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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 14, 2018)
Page 14 February 14, 2018 Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710 Ernest J. Hill, Jr. Agent 4946 N. Vancouver Avenue, Portland, OR 97217 503 286 1103 Fax 503 286 1146 ernie.hill.h5mb@statefarm.com 24 Hour Good Neighbor Service R State Farm R C annon ’ s r ib e xPress 5410 NE 33rd Ave, Portland, Or Call to Order: 503-288-3836 Open (hours) Sun-Thurs: 11a-8p Fri-Sat: 11a- 9p Cannon’s, tasty food and friendly neighborhood atmosphere. Advertise with diversity in The Portland Observer Call 503-288-0033 or email ads@portlandobserver.com The history of Native American peoples are unearthed from a long-vanished Canadian village and a reverence for ancestors and of connectedness across generations comes to life in Francois Girard’s ‘Hochelaga, Land of Souls,’ one of the dramas coming Monday, Feb. 19 and Wednesday, Feb. 21 to the Portland International Film Festival. A Lens C ontinued froM P age 11 safety, or even emotional and physical sustenance. Charlie takes a job working for a man who races horses and develops a bond with a horse named Lean on Pete; a nat- ural at working with horses, Char- lie’s work leads him to a dawning recognition of the harshness of the horse-racing world just as his own world crumbles. Anchored by the remarkable performance of Char- lie Plummer as Charlie, the film is a perceptive depiction of the American underclass, revealing with compassionate but clear eyes the little lies that adults tell them- selves in order to avoid looking at their vulnerability and culpability. Watching Charlie’s vulnerability made me weep for all the children who somehow manage to survive unthinkable odds while suffering right in plain sight. The film plays on Wednesday, Feb. 28. “The Third Murder” from Ja- pan is a compelling crime drama that asks bigger questions about the nature of truth and what qual- ifies one to judge another person. The story revolves around a law- yer who takes the open-and-shut case of man who has confessed to a murder that would be his third, of his former boss, the owner of small factory. The defendant tells wildly inconsistent stories and does not present as one would ex- pect from a serial murderer. The lawyer, the son of a prominent judge who convicted the defen- dant of the murder of two loan sharks 30 years before, is motivat- ed by a desire to find a good le- gal angle, and the meetings of the defense team feel more like script meetings than a search for the truth. But as the investigation and each confusing conversation with the defendant raises more ques- tions, the lawyer finds himself drawn into a quest for the truth to the World that humanizes him in surprising ways. The film plays on Sunday, Feb. 18 and Sunday, Feb. 25. “Our Time Will Come,” the work of Hong Kong director Ann Hui, tells a story of the Hong Kong underground during the Jap- anese occupation in World War II. The film focuses on a number of stories, primarily that of an ear- nest primary-school teacher, Fang window into a chapter of Hong Kong history that is little known in the West. It plays on Tuesday, Feb. 20, and Thursday, March 1. You can find info and order tick- ets or a screening pass at www.nw- film.org or at the box office inside the art museum. Paper guides are all over town and the online guide contains links to previews of most of the films. It pays to show up at ‘Our Time Will Come,’ the work of Hong Kong director Ann Hui, tells a story of the Hong Kong underground during the Japanese occupation of World War II. The film is one of the 136 films and 48 shorts to be screened this month at the Portland International Film Festival. For a complete schedule, visit nwfilm.org. Lan, who lives with her mother and becomes radicalized after seeing how a visiting intellectual whom she admires is smuggled to safety by members of the Dong- jiang guerrillas. Fang is then re- cruited by the fierce guerilla lead- er, Blackie Lau, and eventually becomes a leader herself. While the film is in many ways standard patriotic fare, director Hui focuses on more personal stories, such as Fang’s relationship with her moth- er, and her ex-boyfriend’s quiet courage working for the Japanese undercover. It’s an interesting least a half hour ahead of every show with an advance ticket, as Portland demonstrates every year what a great movie town it is by the enthusiastic audiences who come out in force. I’ll have more reviews next week of some of the 40 films I plan to see. Come join the feast! Darleen Ortega is a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals and the first woman of color to serve in that capacity. Her movie review column Opinionated Judge ap- pears regularly in The Portland Observer. Find her movie blog at opinionatedjudge.blogspot.com.