— by BEV QUESTAD — The most unfortunate part of this documentary on mother rockers is that no one really seems happy. An obsession with performing drives them in vans, buses and airplanes across town, country and world. One singer tiredly exclaims in the fall, “I’ve been homeless sin[...]
Author Archive
Review: Modest Reception
— by BEV QUESTAD — Under what circumstances would you accept a big plastic bag full of money? Would it matter who gave it to you or where it came from? In addition, if you were asked to do something for this fortune, where would you draw the line? This weird Iranian film poses some [&hel[...]
Review: We Grew Wings
— by BEV QUESTAD and MARY ANN HODGE — If you were to grow a couple of extra appendages, wings for example, imagine the tipsy exhilaration of the first flight, the excitement at the expanded potential and the joy in the practice. “We Grew Wings,” a bow to Nike’s support of the Unive[...]
Review: Factory of One
— 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[...]
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 [...]