February 24, 2016
a nomination for Best Supporting
Actor (Tom Hardy); still in theaters
and worth seeing on the big screen
if you are prepared for violence.]
6. “Tangerine” deserved the
critical attention it got; though the
Academy didn’t notice it, this un-
derground project ilmed on iP-
hones depicts rarely-noticed and
even less understood aspects of
Hollywood life with its focus on a
day in the life of two transgender
sex workers. The director and his
co-writer did so many things right
in crafting this story, including
building on a foundation of genu-
ine interest in the lives of the two
actresses who carry the ilm and
giving them signiicant say in how
this story is told. The result zings
with energy and humor to equip
you for the ache of watching lives
of unending struggle to survive and
to express something true about
oneself. [Not rated but deinitely
racy; on at least 137 other critics’
on at least 20 other critics’ top ten
lists for 2014, though not released
in Portland until mid-2015; in Rus-
sian; nominated for an Academy
Award in 2015 for Best Foreign
Language Film; available on DVD
and streaming.]
8. “45 Years” feels like an iron-
ic addition to my top ten list, given
that immediately after I saw it, I
joked that I would not put it on my
list. That is because it is a bit of a
downer. But as I have relected on
it, this ilm has really stayed with
me as an unparalleled and richly
observed depiction of the thin line
that separates many seemingly
happy and connected relationships
from total disintegration. The un-
deniably brilliant premise involves
a long-married couple preparing to
celebrate 45 years together -- dis-
rupted by news that the body of his
former lover has been recovered,
preserved in the ice where she fell
to her death 50 years before. That
photo credit
M agnolia p ictures
Kitana Kiki Rodriguez (right) in ‘Tangerine.’
top ten lists; in the language of
the street; should have received
Academy Awards nominations for
Best Director and Best Original
Screenplay; available on DVD and
streaming.]
7. Though it doesn’t appear to
have found much of an American
audience (it played only briely in
Portland last March), “Leviathan”
is worth inding on DVD if you are
interested in a brilliantly percep-
tive story of institutionalized bru-
tality. I can’t think of when I have
seen corruption so insightfully por-
trayed, and though this is absorb-
ing enough as a distinct Russian
story, it is even more riveting met-
aphorically and as example, com-
municating much about dynamics
evident throughout Russian history
and, beyond that, in human history.
The immediate story involves Ko-
lya, a hard-drinking, small-town
man who has resided in the same
well-located house his entire life,
but is engaged in a pitched battle
with a corrupt local politician who
wants the land for development.
Everything deteriorates from there,
and as the story plays out, we see
how the law and the church prop
up this system against which Ko-
lya has no chance of prevailing. A
conversation with the local priest
late in the ilm is worth the price
of admission--devastating. Ko-
lya is no hero, and most people
would more readily identify him
as a lawed person than the people
around him, making him an even
easier victim; this ilm pans out to
the broader perspective. [Not rated;
Page 9
Black History Month
body, and the husband’s and wife’s
evolving reactions to its discov-
ery, bit by bit reveal a fault line in
their relationship that neither knew
was there, and his description of
his prior love’s sudden drop to her
death begins to feel eerily current.
Charlotte Rampling deserves her
best actress nomination for her es-
pecially ine performance (though
not for her ignorant reaction to the
criticism of lack of Oscar nominee
diversity). I’d take this ilm above
any Hollywood romance, because
it is so full of wisdom and truth.
[Not rated; on at least 101 oth-
er critics’ top ten lists; nominated
for an Academy Award for Best
Actress (Rampling), and deserved
a nomination for Best Adapted
Screenplay; still in theaters.]
9. “Marie’s Story” stood out
among the ilms I saw at last year’s
PIFF -- and though cynical Amer-
ican critics dismissed it as treacly
and clichéd, I saw a patient and in-
spiring depiction of how it is possi-
ble to know in one’s soul that one is
called to do something important,
and yet encounter an extended pe-
riod of failure before succeeding
brilliantly. This ilm lingers in that
space of defeat and struggle longer
and with deeper intention than I
can imagine most American ilms
doing--we’re not fans of discom-
fort--and part of the reason I ad-
mired the ilm so much is because
it caused me to feel so strongly the
despair of Marguerite, the nun at
the heart of this story, that I had
a hard time hanging in there even
with the watching. Marguerite an-
swered her heart’s call to teach a
blind and deaf girl to communicate
with the world around her, and it is
because of Marguerite’s faith and
love and determination that Ma-
rie’s story ever existed as a story.
Watching this ilm is the best ind
of spiritual work. [Not rated; not
found on any other critics’ top ten
lists; in French and sign language;
available on DVD and streaming.]
10. “Peace Oficer” is a
well-constructed look at a topic
that has begun to surface in the
news: the rise in incidents of vi-
olence in citizen encounters with
American police, and increased
militarization of police forces. The
ilmmakers started with a compel-
ling character -- Dub Lawrence,
a white former sheriff from Utah
whose own son-in-law was killed
in an encounter with police -- and
followed where their subject took
them, into a very incisive critique
of a slow evolution of police think-
ing toward viewing citizens as the
enemy. It’s not something most po-
lice forces want to acknowledge,
but Lawrence is a good entry point,
and using his personal story as well
as cases to which he now applies
his relentless skills as an investiga-
tor provides terriic windows into a
charged subject. It both helps and
hurts the ilm a bit that all its exam-
ples deal with white citizens, but
the topic of race does come up nat-
urally in the very good interviews
that inform the ilm. Kudos to irst-
time co-directors Brad Barber and
Scott Christopherson for assem-
bling such a clear and cogent look
at this subject, including interviews
with many police oficers. [Not rat-
ed; not found on any other critics’
top ten lists; deserved an Academy
Award nomination for best docu-
mentary; available on DVD and
streaming.
Darleen Ortega is a judge on
the Oregon Court of Appeals and
the irst woman of color to serve
in that capacity. Her movie re-
view column Opinionated Judge
appears regularly in The Portland
Observer. Find her movie blog at
opinionatedjudge.blogspot.com.
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Miracles Club
Heavenly Taste Café
&
Michael R. Booker, Sr.
Interim Executive Director
Pastor Minnieweather
CEO/Straightway Services
Celebrating Black History Month