The Best of Enemies (2019)

Available on Amazon Prime and Netflix

Written and directed by Robin Bissell

Starring Taraji P. Henson and Sam Rockwell

In the last few years, Hollywood has been frantically putting out woke movies, and particularly movies that deal with racism. So when K decided that we should watch The Best of Enemies as our movie of the week, I was skeptical. But then I looked at some critical reviews. And all of the most woke critics hated it.  So, I watched it. And enjoyed it. And I like it even better today, after thinking about it.

If you can put your ideological glasses aside, you might like it too, because it is a good movie, with an emotionally compelling plot and two outstanding performances by the lead actors.

The Best of Enemies is based on a true story: a very unlikely relationship that developed between C.P. Ellis, a White Supremacist (played by Sam Rockwell), and Ann Atwater, a Black community organizer (played by Taraji P. Henson), in a dispute over school integration in Durham, North Carolina, in 1971.

At the surface level (which may be all that writer/director Robin Bissell intended), it’s a touching, almost Hallmark-sentimental, story about understanding overcoming prejudice. And it might have played that way a decade ago… or even as recently as 2018, when Green Book, which was similar in some respects, won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

But that was then. Seeing it today, in our hyper-racialized culture of BLM, it’s impossible to take it that simply. Race reconciliation stories are no longer acceptable, even if they are based on true events.

If you favor that perspective, you won’t like the movie, because it’s more about the White man than the Black woman, treats the problems of racism too superficially, and suggests an outcome (amenity between the races) that is, from a Critical Race Theory viewpoint, morally corrupt.

I didn’t feel that way. But it left me with two thoughts:

* There is a big difference between the legal, political, and criminal justice systems that were operating in North Carolina in 1971 and those that exist throughout America today. And the difference is precisely what CRT disputes. Anti-Black racism was systemic back then. Today, there is plenty of racism of all types, but, systemic, anti-Black racism no longer exists.

* The big struggle of the civil rights movement was about integration – and particularly integration in public schools. That’s what this movie was about, too. It ends on a high note – with the former Klansman voting to integrate the local school. But did school integration achieve its goals? Has public-school integration made African-American children any better educated or better off in any other way 50 years later?

The Best of Enemies is not a great movie, because it does look at this amazing story in a rather sentimental, superficial way. But it is a good movie because the story, as objectionable as it is from a CRT/BLM perspective, is a worthy one. And because, however you feel about it, it challenges you to think outside the box.

Critical Reviews 

* “This tale of a KKK president seeing the error of his ways – and bonding with a civil-rights activist – feels all kinds of wrong.” (Nick Schager, The Daily Beast)

* “It’s impossible to ignore that the film is yet another Hollywood narrative of racial reconciliation centered on a white protagonist – and worse, it’s one that seems much more interested in the Klan’s white targets than its black ones.” (Inkoo Kang, Slate)

* “Instead of three-dimensional characters, The Best of Enemies gives us two wax figures in a cardboard town, and they’re all at the mercy of Bissell as writer/director.” (Matt Cipolla, The Spool)

You can watch the trailer here.

Collective (2020)

Available on Netflix and Prime Video

Directed, written, and produced by Alexander Nanau

Starring Catalin Tolontan, Camelia Roiu, and Tedy Ursuleanu

Collective is a documentary about corporate greed, government corruption, and inspiring investigative journalism in Romania. It has won many international awards, and is the first Romanian film to be nominated for an Oscar (Best Documentary Feature and Best International Feature Film).

The Plot: In October 2015, a fire breaks out at a nightclub In Budapest. (The film has a few minutes of film of this.) 27 people die immediately. Another 37 die in the ensuing weeks and months because of a lack of proper medical care, particularly because of bacterial infections among the burn victims. Early investigation by the editor of The Gazette, a sports newspaper,  points to government corruption and a major scam with Hexi Pharma, the country’s largest drug manufacturer. Protests ensue. The government tries to deny it. The head of Hexi Pharma dies mysteriously in a car crash. More revelations come out. Eventually, the Social Democratic government is forced to resign, and the Minister of Health is replaced by an honest young guy… but in the next election, the Social Democrats win in a landslide.

 What I liked about it: This is, as I said, a story about corporate greed and government corruption. But what made it work for me was the very thorough coverage of the role journalism played in the outcome. What a nice contrast to the advocacy journalism we have in the US today.

What I wondered: The entire film was shot from the start with static cameras, lighting, etc. That suggests that it was the editor of The Gazette that made the decision to create the documentary. And that made me question the authenticity of some of the scenes.

