God's Neighbor

Meni Yaesh's God's Neighbor (Israel, 2012) - 2012CANcw SACD AWard Winner. 2012JERU Family Film Award Winner. Israeli first feature God’s Neighbours brings a decidedly punchy touch to its sincere plea for tolerance. Adding a theological dimension to its boisterous take on contemporary Israeli society, Meni Yaesh’s film has energy and confidence to spare, but can’t quite decide how to pitch itself - as likeable comedy or gritty social drama. 2012CANcw, 2012JERU, 2012OPHIR. RATING: 7

Room 514

Sharon Bar Ziv's Room 514 (Israel, 2012) - When a young, idealistic Israeli military investigator confronts an elite soldier with accusations of unnecessary violence against a Palestinian man in the Occupied Territories, her integrity and determination are put to the test as the case proves less black and white than it originally seemed. Taking a stand against a perceived abuse of power in spite of her colleagues' advice to back off because of the political complexities of the case, her increasingly zealous quest for justice ends up having far-reaching consequences for everyone involved. 2012ROTbf, 2012TRI. RATING: 6

Lincoln

GREAT MOVIES: Steven Spielberg's Lincoln (US, 2012) - Daniel Day Lewis, Sally Field. An engrossing, intelligent drama built around a seemingly dry piece of US congressional history — the political machinations that led to the passage of the 13th amendment, which abolished slavery — Lincoln is a stirring portrait of Abraham Lincoln but, perhaps more importantly, is a quietly compelling look into the nitty-gritty process of democratic government. Elevated by a marvellous performance from Daniel Day-Lewis as America’s 16th (and, arguably, most beloved) president, this passion project from director Steven Spielberg suffers from his occasional tendency to indulge in sentimentality, but on the whole this confident, well-crafted film rewards viewers who are willing to be patient with its deliberate pace, which slowly builds in dramatic and emotional intensity. RATING: 9.

2012 Gotham Award Winners

'Moonrise Kingdom' wins best feature at Gothams

Best Feature
"Bernie"
"The Loneliest Planet"
"The Master"
"Middle of Nowhere"
"Moonrise Kingdom" - WINNER
Best Documentary
"Detropia"
"How to Survive a Plague" - WINNER
"Marina Abramavi?: The Artist is Present"
"Room 237"
"The Waiting Room"
Best Ensemble Performance
"Bernie"
"Moonrise Kingdom"
"Safety Not Guaranteed"
"Silver Linings Playbook"
"Your Sister's Sister" - WINNER
Breakthrough Director
Antonio Méndez Esparza, "Aquí y Allá (Here and There)"
Benh Zeitlin, "Beasts of the Southern Wild" - WINNER
Brian M. Cassidey, Melanie Shatzky, "Francine"
Jason Corlund, Julia Halperin, "Now, Forager"
Zal Batmanglij, "Sound of My Voice"
Breakthrough Actor
Mike Birbiglia, "Sleepwalk with Me"
Emayatzy Corinealdi, "Middle of Nowhere" - WINNER
Thure Lindhardt, "Keep the Lights On"
Melanie Lynskey, "Hello, I Must Be Going"
Quevenzhané Wallis, "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Best Film Not Playing at a Theater Near You
"Kid-Thing"
"An Oversimplification of Her Beauty" - WINNER
"Red Flag"
"Sun Don't Shine"
"Tiger Tall in Blue"

