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September-October 2018

VOL. 33 THE REVIEW MAGAZINE FOR LIBRARIES NO. 5

IN THIS ISSUE Won’t You Be My Neighbor? | RBG | Strange Victory | I Am Another You | GI Jews | Understanding the Opioid Epidemic | The Ent tainment

BAKER & TAYLOR’S SPECIALIZED ENTERTAINMENT TEAM OFFERS ALL THE PRODUCTS, SERVICES AND EXPERTISE TO FULFILL YOUR LIBRARY PATRONS’ NEEDS.

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800-775-2600 x2050 [email protected] www.baker-taylor.com Spotlight Review

Won’t You Be My so upset over the proliferation of frenetic, HHHH violent children’s TV. Offscreen, Rogers was Neighbor? married to Joanne and the couple raised Universal, 95 min., PG- 13, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray: two sons, John and James, who share their recollections here. Some may be surprised to Publisher/Editor: Randy Pitman $27.99, Sept. 4 Morgan Neville’s learn that Rogers was a lifelong Republican Associate Editor: Jazza Williams-Wood uplifting documentary who entered the political arena in 1969, tes- Editorial Assistant: Christopher Pitman about the man behind tifying before the Senate against the Nixon administration’s plan to cut funding for Graphic Designer: Carol Kaufman the scenes of Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood public television. An illuminating portrait Marketing Director: Anne Williams centers on Fred Rogers of a beloved American icon, this is highly (1928-2003), an ordained Presbyterian pastor recommended. Editor’s Choice. (S. Granger) who viewed the mass media of children’s Contributing Writers television as his ministry. Arriving at the end of the turbulent 1960s, Rogers delivered A perfect compan- Sean Axmaker, Reviewer, a soft-spoken yet persuasive message about ion to Won’t You Be My Times, Online, love and kindness. For more than 30 years, Neighbor?, PBS’s Mister Parallax View he worked to instill in young viewers a sense Rogers’ Neighborhood: It’s Kathleen C. Fennessy, Reviewer, of self-worth, which he believed was funda- a Beautiful Day Collec- The Stranger mental to growing up. His leisurely-paced tion (VL-7/18) celebrates the 50th anniversary of Susan Granger, SSG Syndicate show taught empathetic life lessons, tackling sticky subjects like divorce and death, while Fred Rogers’s pioneer- Donald Liebenson, Reviewer, ing children’s television , Amazon.com also dealing with dark emotions, including fear, anger, and jealousy. In response to a case show with a four-disc compilation featur- Stephen Rees, Librarian, formerly with of racial discrimination—whites attacking ing 30 episodes (plus a bonus episode). As Bucks Co. Free Library, Levittown, PA our reviewer noted: “With his unassum- African Americans who tried to swim in ing manner, Rogers taught youngsters life Frank Swietek, Associate Professor desegregated pools—Rogers invited “Officer lessons about how to play imaginatively, of History, University of Dallas, TX Clemmons” (costar François Clemmons), respect others, and appreciate the world who was black, to join him in cooling off his around them, imparted gently and with- feet in a tub of water on a hot day. “Love is Additional Contributors: out condescension.” at the root of everything,” he maintained, Charles Cassady adding, “All learning, all parenting, all relationships. Love or the lack of it. And Cover Photo: Fred Rogers cover photo Phil Hall what we see and hear on the screen is part courtesy of Universal Studios Home Enter- Tom Keogh of what we become.” And that is why he was tainment Lisa Martincik Trudie Root TABLE OF CONTENTS Sandlin Video Newsbriefs 4 Health & Fitness 58 Books Into Movies 6 Food & Spirits 62 Mixed Media 8 Beauty & Fashion 62 Video Librarian (ISSN: 0887-6851) is pub- Video Movies 16 Computers & Technology 63 lished bi-monthly by Video Librarian, 9479 Bayshore Dr. NW, Suite 203, Silverdale, WA TV on Video 45 Sports, Games & Recreation 63 98383. Subscriptions: $64 for one year in the ; $69 (US) in Canada (includes Key to Star Ratings 48 The Arts 64 GST); $86 elsewhere. Address all correspon- dence to Video Librarian, 9479 Bayshore Video Reviews 48 History & Current Events 65 Dr. NW, Suite 203, Silverdale, WA 98383. Periodicals Postage Paid at Silverdale, WA Children’s 48 Biography 67 and at additional mailing offices.POST - MASTER: Send address changes to Video Psychology & Self-Help 50 Series Update 69 Librarian, 9479 Bayshore Dr. NW, Suite 203, Silverdale, WA 98383. Copyright © 2018 by Religion & Philosophy 51 Japanese 70 Randy Pitman. All rights reserved. Social & Political Issues Music/ Telephone/Fax/E-mail 51 73 Subscriptions: (800) 692-2270 Teen Issues 55 Distributor Addresses 76 Editorial: (360) 626-1259 Advertising: (800) 265-7965 Education 56 Title Index 77 Fax: (360) 626-1260 E-mail: [email protected] Law & Crime 56 Advertiser Directory 77 Web: www.videolibrarian.com Nature, Math & Science 56 Final Frame 78

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 3 VIDEO LIBRARIAN Video Newsbriefs

“The Princess Bride,” “Sham- swiftly resolved to devote the rest of his life to working for the director, this poo,” “Sisters,” and More time behind the scenes, and took on Coming from Criterion just about every job available: casting New Releases director, acting coach, location scout, Collection in October sound engineer, color corrector, A.D., Criterion’s Octo- promoter, and eventually restorer of ber slate will kick Kubrick’s . Tony Zierra’s affecting off October 2 with documentary enthusiastically recounts the Blu-ray debut Vitali’s days with the notoriously metic- of Cornel Wilde’s ulous, volatile, and obsessive director, 1965 stripped- celebrating the invisible hands that down action help shape masterpieces. Bonus features The Prey include a Q&A session with Vitali and (Blu-ray: $39.95), Zierra. the story of an ivo- A NEW ECONOMY ry-hunting safari that turns torturous Shout! Factory to Release Blu- organizations move towards a more after offending a group of South African cooperative future by experimenting with non- hunters. Coming on October 9 is a 2K ray Limited Edition of Oliver traditional business models. restoration of Rainer Werner Fassbind- Stone’s Anti-war Drama “This isn’t touchy-feely stuff; this is about getting ’s long-unavailable 1972-73 TV series the world to actually work.” Eight Hours Don’t Make a Day (DVD: 3 “Platoon” on September 18 — Richard Sennett, School of Economicss discs, $39.95; Blu-ray: 2 discs, $49.95), a Shout! Factory has announced the working-class soap opera that tracks the September 18 release of Platoon (Blu-ray: everyday triumphs and travails of young $26.99), remastered from a brand-new 4K toolmaker Jochen (Gottfried John) and scan approved by writer-director Oliver many of the people populating his world, Stone. The 1986 Academy Award-win- including the woman he loves (Hanna ning drama was inspired by Stone’s Schygulla). Arriving October 16 is the own experiences and follows the story Blu-ray debut of director ’s of PFC Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen), a 1975 political send-up Shampoo (DVD: young Army recruit who witnesses the $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95), which follows a horrors of Vietnam. Bonus features for Beverly Hills hairdresser (Warren Beatty) this edition include audio commentaries who searches for business funding on the by Stone and military adviser Dale Dye, eve of the 1968 presidential election, co- BURTON deleted and extended scenes with op- starring Goldie Hawn, Julie Christie, and tional commentary by Stone, production BEFORE AND AFTER (in an Oscar-winning role). documentaries and such as A short documentary portrait of one person’s Coming October 23 is Brian De Palma’s “Flashback to Platoon,” “One War, Many gender-affirming transition showing what life 1973 horror drama Sisters (DVD: $29.95, Stories,” “Preparing for ‘Nam,” “Caputo was like before the change and then fifteen Blu-ray: $39.95), the twisted and terri- & The 7th Fleet,” “Dye Training Meth- years after. fying tale of a beautiful model (Margot od,” and “Gordon Gekko,” and more. “Deeply, sweetly human.” Kidder) separated from her Siamese twin —Parent of a gender non-conforming chiild and accused of murder. Finally, on Oc- tober 30 comes a clothbound storybook National Media Market at 40 Blu-ray edition of Rob Reiner’s beloved The 40th National Media Market 1987 fairy-tale classic The Princess Bride will be held in Indianapolis, IN, at the (DVD: 2 discs, $29.95; Blu-ray: $39.95), Embassy Suites Indianapolis Downtown based on and author Wil- from October 7-11. Producers/distribu- liam Goldman’s swashbuckling roman- tors will showcase new programming tic comedy, starring Cary Elwes, Robin and technology during the event, Wright, Chris Sarandon, and Peter Falk. which in addition to on-site film screen- ings will include informal networking meetings for buyers and exhibitors, Kino Lorber to Release plus professional development sessions SEED & SPROUT “Filmworker” Doc on covering film acquisitions, streaming Can ordinary people end hunger? This film Leon Vitali September 11 options, licensing, copyright, budget- follows eight innovative food rescue initiatives ing, captions, film pedagogy, and more. in an effort to find out. Kino Lorber has announced the re- National Media Market is celebrating its lease of the documentary Filmworker 40th anniversary as the premier gather- “This film is a must see for those who care about (DVD: $29.95), slated for September 11. ing for librarians and film distributors. our environment and are concerned about our Leon Vitali was a rising British television Video Librarian is proud to be a sponsor, hungry citizens.” —Michelle Winning, actor when Stanley Kubrick picked him along with Alexander Street, Films Me- Vista/EndHunger.org for the role of Lord Bullingdon in Barry dia Group, Sage Publishing, Docuseek 2, Lyndon. That first encounter with the and Bullfrog Films. For registration and www.darkhollowfilms.com famed proved decisive—Vitali more information, visit www.nmm.net.

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 4 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 Fall in Love with New Autumn Releases from PBS

THE MINIATURIST A haunting, sumptuous period THE MAYO CLINIC: FAITH, , The Miniaturist tells the story HOPE AND SCIENCE of a where, beneath the lavish beauty and privilege, lie forbidden This is the story of the renowned passions and dangerous secrets. institution that has been called the Based on the popular novel by Jessie “place for hope when there is no Burton, this three-part fi lm stars hope.” By combining the history of Romola Garai, Alex Hassell, Hayley the institution with stories about Squires, Paapa Essiedu, and Anya present-day patients, the fi lm Taylor-Joy as Nella. makes an important contribution to discussions about our commitment to taking care of each other, about the role of money and profi t in medicine, and about the very nature of healing itself. DARK MONEY Dark Money examines one of the greatest present threats to American democracy: the infl uence NO PASSPORT REQUIRED of untraceable corporate money on No Passport Required is a new our elections and elected offi cials. documentary series following chef The fi lm takes viewers to Montana—a Marcus Samuelsson as he immerses frontline in the fi ght to preserve fair himself in diverse immigrant elections nationwide—to follow a communities and cuisines in cities local journalist working to expose the across the U.S. In each hour, Marcus real-life impacts of the US Supreme will travel to a diff erent city and dive Court’s Citizens United decision. into a new food culture. He’ll discover the important immigrant histories— and delicious culinary traditions—that shape the way America eats today. THE AMAZING HUMAN BODY Your body is the most sophisticated organism on earth and much about it remains a mystery. This 3-part series Find these and other at uses cutting-edge graphics to reveal the surprisingly beautiful biological processes that keeps you alive. Teacher.Shop.PBS.org Discover the ingenious ways your body develops, adapts, and endures, and witness the fascinating and fi nely tuned systems that keep your body motoring—and the scientists guessing. Books Into Movies

The following films based on books Coming in October Hunter Killer (Oct. are slated to open during September and 26) is an adaptation of October. Movie release dates are subject Beautiful Boy (Oct. 12) Don Keith and George to change. is based on the 2008 mem- Wallace’s 2012 novel oirs Beautiful Boy: A Father’s Firing Point. Directed by Coming in September Journey Through His Son’s Donovan Marsh, the Addiction by David Sheff submarine thriller stars Bel Canto (Sept. 14) is and Tweak: Growing Up on , Gerard based on Ann Patchett’s Methamphetamines by his Butler, Common, and 2001 literary thriller. Di- son Nic Sheff. Directed Michael Nyqvist. rected by , the by Felix Van Groeningen, South American-set hos- the biographical drama stars Steve Carell, Looking Ahead tage drama stars Julianne Timothée Chalamet, and Maura Tierney. Moore, Christopher Lam- Slated for November bert, and Ken Watanabe. First Man (Oct. 12) is is the sequel Fantastic based on James R. Han- Beasts: The Crimes of sen’s 2005 book First Man: Grindelwald, based on The Children Act The Life of Neil A. Arm- J.K. Rowling’s 2001 Fan- (Sept. 14) is adapted from strong. Directed by Damian tastic Beasts and Where the 2014 novel by Ian Mc- Chazelle, the film stars to Find Them, again di- Ewan. Directed by Richard , Corey Stoll, and rected by David Yates Eyre, the High Court dra- Ryan Gosling as the iconic and starring Redmayne as Newt ma stars Emma Thomp- astronaut. Scamander. son, Stanley Tucci, and Fionn Whitehead. Goosebumps 2: Haunt- Also coming in No- ed Halloween (Oct. 12) is vember is The Girl in based on YA horror author the Spider’s Web, based A Simple Favor (Sept. R.L. Stine’s novel- on the 2015 addition to 14) is based on Darcey la series. Directed by Ari late author Stieg Lars- Bell’s 2017 debut thrill- Sandel, the comedy-fan- son’s crime novel series, er. Directed by , tasy film stars Jeremy Ray which was taken over by the small-town mystery Taylor, Caleel Harris, Ken David Lagercrantz. Di- stars Anna Kendrick, Blake Jeong, and Wendi McLen- rected by Fede Álvarez, Lively, Henry Golding, don-Covey. the film stars Sverrir Gudnason and Claire and Jean Smart. Foy as computer hacker Lisbeth Salander. I Still See You (Oct. 12) is based upon Daniel Wa- An adaptation of The House with a ters’s 2012 thriller Break My James Baldwin’s 1974 Clock in Its Walls (Sept. Heart 1,000 Times. Directed contemporary classic 21) is based on the 1973 by Scott Speer, the film If Beale Street Could YA gothic horror novel by stars Bella Thorne, Dermot Talk is also scheduled John Bellairs. Directed by Mulroney, and Richard for November. Directed Eli Roth, the film stars Harmon. by Barry Jenkins, the Black, , and Harlem period drama Kyle MacLachlan. stars Kiki Layne, Stephan Can You Ever Forgive James, , and Dave Franco. Me? (Oct. 19) is based on The Sisters Brothers literary forger and thief Coming in December (Sept. 21) is based on Pat- Lee Israel’s 2008 memoir. is Mary Queen of Scots, rick DeWitt’s 2011 offbeat Directed by Marielle Hell- based on John Guy’s novel. Directed er, the biographical drame- 2004 biography Queen by , the dy stars Melissa McCarthy, of Scots: The True Life of film stars Joaquin Phoe- Richard E. Grant, and Jane Mary Stuart. Directed by nix, John C. Reilly, and Curtin. , the film Jake Gyllenhaal stars Saoirse Ronan and The Hate U Give (Oct. Margot Robbie. Little Women (Sept. 19) is based on Angie 28) is the latest adaptation Thomas’s Coretta Scott Also slated for De- of Louisa May Alcott’s King Award-winning 2017 cember is ’s classic 1869 novel about YA novel. The story of a Mary Poppins Returns, the four March sisters. girl who takes to activism adapted from the sequels Director Clare Nieder- when an unarmed friend by P.L. Travers (written pruem’s modern retelling is gunned down by po- between 1935-88) and stars Lea Thompson, Sar- lice, the crime drama from starring Emily Blunt ah Davenport, and Lucas director George Tillman Jr. stars Amandla as the beloved magical Grabeel. Stenberg, Regina Hall, and KJ Apa. maid.