Critical Response 

* “Collective presents a darkly effective overview of the cycle of political corruption and public cynicism that takes hold when government abrogates its responsibility to the people.” (Rotten Tomatoes)

* “A gripping, despairing exposé of institutional injustice.” (Justin Chang, Los Angeles Times)

* “A documentary for our times, deserving of widespread exposure.” (Jay Weissberg, Variety)

* “[The film] sketches out an honest, affecting, somewhat old-fashioned utopian example of what it takes to make the world better, or at least a little less awful.” (Manohla Dargis, The New York Times)

You can watch the trailer here.

“What It’s Like to Be a Transgender Dad” 

Here’s a TED Talk about the difficulties of being a transgender dad. It’s given by a very likable person with a problem that can’t be solved. He wants the world to accept his “authentic self” – as a biologically born woman that feels not exactly but more like a man than a woman, and has decided that he wants to be a “dad” to the baby girl that he and his wife hope will be free to choose his/her/their gender later on.

The problem is not that this person has identity confusion (which he admits). It is that he thinks the confusion and hurt he feels about it can be fixed by the rest of the world accepting his view of himself. Worse, he imagines that he – and his child – will feel better and the world will be better if this could magically happen.

But it can never happen. And that has nothing to do with his identity. All of us would very much like the world to accept our views of who we are. But the world has no interest in doing that. The world is comprised of billions of people that are primarily interested in themselves, and don’t have the time or the inclination to succor the feelings of anyone but a close circle of family and friends.

The 12th Man (2018)

Available on Prime Video

Directed by Harald Zwart

Starring Thomas Gullestad, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, and Mads Sjogard Pettersen

Set during the Nazi occupation of Norway during WWII, a team of 12 Norwegian soldiers, trained by the British, sail to the shores of Norway with plans to explode key Nazi facilities. They are captured just as they land. One is killed immediately. Ten are tortured and executed. But one – Jan Baalsrud – gets away. The story is about his escape, through brutally cold conditions, to Sweden.

What I liked about it:

* Someone said that there are only two kinds of motion pictures: the peep show and the chase. This is a literal – and well-done – example of the latter.

* The fact that The 12th Man is based on a true story added to the pleasure of watching it.

* It was a good reminder of the brutality of war.

What I didn’t especially like:

Baalsrud was on the verge of being frozen to death for the entire hour and 50 minutes. Rooting for him… it was emotionally exhausting.

Interesting Facts 

I didn’t realize that Sweden was neutral during WWII.

According to German documents, the Nazis believed that the resistance group had perished in a blast. There are no reports indicating that they knew to hunt for Baalsrud, who claimed that he killed two German soldiers in the fight.

Critical Reviews 

 * “In a familiar genre, The 12th Man preserves the element of surprise by understanding its terrain.” (New York Times)

* “[Baalsrud’s] extraordinary story has unfortunately been turned into a handsomely produced but laborious, drawn-out, and dramatically inert movie.” (The Guardian)

* “A war film that wears superior influences on its sleeve. On the flipside, it brings us the best reindeer-chase scene ever committed to film.” (Rory Marsh)

The Dig (2021)

Available on Netflix

Directed by Simon Stone

Starring Carey Mulligan and Ralph Fiennes

K vetoed this film several times. Last night, I got my way.

Based on The Dig, by John Preston, this is a true story about the discovery of the Sutton Hoo treasure, one of the most important archeological finds ever in England. The plot revolves around several of the people involved.

What was good about it: The history behind it. The photography. The direction. The music. Ralph Fiennes’ acting, and Carey Mulligan’s amazing face.

What was not so good about it: The plot was weak. The romance between two secondary characters, Peggy Piggott and Rory Lomax, was distracting and factually inaccurate.

Interesting Facts

The film received generally positive reviews from critics and received five nominations for the British Academy Film Awards.

Critical Reviews 

* “There’s a great film to be unearthed from Jon Preston’s 2007 novel, but this isn’t it.” (Paul M. Bradshaw)

* “Quintessentially English, full of charm and tenacity, Ralph Fiennes and Carey Mulligan put in star performances.” (Zehra Phelan)

Operation Finale (2018) on Netflix

Directed by Chris Weitz

Starring Ben Kingsley, Oscar Isaac, and Lior Raz

Operation Finale – considered to be a remake of the 1979 film The House on Garibaldi Street – is based on a true story: In the 1960s, a group of Israeli Mossad officers traveled to Argentina to find and capture Adolph Eichmann, “the architect of the Final Solution,” and bring him to Israel, where he would be tried publicly for his war crimes. (Mossad is the national intelligence agency of Israel.)

Why I watched it: It provides some insights into something I was always fascinated by, but never researched: the community of Nazis that fled to Argentina after WWII.

What I doubted: Although based on real events, some elements of the plot seemed unlikely. I suspect they were introduced to increase the suspense.

What I believed: During his week-long interrogation, Eichmann was not responsive to the intimidation of five of his six interlocutors, but yielded finally to the softer approach of the sixth. This corresponds to what I’ve read about the ineffectiveness of torture as a method of interrogation.