2013 Indie Spirit Award Nominations

2013 FILM INDEPENDENT SPIRIT AWARD NOMINATIONS
BEST FEATURE
"Beasts of the Southern Wild" - Producers: Michael Gottwald, Dan Janvey & Josh Penn
"Bernie" - Producers: Liz Glotzer, Richard Linklater, David McFadzean, Dete Meserve, Judd Payne, Celine Rattray, Martin Shafer, Ginger Sledge, Matt Williams
"Keep the Lights On" - Producers: Marie Therese Guirgis, Lucas Joaquin, Ira Sachs
"Moonrise Kingdom" - Producers: Wes Anderson, Jeremy Dawson, Steven Rales, Scott Rudin
"Silver Linings Playbook" - Producers: Bruce Cohen, Donna Gigliotti, Jonathan Gordon
BEST DIRECTOR
Wes Anderson - "Moonrise Kingdom"
Julia Loktev - "The Loneliest Planet"
David O. Russell - "Silver Linings Playbook"
Ira Sachs - "Keep the Lights On"
Benh Zeitlin - "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
BEST SCREENPLAY
Wes Anderson & Roman Coppola - "Moonrise Kingdom"
Zoe Kazan - "Ruby Sparks"
Martin McDonagh - "Seven Psychopaths"
David O. Russell - "Silver Linings Playbook"
Ira Sachs - "Keep the Lights On"
BEST FIRST FEATURE
"Fill the Void" - Director: Rama Burshtein, Producer: Assaf Amir
"Gimme the Loot" - Director: Adam Leon, Producers: Dominic Buchanan, Natalie Difford, Jamund Washington
"Safety Not Guaranteed" - Director: Colin Trevorrow, Producers: Derek Connolly, Stephanie Langhoff, Peter Saraf, Colin Trevorrow, Marc Turtletaub
"Sound of My Voice" - Director: Zal Batmanglij, Producers: Brit Marling, Hans Ritter, Shelley Surpin
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" - Director: Stephen Chbosky, Producers: Lianne Halfon, John Malkovich, Russell Smith
BEST FIRST SCREENPLAY
Rama Burshtein - "Fill the Void
Derek Connolly - "Safety Not Guaranteed
Christopher Ford - "Robot & Frank
Rashida Jones & Will McCormack - "Celeste and Jesse Forever
Jonathan Lisecki - "Gayby
JOHN CASSAVETES AWARD
Given to the best feature made for under $500,000. Award given to the Writer, Director, and producer. Executive Producers are not awarded.
"Breakfast with Curtis" - Writer/Director/Producer: Laura Colella,
"Middle of Nowhere" - Writer/Director/Producer: Ava DuVernay, Producers: Howard Barish, Paul Garnes
"Mosquita y Mari" - Writer/Director: Aurora Guerrero, Producer: Chad Burris
"Starlet" - Writer/Director: Sean Baker, Producers: Blake Ashman-Kipervaser, Kevin Chinoy, Patrick Cunningham, Chris Maybach, Francesca Silvestri
"The Color Wheel" - Writer/Director/Producer: Alex Ross Perry, Writer: Carlen Altman
BEST FEMALE LEAD
Linda Cardellini - "Return"
Emayatzy Corinealdi - "Middle of Nowhere"
Jennifer Lawrence - "Silver Linings Playbook"
Quvenzhané Wallis - "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Mary Elizabeth Winstead - "Smashed"
BEST MALE LEAD
Jack Black - "Bernie"
Bradley Cooper - "Silver Linings Playbook"
John Hawkes - "The Sessions"
Thure Lindhardt - "Keep the Lights On"
Matthew McConaughey - "Killer Joe"
Wendell Pierce - "Four"
BEST SUPPORTING FEMALE
Rosemarie DeWitt - "Your Sister's Sister"
Ann Dowd - "Compliance"
Helen Hunt - "The Sessions"
Brit Marling - "Sound of My Voice"
Lorraine Toussaint - "Middle of Nowhere"
BEST SUPPORTING MALE
Matthew McConaughey - "Magic Mike"
David Oyelowo - "Middle of Nowhere"
Michael Péna - "End of Watch"
Sam Rockwell - "Seven Psychopaths"
Bruce Willis - "Moonrise Kingdom"
BEST CINEMATOGRAPHY
Yoni Brook - "Valley of Saints"
Lol Crawley - "Here"
Ben Richardson - "Beasts of the Southern Wild"
Roman Vasyanov - "End of Watch"
Robert Yeoman - "Moonrise Kingdom"
BEST DOCUMENTARY
(Award given to the Director and producer)
"How to Survive a Plague" - Director: David France, Producers: David France, Howard Gertler
"Marina Abramovic: The Artist is Present" - Director: Matthew Akers, Producers: Maro Chermayeff, Jeff Dupre
"The Central Park Five DirectorS/Producers: Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon
"The Invisible War" - Director: Kirby Dick, Producers: Tanner King Barklow, Amy Ziering
"The Waiting Room Director/Producer: Peter Nicks, Producers: Linda Davis, William B. Hirsch
BEST INTERNATIONAL FILM
(Award given to the Director)
"Amour" (France) Director: Michael Haneke
"Once Upon A Time in Anatolia" (Turkey) Director: Nuri Bilge Ceylan
"Rust And Bone" (France/Belgium) Director: Jacques Audiard
"Sister" (Switzerland)" - Director: Ursula Meier
"War Witch" (Democratic Republic of Congo)" - Director: Kim Nguyen
16th ANNUAL PIAGET PRODUCERS AWARD
The 16th annual Piaget Producers Award honors emerging producers who, despite highly limited resources demonstrate the creativity, tenacity, and vision required to produce quality, independent films. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant funded by Piaget.
"Nobody Walks" - Producer: Alicia Van Couvering
"Prince Avalanche" - Producer: Derrick Tseng
"Stones in the Sun" - Producer: Mynette Louie
19th ANNUAL SOMEONE TO WATCH AWARD
The 19th annual Someone to Watch Award recognizes a talented filmmaker of singular vision who has not yet received appropriate recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
"Pincus" - Director: David Fenster
"Gimme the Loot" - Director: Adam Leon
"Electrick Children" - Director: Rebecca Thomas
STELLA ARTOIS TRUER THAN FICTION AWARD
The 18th annual Truer Than Fiction Award is presented to an emerging Director of non-fiction features who has not yet received significant recognition. The award includes a $25,000 unrestricted grant.
"Leviathan" - Director: Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel
"The Waiting Room" - Director: Peter Nicks
"Only the Young" - Director: Jason Tippet & Elizabeth Mims
ROBERT ALTMAN AWARD
(Given to one film's Director, casting Director, and its ensemble cast)
"Starlet" - Director: Sean Baker
Casting Director: Julia Kim
Ensemble Cast: Dree Hemingway, Besedka Johnson, Karren Karagulian, Stella Maeve, James Ransone

The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2

Bill Condon's The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn Part 2 (US, 2012) - Laughter, disbelief and a sort of horrified exhilaration are all perfectly sane reactions to "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn -- Part 2," a doozy of a finale to a series that, until now, has largely taken its dramatic cues from its maddeningly inert heroine. Not anymore: With Bella reborn as a bloodthirsty, butt-kicking vampire mama, this second of two Bill Condon-directed installments clears a low bar to stand easily as the franchise's most eventful and exciting entry. Admittedly, much of the credit should go to a jaw-dropping extended climax that will give fans something to chew on besides the delicate matter of Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson's offscreen romance -- not that a movie this commercially invincible requires too many talking points. RATING: 6.