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 6 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 Making new be scary! “Youngsters can will with Ghoulia’s warm personality and the relatable challenge of making friends. This series starter is defi nitely a treat.” - Booklist

Other children are afraid of Ghoulia. But when Halloween rolls around, the little zombie girl hatches a brilliant plan to make new friends.

Available September 11 ISBN 9781974922109

Library digital available on Mixed Media

Mixed Media features new release Age (, PS4: $59.99, Rated: T). and Spyro: Year of the Dragon. information on upcoming video The 11th main entry in the critically ac- games and TV series on DVD/Blu-ray, claimed third-person RPG series features September 23—September 29 as well as notable older titles that are new characters, a beautifully detailed re-priced or new to DVD/Blu-ray. world, turn-based combat, and an immer- FIFA 19 (EA, PS4/Switch/XOne: $59.99, sive fantasy story. Rated: E). This latest entry in the hit soccer simulation series introduces the prestigious Video Games Marvel’s Spider-Man UEFA Champions League. (Insomniac, PS4: $59.99, Note: Entertainment Software Ratings Rated: T). Starring the Valkyria Chronicles 4 (Sega, PS4/XOne/ Board (ESRB) ratings for video games are: E world’s most iconic super- Switch: $59.99, Rated: T). Set in an envi- (Everyone), E10+ (Everyone 10+), T (Teen), hero, this third-person ronment that looks like 1930s Europe, this M (Mature), and RP (Rating Pending). action-adventure game latest entry in the third-person turn-based Some titles are not rated until just prior to puts players in the suit of strategy RPG game in the series continues release date. the titular wall-crawler, the war between the Federation and the famed for his acrobatic abilities, improvi- Empire. Available Now sation, and web-slinging. September 30—October 6 Dead Cells (Merge, NASCAR Heat 3 (704Games, PS4/XOne: PS4/Switch: $29.95- $49.99, Rated: E10+). In this racing simula- Assassin’s Creed Odys- $34.95, Rated: T). This tion game, players test their driving skills sey (UbiSoft, PS4/XOne: brutally challenging 2D across three NASCAR national series and $59.99, Rated: M). The action-platformer—a an all-new drag racing circuit. latest entry in the popular rogue game with Dark third-person action-ad- Souls-lite combat—puts NBA Live 19 (EA, PS4/XOne: $59.99, venture series puts players players on a sprawling, Rated: E). This latest entry in the acclaimed in the role of a Spartan ever-changing, and seem- basketball simulation series features ul- hero in ancient Greece. ingly cursed island. tra-realistic NBA gameplay with new fea- tures including Real Player Motion. Fist of the North Star: Paradise Divinity: Original Sin II ( Nam- (Sega, PS4: $59.99, Rated: M). In this co, PS4/XOne: $59.99, Rated: M). In this September 9—September 15 third-person action-adventure RPG set in turn-based third-person RPG sequel, play- the world of the beloved Fist of the North ers return to the land of Rivellon for more NBA 2K19 (2K, PS4/XOne/Switch: Star , players control magic and adventure. $59.99, Rated: E). The NBA 2K series cel- Kenshiro as they progress through an alter- ebrates 20 years in this latest edition of nate universe version of the original story. Hunter Generations: Ultimate the basketball simulation game in which (Capcom, Switch: $59.99, Rated: T). Mark- players can compete through the complete Forza Horizon 4 (Microsoft, XOne: ing the debut of this popular series on the NBA season, or take control of an entire $59.99, Rated: E10+). In this new Forza , this third-person adven- NBA franchise. racing simulation game, dynamic seasons ture game is a remake of the 3DS original as change everything as players choose from the player embarks on hundreds of quests NHL 19 (EA, PS4/XOne: $59.99, Rated: over 450 cars. tracking brand-new monsters. E10+). The latest iteration of this hockey simulation game returns the sport to its Mega Man 11 (Capcom, PS4/XOne/ Shenmue I & II (Sega, PS4/XOne: $29.99, roots in the great outdoors, as players jour- Switch: $29.99, Rated: E10+). The latest Rated: T). Sega’s most requested re-release ney from the pond to the pros. entry in this iconic series blends classic 2D of all time finally comes to current-gen platforming action with a fresh new visual consoles with two third-person action-ad- Shadow of the Tomb style and revamped game mechanics. venture games that put players in the role Raider (Square Enix, of Ryo Hazuki, who is out to avenge the PS4/XOne: $59.99, Rated: Super Mario Party (Nintendo, Switch: murder of his father. M). This third entry in $59.99, Rated: E). The Mario Party board the reboot of the popu- game series arrives on the Nintendo Switch We Happy Few (Gear- lar third-person action with new elements including character box, PS4/XOne: $59.99, franchise puts players in dice blocks. Rated: M). Set in a the role of Lara Croft, who must master a drug-fueled, retro-futur- deadly jungle, overcome terrifying tombs, October 7—October 13 istic city in an alterna- and persevere as she races to save the world tive 1960s England, this from a Mayan apocalypse. Call of Duty: Black first-person action-adven- Ops 4 (, PS4/ ture game challenges players to hide, fight, September 16—September 22 XOne: $59.99, Rated: and conform their way out of a delusional M). The latest edition “Joy” drug-obsessed world. Spyro Reignited Trilogy (Activision, of this popular first-per- PS4/XOne: $39.99, Rated: E10+). This son shooter series is re- September 2—September 8 HD-remastered classic third-person (or ported to be multiplayer dragon) adventure game collection in- only—with a required Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive cludes Spyro the Dragon, Spyro 2: Ripto’s Rage! online connection—and features new

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 8 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

weaponry, maps, and modes. racing game lets you select characters from sal, DVD: 5 discs, $44.98). The staff of the your favorite series, includ- Gaffney Medical Center take on WWE 2K19 (2K, PS4/XOne: $59.99, ing SpongeBob, Patrick, and Sandy from personal and professional problems in this Rated: RP). The popular wrestling game SpongeBob SquarePants; Leonardo, Raphael, 2017-18 third season starring Nick Gehl- returns with a massive roster of WWE’s and Michelangelo, and Donatello from Teenage fuss, Yaya DeCosta, and Torrey DeVitto. NXT’s most popular superstars and legends. Mutant Ninja Turtles; and more. Cooper Barrett’s Guide to Surviving October 14—October 20 PAW Patrol: On a Roll (Outright Games, Life: The Complete Series (Fox, DVD: PS4/Switch/XOne: $39.99, Rated: E). This 2 discs, $29.95). Friends and roommates Battlefield V (EA, PS4/XOne: $59.99, third-person (canine) puzzle-platforming navigate twentysomething life in this Rated: M). This latest addition to the block- action game sends players on 16 exciting short-lived 2016 comedy series that features buster first-person action-shooter series is rescue missions. guest appearances by and Jane set during World War II. Kaczmarek. Red Dead Redemp- LEGO DC Super Villains (Warner, PS4/ tion 2 (Rockstar, PS4/ The Exorcist: The XOne/Switch: $59.99, Rated: RP). In this XOne: $59.99, Rated: RP). Complete First Sea- LEGO third-person action-adventure game, In this third person ac- son (Fox, DVD: 2 discs, players will have the ability to create and tion-RPG sequel to the $37.99). Alfonso Herrera control an all-new super-villain, unleash- popular Western game, a and star in ing mischievous antics and wreaking havoc robbery goes wrong and this 2016 first season of in a hilarious story. the Van der Linde gang the anthology horror se- are forced to flee—with federal agents and ries based on the classic VI (Ban- the best bounty hunters in the nation on creepy novel/film. Also newly available dai , PS4/XOne: their heels—fighting their way across the is The Exorcist: The Complete Second $59.99, Rated: T). Set in rugged heartland of America. Season. the 16th century, this latest entry revisits events Get Shorty: The Complete First Season from the original SoulCal- TV on DVD/Blu-ray (Fox, DVD: 3 discs, $29.98). A former crim- ibur in the premier weap- inal turned movie producer sets his sights ons-based, head-to-head Available Now on Hollywood in this 2017 first season of fighting series. the crime-comedy series based on the novel A.P. Bio: Season One (Universal, DVD: by Elmore Leonard, starring Chris O’Dowd, Starlink: Battle for Atlas (UbiSoft, PS4/ 2 discs, $24.98). Starring Glenn Howerton, Ray Romano, and Sean Bridgers. XOne/Switch: $74.99, Rated: E10+). Players Tom Bennett, and Patton Oswalt, this 2018 take on the role of heroic interstellar pilots first season of the comedy series is set at an The Good Doctor: Season One (Sony, dedicated to freeing the Atlas Star System Ohio high school. DVD: 5 discs, $45.99). Autistic savant syn- in this toys-to-life game that lets players drome surgeon Shaun Murphy (Freddie build their own modular starship model, The Blacklist: The Highmore) works wonders at a prominent mount it to a controller, and take part in Complete Fifth Season San Jose hospital in this 2017-18 debut epic space combat. (Sony, DVD: 5 discs, season of this medical drama that also stars $45.99, Blu-ray: $55.99). Nicholas Gonzalez and Antonia Thomas. Warriors Orochi 4 (Koei Tecmo, PS4/ Featuring James Spader XOne/Switch: $59.99, Rated: T). This in a Golden Globe-nomi- Here and Now (HBO, DVD: 4 discs, third-person action-adventure game fea- nated role as FBI fugitive $29.98). , Tim Robbins, and tures heroes from across the Warring States turned fixer Red Redding- Jerrika Hinton star in the 2018 single season period of Japan and the Three Kingdoms ton, this 2017-18 fifth season of the crime of this short-lived HBO-aired dysfunction- era of China, merged by an unknown drama also stars Megan Boone and Diego al-family drama. entity. Klattenhoff. Hillary (PBS, DVD: 2 October 21—October 27 Brooklyn Nine-Nine: Season Five (Uni- discs, $34.99). Andrew versal, DVD: 3 discs, $39.98). The wacky Munro stars as Sir Ed- Just Dance 2019 (Ubi- members of the NYC precinct are back mund Hillary and Dean Soft, PS4/Switch/XOne: in this 2017-18 fifth season of the police O’Gorman plays his $39.99, Rated: E). This comedy series starring Andy Samberg climbing partner George latest version of the ul- and featuring guest appearances by Dean Lowe in this 2018 six-part timate party game fea- Winters, , , and drama series aired on PBS. tures 40 hot tracks, from Danny Trejo. chart-topping hits to Hostages: Season 2 (Kino Lorber, DVD: family favorites, includ- : Season Six (Universal, 3 discs, $29.95). The Prime Minister is ab- ing “Finesse (Remix)” by DVD: 6 discs, $44.98). Jesse Spencer, Taylor ducted and the police are getting closer in featuring Cardi B., “Havana” Kinney, and Monica Raymund star in this this 2016 sophomore season of the Israeli by Camila Cabello, and more. 2017-18 sixth season of the fire squad series thriller series starring Jonah Lotan, Ayelet from super-producer . Zurer, and Tomer Capon. Nickelodeon Kart Racers (GameMill, PS4/Switch/XOne: $39.99, Rated: E). This : Season Three (Univer- The Last Man on Earth: The Complete

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 10 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 Best SellersNew Releases& New Releases From from

