Netflix and Beyond

When mediocrity stars in theatres, television can satiate the most discriminating, discerning viewer. Recently I watched three shows that resonated profoundly, leaving a luscious residue of memorable performances, extraordinary writing, staggering scenarios:   “The Politician’s Wife”: British miniseries (1995) starring Juliet Stevenson as a loyal but betrayed wife of Conservative Minister “Duncan Matlock” (Ian Bannen) with an “escort” (Minnie Driver). …

French director Claire Denis shares certain affinities with fellow filmmakers Terrence Malick and Lars von Trier; disturbing, ubiquitous uncertainty, aura of apocalyptic gloom hover at the epicenter of their films; “High Life” at times, breathtaking cinematographically, shades of Hieronymus Bosch’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights”, focuses on hardened criminals surviving in a space ship, floating in an alternate galaxy; commencing …

Periodically, it happens; almost instantly, acknowledging the worthiness of the movie, but wishing to remove oneself from the onslaught of massive, bludgeoning depression; “Diane” marvelously depicted by Mary Kay Place is a middle-aged depressive, her focus on others to the exclusion of her own issues, is devouring her sanity; she is a list maker, visiting and feeding the sick, working …

British writer/director Mike Leigh’s intelligent, compelling polemic referencing a shameful blot in English antiquity, demands and deserves profound respect from the viewer; 1819, four years after Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo; with haunting memories of the French Revolution (1789) and its guillotined aristocrats, the activists, demanding reform, suffrage, tax relief, elicited quaking alarm in the status quo; trussed in their breeches, …

Bollywood’s hunky heartthrob John Abraham (“Force” films) dons three nom du plumes for this spy thriller revolving around the 1971 Indo-Pakistani war (12/3/71-12/16/71)  resulting in the birth of Bangladesh; Abraham is introduced as a droll banker “Romeo” who substitutes his income as an impersonator; he is recruited by RAW’s (Research And Analysis Wing) Chief “Shrikani Rau” (Jackie Shroff at his …

Director Jia Zhangke  (2015’s bewitching “Mountains May Depart”) in this alluring, ravishing scenario about love, loss and survival in contemporary China; we follow “Qiao” (impeccable, magical performance by Zhao Tao, the director’s wife) commencing in 2001, concluding in 2018; Qiao’s boyfriend “Bin” (extraordinary, Liao Fan) a feckless, minor drug lord sees no reason to visit Qiao, imprisoned, for taking the …

Marvelously manipulative, pushing all the right buttons, resulting in an ultimately satisfying movie experience; Sam Rockwell and Taraji P. Henson, seasoned stars, paired perfectly as C.P. Ellis, President of the KKK in Durham, North Carolina and Ann Atwater, a fiery African American civil rights activist; it is 1971 and school integration percolates heatedly in the divisive, racist white community in …

Director Laszlo Nemes’ nascent Academy Award winning “Son of Saul” tipped the scales in mind-crunching innovation, revolutionary emotional upheaval, allowing the viewer to walk in the shoes of a prisoner in a Nazi concentration camp, metaphorically choking on Zyklon B gas; existence, a circumstantial whim of fate; a manifestation, incarnation of palpable evil, touched by the refined embodiment of man’s …

I do not believe in a God of Carnage; but 10 Pakistani men over November 26-29, 2008, assassinated 164 people in the name of Allah, squelching India’s way of life, as they did in the United States, September 11, 2001; director Anthony Maras, without blinders or sensationalism, reenacts and personalizes the calamitous hours of terror endured by guests and staff …

A compelling, scintillating scenario poetically referencing a true tale; Matthias Schoenaerts depicts hardened criminal Roman Coleman, whose rehabilitation rests on the back of an unbroken mustang; both are wild, volatile and caged; filmed with insightful prescience, elucidating neophytes to the massive benefits of Equine Assisted Therapy (EAT) therapy;  a myriad of animals are employed in pet therapy, aiding individuals fighting …