Red Dawn (2012)

Dan Bradley's Red Dawn (US, 2012) - Despite the considerable impediment of a premise arguably even sillier than that of the original "Red Dawn," helmer Dan Bradley's long-delayed remake of John Milius' 1984 kids-vs.-Commies adventure delivers enough thrilling action sequences and rock-'em, sock-'em fantasy-fulfillment to amp its B.O. potential. Of course, considering the near-deafening negative buzz generated during its extended post-production period, the pic might elicit muted praise from critics as well as ticketbuyers simply for not living down to expectations. FilmDistrict plans a Nov. 21 release, though it's amusing to ponder its potential political and pop-cultural impact were it released before Election Day. RATING: 6

Life of Pi

MUST SEE: Ang Lee's Life of Pi (US, 2012) - A literal crouching tiger is merely one of many visual wonders in Ang Lee's "Life of Pi," a gently transporting work of all-ages entertainment that melds a harrowing high-seas adventure with a dreamy meditation on the very nature of storytelling. Summoning the most advanced digital-filmmaking technology to deliver the most old-fashioned kind of audience satisfaction, this exquisitely beautiful adaptation of Yann Martel's castaway saga has a sui generis quality that's never less than beguiling, even if its fable-like construction and impeccable artistry come up a bit short in terms of truly gripping, elemental drama. 2012NYFF. RATING: 8

Silver Linings Playbook

GREAT MOVIES: David O. Russell's Silver Linings Playbook (US, 2012) - Never one to shy away from unlikely sources of comedy, David O. Russell tackles mental illness, marital failure and the curative powers of football with bracingly sharp and satisfying results in "Silver Linings Playbook." Again bringing an invigorating edge to whip-smart mainstream fare a la "The Fighter," the writer-director employs a twitchy visual syntax to match the dazzling verbal acumen of his two screw-loose leads, terrifically played by Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence. Strong reviews and word of mouth should make this boisterous and heartfelt loser love story a year-end winner for the Weinstein Co. 2012TOR. RATING: 9

2012 Doha Film Festival Winner

Best of the Fest
Film lovers in Doha voted for the Chinese feature film Full Circle, the story of a group of irrepressible senior citizens who decide to enter a reality show on television, and Searching for Sugar Man,a documentary on the life of enigmatic musician Rodriguez, as the ‘Best of the Fest’.
Both films received $50,000 each as prize money and DTFF will screen the films again.
The fourth edition of the festival closes on Saturday (Nov 24).

Narrative Feature winners

Best Narrative Feature Film
The Repentant (Algeria, France), directed by Merzak Allouache
Best Narrative Filmmaker
Nabil Ayouch for Horses of God (Morocco)
Best Performance
Winner: Ahmed Hafiane for Professor (Tunisia, France, Qatar)
Special Mention:
Goodbye Morocco (France, Belgium), directed by Nadir Moknèche

Documentary Narrative winners

Best Documentary Feature Film 
Lebanese Rocket Society (Lebanon, France, Qatar), directed by Joana Hadjithomas and Khalil Joreige
Best Documentary Filmmaker
Hanan Abdalla for In The Shadow of a Man (Egypt)
Special Mention
Damien Ounouri for Fidai

Yentl

GREAT MOVIES: Barbra Streisand's Yentl (US, 1983) - Based on Isaac Bashevis Singer's story, this Oscar-winning musical stars Barbra Streisand as Yentl, the bookish daughter of a Talmud teacher who instructs her even though it's forbidden to teach the sacred text to girls. Determined to continue her schooling after her father dies, Yentl disguises herself as a boy to gain entry to a yeshiva. There, she meets the brilliant Avigdor (Mandy Patinkin), who only has eyes for Hadass (Amy Irving). 1984AA, 1000DT. RATING: 9

Jab Tak Hai Jan

Yash Chopra's Jab Tak Hai Jaan (India, 2012) - Director-producer Yash Chopra's film -- his final project before he died -- delivers not only the romance and human touch, but also reflects a modern sensibility. The trailer for Yash Chopra’s three-hour romantic extravaganza manages to pack in half a dozen explosions, a passionate scene in a London phone booth and a dance duet amid soaring fountains. So it’s tempting to assume that India’s most eagerly awaited film of the year, Jab Tak Hai Jaan, will be silly and overblown. But the film, the 80-year-old director-producer’s final project before he died Oct. 21, hits the right notes and delivers not only the romance and human touch that has made Chopra a brand name, but also reflects a modern sensibility: these are characters who have sex before marriage, break their vows to God, and set their own life paths. The drawing power of Shah Rukh Khan, Katrina Kaif and Anushka Sharma (who costarred with Khan in the charming Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi), combined with a wide Diwali holiday release, will ensure large, appreciative audiences. RATING: 6

2012 Thessaloniki Film Festival Winner

Tobias Lindholm's A Hijacking won Golden Alexander and FIPRESCI Award.

The Silver Alexander went to Turkish production Kuf (Mold) by debutant Ali Aidin.

Spain’s Antonio Menez Esparza was named Best Director for Here and There (Aqui y Alla), the portrait of a Mexican peasant returning to his family after working in the US.