PIONEERS: FIRST WOMEN FILMMAKERS NOW AVAILABLE FOR EDUCATIONAL PURCHASE

In the early decades of cinema, some of the most innovative and celebrated filmmakers in America were women. Alice Guy-Blaché helped establish the basics of cinematic language, while others boldly continued its development: slapstick queen Mabel Normand (who taught Charlie Chaplin the craft of directing), action star Grace Cunard, and LGBTQ icon Alla Nazimova. Unafraid of controversy, filmmakers such as Lois Weber and Dorothy Davenport Reid tackled explosive issues such as birth control, abortion, and prostitution. This crucial chapter of film history comes alive through the presentation of a wide assortment of films, carefully curated, meticulously restored in 2K and 4K from archival sources, and presented with new musical scores. Includes films made from 1911-1929. Produced in collaboration with the Library of Congress. DVD Total running time: approx. 1,320 Min. Blu-ray Total running time: approx. 1,710 Min. “A corrective to our collective amnesia. A thrilling look at the variety of films made by women, most before they won to vote.” – Manohla Dargis, “Provides a rare opportunity to see some of the greatest films helmed by early Hollywood’s intrepid women... filling in the blanks of the past and reclaiming the medium’s forgotten stories.” – Christina Newland, Village Voice ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––NEW & NOTABLE–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– RELEASES THE GODDESSES OF FOOD ATOMIC CAFE In the male dominated food universe, The Atomic Cafe is an absurdist blast discover the women changing the from the past that would be down- game on all levels. Presenting the best right laughable if it weren’t so eerily female chefs, including multi-Miche- relevant to our fake news present. lin star chefs Dominique Crenn and This 1982 cult classic juxtaposes Cold Barbara Lync, and introducing rising War history, propaganda, music and new stars and those making incred- culture, seamlessly crafted from gov- ible food in all corners of the world. ernment-produced educational and GODDESSES OF FOOD is a global training films, newsreels and adver- journey exploring female strength in tisements. Taken together, these sourc- gastronomy. es cheerily instruct the public on how to Prominent chefs and journalists investi- live in the Atomic Age, how to survive gate what holds women chefs back in a nuclear attack and how to win a nu- the modern mediated world of cuisine clear war. As a U.S. Army training film and what needs to be done to change advises, “Viewed from a safe distance, the way women in the food industry the atomic bomb is one of the most are viewed and covered in the press. beautiful sights ever seen by man.” Featuring Michelin chefs and som- “A stunner, a movie that has one howl- ing with laughter, horror and disbelief. meliers from USA, France, Italy, UK, Deserves national attention.” Spain. –Vincent Canby, The New York Times For information about exhibition, public performance rights or streaming, A please visit www.kinolorberedu.com or email [email protected]. Fourth Season (Fox, DVD: 3 discs, $29.95). Second Chance: The September 4 Recently canceled by Fox, this 2017-18 Complete Series (Fox, fourth and final season of the post-apoca- DVD: 3 discs, $29.95). A Bull: Season Two (Paramount, DVD: 6 lypse features guest appearances by corrupt deceased sher- discs, $49.99). A jury consulting firm tack- Jack Black, Chris Elliott, and Martin Short. iff (Philip Baker Hall) is les various dramatic cases in this 2017-18 brought back to life as second season starring Michael Weatherly, Maigret: The Com- a younger man (Robert , and Jaime Lee Kirchner. plete Series (BBC, DVD: Kazinsky) in this 2016 2 discs, $34.98). Rowan sci-fi series. The Goldbergs: The Atkinson stars as author Complete Fifth Sea- Georges Simenon’s titular Six: Season 2 (Lionsgate, DVD: 2 discs, son (Sony, DVD: 3 discs, French detective in this $24.98). Aired on the History channel, this $26.99). Based on the 2016-17 ITV series, also 2018 sophomore season of the military life of creator Adam F. starring Lucy Cohu and drama following Navy SEALs stars Olivia Goldberg, this 2017-18 Shaun Dingwall. Munn, Dominic Adams, and Barry Sloane. fifth season of the wacky family series stars Wendi Midtown: Season Two (Fox Hollow, Son of Zorn: The Complete Series (Fox, McLendon-Covey, , George DVD: $19.95). This 2016 second season of DVD: 2 discs, $29.95). Animated barbarian Segal, and Sean Giambrone as Goldberg. the comedy series is based on the real-life Zorn (voiced by ) tries to con- work stories of former police officer Scott nect with the son he has with a live-action The Good Karma Hospital: Series 2 Baker, who also stars. woman in this 2016-17 comedy series also (Acorn, DVD or Blu-ray: 2 discs, $39.99). starring , Tim Meadows, and A lovelorn junior doctor (Amrita Acharia) Mr. Mercedes: Season 1 (Sony, DVD: Johnny Pemberton. may find a connection with a co-worker 3 discs, $26.99). Based on the novel by (James Floyd) while adjusting to her move Stephen King, this mystery thriller about SS-GB (Warner, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: from the U.K. to South India in this 2018 a killer who drives a car into a crowd stars 3 discs, $29.98). Based on Len Deighton’s second season. , Harry Treadaway, Kelly 1978 alternative history novel, this 2017 Lynch, and Mary-Louise Parker. five-part miniseries positing that Germany Five-0: The Eighth Season (Par- won WWII stars Sam Riley, , amount, DVD: 6 discs, $49.99). Aloha State Once Upon a Time: The Complete and James Cosmo. crimes are solved by the titular task force Seventh and Final Season (Buena Vista, in this 2017-18 eighth season of the police DVD: 5 discs, $45.99; Blu-ray: 5 discs, S.W.A.T.: Season One (Sony, DVD: 5 procedural reboot starring Alex O’Loughlin $79.99). This 2017-18 seventh season of discs, $45.99). Shemar Moore stars as an and Scott Caan. the fantasy fairy-tale series is set several L.A. Special Weapons and Tactics lieu- years after the last and features storybook tenant in this 2017-18 debut season based Supernatural: The Complete Thir- characters including Captain Hook (Colin on the classic 1975 crime drama series. teenth Season (Warner, DVD: 5 discs, O’Donoghue), Rapunzel (Gabrielle Anwar), $49.99; Blu-ray: 4 discs, $54.98). The Win- and Cinderella (Dania Ramirez). The Terror: The Complete First Season chester brothers (Jared Padalecki, Jensen (Lionsgate, DVD: 3 discs, $24.99; Blu-ray: Ackles) play surrogate family to Lucifer’s Pitch: The Complete Series (Fox, DVD: 3 discs, $29.98). Adapted from the 2007 son in this 2017-18 13th season of the 2 discs, $29.95). Kylie Bunbury stars as the novel by Dan Simmons, this 19th-centu- fantasy series. first woman to play in professional baseball ry Arctic expedition drama stars Ciarán in this 2016 drama series that also features Hinds, , , and Wolfblood: Season Four (Cinedigm, Mark-Paul Gosselaar and Mark Consuelos. Paul Ready. DVD: 2 discs, $14.95). This 2016 fourth season of the British-German teen drama Rosewood: The Com- The Walking Dead: follows creatures who can shift between plete First Season (Fox, The Complete Eighth human and wolf and stars Leona Vaughan, DVD: 5 discs, $34.95). Season (AMC, DVD: 5 Michelle Gayle, and Louis Payne. Morris Chestnut stars as discs, $70.98; Blu-ray: 5 the titular Miami pathol- discs, $80.99). The zom- Young Sheldon: The ogist in this 2015-16 debut bies are back in this 2017- Complete First Season season of the police pro- 18 eighth season of the (Warner, DVD: 2 discs, cedural that also features post-apocalyptic horror $39.99). Narrated by Jim Taye Diggs and Nicole Ari Parker. Also new- series starring Andrew Parsons in character, this ly available at the same price is Rosewood: Lincoln, Jeffrey Dean Morgan, and Nor- spin-off from The Big Bang The Complete Second Season. man Reedus. Theory follows the child- hood escapades of genius Rowan and Martin’s Laugh-In: The Wayward Pines: The Complete Second Sheldon Cooper (Ian Armitage) and his Complete Fifth Season (Time Life, DVD: Season (Fox, DVD: 3 discs, $29.95). Secret family. 7 discs, $39.95). Hosted by Dan Rowan and Service agent Ethan Burke (Matt Dillon) , this 1971-72 fifth season of finds more than he bargained for in a September 11 the sketch comedy series features appear- strange Idaho town in this 2016 second ances by Sugar Ray Robinson, , and final season based on the books by : The Complete , and Three Dog Night. Blake Crouch. Eleventh Season (Warner, DVD: 2 discs,

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 12 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

$44.98; Blu-ray: 2 discs, $49.99). Marked by who discover that their children have mu- debut season of the reboot spotlighting the Sheldon and Amy’s (Jim Parsons, Mayim tant powers. powerful Carrington and Colby families. Bialik) nuptials, the 2017-18 11th season of the Chuck Lorre science-themed sitcom The Looming Tower: East West 101: Series 3 (Acorn, DVD: 2 features guest appearances by Bill Gates, A Limited Series (Warner, discs, $39.99). An armored bank transport Mark Hamill, Kathy Bates, and Teller. DVD: 2 discs, $29.98; Blu- robbery hits close to home for Muslim ray: 2 discs, $39.99). Law- Sydney detective Zane Malik (Don Hany) Chicago P.D.: Season Five (Universal, rence Wright’s 2006 non- in this 2011 third and final season of the DVD: 6 discs, $44.98). This 2017-18 fifth fiction book served as the Australian drama series. season of the Windy City police drama basis for this 9/11-back- stars Jason Beghe, Jon Seda, Jesse Lee Soffer, drop drama that stars Jeff Legends of Tomor- and Elias Koteas. Daniels, , and . row: The Complete Third Season (Warner, Law & Order True MacGyver: Season 2 (Lionsgate, DVD: 5 DVD: 4 discs, $24.98; Crime: The Menendez discs, $29.98). Lucas Till stars as government Blu-ray: 3 discs, $39.99). Murders (Universal, operative and inventor Angus MacGyver in A mix-up of timelines DVD: 2 discs, $29.98). this 2017-18 second season of the rebooted causes havoc for the Leg- Starring as action series that also features ends team in this 2017-18 defense attorney Leslie and Sandrine Holt. third season of the DC Comics series Abramson, this 2017 first starring Victor Garber, Caity Lotz, and season of the anthology Madam Secretary: Season 4 (Para- Dominic Purcell. spin-off focuses on the 1989 murders of mount, DVD: 6 discs, $45.98). The U.S. wealthy entertainment executive José Secretary of State (Téa Leoni) clashes with : Series 20 (Acorn, Menendez and wife Kitty by their sons. her husband (Tim Daly) in his new job at DVD: 3 discs, $49.99; Blu-ray: 3 discs, the CIA in this 2017-18 fourth season of the $59.99). Pathologist Fleur Perkins (Annette : The Complete Ninth political drama. Badland) joins the team in this 2018 Season (Fox, DVD: 3 discs, $29.98). The 20th collection from the British detective 2017-18 penultimate ninth season of the Modus: Season 2 (Kino Lorber, DVD: 2 drama. Emmy-winning sitcom features guest discs, $29.95; Blu-ray: 2 discs, $34.95). U.S. appearances by , Billy Crys- President Helen Tyler (Kim Cattrall) goes Sando (Acorn, DVD: $39.99). Badly tal, , Chris Martin, and missing during a Stockholm state visit in behaving discount furniture maven Gabriel Iglesias. this 2017 second season of the Swedish Victoria “Sando” Sandringham (Sacha series. Horler) tries to pick up the pieces of her Scorpion: The Final Season (Para- tattered family in this 2018 Australian mount, DVD: 6 discs, $49.98). Elyes Ga- : The Complete Third Season comedy series. bel, Katharine McPhee, and Eddie Kaye (Warner, DVD: 5 discs, $44.98; Blu-ray: 4 Thomas star in this 2017-18 fourth and discs, $49.99). DC Comics superhero Kara October 2 final season of the high-tech drama series. Zor-El (Melissa Benoist) is back in this 2017-18 third season of the action-adven- The Originals: The Fifth and Final : The Com- ture series. Season (Warner, DVD: 3 discs, $24.98). plete Second Season Set seven years after the previous season, (Fox, DVD: 5 discs, The -Files: The Com- this 2018 fifth and final outing for the $39.98). Bouncing be- plete Season 11 (Fox, supernatural Vampire Diaries spin-off tween the present and DVD: 3 discs, $29.98; Blu- stars Joseph Morgan, Daniel Gillies, and flashbacks, this 2017-18 ray: 3 discs, $39.99). This Danielle Rose Russell. sophomore season of the 2018 11th season contin- ensemble drama centers uation of the earlier 1993- Vikings: Season 5, Volume 1 (Fox, on the “Big Three” siblings (Sterling K. 2002 sci-fi horror drama DVD: $29.98; Blu-ray: 3 discs, $39.99). Brown, , and ). features Jonathan Rhys Meyers joins the cast as a and reprising their roles religious warrior priest in this first set of September 18 as FBI special agents Mulder and Scully. episodes from the 2017-18 fifth season of the series. American Horror Story: Cult (Fox, September 25 DVD: 3 discs, $29.98; Blu-ray: 2 discs, October 23 $49.99). Set after the 2016 presidential C.B. Strike: The Series (Warner, DVD: election, this 2017 seventh season of the $24.98). Based on detective novels by J.K. : The creepy anthology series stars Rowling writing as Robert Galbraith, this Complete Final Sea- , Evan Peters, and Cheyenne crime drama series—aired stateside on son (Fox, DVD: 3 discs, Jackson. —starring and Holliday $29.98). The exploits of Grainger includes The Cuckoo’s Calling, The the embedded KGB Jen- The Gifted: The Complete First Sea- Silkworm, and Career of Evil. nings family come to a son (Fox, DVD: 3 discs, $29.98). Set in close in this 2018 sixth the Marvel Comics universe, the 2017-18 Dynasty: Season One (Paramount, DVD: and final season of the debut season of this sci-fi adventure series 6 discs, $39.98). Grant Show, Elizabeth Gil- FX-aired period drama starring introduces viewers to the Strucker family, lies, and Nathalie Kelley star in this 2017-18 and .

