Reel Spirituality

But Jenkins didn’t choose any of those words for his film’s title. He chose “moonlight,” and I think it’s because that word best captures the mood of the film – soft and dreamlike, a cool reprieve from the violent heat typical of stories set in similar places, throwing light in unexpected ways on familiar situations, inviting us to see these people and places differently.

Each film in The Animation Show of Shows tells its own story, but the program tells a story too about the intricacies of what it means to be human.

Perhaps it’s because of the vintage Polish posters decorating the lobby of the Laemmle Playhouse theater where I saw Certain Women, but I couldn’t stop thinking about Krzysztof Kieslowski’s Dekalog all the while I was watching this movie.

In spite of the name, Parker’s film reflects on Intolerance more than Birth of a Nation. He depicts a story of tragic injustice, in which faith inspires someone to suffer and die for the good.

The characterizations of each woman are endlessly interesting, and portrayed by Blunt, Bennett, and Ferguson so believably, but they all fall at the mercy of a story that devolves nearly into a Lifetime movie. It is especially troublesome because of how sexual, violent, and sexually violent this movie is.

The quality of passage and interruption the film abides by is best symbolized by the bridge that sits atop the Yangtze. It’s a passage into many realms: the lives of the distressed, Chen Si himself, the town of Nanjing, and even greater China itself.

I do understand the urge to make a hero out of Nat Turner though. He did something when no one else was doing anything. His rebellion helped make it clear that slavery was a untenable part of American life.

Film critics use the term “middlebrow” to refer to films like Denial, meaning the film requires only a moderate amount of intellectual effort to decode because it does not veer from convention. The term is derisive. It ought not be.

Masterminds isn’t a theatrical event. It will be better as a spur of the moment, streaming service surprise.

A strong theme in Storks concerns the need for acceptance and belonging, which is masterfully depicted through Tulip’s vulnerability. In a scene where Junior tries to fire her, he calls her “Orphan Tulip,” she responds with, “Tulip is just fine, Orphan hurts my heart!”