Israeli entry Epilogue, which centres on an elderly couple, won the Bronze Alexander for originality and innovation as well as the Best Screenplay award for director/screenwriter Amir Manor.

Polish actress Julia Kijowska for her leading part in Milosc (Loving) directed by Slawomir Fabicki and the Greek actor Yannis Papadopoulos for To agori troei to fagito tou pouliou (Boy Eating the Bird’s Food), directed by Ektoras Lygizos. The latter film also received the Fipresci award for films presented in the Greek section.

Russian production Zhit (Living) directed by Vasily Sigarev (Best Artistic Achievement )

The Iranian Taboor, directed by Vahid Vakilifar, and the Bulgarian Tsvetat na Hameleona (The Color of Chameleon), directed by Emil Christov (Special mentions).

The audience awards went to Pablo Larrain’s Chilean production NO starring Gael Garcia Bernal for a film in the Open Horizons section, to Cristian Mungiu’s Beyond the Hills for a film in the Balkan Survey section and to the Greek Papadopoulos and Sons directed by Marcus Markou, starring Stephen Dillane and Georges Corraface.

Montenegro

GREAT MOVIES: Dusan Makavejev's Montenegro (Serbia / Sweden, 1980) - Housewife Marilyn Jordan (Susan Anspach) seems to have everything she could possibly want -- a successful husband, two beautiful children and a palatial house by the sea ... until she meets a group of Yugoslavian immigrants at the airport. Before you can say "unbridled abandon," Marilyn finds herself swept up in a bohemian world of dangerous pleasures and newfound freedom in this surreal black comedy. 1981CANic, 1981TEL, EFS. RATING: 9

Stir Crazy

Sidney Poitier's Stir Crazy (US, 1980) - In their second of four on-screen teamings, Gene Wilder and Richard Pryor are two slackers who get bum-rapped and shipped directly to the Arizona State Penitentiary (where parts of this big-house comedy were actually filmed). Sidney Poitier helmed this surprise smash hit, which set a new record at the time as the biggest moneymaker by an African-American director. Craig T. Nelson and JoBeth Williams co-star. 1980HIT. RATING: 8.

The Fog

John Carpenter's The Fog (US, 1980) - While an old, weather-beaten fisherman tells a ghost story to fascinated children huddled by a campfire, a piece of driftwood in a child's hands begins to glow, and an eerie fog envelops the seaside community of Antonio Bay. From its midst emerges demonic victims of a century-old shipwreck seeking revenge on the small town. Director John Carpenter's follow-up to his breakout film, Halloween, stars Jamie Lee Curtis and Janet Leigh. RATING: 8

Brubaker

Stuart Rosenberg's Brubaker (US, 1980) - When new prison warden Henry Brubaker (Robert Redford) goes undercover in a state penitentiary, he's horrified by what he sees: Prisoners are being sold as slaves, and decent food can't be obtained without cold, hard cash. Brubaker sets out to improve the system, but the more he reforms, the more enemies he makes among the townspeople who've benefited from the corruption. Soon, he's in a heap of trouble -- and no one seems willing to help him. RATING: 8

Private Benjamin

Howard Zieff's Private Benjamin (US, 1080) - After her husband drops dead on their wedding night, spoiled society girl Judy Benjamin (Goldie Hawn) decides to join the army -- a choice with consequences both explosive and explosively funny. The situation is mined (no pun intended) for plenty of laughs, but in the end, this classic comedy is about Judy's inspiring search for identity and independence. Eileen Brennan co-stars as the tough-as-nails captain determined to teach Judy a lesson. RATING: 8

Looking Beyond Documentary to Face Truths Shohei Imamura’s Documentaries at Anthology Film Archives

Left and right, subjects in Shohei Imamura’s “In Search of the Unreturned Soldiers in Thailand”; center, Mr. Imamura, right, with an interviewee in “In Search of the Unreturned Soldiers in Malaysia.” The films concern servicemen who left Japan in World War II.

THE films of Shohei Imamura — rowdier than the certified classics of Ozu and Mizoguchi, but more formally elegant and genuinely perverse than the works of his fellow Japanese New Wave directors like Nagisa Oshima and Seijun Suzuki — have never exactly caught fire in America. Fame came more readily in Europe, where he was nominated for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival five times and won twice (for “The Ballad of Narayama” in 1983 and “The Eel” in 1997).

But the relative inattention that his beautifully constructed, darkly comic dramas like “Pigs and Battleships,” “The Pornographers” and “Vengeance Is Mine” have faced here is nothing compared with the neglect of Imamura’s pathbreaking documentaries, all made in a midcareer detour from 1967 to 1975. The documentaries have been so obscure that Anthology Film Archives in Manhattan will be giving six of them their American theatrical premieres in a retrospective beginning Thursday and continuing through Nov. 21.

Imamura, a protégé of Ozu, began directing his own films in the late 1950s, turning out intricate comedies (“Stolen Desire”) and caper films (“Endless Desire”) with hardscrabble contemporary settings and a sardonic critique of postwar Japanese values. In “Endless Desire,” for instance, would-be crooks digging a tunnel to where a barrel of morphine was hidden during the war run afoul of a corrupt municipal program to demolish a teeming neighborhood of small shops.

His engagement with the realities of money, sex and social class continued in more ambitious and bitingly cynical pictures like “Pigs and Battleships,” about small-time gangsters near an American naval base, and “The Pornographers,” about a maker of low-rent erotica who lusts after his girlfriend’s daughter. Then, in 1967, Imamura took the step into nonfiction with his first and best-known documentary, “A Man Vanishes,” which will play throughout the retrospective.

