March 6, 2019
Page 7
Arts &
ENTERTAINMENT
Portland filmmaker and clinical psychologist Jan Haaken’s
documentary feature, ‘Our Bodies Our Doctors,’ tells the story of
what it means to be an abortion provider today with threats of
violence and political efforts to criminalize abortion. The film will
premiere on International Women’s Day – Friday, March 8 at 8:45
p.m. at Whitsell Auditorium, downtown.
Our Bodies Our Doctors
A pair of rebellious teens (Zahraa Aldoujaili and Yara Aliadotter) discover the power of filmmaking in
‘Amateurs,’ a cross-generational comedy from Swedish writer and director Gabriela Pichler. The film
kicks off the Portland International Film Festival on Thursday, March 7.
Films from All Over the Globe
o PinionAted
J udge
by
D arleen
o rtega
My favorite part of the Port-
land year has arrived!
The
Portland International Film Fes-
tival (PIFF) begins two weeks
of screening films from all over
the globe this Thursday with its
opening night film, “Amateurs,”
a cross-generational comedy
from Sweden. Most weekdays
during PIFF it is possible to see
three films per day and one can
see four on the weekends.
Every year, I see films at PIFF
that never get a theatrical release,
and often those films rock my
world and end up on my list of
the 10 best films of the year.
If you’re a glutton like me, your
best bet is to buy a festival pass,
which gives you lots of flexibili-
ty to see whatever is playing at a
particular venue (Whitsell Audi-
torium, Fox Tower, Cinema 21,
Cinemagic, and OMSI). But you
can also easily sample by buying
individual tickets. If you go that
route, buy online ahead of time at
nwfilm.org to secure a spot.
I’ve missed most of the press
screenings as yet but can recom-
mend two films to consider: “To
Late to Die Young,” from Argen-
tina, is a close observance of the
coming-of-age of two teenagers
shakily crossing the threshold
into adulthood. The film is in-
spired by director Dominga So-
tomayer’s own experience spend-
ing her holidays in a rustic and
close-knit community of artists,
musicians and performers liv-
ing off the grid outside Santiago
in 1990. It’s a languorous space
with lots of room for kids to ex-
periment with shifting identities.
The film is specific in its observa-
tion of adolescent self-conscious-
ness, but not ground-breaking.
There is not much in the way of
plot, however, this film offers a
nice combination of universal
themes and very specific time
and place. In Spanish, it plays on
Friday, March 8 and Wednesday,
March 13 at Cinemagic.
This year’s only Italian film is
“Dogman,” about a dog groomer,
Marcelo, with a gift for working
with even the wildest dogs, but
who has met his match with a
local hellion who drags him into
more and more dangerous situa-
tions. Its star won the Best Ac-
tor award at Cannes last year for
this performance, and he is quite
captivating to watch--a mixture
of impressionable and, in the
end, determined, though not to a
well-conceived purpose. Direc-
tor Matteo Garrone (Gomorrah)
has a particular gift for capturing
traps of male identity, and this
film, if you can handle some vi-
olence, is a fascinating character
study. It plays at Cinema 21 on
March 16 and 20.
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. Find her movie
blog at opinionatedjudge.blog-
spot.com.
“Our Bodies Our Doctors”
tells the rarely-discussed story
of what it means to be an abor-
tion provider today: confronting
threats of violence and facing
intensified political threats and
efforts to criminalize abortion.
Religious control over health
care is expanding, including
in many pro-choice states. The
abortion debate continues to be
defined by gruesome images of
the anti-abortion movement. In
contrast, this film provides a cru-
cial, hopeful point of view: An
intimate glimpse into the lives
of these courageous providers
who have devoted their careers to
ensuring women have access to
skilled, compassionate care.
The film also features Portland
providers, often unsung heroes,
who have taken national leader-
ship roles in the fight for women’s
reproductive rights.
“Our Bodies Our Doctors” will
premiere at the 42nd Annual Port-
land International Film Festival
on International Women’s Day –
Friday, March 8 at 8:45 p.m. and
again on Tuesday March 12 at 6
p.m., both screenings at the Whit-
sell Auditorium in the Portland
Art Museum, downtown.