traction

‘Origin’ questions the validity of entrenched beliefs

Adjusting to new outlooks that override established beliefs can be difficult for some of us. We’ve become so entrenched in certain ways of thinking that it’s hard to embrace new ones. We may not understand the revised concepts, either because they’re too radical or esoteric for us to grasp or because they’re not explained in easily comprehensible ways, perhaps too vague or too overly intellectualized. Or we may simply be unwilling to adopt such new thoughts because they make us feel uncomfortable. But, then, there are also those who take to them readily, either out of curiosity or an undeniably instinctual awareness.

Brent Marchant2024-05-17T00:08:02-05:00April 12th, 2024|Biography, Conscious Creation, Drama, Movie Reviews|

‘Still’ profiles an icon’s journey of celebrity and challenge

As a society that worships those in the celebrity spotlight, we tend to place these icons on pedestals, imbuing them with almost superhuman attributes. We often look on them as leading seemingly perfect lives. We may even wonder, “What problems could they possibly have?” But, given their seemingly larger-than-life accomplishments, we frequently lose sight of the fact that these luminaries are people just like the rest of us.

Brent Marchant2023-07-03T23:07:13-05:00May 19th, 2023|Conscious Creation, Documentary, Movie Reviews|

Wrapping Up Reeling

Reeling 38, Chicago’s International LGBTQ+ Film Festival, recently completed its 2020 edition in its first-ever all-virtual format. With movie houses just now beginning to reopen due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this alternative approach made it possible for the festival to go forward, and it worked remarkably well, enabling viewers to screen a variety of films while remaining safe at home. In fact, in some ways, this is a viable approach well worth considering for future events, one that makes it possible to offer the festival’s films to a wider audience and providing flexible viewing conditions, benefits not necessarily available when presented in theatrical venues. Because of this new format, I was able to screen a greater number of films than [...]

Brent Marchant2020-11-12T06:42:42-05:00October 7th, 2020|Movie Reviews|

‘Someone Somewhere’ helps us to find others by finding ourselves

“Someone Somewhere” (“Deux moi”) (2019 production, 2020 release). Cast: François Civil, Ana Girardot, Camille Cottin, François Berléand, Simon Abkarian, Eye Haidara, Rebecca Marder, Pierre Niney, Paul Hamy, Maria Bunel, Patrick d’Assumçao, Vincent Scalera, Emmanuelle Bouaziz, Quentin Faure, Jeanne Arènes, Michel Lerousseau, Dady Saint-Thomas, Jessé Rémond Lacroix, Hamza Ouechtati. Director: Cédric Klapisch. Screenplay: Santiago Amigorena and Cédric Klapisch. Web site. Trailer. Being alone can be one of the most heart-wrenching experiences any of us can endure. The sense of loneliness frequently weighs heavily on us when we’re uninvolved; the lack of attachment, of connection, eats away at us and leaves us emotionally empty. What’s often worse, though, is having such an experience and not even realizing why we feel the way [...]

Brent Marchant2020-06-07T22:59:56-05:00May 7th, 2020|Comedy, Conscious Creation, Movie Reviews, Romance|

‘The Hottest August’ showcases how to survey the bigger picture

“The Hottest August” (2019). Cast: Clare Coulter (narrator). Director: Brett Story. Web site. Trailer. What does the future hold? That’s a question many of us ask ourselves often, both individually and collectively. But how wide a view do we take when answering it, again, either individually or collectively? That’s a subject addressed in the experimental new documentary, “The Hottest August.” It probably doesn’t come as much of a surprise that, when we contemplate the future, we usually do so in terms of how it most directly affects us as individuals or in our peer groups. We think about our homes, our families, our communities, our professions and so forth, the aspects of our lives that have the most immediate impact. [...]

Brent Marchant2020-03-26T07:15:44-05:00February 25th, 2020|Conscious Creation, Documentary, Movie Reviews|