Except that “A Man Vanishes” is not exactly, or entirely, a documentary. Made in a style similar to that of his previous fictional work — shot in rich black and white, with frequent use of freeze frames and nonsynchronous dialogue — and showing the influence of the film essays of Chris Marker and Jean-Luc Godard, it takes as its starting point a real-world event: the disappearance of a salesman named Tadashi Oshima, who left for a business trip and never returned.

Beginning with a policeman’s dry recitation of the facts the film is ostensibly an attempt to determine Oshima’s fate and shed light on the phenomenon of young Japanese men dropping out of society. In the first half-hour a large cast, including relatives, co-workers, friends, former girlfriends and even a medium, is briskly questioned about Oshima’s movements and personality.

Even in the early going it seems that the more details we accrue, the less we really know about the man and why he went missing. And then the film takes a decisive turn, as Oshima’s mousy fiancée, Yoshie, who has been a mostly silent presence, suddenly moves to the center of the story. The previously unseen film crew, including Imamura, now comes on screen to discuss her shortcomings, and several long, crucial sequences involve arguments between Yoshie and her sister, who emerges as a possible key figure in Oshima’s disappearance.

Well before Imamura’s third-act coup de théâtre — a literal deconstruction of his own narrative and picture frame — it’s obvious that what we are watching is too good to be true, too carefully staged and too sophisticated in its confusions to be authentically documentary. Imamura, on screen, alternately calls the film nonfiction and fiction. The only thing that’s clear is that the man, Oshima, has not only vanished from sight but has also vanished, for the most part, from his own story.

Anticipating by four decades today’s fondness for blurring the lines between documentary and drama — from the puzzle pieces of Abbas Kiarostami to the dodgy theatrics of “Catfish” — “A Man Vanishes” is startlingly modern and, at 130 minutes, in some measure more fun to talk about than to watch. Having gotten it out of his system, Imamura proceeded to make a series of short, rough, vital, purely documentary films, primarily for Japanese television.

“In Search of the Unreturned Soldiers in Malaysia,” “In Search of the Unreturned Soldiers in Thailand,” “Outlaw-Matsu Returns Home” and “Karayuki-San, the Making of a Prostitute” make up an informal tetralogy on a theme similar to that of “A Man Vanishes”: how and why people would slip away from the rigid embrace of Japanese society.

Like “A Man Vanishes,” “Unreturned Soldiers in Malaysia” plays out like a detective story. Acting as narrator, interviewer and investigator, Imamura flies to Singapore and makes contact with several former Japanese soldiers who have stayed on there. They don’t qualify as “unreturned,” having kept their contacts with the local Japanese people, but they help him as he searches for soldiers who have truly gone native and as he digs into questions of culpability for wartime atrocities and the ability of both the Japanese and the ethnic Chinese to forget about massacres and burned villages.

Eventually his search leads to a man now called A-Kim. Each step of Imamura’s hopscotch journey to and from Singapore and Malaysia offers new insights into Southeast Asia’s violent history. Given directions to a Chinese village where A-Kim is said to live, Imamura discovers that it’s no longer there: burned down by the British after the war because it was thought to harbor Communists, it’s now an Indian village. A-Kim, once found, turns out to be a convert to Islam, a suitable choice, Imamura decides, for a man “whose entire youth was stolen by war.”

In “Unreturned Soldiers in Thailand” Imamura quickly locates three former Japanese servicemen who have accommodated themselves to Thai life, and devotes the bulk of the film to a long, combative and increasingly drunken conversation among them: Fujita, a former spy who admits to burning Chinese captives alive and still worships the emperor; Toshida, a disillusioned individualist; and Nakayama, who stares into the distance and refuses to talk. The next day Fujita says of Toshida: “If we were still soldiers, I’d kill him. That’s just how we are.”

“Outlaw-Matsu” recounts the loyal Fujita’s return to Japan, arranged by Imamura, and “Karayuki-San” profiles a Japanese woman who was sent to Malaysia to be a prostitute for Japanese soldiers and chose to stay. All four films are part of Imamura’s project to recapture the reality of the war “because we have forgotten such things in our peaceful present lives.”

After 1975 Imamura returned to fiction, winning his Palme d’Ors and gaining a late measure of recognition in America with the release of “The Eel” and “Dr. Akagi” before his death in 2006. The Anthology series is an opportunity, not to be missed, to sample the work of a filmmaker who crossed and recrossed the documentary boundary long before established figures like Werner Herzog, Jonathan Demme and Spike Lee could do so without a second thought.

2012 Morelia Film Festival Winner

Natalia Beristain's I Don't Want To Sleep Alone won Best Film Award at 2012 Morelia Film Festoval

Pedro Gonzales Rubio's Inori won Best Documentary Award at 2012 Morelia Film Festival

Populaire

COMING SOON: Regis Roinsard's Populaie (France, 2012) - Surely the first period rom-com to centre on the speed-typing competitions that were all the rage in the 1950s, commercials director Regis Roinsard’s first feature delivers a sparkling Gallic take on what feels like a vintage Hollywood love story. Though the romance between the ambitious trainer-boss played by Romain Duris and Deborah Francois’ gifted typist protégée-secretary follows a well-trodden narrative path, complete with pride-fuelled misunderstandings and third-act setbacks, the chemistry between the two leads is positively nuclear, and the film’s effervescent, spot-on evocation of the period in its visual style and soundtrack is a joy to absorb.