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 14 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 VL_Ad_0918_VisionVideo 7/24/18 11:58 AM Page 1

The Fantasy Makers: Tolkien, Lewis, and MacDonald

J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and George MacDonald were the pioneers of the fantasy and their impact is unmistakable. Their works— exploring Middle-earth, Narnia, and other tales of redemption, sacrifice, and the battle of good and evil— have become best-selling books and blockbuster movies. writers such as J.K. Rowling grew up inspired by their works. All three were deeply rooted in their Christian faith, which permeated their writing. They engaged and challenged from the pulpit of imagination, speaking truth through fantasy. The Fantasy Makers examines the spiritual influences of these fantasy pioneers and the lasting impact their works have on our present-day culture. Featuring Rowan Williams, Kristin Jeffrey Johnson, Malcolm Guite, Allister McGrath, and Michael Ward. Documentary, 88 minutes. #501732D, $14.99, UPC 7 27985 01732 7

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Adoniram and Ann Judson Jesus: Carry Me Home: Adoniram and Ann Judson were American Dead and Buried? A Remember America Film missionaries who sacrificed enormously to For 2,000 years Christians have been claiming Carry Me Home is a following the reach the people of Burma (present day that Jesus died in Jerusalem on a cross and true story of Maria Ennals (Lindsey Grimble), Myanmar). Suffering resistance, persecution, that he subsequently “rose from the dead.” a young mother trapped in slavery who imprisonment, personal loss, and ill health, But how can we know if what they say is true? seizes the opportunity to escape with her Adoniram and Ann’s faithfulness led to the Presenter Luke Waldock travels to Jerusalem family when she encounters Harriet Tubman establishment of a church that continues to to see the places where Jesus himself would (Karen Abercrombie). Harriet leads the flourish today. Experience the struggles and have walked during the last few hours of his young family through a number of trials on triumphs of these remarkable missionaries in life. He sifts through the evidence—historical, the Underground Railroad, causing them all this illuminating documentary. 65 minutes. medical, and theological—and he finds to question whether or not freedom is worth #501793D, $14.99, UPC 7 27985 01793 8 answers. Documentary, 47 minutes. the price they must pay to obtain it. Drama, #501805D, $14.99, UPC 7 27985 01805 8 23 minutes. #501801D, $12.99, UPC 7 27985 01801 0 Vision Video OUR UNCONDITIONAL GUARANTEE: PO Box 540 Worcester, PA 19490 If, for any reason, a product does not meet your expectations, 1-800-523-0226 • 610-584-3500 return it to us, and we will exchange it or give you a refund. Fax: 610-584-6643 All DVDs are guaranteed against any defects. Available from E-mail: [email protected] Midwest Tape or directly from Vision Video. Web: www.VisionVideo.com Video Movies

American Animals order in the universe under the leadership of This section features reviews of current and HH1/2 Iron Man (Robert Downey Jr.) and Thor (Chris classic studio, independent, and foreign feature Lionsgate, 116 min., R, DVD: Hemsworth), who is still minus an eye (and films. Each review includes pricing information, $19.99, Blu-ray: $21.99 a hammer). There’s Wakanda’s Black Pan- as well as running time, rating, subtitling infor- This ostensibly true mis- ther (Chadwick Boseman), Captain America (Chris Evans), Spider-Man (Tom Holland), mation, and street dates for yet-to-be-released adventure follows four up- per-middle-class college Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Scarlet titles. Most titles reviewed here are widely students who in December Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), War Machine (Don available through most distributors. 2004 planned one of the most audacious art Cheadle), Nick Fury (Samuel L. Jackson), and heists in U.S. history. Hidden in the Special the Incredible Hulk (Mark Ruffalo). Even so, HHHH= Excellent Collections Library at Transylvania Universi- Thanos, clutching his “adoptive” daughters ty in Lexington, KY, are folios of John James Gamora (Zoe Saldana) and Nebula (Karen HHH= Good Audubon’s Birds of America and a first edition Gillan), isn’t about to give up easily. Not surprisingly, it all ends with a cliffhanger, HH= Fair of Charles Darwin’s On the Origin of Species, overseen by librarian Betty Jean Gooch (Ann setting up for a 2019 sequel. Directors Joe H= Poor Dowd). These tomes are the targets of jittery, and Anthony Russo move these crossover artist Spencer Reinhard (Barry superheroes around like chess pieces, add- Keoghan) and volatile, sociopathic Warren ing a few new characters (the most memo- Lipka (Evan Peters), who enlist two acquain- rable played by ) in this fun Current Films tances—fitness fanatic Charles “Chas” Allen entry in the popular series. Recommended. II () and accounting expert Eric (S. Granger) Borsuk (Jared Abrahamson)—to help with the Always at the Carlyle theft. Related from multiple perspectives— Back to Burgundy HH1/2 including those of their older, wiser, real-life HHH1/2 Good Deed, 92 min., PG-13, counterparts and bewildered parents, plus Music Box, 113 min., in French DVD: $19.95 the hapless librarian—British writer-director & English w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.99 Director Matthew Miele Bart Layton’s American Animals meticulously offers a glimpse inside the reconstructs the entire operation, from its This sweet, sentimental Carlyle, Manhattan’s leg- fanciful beginning to its ignominious conclu- drama by French filmmaker endary Upper East Side sion. After obtaining the library blueprints, Cédric Klapisch serves up a hotel, where Bobby Short held forth in the the quartet devise ways to circumvent the gorgeous travelogue of the winemaking life Cafe Carlyle for decades and surveillance equipment and clear an escape through the seasons of a family vineyard still plays the clarinet. Originally created route, while also obtaining “elderly” disguises that is set against the gentle of for an elite clientele by Polish-born banker and making elaborate plans for how to fence three siblings who inherit their father’s legacy Moses Ginsberg, the hotel’s guests have the stolen property after the getaway. Much of along with a big bill. Jean (Pio Marmaï), the included current luminaries such as George this is inspired by researching movies ranging eldest, is the prodigal son returning after 10 Clooney, Lenny Kravitz, Tommy Lee Jones, from Stanley Kubrick’s The Killing to Quentin years in Australia (where he runs a vineyard Bill Murray, the late , Tarantino’s Reservoir Dogs. A shallow, yet styl- with the mother of his child), who wants to Roger Federer, Vera Wang, Jeff Goldblum, ishly suspenseful, criminal caper flick, this sell it all. Sister Juliette (Ana Girardot), who Wes Anderson, , and Naomi should still be considered a strong optional took over as heir apparent to their father’s Campbell, as well as many earlier notables, purchase. (S. Granger) management of the business, wants to keep it including President John F. Kennedy—with but is unsure of her own ability to rise to the or without his wife Jacqueline. The late Avengers: Infinity War challenge of being the boss. Jeremie (François Elaine Stritch actually lived there. Anjel- HHH Civil), the youngest, has married into a rival ica Huston here recalls nights with her Disney, 149 min., PG-13, DVD: wine family with a bigger business and a then-lover Jack Nicholson, while Harrison $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99 track record of safe, uncomplicated vintages Ford bitches, “My room’s $1,100!” (which is In this massive com- with mass appeal. All three face decisions nothing compared to the $10,000-a-night ic-book spectacle, the new about their own futures, but the film is just Royal Suite, where a housekeeper embroi- villain is Titan’s gigantic as much about the activity of a vineyard ders the pillowcases with the occupant’s galactic warlord Thanos through the seasons, from one harvest to first name or monogram). Condoleezza (Josh Brolin), who decimates Asgard on his the next, with almost documentary detail. Rice counters, “Here, you get what you path towards cosmic genocide, a task he A warmly engaging film about family bonds that also celebrates the winemaking culture pay for”—not that she ever picked up the can only accomplish by stealing six Infinity of France’s beautiful Burgundy region, this is bill. Long-time concierge Dwight Owsley Stones. When the stones are combined in a highly recommended. (S. Axmaker) and bartender Tommy Rowels reminisce Gauntlet, Thanos will be able to control time, about the old days and there’s a story about space, and energy, altering the laws of physics , Steve Jobs, and Princess and reality. Loki (Tom Hiddleston) has the Samaritan H1/2 Diana once sharing an elevator. When blue Space stone; Doctor Strange (Benedict Sony, 110 min., R, DVD: $17.99, Blu-ray: $19.99 artist Ludwig Bemelmans was hired to redo Cumberbatch), the green Time stone; The the murals in the bar, he lived there for 18 Collector (Benicio Del Toro), the red Reality Scottish actor David Ten- months, creating drawings that depicted stone; Vision (Paul Bettany), the yellow Mind nant (best known as a for- his whimsical Madeline characters as well stone (embedded in his forehead); and Star- mer ) stars as as a fantasy version of Central Park Zoo. Lord (Chris Pratt) and his Guardians of the mega-wealthy, psychopathic Superficial and sycophantic, this fluffy Galaxy (including scene-stealing Groot), the Cale Erendreich, who gets documentary is also an enjoyable indul- purple Power stone. And then there’s the elu- his jollies by kidnapping and torturing wom- gence for celeb watchers. A strong optional sive, sacrifice-demanding Soul Stone. So it’s en. In a flashback sequence, viewers witness a purchase. (S. Granger) up to 20-plus Marvel superheroes to maintain childhood trauma with a wild horse which,

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www.musicboxfi lms.com @musicboxfi lms supposedly, serves to explain his sadistic fe- director ’s canapés, and discuss their lives as they re- tish for bridles and bondage. Struggling Irish Beyond the Hills revolves late to a chosen book. Years ago, the women photographer Sean Falco (Robert Sheehan) around two girls coming of began with Erica Jong’s Fear of Flying; now and his partner, Derek Sandoval (Carlito age in rural Romania: Alina they’re into E.L. James’s Fifty Shades of Grey. Olivero), work as valet parkers at a restaurant () is adrift in Each woman represents a particular stage of in Portland, OR. Or at least, that’s their cover: life and doesn’t know what romantic life: Jane Fonda’s sexy, vivacious actually, they’re small-time burglars. When to do with herself other Vivian is a wealthy, workaholic hotelier who an affluent customer arrives for dinner, one than flee to Germany. Her has avoided emotional commitment—until keeps an eye on the patron while the other friend Voichita () is also she is suddenly tracked down by an old flame uses the car’s GPS to find the owner’s home uncertain of the future that she wants, so she (Don Johnson). Candice Bergen’s Sharon is and rob it of small-but-valuable items they joins a local convent, where she falls under an acerbic federal judge who hasn’t had a can quickly re-sell, returning the car to the the tutelage of a fiery priest who exudes a relationship since her divorce 18 years ago. restaurant as its unsuspecting owner pays his menacingly otherworldly air. Voichita finds But now that her ex (Ed Begley Jr.) has a check. Complications arise when Cale leaves the solitude of the nunnery soothing, while decades-younger fiancée (Mircea Monroe), his ostentatious Maserati in their hands. Alina can only think of running away from Sharon is reluctantly risking dinner with While exploring his minimalist mansion, any kind of life of confinement. Mungiu’s Internet dates (Richard Dreyfuss, Wallace Sean finds Katie (Kerry Condon), a chained pacing is—as one might expect in a movie Shawn). Recently widowed after 40 years captive who has been gagged and beaten. Sean that concerns convent life—somewhat mea- of marriage, Diane Keaton’s skittish Diane calls the police and FBI with an anonymous sured, but as dark secrets begin to surface, the is fending off grown helicopter daughters tip, but they arrive and find nothing, since drama picks up and poor Voichita gets caught (, Katie Aselton) who want Cale—thanks to his high-tech surveillance up in what turns out to be a nightmare. Be- her to move near them in Scottsdale, AZ. On equipment—is onto Sean. Part of his revenge yond the Hills effectively explores the yearning a plane, she meets Mitchell (Andy García), involves downloading and texting a semi- for escape from a futile life under the broken a suave who asks her out. And Mary nude photo of Sean’s girlfriend (Jacqueline promises of a post-Ceausescu free society, but Steenburgen’s Carol is a successful chef/ Byers), which causes her to dump him. Work- it also has something slightly disturbing to restauranteur whose once-sparky marriage ing from a shallow screenplay that veers into say about the inevitable return of faith to a to recently retired Bruce (Craig T. Nelson) has torture porn territory, director Dean Devlin’s post-Communist Romania. Recommended. gone stale. Working from a naughty-but-nice Bad Samaritan is a disappointing semi-coher- (M. Sandlin) screenplay, co-writer/director Bill Holderman ent thriller. Not recommended. (S. Granger) interweaves the ladies’ stories while evoking Blue Desert H1/2 nostalgia as Keaton revives her androgynous Beast HHH IndiePix, 94 min., in Portuguese Annie Hall wardrobe, Steenburgen does a Mel- Lionsgate, 106 min., R, DVD: w/English subtitles, not rated, vin and Howard tap dance, and Fonda wears $19.99, Blu-ray: $21.99, Sept. 4 DVD: $24.99 thigh-high Klute boots. Sweetly saucy, it’s a An unlikely romance A baffling, patience-tax- senior -good chick-flick. Recommended. plays out against a back- ing, oddball sci-fi movie that (S. Granger) ground of violence in Mi- makes little sense, Brazilian chael Pearce’s feature de- filmmaker Eder Santos’s Borg vs. McEnroe HHH but—set on the isle of Jersey Blue Desert centers on a young man named Virgil, 107 min., R, DVD: in the Channel Islands—which is anchored Ele (Odilon Esteves) who is unmoored in $19.99, Blu-ray: $24.99 by fierce lead performances from Jessie Buck- time, space, and reality at a distant point in Although the casting ley and as Moll and Pascal, the future. Yearning for transcendence, Ele choices for 1980s tennis youngsters from very different backgrounds appears each day on a flight that takes him titans Bjorn Borg (Sverrir whose intense relationship veers toward trag- wherever he’s going (though he has no say Gudnason) and John McEn- edy. Moll seems completely under the thumb in the matter). Appearing alone in a desert, roe (Shia LeBeouf) aren’t of her imperious, class-conscious mother Ele hopes that he can achieve a lofty spiritu- optimal, Danish director Janus Metz’s bio-pic (Geraldine James), whose rigid control stems ality, but he invariably crosses paths with an is surprisingly successful in conveying both from a brutal reprisal that Moll delivered older man who is determined to spray-paint the odd psychology of these two rivals and against a bully at school. Moll rebels by taking the desert blue. Elsewhere, Ele appears at a the raw physicality of their famously excru- up with Pascal, a brooding but charismatic dance-club party where his lack of practice ciating match at the 1980 Wimbledon finals. petty criminal. Pascal is also a suspect in a se- communicating with others is challenged by Metz certainly plays up the media perception ries of murders of young women on the island, meeting Alma (Maria Luísa Mendonça), who of McEnroe as a hothead and Borg as a gen- but that only fuels the girl’s fascination, to the may not be any more real than anything else tlemanly four-time Wimbledon champion, extent that she even provides him with a false in this meandering, chilly movie. If Blue Des- but the film pushes past the good guy vs. alibi for the night of the latest killing. But Moll ert is intended to make a provocative impact bad guy veneer to observe some interesting begins to have doubts. Some of the dialogue through its surrealist collision of dreamlike psychological truths about both. Borg could is leaden, and the narrative is sometimes images and ideas, it falls far short of the mark. have easily become a braying hothead like unnecessarily opaque, but the remarkable Not recommended. (T. Keogh) McEnroe, but he learned to transform his performances make for a compelling portrait rage and turn it inward, using Zen-like ritual of two troubled outsiders struggling against Book Club HHH to cope with the pressure of the spotlight. the demands of a rigid society in this dark, Paramount, 103 min., PG-13, Conversely, the tantrum-throwing McEnroe, twisted, engrossing film. Recommended. DVD: $30.99, Blu-ray/DVD played with limited believability by LeBeouf (F. Swietek) Combo: $39.99 (an actor who is controversial in his own A poignant rom-com right), was not as unhinged as he seemed: Beyond the Hills HHH aimed at older adults, Book as Borg finds out, McEnroe’s fits are actually Criterion, 152 min., in Romanian w/English Club is set in suburban Santa psychological weaponry used to achieve subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $39.95 Monica, CA, where four focus and power. Couple the smart insights Originally released in 2012, Romanian friends meet regularly to sip wine, nibble with the compelling action choreography

