— by BEV QUESTAD — This film’s subject epitomizes a crazy west coast experience that culminates in an annual effigy-burning ritual, a phenomenon of anarchical, free-spirited, innovative San Franciscans who in 1986 were bent on combining psycho-transformation, paganism and freedom theol[...]
Author Archive
Review: The Company You Keep
— by BEV QUESTAD — Robert Redford can have his pick of just about anything he wants to do. At 76 years of age, he chose to produce, direct and star in “The Company You Keep,” which is an investigation into the minds and times of the Weather Underground. This film is the story of [&he[...]
Review: Southwest (aka Sudoeste)
— by BEV QUESTAD — This is the haunting story of the life of a woman. It begins with a witch being carted to the deathbed of the woman’s pregnant mother. The daughter is apparently carved out of her passed mother’s womb and taken to an isolated wooden boxhouse on top of stilts in the[...]
Review: Masquerade
— by BEV QUESTAD — Spending time in South Korea this summer I chanced across a sweet film based on 17th Century King Gwanghae who out-maneuvered treacherous court representatives to champion the poor and bring justice through fairer tax, property and military conscription systems. In thi[...]
Review: When Comedy Went to School
— by BEV QUESTAD — “Women live longer than men. There’s a reason for it. They’re not married to women!” Old marriage jokes, at the expense of women, are part of the history of the evolution of comedy and help propel this doc in its exploration of how the famous stand-up comedians[...]
Review: Museum Hours
— by BEV QUESTAD — “What is it that you like about these paintings?” This is such a great question to ask. You have to step back and think, perhaps leading you to a surprising insight and appreciation inherent in the work and, further thinking about it, in your life. Anne, a single o[...]
Review: Survival Prayer
— by BEV QUESTAD — This beautiful work of art is a loving film experience that captures the old life of the Haida people who live on what used to be called the Queen Charlotte Islands. The exquisite photography is reason enough to see this important story of an ancient culture. Only 50 n[...]
Review: Cairo 678
— by BEV QUESTAD — Men, if you were born a woman, what would you do? What would you do when you were disrespected? Groped in public? Disregarded? If you’re a Westerner, would your answer be different if you lived in the Subcontinent, Africa, Southeast Asia or the Middle East? In the en[...]
Review: Nicky’s Family
— by BEV QUESTAD — “If something isn’t blatantly impossible, there must be a way of doing it.” This credo from Nicholas Winton motivated him to become one of the great saviors of the 19th century. In 1938, Nicky Winton, a champion fencer, sailor and skier from England, was hungry f[...]
Review: Beijing Flickers
— by BEV QUESTAD — Happiness, a big loping dog, runs through Beijing streets chased by his owner, San Bao (Duan Bowen), on his motorbike. An ill-timed stop manned by a traffic cop restricts Bao from following free-running Happiness, so Bao hauls off and decks him. Like a row of dominoes [...]
Review: In the Family
— by BEV QUESTAD — Patrick Wang has a gentle, honest, remarkably charismatic onscreen presence. What’s remarkable is that besides having the lead role, he produced, directed and wrote this tender legal gripper as well. All this surprisingly artsy involvement is from a Massachusetts Ins[...]
Review: Terms and Conditions May Apply
— by BEV QUESTAD — I’m glad we caught the bros who bombed the Boston Marathon so quickly. Surveillance cameras and private cell phones did their job. This act of wanton hurt is justification for an entire camera grid of all streets, malls, schools and government buildings. Yes, it soun[...]
Review: Leviathan
— by BEV QUESTAD — Sip some Ginger Ale, the sailor’s stabilizing brew, to get you in the mood to travel on this grueling ship of hardy yeomen. Using photography that defies the wet, windy, turbulent, listing life at sea, this ship experience off the coast of New Bedford, famed 19th cen[...]
Review: Elemental
— by BEV QUESTAD — Three stories of crisis are personified by three eco-warriors fighting for the elements of our global environment: water, earth and air. The first story features Rajendra Singh, a water conservationist and crusader for a clean Ganges River. The deadly filth of the Gang[...]