by Natasha Tynes | Oct 14, 2005 | Film, Metro Daze
The Arab Film Festival kicks off in DC today featuring an eclectic mix of Arab movies from Egypt, Lebanon, Tunisia and Morocco among others. After reading the festival’s schedule I could not help but get a bit annoyed by the lack of Jordanian entries. What Jordan is contributing to the festival appears to be an 8 minute short film by Jordanian director Shereen Abdul-Baki. However, this short movie is listed as an American production, so I’m assuming it was made in the States. So in a nutshell, the word Jordan doesn’t appear anywhere in the schedule.
I’m aware that the Jordanian movie scene is still in its infancy, but still — deep down inside — I was hoping to see a full-fledged Jordanian contribution. I’m optimistic, though, as I know the efforts of some talented Jordanians like Ameen and Laith will soon pay off. We should also take our hats off to the Royal Film Commission for creating a movie scene in the Kingdom.
You never know, maybe we’ll find a Jordanian contribution in next year’s festival! I remain optimistic.
by Natasha Tynes | Oct 11, 2005 | Film
The other day we watched the beautiful movie Whale Rider. Although it has been out for a couple of years, it was just two days ago that we managed to put our paws on this highly acclaimed film and what a treat it was.
This visually stunning film tells the legendary story of a young Maori girl who struggles to fulfill her destiny while being challenged by a patriarchal community. It is a story about love, redemption, heritage and family ties all woven together in this mystical manner that mates fantasy to reality.
The movie also sheds an important light on the tradition and culture of the indigenous inhabitants of New Zealand through the travails of Paikea, who was wonderfully played by Keisha Castle-Hughes (pictured). It was such a joy to watch Whale Rider that I will watch it again and again. It is highly recommend for troubled souls!
by Natasha Tynes | Oct 2, 2005 | Film
Once again the husband managed to score some free tickets for the screening of an independent movie prior to its release in DC. The movie this time was The War Within, which tells the story of a Pakistani man who travels to the US with the express intent of launching a suicide attack in the heart of New York City. The movie takes the viewer inside the mind of the man — Hassan — examining the complexities and circumstances that led him to decide to attack the US.
The movie itself is controversial, dealing with life in the post 9/11 era and its consequences. The director/co-writer worked hard to balance the movie by telling the story without inflicting any kind of strong stereotyping or making generalizations about any race or group. The film showed a wide spectrum of the Pakistani community living the US, highlighting some that were infatuated with American ideologies as well as those who firecely opposed them.
According to the director, who spoke to the audience after the screening in a Q & A session, the movie was given the green light by the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee, who called the movie “balanced." What I liked about the movie was the superb acting of Ayad Akhtar, who played Hassan. I also tremendously appreciated the script, which felt more real and convincing than other attempts to deal with the issue of terrorism, such as 24 for example.
I wonder if the movie will cause an uproar after its mainstream release. Objections might come from both sides: from those who might think the movie depicts Muslims in a negative way and from those that might believe the film sympathizes with the bomber.
by Natasha Tynes | Sep 27, 2005 | Film
Since subscribing to Netflix, our trips to the local movie theater have grown scarce, amounting to a visit a month — a huge cut from the frequent visits during our Doha days. I guess having access to a huge library of foreign, independent and mainstream movies makes you think twice before spending extra dough on a theater movie of unknown quality.
This past Sunday we made our monthly theater pilgrimage to our neighborhood Regal theater to watch the thriller Flight Plan. The primary reason for choosing this flick was Jodi Foster since both the husband and I are big fans. The movie was okay, but holes in the script made me feel it could have been better. Foster’s performance was powerful but the plot needed some tweaking.
One interesting plot point involved Foster attacking some Arab businessmen on the plane because she thought they were involved in the disappearance of her daughter. I guess in this post 9/11 era you can’t make a movie about air travel without inserting some Arab elements. Overall, the movie was not bad but I’m not sure it was worth a theater trip. I give it 6/10.
Still on the movie topic, here are some thoughts about two movies we saw recently and enjoyed:
Crash: My personal take on this movie: it is simply brilliant. It tackles the issue of stereotyping and racism in the post 9/11 era. The focus is not entirely on Muslims or Arabs, but expanded to include the racism inflicted upon other US minorities like Hispanics, Asians and African Americans. It is a very well-made film with a great storyline and a powerful message. Very highly recommended. 9/10
The Sea Inside (El Mar a Dentro): A top-notch film about the controversial issue of euthanasia. Based on a true story, the film explores one man’s’s desire to end his life after 26 years of living as a quadriplegic. The visuals were stunning as were the the cast’s performances. However, the movie was a downer. It depressed me to no end. This is not recommend for those with feeble hearts. 8/10
That wraps up my movie babblings for today. Stay tuned for more movie talk in the near future.
by Natasha Tynes | Sep 7, 2005 | Film
After spending some time online, the awesome husband managed to get us free tickets for the screening of the Chinese movie2046. So last night we made our way to the E St. Cinema in downtown DC, where we along with a house full of other movie aficionados got the chance to see the flick before its DC release.
What did I think of it? Artistically, it was brilliant, as was the performance by Tony Leung Chiu Wai and Ziyi Zhang (The Road Home, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Hero).
The movie tells the story of a science-fiction writer who struggles with loneliness and his own pursuit of happiness and true love. The author’s novel is intercut into his waking life taking the viewer through an overwhelming, complex journey of past, present and future. In a nutshell, the movie is a reflection on lost loves, passion and bad timing.
The only criticism I could give this move is the fact it dragged, lasting a bit over two hours. But I guess the movie was not made for mainstream audience, those with a short attention span like myself. I highly recommend this movie. For those living in this part of the globe, Netflix 2046 now!
by Natasha Tynes | Sep 1, 2005 | Film
The film of choice last night was Sin City. It had been sitting on the computer table for a bit but we never got around to watching it until yesterday, as we were busy exploring the wonders of DC with the sister.
So last night we got a chance to watch it and, for some reason, I was expecting it to be better. Maybe it was too violent for my taste or maybe it was over-hyped because I was a bit disappointed. I thought the story was a bit disjointed and dragged somehow. But I thought the graphics were stunning and extremely creative. Although it might be too gory for some, the movie is still worth watching, as it is quite unique. I would give it 7/10.
The film of choice last night was