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 18 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 New Release From OSCILLOSCOPE LABORATORIES

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BD CAT # BD-OSC-091 UPC- 857490005684 SRP: $39.99 STREET DATE: SEPTEMBER 25TH www.oscilloscope.net of the tennis matches and this is well worth first two books of German-Swiss novelist mysterious force is luring their classmates into watching. Recommended. (M. Sandlin). Michel Bergmann’s 2010-13 Teilacher trilogy, misty, creepily-lit secret-locker passageways Bye Bye Germany is skillfully directed by Sam that leave them acting weird after they resur- The Boxcar Children: Garbarski, blending comedy with tragedy face? A ‘tween-friendly fluff film co-produced Surprise Island HHH while revealing the backstories not only of by High School Musical star , Shout! Kids, 82 min., not rated, David but also of his hawker comrades, who Daphne & Velma doesn’t really emulate the DVD or Blu-ray: $22.99 note, “We’re the Jewish revenge.” Bittersweet kitsch of the long-running Scooby stories, so An animated update and and picaresque, this offbeat Holocaust film is it could have been about any two teen girls sequel to the 2014 feature recommended. (S. Granger) solving a crime. But due to the popularity The Boxcar Children (an of the franchise, this should be considered a animated revisiting of the A Ciambra HHH strong optional purchase. (J. Williams-Wood) original book series launched in 1924), The MPI, 119 min., in Italian w/ Boxcar Children: Surprise Island finds the four English subtitles, not rated, HHH DVD: $24.99, Blu-ray: $29.99 Alden siblings invited at the end of the school Fox, 119 min., R, DVD: $29.99, year to spend the summer with their loving Jonas Carpignano’s sec- Blu-ray: $34.99 grandfather (voiced by ) on ond feature is a sequel to In this loud, funny, and a small but imposing island owned by the Mediterranea (VL-7/16), his subversive sequel, foul- Alden family. The children quickly take to documentary-style portrait mouthed, facially disfig- adventure, turning a barn into an attractive of African refugees whose dangerous journey ured, yet indestructible an- abode, exploring the craggy island, fishing to a supposedly better life landed them in ti-hero Wade Wilson (Ryan and clamming, and even getting trapped southern Italy. A chief character was proud Reynolds)—aka Deadpool—is madly in love in a cave when the high tide comes in (holy young Burkinese Aviya (Koudous Seihon), with Vanessa (Morena Baccarin) and the cou- Thai soccer team!). And there’s a mystery in- who has now become a dealer in stolen ple are thinking of having a baby when trage- volving a young fellow known as “Joe,” who goods. One of his suppliers is Pio Amato, a dy strikes, kicking off an inevitable course of lives and works on the island, and sees to the 14-year-old from a large Roma family resid- vengeance. Dressed in red-and-black spandex, well-being of the kids. Overall, this is a fine ing in Ciambra, which is an impoverished Wade battles the villainous, time-traveling family film, featuring exquisite background neighborhood in Gioia Tauro, the Calabrian cyborg Cable (Josh Brolin) while assembling visuals and a particularly joyous soundtrack. village near Aviya’s refugee camp. A Ciambra his X-force crew, who include Colossus Recommended. (T. Keogh) tells the fictionalized coming-of-age story (Stefan Kapicic), Weasel (T.J. Miller), of Pio, who played himself in Mediterranea. Al (Leslie Uggams), Dopinder (Karan Soni), Bye Bye Germany HHH When his father and older brother are sent to and Negasonic Teenage Warhead (Brianna Film Movement, 102 min., in jail for stealing electricity, Pio is determined Hildebrand), while also adding sarcastic German w/English subtitles, to become the man of the house—despite Domino (), a newcomer whose not rated, DVD: $24.95 the protests of his mother—and he engages gift is being extremely lucky. Plus, he’s deter- Set in Frankfurt in 1946 in increasingly dangerous activities to bring mined to protect Russell (Julian Dennison), following the close of World in money. Eventually, Pio is faced with a de- a troubled, fire-fisted mutant teenager who War II, this is the droll story mand that he betray Aviya, who has always views Wade as a surrogate father. Director of a group of Jewish survi- been kind to him, and that choice will mark David Leitch maintains the action comedy’s vors in a U.N. “displaced his future path. Amato is a natural onscreen irreverent tone, stressing the “f-word,” which persons” camp who decide to sell high-end whose performance is achingly poignant, and here stands for “family,” along with dozens “dowry” linens to raise enough money to the members of his large, boisterous family of pop culture-based references (such as a emigrate to America. Led by David Bermann are equally compelling. A Ciambra is heavily running joke that the song “Do You Want (Moritz Bleibtreau), whose family’s once-el- indebted to the Italian neo-realist school but to Build a Snowman?” from Frozen sounds egant linen emporium was ravaged by the adds to the grim depiction of ordinary life a exactly like “Papa, Can You Hear Me?” Nazis, they become savvy peddlers. “It’s an touch of poetry, particularly in dreamlike from Yentl). Of course, there are also lots of art,” David explains. “Anyone can solicit. It’s scenes showing the past of Pio’s doddering gruesome decapitations and severed limbs, the sales pitch, the show that counts. Your grandfather. Recommended. (F. Swietek) along with self-aware star cameos, including customers should basically kneel down and Wolverine (Hugh Jackman). A smarmy and beg to buy from you.” Working with other Daphne & Velma HH1/2 snarky superhero saga, this is recommended. survivors, David is remarkably successful. Warner, 75 min., G, DVD: (S. Granger) But then he’s summoned by U.S. Army $19.99, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: Intelligence Investigator Sara Simon (Antje $24.99 The Desert Bride HHH Traue), who is suspicious about how he got This live-action prequel Strand, 78 min., in Spanish w/ preferential treatment in the concentration to the beloved Scooby-Doo English subtitles, not rated, camp when his parents and brothers were animated series follows DVD: $27.99, Sept. 4 killed at Auschwitz. Was he, perhaps, a young versions of Mystery Everyone has had the ex- Nazi collaborator? Not exactly. Overheard Inc.’s female members Daphne (Sarah Jeffery) perience of being thwarted telling a joke, Baumann was summoned by and Velma (Sarah Gilman). Online friends during a simple effort to get the commandant to embark on a bizarre with an appreciation of the paranormal, the somewhere. In this Argen- assignment. Since Hitler was scheduled to glam-ish, confident Daphne—who has lived tinian drama, a middle-aged nurse named meet with Mussolini, who was known as a all around the world—is thrilled to tell the Teresa (Paulina Garcia) endures such an un- jovial storyteller, Bauman was sent to Berlin nerdier, reticent Velma that she will soon be nerving crisis, beginning with the moment to teach the Führer how to tell a joke. As the attending the latter’s school and they can be her long-distance bus ride breaks down, up interrogation continues, it becomes obvious BFFs in real-life. After a bit of a kerfuffle over through her subsequent misadventure with a that while Baumann served as a reluctant Velma’s worries about Daphne immediately traveling salesman called El Gringo (Claudio court jester in the death camp, he actually being accepted in the popular crowd, the Rissi). Unceremoniously laid off from her had other plans in mind. Adapted from the movie gets down to the nitty-gritty: what longtime job as a maid and former nanny

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 20 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 to a Buenos Aires family, Teresa is on her Elis HHH The Endless HHH way to a new domestic position in another MVD, 110 min., in Portuguese Well Go USA, 111 min., not town. As viewers witness in often painful w/English subtitles, not rated, rated, DVD: $24.99, Blu-ray: flashbacks, she was treated dismissively DVD: $14.99 $29.99 by the lady of her former house, and the A fascinating and illu- Although made on a bud- child she helped raise is now a grown man minating bio-pic about get that would probably fail whose feelings about Teresa seem stifled superstar Brazilian singer to cover the catering costs as she leaves. Sad and disoriented, Teresa Elis Regina, Elis delves into on most Hollywood sci-fi ep- loses her bag of meager possessions in El the personal, professional, ics, this supernatural thriller by co-directors Gringo’s truck, and she is compelled to and political aspects of the late artist’s life. Aaron Moorhead and (who also accompany him as he retraces his steps to Considered by many Brazilians to have scripted) delivers more suspense and surprises remote shops where he might have left it been the nation’s best singer, Regina is than similar fare. The pair also star as brothers with his deliveries. Although guarded and played by Andréia Horta, who is superb in named Aaron and Justin, who escaped what laconic, Teresa slowly opens up to El Gringo. the role. A driven but restless spirit eager they describe as a “UFO death cult” based in Directors Cecilia Atán and Valeria Pivato to explore during the 1960s-‘70s post-bossa the wilds years earlier and have beautifully collaborate with Garcia in por- nova era of popular music, Regina faces since been living a hand-to-mouth existence traying the brief blossoming of an invisible numerous obstacles and humiliations, in . When they receive a videotape woman whose passion is under wraps. And from sexism in the music industry, to a from a pretty member of the group describing the film is a visual thrill, as the directors philandering first husband, to threats from preparations for a rapture-like exit called the counterintuitively tell this intimate story in Brazil’s military dictatorship. Director Hugo Ascension, Aaron begs the skeptical Justin to large part through wide-open master shots Prata brings a brisk energy to the film, return for a brief visit, where they find their placing Teresa—who could not look lonelier underscoring the sense of a life rushing old comrades not only welcoming but virtu- or more lost—at great distances from the to an early finale (Regina died at age 36). ally unchanged despite the passage of time. camera. Recommended. (T. Keogh) Of particular interest is Regina’s gradual From that point, the plot takes off in varied embrace of political resistance to dictators directions, revolving around intimations of Disobedience HH1/2 and inequality, and adoption of other pro- a monster in a nearby lake, reports of hikers Universal, 115 min., R, DVD: gressive causes—a nice counterbalance to who have disappeared in the woods, and $22.99, Blu-ray: $29.99 the way she was forced earlier to cooperate a weird test involving a struggle to control Chilean director Se- with Brazil’s repressive government. A solid a rope that appears to disappear into the bastián Lelio, whose trans- portrait of a complex Brazilian idol, this is sky. Ultimately, time loops are added to gender drama A Fantastic recommended. (T. Keogh) the equation as the brothers try to escape Woman won the Oscar this yearn for Best Foreign Lan- guage Film, adapted Naomi Alderman’s 2006 novel as his first English-language film. Set in Hendon, the north London suburb where Gertrude Chandler Warner’s beloved children’s book series, The Boxcar Children, comes to life! Alderman—a former Orthodox Jew—grew up, the story begins with elderly Rav Krushka (Anton Lesser) giving what will be his last ser- mon, defining free will as a divine gift. After he dies, his long-estranged daughter, New York avant-garde photographer Ronit (Rachel “A beautiful fi lm with Weisz), rushes home, but within the local [a] deep connection insular and devoutly religious patriarchy she to a simpler life and a hunger for learning.” is treated with courteous but obvious con- - Jeri Jacquin, MovieMaven tempt. Ronit openly smokes, doesn’t cover her head, and rails against “institutional ob- ligation.” Greeting her where they are sitting shiva is Rabbi Dovid (Alessandro Nivola), her father’s disciple/surrogate son, who is soon to be chosen as her father’s successor. To her astonishment, Ronit discovers that Dovid is married to her closest friend—and furtive teenage lover—Esti (Rachel McAdams). Their lesbian relationship is immediately rekindled, culminating in an afternoon of anguish and erotic ecstasy, after which—pre- dictably—their secret is discovered. The two Rachels deliver sympathetically realistic per- Now on formances and Nivola’s restrained anguish is Blu-ray palpable, but while the film puts a spotlight on the austere manners and mores of the & DVD! close-knit, cloistered Hasidic community, www.surpriseislandmovie.com it also suffers from a somewhat overly sim- plistic and melodramatic portrayal of sadly repressed and oppressed women. A strong optional purchase. (S. Granger)