Hand in Hand

COMING SOON: Valerie Donzelli's Hand in Hand (France, 2012) - The reigning monarch of French screwball indie rom-coms, Valerie Donzetti charms more than she delights with her follow-up to the remarkable Declaration Of War, which after its 2011 Cannes debut went on to seal a raft of arthouse deals. Featuring a brace of immensely enjoyable performances, not least by talented comedienne Valerie Lemercier and Donzelli’s former partner (and co-scripter) Jeremie Elkaim as an unlikely couple from different sides of the tracks who become literally inseparable, Hand In Hand (Main dans la main) fails quite to deliver on its exhilaratingly madcap first act.

Sowing the Seeds of Darkness New on DVD, ‘Fritz Lang: The Early Works’

Mia May meets a likeness of the Virgin Mary in “The Wandering Shadow” (1920), part of “Fritz Lang: The Early Works.”

THE single most important figure in the development of the motion picture as an art form was probably D. W. Griffith, but from his debut as a director in 1908 to the premature end of his career in 1931, he remained a child of the Victorian era. For all of his innovations in film form, his view of the world, as embedded in the sort of stories he chose to tell and the kind of characters with which he populated them, belonged to the 19th century. There isn’t much in his work that would have surprised Balzac or Dickens. In a sense the movies don’t really become a modern art until after World War I, when the new medium began to attract creators aware of the new developments in literature and the visual arts — creators like Fritz Lang. Born in Vienna in 1890, he studied architecture and engineering at the Vienna University of Technology before he left in 1913 to study painting in Paris, where he became aware of the new currents. One of his earliest surviving works is a self-portrait from 1914, in which he depicts himself as a spidery aesthete, self-consciously imitating the style of Egon Schiele right down to his squared-off signature. When the Great War came, Lang left Paris and enlisted in the Austrian army, serving with distinction, earning a fistful of medals and citations before his wounds forced him from the field. It was during a medical leave that he began composing scenarios and acting in amateur theatrical productions. Discharged in 1918 with a nervous disorder, he almost immediately began writing scripts for the producer Erich Pommer, and a year later made his first film as a director, the “Halbblut” (“Half-Blood”), now lost. A new boxed set from Kino Lorber, “Fritz Lang: The Early Works,” follows Lang through three films from 1919 to 1921, up to the eve of his breakthrough with the international success “Destiny.” There aren’t any masterpieces here, but seen in succession the three films give a sense of the incredible speed with which Lang — and the German cinema in general — evolved from the moral and psychological certainties of the prewar era toward a new sense of discontinuity, fragmentation and paranoia. Griffith’s sunny pastorals give way to an anxious new world of night and the city, the world of future Lang masterworks like “Metropolis” (1927), “M” (1931) and “The Big Heat” (1953). The 1919 “Harakiri” offers a direct connection to Victorian melodrama. The film is an unauthorized adaptation of the 1898 short story by John Luther Long, “Madame Butterfly,” that would be brought to Broadway by David Belasco in 1900 and turned into an opera by Giacomo Puccini in 1904. Lang has made a few cosmetic changes of names and nationalities — Cho-cho has become O-Take-San (Lil Dagover) and Lieutenant Pinkerton is now a Swedish naval officer (Niels Prien). But his most conspicuous intervention lies in building up the role of the Buddhist monk (Georg John) into a malevolent manipulator with almost supernatural powers, a gaunt figure who anticipates both F. W. Murnau’s Nosferatu and Lang’s own Dr. Mabuse, both of whom would emerge in 1922. Like other German films of the immediate postwar era “Harakiri” ducks the anarchic social reality of the time by burrowing into an exotic past. With the well-publicized assistance of the Hamburg Anthropological Museum, Lang constructed a Japanese village in a suburb of Berlin where he shot both the exterior and interior scenes, allowing for an unusually tight integration of landscape and drama. Lang continued to work on location with “Das Wandernde Bild” (1920), which Kino has translated as “The Wandering Shadow” for this set but is more usually known as “The Wandering Image.” The film was Lang’s first with the screenwriter Thea von Harbou, who would become his wife and most consistent collaborator. (Both relationships ended when Lang left Germany in 1934.) Shot in the Bavarian Alps, the film is a complex melodrama (made even more so by its fragmentary state — only about two-thirds of the movie survive) centered on a widow (Mia May) who flees to the mountains to escape the scheming of her greedy brother-in-law (Hans Marr). The “shadow” of the title is in fact a very solid stone Madonna that stands near the hut of a mysterious hermit, whose unlikely identity is revealed through an extended flashback. Several characteristic Lang motifs emerge — doubling, disguise, claustrophobic confinement — during a climax that finds the heroine trapped in the hermit’s cabin, buried under an avalanche. When the Madonna appears to come to life — and go “wandering” — in response to the hermit’s vow, it is difficult not to think of the robot Maria’s awakening in “Metropolis.”The opening shot of “Four Around the Woman” (1921) seems to announce the arrival of Lang’s mature, geometric visual style. The camera circles a circular bar, in a smoky, windowless club room populated by sinister, silk-hatted capitalists straight out of George Grosz. One of them (Ludwig Hartau) is a broker subsequently seen putting on a disguise to buy a stolen gem from a fence (Rudolf Klein-Rogge, the future Dr. Mabuse) in hopes of placating his neglected wife (Carola Toelle), herself the object of contention between look-alike brothers (Anton Edthofer in a dual role), one a sleek criminal and the other an unemployed ship stoker. Again the connections between the characters are revealed in a flashback halfway through the film, but the particulars of the far-fetched plot matter less than its eerie symmetries and elaborate parallelism. Lang cuts systematically between the dank hangout favored by the poor but honest brother (a subterranean dive managed by Klein-Rogge) and the elegant hotel dining room (itself dominated by a mirror) where the other plies his trade, switching fake jewelry for real on the fingers of bored, wealthy wives. The reflections never end.In “Four Around the Woman” truth does have a bottom, and the screenplay (again partly written by Harbou) eventually manages to reach it. Lang has yet to make the great, modernist leap of the Mabuse films, with their understanding that form can exist without meaning, that beneath one pattern lies another, and another beneath that — a conspiracy of infinite regression without a center and without a purpose. But that fatal insight is just around the corner. 

