The Holocaust has generated a long list of feature films, and Remembrance, unfolding in Polish, German and English, is one of the latest ones. Now available on the Netflix streaming network, it takes place in the past and the present, cutting back and forth in time. Based on a true story by Jerzy Bielecki, Remembrance shifts between a […]
Sony Pictures Entertainment, the Japanese-owned conglomerate, has cravenly caved in to terrorism by cancelling plans to release The Interview, a satirical film portraying the assassination of Kim Jong-un, the dictatorial, clownish leader of North Korea. In the past few days, Sony has dropped the Christmas day release of the $44 million movie, co-directed by Seth Rogen […]
The American constitution enshrines the principles of democracy and egalitarianism for all citizens. Yet for much of its history, the United States was not the land of freedom and opportunity for African-Americans. The injustices and humiliations they endured are presented with laser-like precision, intensity and emotion at the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. The […]
A man riding a motorcycle recently attacked Israel’s embassy in Athens, spraying the building with more than 50 rounds of gunfire. Greek police believe the assailant probably belonged to a far-leftist group. Following the incident, Greek Public Order Minister Vassilis Kikilias said, “No one is going to affect the relations between Greece and Israel.” It […]
He was the master of the brush — a painter of light. He was Joseph Turner (1775-1851), the British landscape artist whose moody oils, watercolours and drawings guaranteed him a place of immortality in the pantheon of great European painters. Mike Leigh’s biopic, Mr. Turner, which opens in Toronto on Dec. 25, covers the last […]
Israeli cuisine is a fusion of culinary tastes. Jewish immigrants from Muslim lands brought their traditional, time-honored dishes to Israel, as did Jews from Europe and the rest of the world. Through what Israeli food maven Janna Gur describes as a “process of natural selection,” Israeli society adopted them. Gur, in Jewish Soul Food: From […]
Julius Avery’s crime thriller, Son of a Gun, crackles with energy and tension. A new director, he has made a tightly-wound film turning on the theme of honor among thieves, if there is such a thing. Scheduled to start its run in Toronto on Dec. 19, it opens as Jesse (Brenton Thwaites), a young man […]
Whatever you may think of him, Israeli Defence Minister Moshe Ya’alon tells the unvarnished truth, at least in private settings. Recently, in a closed-door session with students at a West Bank yeshiva, he made a telling admission. Speaking to an obviously sympathetic audience, he said that the Israeli government has every intention of expanding Jewish settlements […]
Benito Mussolini, the fascist ruler of Italy, and Achille Ratti, the Roman Catholic cardinal anointed as Pope Pius XI, both came to power in the same year, 1922. They were polar opposites in terms of personality, but since they shared a distrust of democracy and an animus for communism, they were able to work together […]
Russia has taken hypocrisy to new cynical heights by having lodged a letter of complaint with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon over Israel’s “aggressive actions” in Syria. On Dec. 7, Israeli aircraft reportedly struck Syrian military facilities near the international airport just outside Damascus and a site close to the Lebanese border. According to […]