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 21 VIDEO LIBRARIAN again. While the complications grow a bit unwanted destiny. But Homeless begins to philosophical laments about being fed up excessive, and the visual effects are hardly falter when Gosh’s ill fortunes plateau and with the world and wanting to pass on to the cutting-edge, Moorhead and Benson use their every effort to change his life is undercut. next one as soon as possible. Recommended. meager resources cunningly, and entice solid Despite a chapter in the film where Gosh (M. Sandlin). performances from the cast. Recommended. gets a little help from strangers, the script (F. Swietek) by co-writer and director Clay Riley Hassler How to Talk to Girls at mostly turns shapeless and monotonous. Parties H1/2 Freak Show HH1/2 Optional. (T. Keogh) Lionsgate, 103 min., R, DVD: Shout! Factory, 91 min., not $19.99, Blu-ray: $21.99 rated, DVD: $16.99, Blu-ray: Hooked H $22.99 Filmmaker John Camer- Breaking Glass, 92 min., not on Mitchell’s collaboration Actress-producer Trudie rated, DVD: $24.99 with author Neil Gaiman is Styler makes her fiction An ambitious but weak a period coming-of-age tale feature directorial debut melodrama, Hooked tells with sci-fi trappings that is less glam extrav- with this rather messy but the story of a young gay aganza than an irritatingly outrageous bomb. sporadically entertaining teen comedy. Alex hustler named Jack (Conor Mitchell has expanded Gaiman’s enigmatic Lawther is terrific as young Billy Bloom, a Donnally), who turns tricks award-winning 2006 short story into a clum- gender-bending dandy and artistic spirit who to make ends meet for him and his boyfriend sy parable of the battle between individuality is transferred from the protective, ebullient Tom (Sean Ormond). The pair have plans for a and conformity, told with no wit and a very world of his larger-than-life, alcoholic mother future, and Jack is not above taking advantage heavy hand. Set in 1977, the story focuses () to a more red-state traditional of any situation that will further their goals, on a trio of London kids addicted to the new climate with his father (Larry Pine). Making such as robbing clients (much to Jack’s even- punk scene who crash an after-hours bash— no concessions to the Wrangler jeans and tual peril). While Jack has a certain exuberant thrown by a local known as Queen Boadicea T-shirt look of his peers at a new school, Billy energy and calculation that evokes Huckle- ()—where they encounter an arrives every day dressed as if he had raided berry Finn, he is more compelling in theory odd group of youngsters dressed in brightly Lady Gaga’s closet. Billy is abused by girls and than actuality: the script by writer-director colored, skintight latex outfits who are engag- boys alike (some of the latter beat him so bad- Max Emerson is so weak that the character’s ing in bizarre synchronized . It turns ly he ends up hospitalized in a coma), as well potential as a complex, charismatic figure out that this is not some crazy cult but rather as by a hostile gym coach (John McEnroe). is undercut. The story turns when Jack and alien travelers, who move about the universe The narrative eventually gels around Billy’s Tom meet Ken (Terrance Murphy), a married investigating other species. The reason has unlikely friendship with his school’s football businessman who decides to take Jack under something to do with a decreasing birth rate hero (Ian Nelson), who harbors his own secret his wing and bring him along on a business and population—both of which might be interest in the arts (he wants to be a painter). trip. Jack, of course, sees right through Ken’s related to their reputed habit of consuming But that relationship becomes strained when attempt to be a mentor with no sexual agen- their offspring. One of the earthlings, Enn Billy decides to run for homecoming queen, , and when things heat up, several compli- (), meets alien Zan (Elle Fanning), which has less to do with being a than cations arise. Hooked suffers from numerous who fascinates him not just with her ethereal with being a symbol for other kids who are drawbacks: a self-defeating cheesiness about beauty but also her strangely affected conver- staying quiet about their own sexual identi- comic moments (one of Jack’s client’s wants sation. Enn introduces Zan to the joys of his ties. Freak Show would have benefited from him to pretend to be a nursing baby), the planet’s unregimented society, and when she tighter editing and focus (and it would have appearance of convenient devices (a handgun returns from the experience in a pregnant been nice to see more of Midler and a few in a drawer), and a strange timidity about state, her fellow aliens decide to go back to other supporting players), but overall this is the squalor of freelance prostitution. Not their world with changes in mind. This is a an engaging film with a solid message about recommended. (T. Keogh) muddled mess that strives to become an in- tolerance and acceptance. A strong optional stant cult classic but fails miserably, although purchase. (T. Keogh) Hotel Salvation HHH it certainly will qualify as a good candidate Film Movement, 100 min., in for Mystery Science 3000. Not recom- Homeless HH Hindi w/English subtitles, not mended. (F. Swietek) Dreamscape, 92 min., not rated, DVD: $24.99 rated, DVD: $24.99, Oct. 23 Filmmaker Shubhashish Human Flow HHH This tearjerker drama be- Bhutiani’s well-intentioned Amazon, 140 min., PG-13, gins with a promising prem- film offers some fresh in- DVD or Blu-ray: $24.99 ise: 18-year-old Gosh (pro- sights into the mundane Dissident Chinese artist nounced “Josh”) is without realities of existence (and non-existence) with Ai Weiwei employs his ce- a home following the death its tentative gallows humor meditation on lebrity here to call attention of his grandmother, who took him in while death and dying. Hotel Salvation is centered to the global refugee crisis in his father awaits unlikely parole from prison. on aging schoolmaster Daya (Lalit Behl), who this visually imposing epic Keeping his head down at a shelter, Gosh convinces his son Rajiv (Adil Hussain) that documentary. Director Weiwei and his large (Michael McDowell in a lost puppy perfor- it is time for dad to shuffle off this mortal crew (including a dozen cinematographers) mance) spends his days trying to navigate coil. Rajiv accompanies Daya to the titular visit 20-plus countries to convey the mag- his changed circumstances, availing himself hospice-cum-hotel, situated in the holy city nitude of the crisis in terms of both the esti- of library services, looking for work (with not of Varansi. The oddball conceit here is that mated 65 million men, women, and children much of a chance, given his reduced hygiene), you only get 15 days to die and thus be graced fleeing war, famine, and political repression, and scrounging dollars to take a long bus ride by holy salvation; if you fail to croak during and the numerous areas affected, from Africa to see his father. In scattered moments, Gosh that time, you have to rebook under a dif- and the Middle East to Asia. While officials recalls playing guitar in a band, and he briefly ferent name. Featuring fantastically dreamy are given the opportunity to comment on the evades the sympathetic attention of an older cinematography by Michael McSweeney and extent of the tragedy, the emphasis is on the homeless man who represents for Gosh an David Huwiler, Hotel Salvation follows Daya’s displaced, who are seen here in numerable

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 22 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 NOW AVAILABLE FROM Award-Winning Cinema Since 2002

When twelve-year-old Pedro accidentally kills Egon Schiele (Noah Saavedra) finds inspiration in Newly restored in HD, Asia Argento’s daring, another boy on the streets of Caracas, his father beautiful women, but the outbreak of World War I semi-autobiographical 2001 directorial feature decides to flee the city with him in an attempt to threatens his artistic pursuits and leads to the debut has once again sparked controversy in protect their family from retribution. of his one and only true love. the wake of the #MeToo movement. LA FAMILIA (AVAILABLE 10/2) EGON SCHIELE: DEATH AND THE MAIDEN SCARLET DIVA (AVAILABLE 9/25) Drama, Latin American (AVAILABLE 10/9) Italian, Drama, Women’s Studies DVD only: $24.95 / PPR: $200 Art, History, Austrian, Biopic DVD only: $24.95 / PPR: $200 DRL: $499 / PPR + DRL: $599 DVD only: $24.95 / PPR: $200 DRL: $499 / PPR + DRL: $599 UPC: 859686006758 DRL: $499 / PPR + DRL: $599 UPC: 859686006680 UPC: 859686006734 *ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY™

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FMad1_SeptOCT_VidLIBr.indd 1 8/8/18 5:44 PM scenarios: rescued from boats in the Med- Guermont, who suffers a devastating spi- InflameHH 1/2 iterranean and taken to Italian relocation nal injury while filming a scene with his FilmRise, 94 min., in Turkish centers, being placed in Jordanian camps, horse. Rendered paraplegic and confined w/English subtitles, not rated, swimming ashore on Greek islands, and to a wheelchair, Guermont is pressured to DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $24.95 trying to survive in makeshift enclaves in accept a one-time payment by insurance With an echo of Roman Eastern Europe or on the French coast. The adjuster Florence Kernel (Cécile de France). Polanski’s classic Repulsion, stories they tell are heartbreaking: one man He refuses, considering the amount inade- this Turkish film centers on tearfully describes how nearly a third of his quate, and Florence, who comes to believe a young woman who re- family members died along the way. Weiwei that her company is trying to cheat him, treats from a rapidly changing society into interacts with the refugees, commiserating as suggests he consult her lawyer friend. The her own home, where hallucinations and a displaced person himself, and his artist’s eye two gradually develop a romantic relation- paranoia are rife. Hasret (Algi Eke) works is very much apparent in carefully composed ship—although she is married—and they as a video editor in an Istanbul television and elegantly shot images. Especially notable both become determined to take charge news station. When Turkish president are sequences of refugees marching in long of their lives, with Marc aiming to ride Erdogan’s crackdown on free speech and lines under official supervision, shot from again, and Florence wanting to return the press commences, Hasret is pressured an angle far above in what might be called a to the career she abandoned as a concert to broadcast pro-government propaganda. divine perspective. Human Flow is arguably pianist. There is unquestionably a hint of When it becomes too much, she retreats too beautiful for its subject, but it effectively formula here, but Dercourt’s approach is into her apartment, where the growing tyr- conveys the size and urgency of today’s refreshingly unsentimental, and the stars anny outside and visible destruction of her refugee problem. Recommended. (F. Swietek) give nuanced and committed performanc- historic neighborhood (which is officially es—Dupontel actually did his own stunts, due for rebuilding) are causing her to panic. I Dream in Another and de France mastered enough fingering Hasret feels the walls burning with heat, Language HHH to play a portion of a Liszt étude. The two is plagued by auditory hallucinations, and FilmRise, 101 min., in Spanish bring genuine feeling to what could easily begins obsessing over the 20-year-old death w/English subtitles, not rated, have degenerated into a crudely maudlin of her artist parents in a car crash, drawing DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $24.95 exercise (cue Hollywood remake). So while parallels between their fate and the recent Mexican director Ernes- undoubtedly designed to be uplifting, In rise of oppression and censorship under Er- to Contreras’s Sundance Harmony retains a sense of straightforward dogan’s tightening grip. Filmmaker Ceylan award-winner follows uni- honesty that seems characteristically Özgün Özçelik’s feature debut has a fine versity researcher Martín French. Recommended. (F. Swietek) premise, but the central conceit is difficult (Fernando Álvarez Rebeil), who travels to a to sustain for a full movie without some remote village to record and register Zikril, In Syria HHH redundancy and a thinning out of the main an indigenous language in danger of extinc- Film Movement, 86 min., in themes. Still, Özçelik is a director to watch. tion. Martin discovers that only two Zikril Arabic w/English subtitles, not A strong optional purchase. (T. Keogh) speakers survive, and there is a significant rated, DVD: $24.99 problem: Isauro (José Manuel Poncelis) and A harrowing, sometimes Ismael’s Ghosts HHH Evaristo (Eligio Meléndez) are elderly men hard-to-watch drama set Magnolia, 134 min., in French who had a falling out over a woman nearly in the confines of a mid- w/English subtitles, R, DVD: 50 years ago and have refused to speak to -class apartment in war- $26.99 each other ever since. Flashbacks detail the torn Damascus, In Syria French filmmaker Ar- circumstances that led to the dissolution of reflects the contemporary horror facing or- naud Desplechin’s Ismael’s the men’s friendship, and there is a subplot dinary Syrian civilians living under the daily Ghosts is ostensibly the sto- regarding a budding romance between Mar- threat of bombs and bullets. Hiam Abbass ry of a filmmaker named tin and Evaristo’s granddaughter (Fátima gives a complex, mesmerizing performance Ismael Vuillard (), whose Molina), who teaches an English instructional as Oum Yazan, a tough matriarch caring for personal and artistic lives are both thrown show on a local radio station. I Dream in her children, wizened father-in-law, an unre- off track by the sudden reappearance of his Another Language deals with heady themes, lated teen, a housemaid, and a young couple former wife ()—who dis- from the ephemeral state of culture, to the with a newborn baby, while her husband is appeared without a word for 20 years. The lingering wounds of betrayal, to the power out somewhere in his capacity as a medic or narrative jumps abruptly back and forth of language (even a dying tongue). And while anti-government insurgent. Writer-director in time and between biography, fiction, the romantic elements—especially Martin’s Philippe Van Leeuw masterfully conjures an and dreams, blurring the line between unlikely foray into affairs of the heart—are atmosphere of imminent, dangerous possibil- the lives of its characters and the creative sometimes clumsy, the strong performances ities, where ordinary tasks such as preparing re-imagining of them through Ismael’s new by Poncelis and Meléndez as old foes (cou- food take on a dark urgency, water is scarce, film about his estranged brother (Louis pled with the beautiful cinematography by and knocks on the front door create moments Garrel). Wife and brother are Ismael’s Tonatiuh Martínez) more than compensate. of suspense and dread. When the father of ghosts and nightmares, afflicting him in Recommended. (P. Hall) that baby slips out into the street to prepare manic visions that appear to stem from for his family’s nocturnal escape from the sleeplessness, drinking, and even filmmak- In Harmony HHH city, he meets a fate that will subsequently ing itself. Ismael’s Ghosts is a fragmented Icarus, 90 min., in French w/ be kept secret from his wife (Diamand Bou and sometimes confusing film, but it is English subtitles, not rated, Abboud), who in turn will experience her also an impassioned drama about power- DVD: $26.99 own hell before the day is through. Van ful emotions—a raw, funny, angry, and Loosely based on the Leeuw puts the viewer through some tough loving tale with rich, complex characters life of equestrian stunt- watching, but the real tragedy of In Syria and relationships, as well as an interesting man Bernard Sachsé, De- is that this is just another day of trying to perspective on storytelling as both artistic nis Dercourt’s film stars survive for these characters. Recommended. endeavor and personal psychological work. Albert Dupontel as Marc (T. Keogh) Likely to appeal to fans of challenging and

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 24 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 Elena Ferrante on Film

Newly restored in HD and available for the first time in North America, a collection of the only two films adapted from the novels of ELENA FERRANTE, the pseudonymous bestselling author of the highly-acclaimed Neapolitan Series.

“One of the greatest novelists of our time.” –The New York Times “Storytelling both visceral and compelling.” –The Economist

Ferrante’s MY BRILLIANT FRIEND has sold over 7 million copies worldwide and has been adapted into a new mini-series, premiering on HBO this November!

“Both [The Days of Abandonment and Troubling Love] are tour de forces, and harrowing tours of a feminine psyche under siege.” –The Seattle Times

THE DAYS OF ABANDONMENT Official Selection, – Golden Lion Nominee Olga’s life is shattered when her husband casually announces his intention to leave her, prompting her to descend into a period of depression and self-destructive behavior.

