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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 22, 2017)
February 22, 2017 BLACK HISTORY MONTH Page 23 International Films to Enjoy at PIFF C ontinued FroM P age 16 ence in the life of a family in the Arctic who experiences a brutal attack and must fight back to sur- vive. The conditions and lifestyle here will be utterly foreign to most American audiences, which is part of what makes it fascinat- ing viewing; acquiring and eating food, building shelter, and sharing family intimacies demand full- body absorption, and perhaps as a result, dialogue does not drive this particular story. Impressively staged and filmed, this is a fasci- nating visit to what may feel like a different planet. It plays again on Thursday, Feb. 23. “Apprentice” opened to good reviews at the Cannes Film Fes- tival and is the second film of a young Singaporean director, Boo Junfeng. Its focus is Aiman, a stoic young prison guard who becomes the protégée of the prison’s exe- cutioner, Rahim. The tight focus on Aiman, who lives with an older sister whose objection to his pris- on job gradually becomes appar- ent, and on the realities of working inside, opens space to contemplate the toll that such works takes on those who carry it out, and the lit- tle stories we tell ourselves in or- der to survive (or avoid) the larger impacts of our own actions and the actions of others which irre- vocably alter us. It plays again on Thursday, Feb. 23. “The Olive Tree” is a crowd-pleaser, with its story of Alma, a young farmer who is fiercely devoted to her gruff grandfather, who was fiercely devoted to a 2,000-year-old olive tree that Alma’s father and uncle sold against his wishes when she was a child. As her grandfather disappears further and further into dementia, she vows to lo- cate the tree and, against all log- ic, promises to bring it back to the family land. The film sounds appealing notes of respect for nature and one’s literal and met- aphorical roots, and is well-acted and produced. The script, howev- er, is predictable and doesn’t bear the ring of emotional truth; the family conflicts are too crudely presented, Alma’s love interest is under-developed, and there is a predictable corporate bad guy. Enjoyable only if you don’t think about it too hard. It plays again on Thursday, Feb. 23 and for an encore on Sunday Feb. 26. “Old Stone” presents an ex- ceedingly grim view of mod- ern-day China. Told in a gritty, realistic style, the film follows the story of Lao Shi, a cab driver who comes to regret his decision to save the life of a person whom he has accidentally hit with his taxi by taking the man to the hospital rather than waiting for an ambu- lance. His reward for doing so is to be treated with brutal coldness by the hospital who treats the man, the police, an insurance compa- ny, and the drunk passenger who caused the accident, and to be sad- dled with endless hospital bills for the man’s care. The China that is relentlessly revealed by director Johnny Ma (born in Shanghai, raised in Can- ada, and educated in New York) is one where all incentives are to avoid helping anyone and, indeed, to finish off anyone who might have a claim to recompense or help of any kind. Strap yourself in for a bleak ride; this film plays on Wednesday and Thursday, Feb. 22 and 23. “Sieranevada” will wear out all but the most alert and deter- mined audience members. It takes place almost entirely in a laby- rinthine apartment in Bucharest, where a family has gathered for an Eastern Orthodox traditional memorial gathering 40 days after the passing of its patriarch, Emil. Over nearly three hours, and per- haps from the viewpoint of Emil himself, we move from room to room and eavesdrop as the fami- ly members clash and talk around the family’s barely buried secrets and conflicts. The connections between them are mostly not ex- plained and can only be discerned with the most focused attention -- which pays off to some extent, but perhaps not as much as the effort required would suggest. It plays again on Wednesday, Feb. 22. Darleen Ortega is a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals and the first woman of color to serve in that capacity. Her movie re- view column Opinionated Judge appears regularly in The Port- land Observer. It Does Good Things TM This page is sponsored by Oregon Lottery C alendar SUNDAY 12 Judy Blume born, 1938 Abraham Lincoln born, 1809 (16th President) 19 Phonograph Patent- ed, Thomas Edison in 1878 26 Levi Strauss born, 1829 William F. Cody born, 1846 (Pony Express Rider) February 2017 MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY 13 Get a Different Name Day First Public School established (1635) 14 George Washington Gale Ferris born, 1859 Ferris Wheel Day 15 Norman Bridwell born, 1928 Susan B. Anthony born, 1820 Valentine’s Day 20 President’s Day John Glenn Orbits Earth in 1962 Love Your Pet Day 27 Henry Wadsworth Longfellow born, 1807 International Polar Bear Day 21 Malcom X Assassi- nated (1965) Washington Mon- ument dedicated (1885) 28 Mardi Gras Public Sleeping Day Gold Seekers arrived in San Francisco (1849) R 22 George Washington born, 1732 Be Humble Day World Thinking Day FRIDAY 16 Nylon Patented By DuPont in 1937 King Tut’s Burial Chamber opened in 1923 23 International Dog Biscuit Apprecia- tion Day U.S. Flag raised at Iwo Jima (1945) 17 Random Acts of Kindness Day National P.T.A. Founder’s Day (1897) SATURDAY 18 Former planet, Plu- to, Discovered By Clyde Tombaugh in 1930 24 25 Steve Jobs born, 1955 Wilhelm Carl Grimm born, 1786 Quiet Day Artist Pierre Auguste Renoir born, 1841