Skyfall

GREAT MOVIES: Sam Mendes' Skyfall (US, 2012) - Variety called it Stunning Skyfall in their headline: Putting the "intelligence" in MI6, "Skyfall" reps a smart, savvy and incredibly satisfying addition to the 007 oeuvre, one that places Judi Dench's M at the center of the action. It's taken 23 films and 50 years to get Bond's backstory, but the wait was worth it. In Sam Mendes' hands, the franchise comes full circle, revealing the three-film Daniel Craig cycle to be both prelude and coda to the entire series via a foxy chess move that puts these pics on par with Christopher Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy as best-case exemplars of what cinematic brands can achieve, resulting in a recipe for nothing short of world domination. Screen Daily also gives the film glowing review: Fifty years on from the release of Dr No, the twenty-third official James Bond film refreshes a formula which seemed flagging in Quantum Of Solace, the last entry, by keeping on Daniel Craig, who has grown into the role of the secret agent but brought his own distinctive take on the character, but bringing in top talent, including director Sam Mendes (unwinding after weightier things, but taking the assignment seriously), script-polisher John Logan (working over a screenplay by series regulars Neal Purvis and Robert Wade) and (perhaps in a masterstroke) cinematographer Roger Deakins, who finally provides a Bond film with a visual sophistication that matches the credits sequence.

Reported Missing

Jan Speckenbach's Reported Missing (Germany, 2912) - There’s a feeling going round Europe – and not only Europe. Some - thing is not right about the place anymore. What if a rapidly increasing number of young people were simply to withdraw their consensus that the common sense view of the world is a market-based, economised one? What if they were to leave the older generations behind, disappearing into the distance, as in the legend of the Pied Piper, so that only when the wind is blowing from a certain direction, can the distant laughter of children be heard? From one day to the next fourteen-year-old Martha disappears without a trace. Her father, who for years has had no contact with her, embarks on a search for his daughter. He finds himself entering the poetic-speculative in-between world of missing children who are in no way victims, but voluntary deserters who have turned their backs on the firmly established world of adults. 2012BERgc, 2012CPHPIX. RATING: 7.

The Wings of The Kirin

GREAT MOVIES: Nobuhiro Doi's The Wings of The Kirin (Japan, 2012) - Japanese TV spinoff "The Wings of the Kirin" is an intriguing murder mystery that swiftly takes flight and sustains all the way to the final reels. Based on a novel by popular Nipponese crime writer Keigo Higashino, whose police detective Kyoichiro Kaga spawned tube hit "Shinzanmono" last year, pic should fly with local auds when it opens in January. When a salaryman (Kiichi Nakai) dies of stab wounds near the Kirin statues that adorn Tokyo's famous Nihonbashi bridge, a former colleague (Takahiro Miura) is seen fleeing the crime scene. He's later found comatose after being hit by a truck, but only stony-faced Det. Kaga (Hiroshi Abe) thinks it's anything more than an open-and-shut case. Nobuhiro Doi's direction has the purposeful narrative drive of a classic Quinn Martin cop show, and the production design to match, and the talented thesps turn in fine work. Tech credits are polished. RATING: 9

The Big Picture (2011)

Eric Lartigau's The Big Picture (France, 2011) - Paul Exben is a success story. He has a great job, a glamorous wife and two wonderful sons, except that this is not the life he has been dreaming of. A moment of madness is going to change his life, forcing him to assume a new identity that will enable him to live his life fully. “The Big Picture,” an adaptation of the novel by Douglas Kennedy, is directed by Eric Lartigau and stars Romain Duris, Marina Foïs, Niels Arestrup and Catherine Deneuve. It is produced by Pierre-Ange Le Pogam. 2010TOR, 2011COLCOA. RATING: 7

Call Me Kuchu

Malika Zouhali Worrall's Call Me Kuchu (Uganda, 2012) - A fierce, homegrown anti-gay movement and a vastly outnumbered LGBT community confront each other in Uganda to uncertain and unsettling results in "Call Me Kuchu." As much an activist wake-up call as a piece of reportage, this report from the frontlines by co-directors Katherine Fairfax Wright and Malika Zouhali-Worrall offers an outsider's view; while a local filmmaker's perspective may have brought more dimensions, the coverage of events here is impressive and on the mark. Fest tour has been sensational. 2012BERp. RATING: 7