TROUBLING LOVE Official Selection, – Palme d’Or Nominee What happened to Amalia and who was with her the night she died? Her daughter Delia travels home to Naples to piece together the answers and confront her childhood memories. BONUS FEATURES: Elena and the Books , Cast & Crew Interviews ALSO INCLUDES: 32-page booklet containing Elena Ferrante’s letters and script notes about the films (excerpted from Frantumaglia: A Writer’s Journey, published by Europa Editions, 2016) plus a new introduction by author and professor Giancarlo Lombardi

ELENA FERRANTE ON FILM (Available 10/2) Literary Adaptation, Italian, Drama, Women’s Studies DVD only: $34.95 / PPR: $200 DRL: $499 / PPR + DRL: $599 UPC: 859686006864 *ALSO AVAILABLE ON BLU-RAY™

INDIVIDUAL TITLES AND SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE WITH PPR AND DRL. TO SUBSCRIBE OR LEARN MORE, contact Maxwell Wolkin [email protected] • 212.941.7744 x211 • filmmovement.com/libraries Award-Winning Cinema Since 2002

FMad3_SeptOct_VidLIBr.indd 1 8/8/18 5:42 PM playful foreign films, this is recommended. but also to hold its ground as long as possible, and has conversations with ordinary folk at (S. Axmaker) without hope of reinforcement. Sherriff’s the various stops, while adding to the mix play had obvious relevance in its day, but observations about the King and recent John From HH1/2 its portrayal of how ordinary soldiers can American history from a host of celebrities Altered Innocence, 99 min., in be treated as expendable in the pursuit of and commentators including Alec Baldwin, Portuguese w/English subtitles, national policy remains pointedly topical James Carville, Ethan Hawke, Van Jones, Dan not rated, DVD: $21.99, Blu- in our age of global conflict, and Dibb has Rather, Mike Myers, Chuck D, Greil Marcus, ray: $24.99 given us a remarkably faithful adaptation, and David Simon. The conclusion he draws Although this Portuguese aided by a uniformly excellent cast. Highly is that Elvis’s rise and fall mirrors the arc of indie feature gets some recommended. (F. Swietek) the American Dream. Whether viewers will good performances out of be swayed by that argument is debatable, but its young cast, it is ultimately a bit of a som- Keep the Change HHH The King has something to appeal to every- nambulant affair that doesn’t quite succeed Kino Lorber, 93 min., not rated, one, be it the biographical material, musical as the coming-of-age comedy it is clearly DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $34.99 performances, reverential recollections, or supposed to be in its portrait of adolescent In Keep the Change, the sociopolitical analysis. Recommended. teenage escape from modern suburban ba- main characters are autistic (F. Swietek) nality. John From centers on Rita (Julia Palha) adults with learning dis- and Sara (Clara Riedenstein), two teens bored abilities, played by non- Lean on Pete HHH1/2 out of their in the bleak, nondescript professional who are Lionsgate, 122 min., R, DVD: outskirts of Lisbon, who struggle to find autistic, but writer-director Rachel Israel never $19.98, Blu-ray: $21.99 creative ways to make life interesting, which hypes or exploits the casting decision in this Andrew Haigh’s film at first means attending a lot of predictable pleasant . David (Brandon about a boy and the horse teeny-bopper parties. But when Rita, trolling Polansky) is the grown son of a wealthy he bonds with during a dif- the Internet one night, stumbles upon an ex- Manhattan couple who control his life and ficult time is by no means hibition on Melanesian natives, she seems to fret for his future. After telling an off-color Disney-like. Lean on Pete is undergo a complete transformation, finding joke (something he tends to do without an over-the-hill race horse that 15-year old solace in a primitivist paradise of the mind, considering consequences) to a police officer, Charley (Charlie Plummer) cares for after which shields her from everyday quotidian David is ordered by a judge to attend a Jewish being hired by gruff owner Del (Steve Busce- existence. Director João Nicolau can’t seem community center offering group support for mi) at a small track in Portland, OR. A lonely to get the film’s tonalities right: the comedic people who are autistic. Resistant to partic- lad just arrived in town with his loving but aspirations are too underconfident to make ipating, a standoff-ish David is assigned to irresponsible father (), Charley for a full-blown teen comedy, but there aren’t partner with Sarah (Samantha Elisofon) on an develops an emotional attachment to the an- enough compelling emotional and personal assignment to visit the Brooklyn . Sarah imal despite being warned by a jockey (Chloe conflicts here to make this work as a drama is like an adorable freight train of positivity Sevigny) to keep his distance. When his father either. Still, Nicolau’s heart is in the right and sincerity, but she is also painfully anxious dies unexpectedly and Del decides to sell Pete place in this uneven film. A strong optional and vulnerable. Eventually, the two become a for slaughter, Charley impulsively takes off purchase. (M. Sandlin) couple, to the dismay of other group members with the horse on a trek to Wyoming to find and David’s parents. Generally speaking, the his aunt, who he vaguely remembers as the Journey’s End HHH1/2 typical rom-com arc of love/breakup/makeup only person who showed him kindness when Cinedigm, 108 min., R, DVD: is at play here, but Israel and actors Polansky he was a kid. The trip is depressing, albeit pi- $14.99, Blu-ray: $19.95 and Elisofon are subtle and effective at de- caresque: desperately short of money, Charley R.C. Sherriff’s 1928 play picting what warts-and-all mutual acceptance at one point is threatened with jail when he about British soldiers who looks like. Recommended. (T. Keogh) tries to eat and run at a diner, and he also perished in the trenches of briefly works with a painting crew, only to World War I was first filmed The King HHH have his earnings stolen by an unscrupulous in 1930. Filmmaker Saul Oscilloscope, 107 min., R, druggie (Steve Zahn)—prompting the boy Dibb’s new adaptation demonstrates that it is DVD: $34.99, Blu-ray: $39.99, to take uncharacteristically violent action. no mere period piece: after nearly a century, Oct. 2 Plummer delivers an excellent performance this story of men awaiting almost certain Eugene Jarecki’s cinemat- that captures every nuance of Charley’s death on the Western front continues to ic essay serves up the provoc- emotional journey in this insightful if also convey the terrible human cost of war. Set in ative notion that the life and harrowing portrait of adolescent turmoil. France in March 1918, the narrative death of can Highly recommended. (F. Swietek) is seen through the eyes of green Second Lieu- serve as a fitting metaphor for the original tenant Jimmy Raleigh (Asa Butterfield), who promise and sad decline of America. Jarecki Life of the Party HH asked to be posted to the dangerous locale in presents this argument via a road trip in a Warner, 105 min., PG-13, order to serve under Captain Denis Stanhope vintage Rolls Royce once owned by Presley, as DVD: $28.98, Blu-ray/DVD (Sam Claflin), his onetime idol at school and the director and his film crew drive through Combo: $35.99 prospective brother-in-law. Much changed by the places that marked the trajectory of the Actress/producer/co-writ- his experience in the field, Stanhope is not at singer’s life, from his birthplace in Tupelo, er Melissa McCarthy collab- all pleased to see Raleigh, who reminds him of MS, to Memphis (where he was discovered), orated with her husband/ his former life, so Raleigh instead finds solace New York (where he made his mark on TV), director Ben Falcone on from Stanhope’s kindly second-in-command and Las Vegas (where he became a staple in this flaccid, cliché-riddled mom-com, set (Paul Bettany), a mild-mannered teacher. his later years). Archival footage fills in other at (fictional) Decatur University. The story Intelligence indicates that a long-expected major points in Presley’s career, including his begins with Deanna (McCarthy) and her German assault is imminent, and the com- stint in the army and his years churning out husband, Dan (), dropping off pany has been ordered not only to undertake terrible movies in Hollywood. Jarecki invites their daughter Maddie (Molly Gordon) at her a mission across no-man’s land to confirm, a parade of musicians into the car’s back seat sorority house for her senior year. Leaving

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 26 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 the campus, Dan tells Deanna he wants a Little Pink House HH1/2 loss lying down, Kelo spearheaded a grass- divorce; he’s having an affair with a real-es- Samuel Goldwyn, 95 min., not roots effort to block the property seizures, tate agent () who has already rated, DVD: $19.99 which attracted the attention of an activist put the couple’s house on the market. David faces off against law firm personified by idealistic young After an Uber driver (Falcone) totes her Goliath in another fact- attorney Scott Bullock (Giacomo Baessato). to the home of her parents (Jacki Weaver, based tale of an ordinary The ensuing series of hearings led to the Stephen Root), stunned yet spunky Dean- person fighting powerful Supreme Court decision, in which the liberal na decides to return to college to get the interests, this time over and conservative wings of the bench ruled archeology degree she was pursuing before the issue of eminent domain. Courtney in an unexpected way. While Balaker’s film she dropped out during her senior year for Moorehead Balaker’s film dramatizes the has its heart in the right place, it also fails to marriage and motherhood. While Maddie’s events surrounding a legal case that ended rise much beyond issue-oriented movie-of- understandably a bit dismayed, her sorority in a controversial 5-4 U.S. Supreme Court the-week quality—raising an important legal sisters adore clueless-but-kind Deanna. One decision in 2005. In 1997, Susette Kelo issue, but in a highly formulaic fashion. Still, is called Coma Girl (Gillian Jacobs) because (Catherine Keener), a divorced paramedic in this should be considered a strong optional she was hospitalized for eight years, and economically-distressed New London, CT, purchase. (F. Swietek) Deanna’s BFF (Maya Rudolph) swills wine purchased a rundown house with a lovely coolers on the racquetball court. Naturally, waterfront view and fixed it up, painting it a Love After Love HH1/2 there are a couple of mocking Mean Girls bright shade of pink. She also made friends MPI, 93 min., not rated, DVD: (Debby Ryan, Yani Simone), as well as with the locals, including a romance with a $24.99 Deanna’s mysteriously agoraphobic, goth-y handsome handyman (Callum Keith Rennie). With its soft-edged 16mm roommate (Heidi Gardner), but what’s most But her newfound paradise was jeopardized cinematography and spare surprising is Deanna’s hot-to-trot romance when politicians initiated an urban renewal piano score, Russell Har- with a sweet, wine-loving frat boy named project to make the waterfront an attractive baugh’s directorial debut Jack (Luke Benward), which leads to an acquisition for a big company, entrusting looks like (and feels like) a unexpectedly outrageous twist. McCarthy its execution to Charlotte Wells (Jeanne low-budget studio film from the 1970s.Love has made other films with Falcone Tammy( , Tripplehorn). The initial step would use the After Love serves up an elliptical tale about an The Boss), but her brassy, bawdy comedy has legal option of eminent domain—the right upstate New York family grappling with love been far more effective under the guidance of a government or its agent to expropriate and loss. Suzanne (Andie MacDowell) works of someone experienced, such as Paul Feig private property for public use, with payment in a college theater department, while her (Bridesmaids, Spy, The Heat, Ghostbusters). of compensation—to clear the area of private son, Nicholas (Chris O’Dowd), is employed Optional. (S. Granger) homes, including Kelo’s. Refusing to take the at a publishing house. Nicholas is in a rocky

