unsettled time: “SPIRAL” (French: English …

HBO has long been a harbinger of quality, innovative entertainment (“Game of Thrones”, “Boardwalk Empire”, “Veep”, “Curb Your Enthusiasm”, etc.); here are a few recent programs that are binge-worthy distractions, from an enforced, monotonous, interminable confinement: “THE OUTSIDER”: filmic interpretation of Stephen King’s creepy, compelling story about the invasion of evil, assuming identities of the innocent; Cynthia Erivo is supernatural …

Poland’s Catholic population is approximately 88%; Catholicism informs their lives, behavior, decision-making, asserting its supremacy, domination, channeling its tenets in all avenues of the individual’s existence. Polish director Jan Komasa and writer Mateusz Pacewicz  with searing, intense uniqueness  address the bifurcation of the man and the priest: the man, “Daniel” (outrageously beautiful Bartosz Bielenia) a juvenile delinquent with a bent …

Director Marco Bellocchio’s “The Traitor” is blatantly honest in its depiction of the elitist microcosm known as the Cosa Nostra/Mafia: intransigent rules are enforced by its familial corps; extinction to those whose choices, actions go against the aged manifesto, a code of conduct, silence “omerta”; so keen is their elimination process, collateral damage is minimal. Tommaso Buscetta (1928-2000) was the …

Vindication has never felt so rewarding; for years I have suffered defeat, going with my gut, shunning the odds, my head and heart in sync; faring better than I imagined, I recognized the brilliant uniqueness of “Parasite” with my first encounter, on a myriad of levels, the film soars beyond assumptions: Biblical,  Shakespearian, mythological, Darwinian; Goethe stated “Before you…there are …

Peneflix is taking a hiatus from a competitive contest this year; not reneging on listing my “best” picks; ignoring the overlooked, concentrating on the testosterone-driven, “hueless” candidates; no “will/should”, just my feverish, instinctive selections:   BEST SUPPORTING ACTOR: Brad Pitt, “ONCE UPON A TIME IN HOLLYWOOD”  *PENEFLIX PICK* Tom Hanks, A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD Anthony Hopkins, THE TWO POPES Al …

During this ponderous hiatus, waiting for the winners of the Golden Globes and Academy Awards, I periodically step out of my comfort zone, imbibing in genres I know little about and have minimal interest in; martial arts falls into this category; even though a neophyte, I found “Ip Man 4: The Finale” dimensionless, pejorative, sophomorically written but plausibly entertaining in …

2019’s Asian films have held Western audiences enthralled: “Parasite”, “My People, My Country”, “Gully Boy”. “Better Days”, is a stunner, based on reality, director Derek Tsang, despite controversy, is breaking records, surpassing 190 million USD; focusing on the insidious, universal epidemic of bullying; “Chen Nian” (brilliant, Zhou Dongyu), a teenager struggling with a debt-ridden mother, being taunted by her contemporaries …