What was brave about it: It addresses the question of whether a soldier has responsibility over and culpability for his actions during a war – and if so, to what extent. (The same theme was explored in The Spy Who Came in From the Cold.)

What was not so brave about it: In this case, the soldier in question was Adolph Eichmann. His defense – that he was just following orders – was presented, but without strength behind it. It was a straw-man defense, too easily pushed over. That can work in terms of the horizontality of the plot (the bad guy gets his just deserts), but it didn’t work on a philosophical level. I found myself wishing that the character had been given more and better lines, so that the antithetical argument could have been more strongly argued.

Interesting Facts 

* While filming, Ben Kingsley kept a photo of Holocaust survivor Elie Wiesel on set to remind himself of his responsibility for historical accuracy. He also did this while filming Schindler’s List, but with a photo of Anne Frank.

* Hannah Arendt, a film about the life of the German-Jewish philosopher, picks up where Operation Finale leaves off and offers an in-depth look at Eichmann’s trial from Arendt’s perspective.

Critical Reviews 

* “As a more complete retelling of a particular moment of history… the film is a diverting watch, anchored with enough of Weitz’s intriguing personal touches to keep it from feeling like a glorified History Channel special.” (The Atlantic)

* “Despite clichéd depictions of Nazi atrocities, the movie persuasively evokes, with its wealth of details, the slender threads on which historical events – and historical truth – depend.” (The New Yorker)

* “A well-made spy thriller replete with scenes of secret surveillance, faked passports, and hairbreadth escapes.” (Seattle Times)

You can watch the trailer here.

Better Days (2019)

Directed by Derek Kwok-Cheung Tsang

Starring Zhou Dongyu and Jackson Yee

K and I watched Better Days. It was one of the foreign movies on her list of Oscar nominations. From the get-go, I knew I would like it. The photography, the sound effects, the music were very smart.

Based on a popular young adult novel (In His Youth, In Her Beauty by Jiu Yuexi), Better Days takes place in a Hong Kong high school. The time is just before college entrance exams. 10 million students will be taking it.

That is in itself sufficient tension for a good story. But the protagonist, a 16-year-old in the equivalent of her senior year, is thrown into a world of vicious bullying and then is saved, sort of, by an encounter with a more sinister world of violence when she stumbles into a chance meeting with a gang member.

This is part Romeo and Juliet, part Bonnie and Clyde, part My Bodyguard. It’s also a social critique – not just of bullying, but also the pressures of the Chinese academic system.

If you want to get a feel for the difference between China and the US, both in terms of the experience of being a student and what it’s like to be part of a centralized government, this will give you a good idea.

It’s a long movie at 2 hours and 15 minutes, but it is one of the best of all the Oscar nominees I saw. Right up there with Judas and the Black Messiah.

Due to the immense popularity of its stars, Jackson Yee and Zhou Dongyu, it was one of the most highly anticipated Chinese films of 2019. (Yee has been in the spotlight in China and Japan since his debut at age 13 as the youngest member of the idol group TFBoys. Idol groups are made up of multitalented singers, dancers, and models. Their fame is generally manufactured and based on their attractiveness and social media/fan influence.)

It became a box office and pop cultural phenomenon in China, and received almost universal praise. But it was not popular with the Chinese government, which only very reluctantly allowed the film to be screened because of the sensitivity of its subject. It was pulled without explanation from the Berlin Film Festival days before it was to be shown. It failed to come out as scheduled in June in Chinese cinemas, before it was finally rolled out on Oct 25.

You can watch the trailer here.

Critical Reviews

* “Though not very subtle in presenting its thesis, the story is generally suspenseful and well-told by young HK actor and director Tsang.” (Hollywood Reporter)

* “Three years ago, Tsang made Soul Mate, an enchanting tale about female friendship that offered an engrossing look at modern, urban China. Yet that film isn’t quite adequate preparation for the emotional wallop of Better Days.” (Austin Chronicle)

* “Perceptive and gripping drama from China about pressure and bullying in schools, and one of the best films of 2019.” (Ready Steady Cut)

“Trapped” – a good short film.

Medieval art bores you. I get that. But this slightly boring tour of the history and the craft of two astonishingly detailed medieval pieces will give you an idea about how amazing these pieces often are.

Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)

Starring Daniel Kaluuya and Lakeith Stanfield

I watched Judas and the Black Messiah last night. I wasn’t going to. Something about the title repelled me. I don’t know what I thought it was going to be. Historical fiction? The story of Jesus as a black man? Watching the trailer changed my mind. The film is about the final days in the short life of Fred Hampton, the chairman of the Illinois chapter of the Black Panthers during the time of FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and Chicago Mayor Richard J. Daley.