My Way

GREAT MOVIES: Kang Je Gyu's My Way (South Korea, 2012) - This fact-based wartime drama follows two young men, one Korean and one Japanese, whose athletic rivalry ends with the start of World War II. Captured by the Soviets, both men escape but are separated, only to meet again in the D-Day invasion. Stars Jang Dong Gun, Jo Odagiri, Fan Bing Bing. 2012BERp. RATING: 9

The Man with The Iron Fists

RZA's The Man with The Iron Fists (US, 2012) - As endearing as it is exhausting, "The Man With the Iron Fists" bears strong resemblance to a hyperactive puppy: sloppy, scatterbrained, manic and migraine-inducing, but possessing an earnest sense of excitement. Working with actors, a crew and resources of a far higher caliber than his level of filmmaking expertise would seem to countenance, first-time writer-director-star the RZA turns in a postmodern martial-arts experiment that's equal parts Shaw Brothers, Adult Swim and amphetamine-fueled student film. For an utterly bonkers vanity project, it's more fun than it ought to be, and should bring a small yet sufficient ruckus to the B.O. RATING: 4

2012 YEAR IN REVIEW

BEST FILM OF THE YEAR

GREAT MOVIES
Amour - Michael Haneke - Austria

Anna Karenina - Joe Wright - UK

Argo - Ben Affleck - US

Beasts of The Southern Wild - Benh Zeitlin - US

Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The - John Madden - UK

Can - Rasit Celikezer - Turkey

Cloud Atlas - Tom Tykwer, Wachowski Bros - US

End of Watch - David Ayer - US

Flight - Robert Zemeckis - US

The Hunt - Thomas Vinterberg - Denmark
The Impossible - Juan Antonio Bayona - Spain / UK
Les Miserables - Tom Hooper - UK -
Lincoln - Steven Spielberg - US

The Master - Paul Thomas Anderson - US

My Brother The Devil - Sally El Hosaini - UK

Rust and Bone - Jacques Audiard - Belgium

Searching for Sugar Man - Malik Bendjelloul - South Africa
Silver Linings Playbook - David O. Russell - US
Talaash - Reema Kagti - India

Trouble With The Curve - Robert Lorenz - US

Xingu - Cao Hamburger - Brazil
Zero Dark Thirty - Kathryn Bigelow-US

Wreck It Ralph

Rich Moore's Wreck-It Ralph (US, 2012) - Audiences buckle up for one kind of movie but end up strapped in for another in "Flight," director Robert Zemeckis' welcome return to live-action after a dozen years away. Serious-minded drama steers a horrifying nightmare at 20,000 feet into one man's turbulent personal struggle with his drinking problem -- and not in the jokey "Airplane!" sense, either. Denzel Washington is aces as a commercial airline pilot who pulls off a miraculous mid-air stunt while flying with a 0.24 blood alcohol concentration, only to face his demons on the ground. Pic should soar on all platforms -- except in-flight, of course. RATING: 4.

Flight

GREAT MOVIES: Robert Zemeckis' Flight (US, 2012) - Audiences buckle up for one kind of movie but end up strapped in for another in "Flight," director Robert Zemeckis' welcome return to live-action after a dozen years away. Serious-minded drama steers a horrifying nightmare at 20,000 feet into one man's turbulent personal struggle with his drinking problem -- and not in the jokey "Airplane!" sense, either. Denzel Washington is aces as a commercial airline pilot who pulls off a miraculous mid-air stunt while flying with a 0.24 blood alcohol concentration, only to face his demons on the ground. Pic should soar on all platforms -- except in-flight, of course. 2012NYFF. RATING: 9.

Young Frankenstein

Mel Brooks's Young Frankenstein (US, 1974) - A laugh riot from beginning to end, this classic parody from director Mel Brooks stars Gene Wilder as Frederick Frankenstein, who detests his family history but ultimately can't resist the temptation to follow in his infamous grandfather's footsteps. Adding to the fun is a brilliant supporting cast that includes Marty Feldman as bug-eyed assistant Igor, Madeline Kahn as Frankenstein's frosty fiancée and Peter Boyle as the zipper-necked monster. 1975AA, 500ECM, 1000NY, 1001M, EFS. RATING: 8.

Anna Karenina

GREAT MOVIES: Joe Wright's Anna Karenina (UK, 2012) - The third collaboration of Academy Award® nominee Keira Knightley with acclaimed director Joe Wright, following the award-winning box office successes Pride & Prejudice and Atonement, is a bold, theatrical new vision of the epic love story, adapted from Leo Tolstoy’s timeless novel by Academy Award winner Tom Stoppard (Shakespeare in Love). The story powerfully explores the capacity for love that surges through the human heart. As Anna (Knightley) questions her happiness and marriage, change comes to surround her. Also starring Jude Law and Aaron Taylor-Johnson. 2012TOR. RATING: 9.

The Bay

Barry Levinson's The Bay (US, 2012) - Veteran filmmaker Barry Levinson takes a distinct change of cinematic direction with The Bay, a smartly made found-footage style creature feature that eschews big-star casting and instead goes of natural performances and slow-burn chills. The film is an environmental catastrophe film that feels all too real, and given the right word-of-mouth is the sort of film that could creep up on audiences and give them a shock. / A brutal and harrowing film about a deadly parasite, The Bay chronicles the descent of a small Maryland town into absolute terror. 2012NYFF, 2012SANSz, 2012TOR. RATING: 7