A period piece set in the last third of 19th century rural America, The Homesman is co-written and directed by Tommy Lee Jones, who stars in this brooding Western alongside Hilary Swank. Stark and austere, like the mid-western landscape in which it unfolds, The Homesman opens in Canada on Nov. 21, and is about a strong-willed woman […]
Torgny Segerstedt was a courageous Swedish newspaper editor as Europe lurched toward the precipice of World War II. A former theologian who had a knack for recognizing the face of evil, he believed that the chancellor of Nazi Germany, Adolf Hitler, was the personification of the devil. Of course, Segerstedt’s assessment of Hitler was not […]
Mel Brooks is indubitably a funny guy. A Borscht Belt comedian in an earlier incarnation, he wrote sketches for Sid Caesar’s prime time TV show before realizing he could adapt his material to the big screen. Brooks made his first movie, The Producers, in 1968 and just kept on going, writing and directing and often […]
The Halimi affair, which gripped France in the winter of 2006, has been brought to the big screen. Alexandre Arcady’s 24 Days will be presented by the Toronto Jewish Film Festival’s Chai Tea & A Movie series on Sunday, Nov. 16 at 1:30 p.m and 4:30 p.m. Arcady’s fast-moving, suspenseful film is based on a book […]
For nearly two weeks in 1978, the Middle East metaphorically held its breath as the leaders of the United States, Israel and Egypt attempted to make an historic break with the past. The Camp David summit brought together Jimmy Carter, Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat for the purpose of forging a peace treaty between Israel […]
The 18th annual Reel Asian International Film Festival in Toronto runs from Nov. 6-16. Movies ranging from China and India to Japan and the United States will be screened. Judging by two films I previewed, Brahmin Bulls (Nov. 16) and Fandry (Nov.11), this should be a fine showcase for Asian cinema. Brahmin Bulls, directed by Mahesh […]
A marriage can change for better or worse in the bat of an eyelash. In Force Majeure, a Swedish film by Ruben Ostlund scheduled to open at the TIFF Bell Lightbox on Oct. 31, this is precisely what happens when an avalanche thunders down a mountain in the Alps and alters the lives of a […]
Since the fall of communism in Poland in 1989, Poles who had concealed their Jewish ancestry with a zealousness bordering on fear and/or self-hatred have come out of the closet in droves, proclaiming and embracing their Jewishness to various degrees. The “new” Jews, whatever their Jewish lineage may be, are Jews by choice, says Poland’s […]
Stanley Kubrick (1928-1999), the legendary Hollywood movie director, is the subject of a retrospective being presented by the Toronto International Film Festival starting this month. Stanley Kubrick: A Cinematic Odyssey will run from Oct. 31 to Jan. 25 at the TIFF Bell Lightbox (350 King Street West). It includes such classics as A Clockwork Orange, Dr. […]
The Middle East is invariably in flux, changing before our eyes. The following books may clarify issues, deepen understanding or simply outrage some readers. In Shifting Sands: The United States in the Middle East (Columbia University Press), Joel Migdal, a professor of international studies at the University of Washington, argues that Washington’s policy in this […]