Year: 2022

Reviews of “Writing with Fire,” “The Pink Cloud” and “Minamata,” along with podcast and blog previews are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Media Network, available by clicking here ...

“The Jump” (“Suolis”) (2020 production, 2022 release). Cast: Interviews: Simas Kudirka, Henry A. Kissinger, Ralph W. Eustis, Paul E. Pakos, Vytautas Urbanas, Grazina Paegle, S. Paul Zumbakis, Barbara Korman. Archive Footage: Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Walter Cronkite, David Brinkley, Frank Reynolds, Robert M. Brieze, Robert P. Hanrahan, Fletcher Brown, William B. Ellis. Director: Giedrė Žickytė. Screenplay: Josh Alexander and Giedrė Žickytė. Web site. Trailer. Have you ever considered taking a leap of faith to achieve a cherished goal? It takes courage. It takes conviction. And it takes a reasoned appraisal of our chances of success. But, no matter how thoroughly we examine the circumstances, there’s still a bit of a gamble involved, and that’s where the element of faith genuinely comes into play. How often is it, though, that the leap in question is both literal and figurative? So it was for an ambitious asylum seeker in the new Lithuanian-American documentary production, “The Jump” (“Suolis”). For years, Simas Kudirka served as a radio operator aboard the Soviet trawler Sovietskaya Litva. When he wasn’t aboard ship, he lived with his family in the Soviet state of Lithuania, but he longed for the freedom that he believed awaited him outside the USSR ...

“Minimata” (2020 production, 2022 release). Cast: Johnny Depp, Bill Nighy, Minami Hinase, Akiko Iwase, Tadanobu Asano, Kogarashi Wakasugi, Jun Kunimura, Hiroyuki Sanada, Ryô Kase, Yosuke Hosoi, Katherine Jenkins. Director: Andrew Levitas. Screenplay: David K. Kessler, Stephen Deuters, Andrew Levitas and Jason Forman. Book: W. Eugene Smith and Aileen M. Smith, Minamata: The Story of the Poisoning of a City, and the People Who Chose to Carry the Burden of Courage (1975). Web site. Trailer. When we’re past what we think of as the top of our game, we may grow despondent, disillusioned and withdrawn, perhaps believing that we’ll never get back what we’ve lost. It can be a frustrating and depressing time, one that leaves us sorely wanting. Can the redemption we seek be attained, or is it really too late? That’s the question posed in the new fact-based historical drama, “Minamata.” In 1971, acclaimed photojournalist W. Eugene Smith (Johnny Depp) had fallen on hard times both professionally and personally. Smith established himself through his coverage of the Pacific theater during World War II, capturing images of the battles of Saipan, Iwo Jima and Okinawa, which were featured in LIFE magazine. Through this work and other assignments, he made a ...

“The Pink Cloud” (“A Nuvem Rosa”) (2021). Cast: Renata de Lélis, Eduardo Mendonça, Helena Becker, Kaya Rodrigues, Girley Brasil Paes, Gabriel Eringer, Lívia Perrone Pires. Director: Iuli Gerbase. Screenplay: Iuli Gerbase. Web site. Trailer. Is it possible to see the “same” situation in two different ways? That’s an age-old question that’s been debated for eons by philosophers, theologians and even quibbling parents, each claiming that their view was “right.” But who’s to say that anyone is “wrong” in these quarrels? Maybe everyone is “right” about what they perceive, each driven by his or her individual beliefs. It’s a question brought up once again, this time in an unlikely context, as seen in the intriguing new Brazilian sci-fi offering, “The Pink Cloud” (“A Nuvem Rosa”). What if we were to face circumstances where an outside danger was forcing us to stay inside, cooped up in isolation for a prolonged period? Wouldn’t it be interesting to speculate about what might happen as a result of that? And how might we view it? Hey wait – we’ve already done that. Nevertheless, it’s intriguing to see how closely reality paralleled the ideas raised in this piece of cinematic speculative fiction, which was written in ...

“Writing with Fire” (2021). Cast: Meera Devi, Shyamkali Devi, Suneeta Prajapati. Directors: Sushmit Ghosh and Rintu Thomas. Web site. Trailer. Getting the truth into circulation when the deck is stacked against you is quite a challenge. In an age when corporate media have come to dominate the journalism landscape, it’s difficult to make inroads for organizations that don’t have ample resources or that don’t fit the expected mold. But, with determination, confidence and a staunch desire to succeed at delivering the truth, it may be possible to achieve a significant breakthrough, as depicted in the new Oscar-nominated Indian documentary, “Writing with Fire.” Set in Uttar Pradesh, India’s most populous state, “Writing with Fire” profiles Khabar Lahariya (KL)(“Waves of News”), an independent news organization launched by a group of aspiring journalists in 2002. What distinguishes KL is the fact that it’s run entirely by women who come from the Dalit caste, often referred to as “the untouchables.” And, as a region that has many “media dark” areas, it’s often difficult for news to become disseminated to uninformed masses. What’s more, as a region known for its widespread corruption, its tolerance of violence and discrimination against women, and its strict adherence to ...

Reviews of “Everything Everywhere All at Once,” “Cyrano” and “Servants” are all in the latest Movies with Meaning post on the web site of The Good Media Network, available by clicking here ...