The movie was good in many ways and very good in the most important way: It disturbed me and challenged some of my thoughts about police violence and racism. That was, of course, what it was meant to do. But I wasn’t an easy target. I could easily have dismissed it as weak, woke propaganda.

But some of the scenes of police brutality towards African-Americans reminded me of things I know from experience. That was the best thing about Judas and the Black Messiah. The next best thing was the acting. The two main actors – Daniel Kaluuya as Fred Hampton, and Lakeith Stanfield as Bill O’Neal, the Judas – were phenomenal. Oddly, so far at least, the awards have gone to Kaluuya. That I don’t agree with. They both had very challenging roles – complex personalities that had to evince wide ranges of sometimes contradictory behaviors in convincing ways. But Stanfield’s acting was every bit as good and his role was more demanding. When you see the film, you can judge for yourself.

The secondary actors were just as good. Standouts include Jessie Piemons as Roy Mitchell, Martin Sheen as J. Edgar Hoover, and Amari Cheatom as Rod Collins, leader of the Crowns, a fictionalized version of a Chicago gang.

And the movie had a plot with steady tension and well-paced forward momentum, quirky but effective editing, an experimental but successful sound track (Mark Isham), and lots of interesting historical tidbits power-packed with ironies to wonder about. (Just think: You are watching a movie about BLM whose timeframe took place 50 years ago.)

Overall, it was gripping, compelling, and moving. Possibly the best of the Oscar contenders.

You can watch the official trailer here

Critical Reviews 

* “Led by sensational performances from Daniel Kaluuya… and Lakeith Stanfield… this is a scalding account of oppression and revolution, coercion and betrayal, rendered more shocking by the undiminished currency of its themes.” (Hollywood Reporter)

* “The powerful film puts the current moment into fresh historical context and suggests that ambivalence can be its own form of betrayal.” (Variety)

* “Brash, narratively risky, full of life and sneaky wit… and brimming with terrific actors.” (Chicago Tribune)

Interesting Facts 

* The film has been nominated for more than 50 awards, and has so far won 32, including a Golden Globe, Critics’ Choice, Screen Actors Guild, and BAFTA for Daniel Kaluuya.

* Lakeith Stanfield was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, alongside co-star Daniel Kaluuya. Both of the film’s primary actors appearing in the supporting category proved unexpected and confusing to the public and awards pundits. Kyle Buchanan of the NYT jokingly questioned: “If Stanfield and Kaluuya are both supporting actors, then who exactly is this movie supposed to be about?”

Shtisel (Season 3 launched March 25 on Netflix)

Created and written by Ori Elon and Yehonatan Indursky

Starring Doval’e Glickman, Michael Aloni, and Neta Riskin

I thought Shtisel was gone for good, but when Netflix notified me that there was a third season, I watched the first episode that very night. (I briefly reviewed the series before [LINK Feb 19, 2019], but wanted to talk about it again here because of the above-mentioned connection with The Blue Streak.)

Shtisel is a TV series, produced in Israel, about an ultra-Orthodox Jewish family living in a Haredi neighborhood in Geula, Jerusalem. Shulem Shtisel is the family patriarch and a rabbi at the local cheder. And he is the heart of the series – in every respect. But the story focuses more on Akiva, his son, who lives with his beloved father but strives to have a more independent life.

The very strict culture of the Haredi, personified by Shulem, creates much of the drama in the series. When, for example, Akiva falls in love with Elisheva Rotstein, a smart, attractive, but twice-widowed young woman, his father gets to work trying to get him to say goodbye to her and find himself a more suitable prospect.

And then there is the imbroglio when the husband of Giti, Akiva’s sister, takes a job in Argentina and is rumored to be having an affair with a gentile.

And then there is Grandmother Malka, Shulem’s mother, who lives in a nursing home and is exposed to television for the first time in her life.

What I Love About Shtisel: The word that comes to mind when I try to describe how I like this series is “delicious.” I don’t watch it. I consume it. And it gives me the sort of aesthetic pleasure that can best be compared to a bar of Hershey’s chocolate. No, not Hershey’s. That’s too American. It’s like biting into a Toblerone.

The plot lines are cleverly connected and always engaging. The ensemble acting is fantastic, and the production values are excellent. But what I think I like best about Shtisel is that while watching it I feel like I’ve been invited into the warm embrace of a very different culture, one that might otherwise scare me but is made familiar and even welcoming by the essentially well-intentioned humanity of its characters struggling through their quotidian lives.

Critical Reviews 

* “The runaway-hit series from Israel delivers pleasures similar to those of an expansive nineteenth-century novel.” (New Yorker)

* “Binge-Worthy TV” (New York Times)

* “The Israeli television show’s deft combination of particularity and universality lies at the core of its appeal.” (The Atlantic)