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SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 27 VIDEO LIBRARIAN relationship with his co-worker, Rebecca worked a little better on a Oh Lucy! HHH (Juliet Rylance), while Suzanne is caring for slow simmer instead of a Film Movement, 96 min., in a husband dying from an undisclosed illness full boil, Moss is an over- English & Japanese w/English (possibly ALS). Nick’s brother, Chris (James wrought, noisy film set in subtitles, not rated, DVD: Adomian), a standup comedian with a drink- the wilds of North Carolina, $24.95, Blu-ray: $34.95 ing problem, describes his sibling as “the good where the title character “Lucy” is the American one,” but they all have their faults. Harbaugh (Mitchell Slaggert) has just name adopted by Setsuko eschews narrative transitions, which initially turned 18 and is feeling an (Shinobu Terajima), a mid- proves disorienting—for instance, he doesn’t urgent need to break away dle-aged office worker in mired in a depict Nick’s breakup with Rebecca; shortly from the isolation of the home he shares dispiriting job, when she agrees to take over after his father’s funeral, Nick simply shows with his widower father (Billy Ray Suggs). English lessons from her free-spirited niece up with Emilie (Dree Hemingway), a wom- The two seem to be in perpetual conflict, Mika (Shioli Kutsuna). Lucy/Setsuko falls for an he was having an affair with. As Nick driven in part by a tragic legacy: the death her handsome teacher John (Josh Hartnett), and Emelie make wedding plans, Suzanne of Moss’s mother during his birth. Moss sees who conducts unconventional lessons out of attempts to move on. She works, redecorates, his father as a broken, compromised man, a tawdry room in a seedy love hotel. When and readjusts to life as a single woman. Har- weak and reduced to making a living selling John runs off with Mika to California, Set- baugh has an adept touch with actors, but the driftwood sculptures he carves. On this suko follows, accompanied by her estranged, the film’s lack of humor eventually becomes milestone birthday, Moss rebels against his sharp-tongued sister, where she discovers that a liability: this is a dour bunch of well- father’s order to deliver medicine to Moss’s John is actually a deadbeat dad on the verge of heeled folks. And it’s not that their problems grandmother, opting instead to row a boat being evicted from his cheap apartment. The aren’t real, but that they waste an inordinate along a river, where he discovers a mysterious, film opens with a subway suicide witnessed amount of time expressing disappointment beautiful, 30-year-old woman named Mary firsthand by Setsuko, who is so miserable she in and disapproval of each other. Still, this (Christine Marzano) camping alone and on barely flinches, a scene that sets the tone for should be considered a strong optional pur- some unspecified journey of her own. At this this film about one woman whose impossible chase. (K. Fennessy) point, the fairy-tale tropes underlying this crush on a younger man inspires her to im- rite-of-passage story—the trip to grandma’s pulsively leave her oppressive life to reach out The Mimic HH1/2 house; Moss’s timely, Oedipal encounter with for a fantasy that can never be. Making her Well Go USA, 100 min., in Mary—become both obvious and preposter- feature debut, filmmaker Atsuko Hirayanagi Korean w/English subtitles, not ous. Optional. (T. Keogh) has her repressed and lonely heroine open up rated, Blu-ray: $29.99 to new experiences and celebrates her courage This South Korean ghost No Dress Code Required as she gains confidence and redefines who story from filmmaker Huh HHH she is, for better and for worse. Kôji Yakusho Jung draws its premise from Strand, 92 min., in Spanish w/ costars as a widower in the English class and a Korean myth about a tiger English subtitles, not rated, Megan Mullally and Reiko Aylesworth have that mimics human voices to lure its victims DVD: $24.99 small roles in the American scenes. A film into the forest, but the film definitely goes its What does it look like about small triumphs that should appeal own way from there. Hee-yeon (Yum Jung- when one state refuses to to fans of offbeat character studies, this is ah), still grieving over the unsolved disap- abide by a Supreme Court recommended. (S. Axmaker) pearance of her son, moves from the city to ruling? The alternately charming and her rural childhood home with her husband shocking documentary No Dress Code Re- On Chesil Beach and daughter to care for her ailing mother. quired chronicles the legal havoc generated HHH1/2 Nearby, an old bricked-up cave has been by the real-life story of a same-sex couple Universal, 111 min., R, DVD: disturbed, releasing a scared and apparently in Baja California (which is a state in Mex- $22.99, Blu-ray: $29.99 abused little girl and an ancient evil spirit, ico). Victor and Fernando, who have been A honeymoon goes which may be after the girl or using her to get together for a decade and are partners in a dreadfully wrong in film- to others. When Hee-yeon takes the girl in, salon that caters to a number of about- maker Dominic Cooper’s a demonic shaman enters the family’s lives. to-be brides, want to get married. Mexico’s adaptation of Ian McEwan’s There are some interesting dimensions to The Supreme Court ruled in favor of same-sex 2007 novella, which tells the elegant, heart- Mimic, which features a number of familiar marriage some time ago, so the hugely like- breaking tale of a love affair that blossoms South movie conventions able in this tale don’t expect a during a time of sexual repression—the early (from the creepy little girl who appears to be problem. But Baja—and the city of Mexicali, 1960s in Britain—and collapses in recrimina- taking the place of the couple’s daughter, to where Victor and Fernando live—refuses to tion after the wedding. The newlyweds are animals sensing supernatural evil), but the allow the ceremony on religious grounds. Florence (Saoirse Ronan) and Edward (Billy film also takes a while to get past the set-up While the men could travel to Mexico City Howle), university students from very differ- and exposition before ultimately paying off to be wed, they choose to stand their ground ent backgrounds. Her family is upper middle with an impressive third act. The director on home turf, enlisting a pair of crusad- class, sophisticated, and urban, while he has favors atmosphere and eeriness over scares ing attorneys who are determined to end had a troubled rural upbringing—his mother and spectacle, and the lost little girl becomes a discrimination against gay marriage. The (Anne-Marie Duff) suffers from brain damage more complex figure than she at first appears. result is an agonizingly protracted conflict caused by a long-ago accident. Nevertheless, While it isn’t particularly inventive or , with Baja and Mexicali authorities, who the two awkward youngsters become friends, this is still a satisfying Asian with keep throwing absurd hurdles in the path and the friendship grows into romance—al- a creepy sense of dread. A strong optional of Victor and Fernando (at one point even beit restrained and decorous, governed by the purchase. (S. Axmaker) accusing the pair of dementia). Filmmaker rules of the day. Both are sexually inexperi- Cristina Herrera Borquez balances the legal enced, Florence more so than Edward; she is Moss HH battle with a warm portrait of her subjects, a virgin, and her fear of disappointing him is Breaking Glass, 81 min., not rated, DVD: $24.99 whose dignity and patience through the long profound. Both are nervous in their honey- A well-intended drama that might have slog is admirable. Recommended. (T. Keogh) moon suite at a shabbily genteel hotel on the

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 28 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 coast, and when they finally embrace in bed, for their own nefarious ends. Complicating rudely refuses to pay the bill. disaster strikes. A long, difficult conversation the mission is an illegal shipment of nuclear Later that night, after she follows on the beach that proves to be even material that the terrorists are pursuing and a falls overboard and develops more catastrophic. All of this plays out with sandstorm that whips up during a tank battle. amnesia, Russell claims that a degree of painful precision that is often The characters are largely interchangeable— she’s his wife and the moth- cringe-inducing but also deeply moving. given rudimentary personalities and hard to er of his four boys. Now, in a On Chesil Beach will strike some as almost differentiate in the heat of battle under the gender flip, Latin American incomprehensibly reserved, but as a portrait matching uniforms and haircuts—but they superstar Eugenio Derbez is of a reality in the not-so-distant past, it is are secondary to the impressive set pieces by Leonardo Montenegro, a billionaire Mexican exquisite. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek) action movie veteran Lam. You could substi- playboy whose über-yacht is docked in Elk tute the American military without changing Cove, OR. When Kate Sullivan (), On the Beach at Night a thing (here, the Chinese are the enemies a single mom working several jobs while of the Islamic revolution), from the armed studying for a nursing degree, is dispatched Alone HH1/2 Cinema Guild, 101 min., in terrorists behind every window as the convoy to steam-clean his carpet, an unpleasant Korean w/English subtitles, not rolls through the city, to the crack Chinese confrontation ensues. When Leonardo falls rated, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: sniper taking on his terrorist counterpart. into the water, hits his head, and develops $34.99 The violent action is almost non-stop, with amnesia, Kate’s boss () encour- The films of South Kore- an unending supply of soldiers, supplies, and ages her to get revenge by pretending that an filmmaker Hong Sang- complications, all furiously edited. Likely to Leonardo is her husband and the father of soo have a minimalist quality and a wry appeal to fans of military action spectacle, her three daughters. Which is not difficult emotional candor, often exploring the this is recommended. (S. Axmaker) since Leonardo’s greedy sister Magdalena complicated and mysterious relationships (Cecilia Suárez), who hopes to gain control of between men and women in conversations The Outsider HHH the family business, concocts a story that her over food and drink. On the Beach at Night Icarus, 117 min., in French w/ brother was devoured by sharks. Kate brings Alone, one of three films released by Hong English subtitles, not rated, Leonardo home to help around the house and in 2017, is titled after a poem by Walt Whit- DVD: $26.99 work as a day laborer in construction. And, man, but the inspiration comes from real Filmmaker Christophe of course, once cast in the role of an ordinary life: the public scandal of an affair between Barratier’s spellbinding man, Leonardo evolves emotionally and director Hong, a married man, and actress drama centers on the rise connects with Kate’s kids. About a third of sit- Kim Min-hee, who here stars as Young-hee, and ruin of Jérôme Ker- com-writer-turned director Rob Greenberg’s an aimless actress nursing her wounds from viel (Arthur Dupont), the remake is in Spanish with Hispanic pop cul- her recent breakup with a married filmmaker. French financial trader who was convicted ture references that may resonate with Latino The film feels somewhat aimless, beginning of generating 4.9 billion euros in losses for audiences. Unfortunately, unlike Russell and in Hamburg, Germany, where Young visits Société Générale in 2008. Based on Kerviel’s Hawn, there is no chemistry between Derbez a recently-divorced friend, and then return- 2010 autobiography L’engrenage, the film and Faris, which ultimately leaves viewers ing to South Korea, where Young runs into is heavily skewered towards making him a over-bored. Optional. (S. Granger) old friends in the seaside vacation town of sympathetic figure rather than a rogue trader. Gangneung. Much alcohol is consumed and Here, Kerviel is a mild-mannered young man Pickings HH1/2 the actress does indeed find herself on the from a working-class family in Brittany who Dark Passage, 102 min., R, beach alone at times. But without context the quickly adapts to the wild and seemingly DVD: $16.99, Blu-ray: $25.99 movie can seem a little abstract and compared reckless world of Société Générale’s Style triumphs over sub- to Hong’s previous efforts this has less humor headquarters, where financial transactions stance in Usher Morgan’s and narrative playfulness. But it’s also more were handled with a sense of recklessness weird combination of neo- raw and emotional than his earlier films, and daring. Outside of trading, the male noir thriller and spaghet- especially in the confrontational finale. A staff behave like overaged frat boys. Kerviel ti Western. Morgan, who strong optional purchase. (S. Axmaker) quickly learns from his sketchy superiors how wrote, produced, directed, and edited the to conceal trades, but his trading eventually movie, here demonstrates that he has mas- Operation Red Sea spins dangerously out of control and he tered every flamboyant trick of the trade: HHH winds up creating covert market positions indulging in peculiar camera angles, occa- Well Go USA, 139 min., in that reach approximately 50 billion euros. sionally inserting animated sequences, and Mandarin w/English subtitles, As Kerviel, Dupont turns on the charisma even keeping one figure in black-and-white not rated, DVD: $24.99, Blu- full-blast and the screenplay gives him a to contrast with the lurid surrounding ray/DVD Combo: $29.99 love interest with a pretty co-worker (Sabrina color scheme. Morgan also shifts back and Inspired by the real-life Ouazani), although viewers are unlikely to be forth chronologically to tell a fairly simple 2015 evacuation of Chinese convinced that Kerviel was a victim. But The tale about a woman who, after witnessing citizens and foreign nationals by the PLA Outsider is entertaining, while also serving her husband’s murder, leaves her southern Navy Marine Corps from , Dante up an effective warning on the dangers of hometown to run a bar in Michigan, only Lam’s 2017 military action thriller became unregulated financial service practices. Rec- to be confronted by a local gang threatening one of the highest-grossing Chinese films ommended. (P. Hall) her business—and her family. Enraged at the of all time. Shifting the story to a fictional thought of having her world upended a sec- North African country where rebels join Overboard HH ond time, she decides to respond to violence forces with radical Islamic terrorists, this Lionsgate, 112 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray/ with violence. Nothing in Pickings—which is film follows a formula right out of American DVD Combo: $39.99 the name of the bar—is subtle. The lead per- military spectacles, with an elite unit headed In the original 1987 , formances—from Elyse Price as matriarch Jo up by Captain Yang () sent into the Goldie Hawn played a snobbish, spoiled heir- Lee-Haywood, Katie Vincent as her daughter middle of the fighting to deal with terrorists ess who hires carpenter/widower Kurt Russell Scarlet, and Joel Bernard as “Uncle Boone,” a who are determined to take foreign hostages to remodel a closet on her yacht—and then -style gunslinger—are wildly

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 30 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 over-the-top, as are those of the large sup- quotes from her right-wing critics), this doc- the reins on an imaginary horseback ride. porting cast, often to embarrassing effect. umentary profile illuminates why RBG is Horses are and have been Brady’s life; to risk The narrative is punctuated by snippets of one of our best and brightest legal eagles. another head injury could be fatal, but that’s down-home songs from the bar’s guitarist, When Ginsburg entered Cornell University, all Brady knows. The actors are all non-pro- while a background score composed by Vin- there were four men for every woman under- fessional, portraying fictionalized versions of cent in the style of is ladled graduate. There she met her future husband, themselves in this fine . Highly gleefully over the action. Pickings is far from Marty, who became a New York tax lawyer recommended. (S. Granger) a good movie, but the strange mash-up of and was her staunchest supporter until he , pointlessly extravagant technique, died, in 2010. At Harvard Law School in the Satellite Girl and Milk and numerous nods to Leone, Tarantino, and mid-1950s, Ginsburg was one of nine women Cow HHH the Coen brothers make it a fascinating odd- in a class of more than 500 men (at a dinner Shout! Factory, 81 min., not ity. A strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek) for the first-year women, the dean asked each rated, DVD: $16.99, Blu-ray/ why she was taking a seat that could be occu- DVD Combo: $22.99 Play the Devil HH1/2 pied by a man). When RBG argued her first A whimsical romantic Breaking Glass, 89 min., not case at the Supreme Court—1973’s Frontiero fantasy, this South Kore- rated, DVD: $24.99 v. Richardson—she addressed men who did an animated feature is as A Jamaican teen named not acknowledge or even understand gen- strange as the title suggests. There is indeed (Petrice Jones) is der-based discrimination. In 1980, President a satellite that crashes to Earth and is trans- caught in a web of familial Jimmy Carter put her on the federal bench, formed into a girl with rocket feet, a mis- expectations driven by the and President Bill Clinton appointed her as sile-shooting arm, and a dying battery that failures of his addict father the 107th Supreme Court Justice in 1993. requires constant recharging. And there is a and hot-tempered, ne’er-do-well brother. Directors Betsy West and Julie Cohen intercut walking, talking Holstein milk cow that was Gregory’s loving grandmother, the family archival material with informative interviews a musician who was changed into a bovine matriarch, counts on her grandson to amount and public appearances. A two-time cancer after being dumped by his girlfriend. There to something with a scholarship to medical survivor, RBG forged a firm friendship with is also a roll of toilet paper that is the reincar- school. When he has a one-night stand with her right-wing foil, the late Antonin Scalia, nation of the ancient wizard Merlin, a giant a girl, his grandmother treats it as a major and she laughed at Kate McKinnon’s parody ambulatory Franklin stove incinerating the betrayal of a scripted, straight-and-narrow on TV’s . An engaging and broken-hearted, and a black-market organ destiny. But despite Gregory’s resignation informative overview of the life and career thief using magic to hunt the sudden spate of to a planned existence, he harbors secret of this notable Supreme Court justice, this is human cows for their livers. Don’t expect any wishes of his own, especially a desire to take recommended. (S. Granger) explanation for any of this while an unlikely photographs. When his spirited performance love story plays out, as the curious satellite in a pagan-like rite during Carnival draws The Rider HHH1/2 is smitten by the love songs of the morose, the attention of the predatory, wealthy busi- Sony, 103 min., R, DVD: moping cow. This feature debut by Chang nessman James (Gareth Jenkins), Gregory $25.99 Hyung-yun is full of creative detail and goofy finds himself receiving the sort of generous, Chinese-born writer-di- humor, and while the lacks the benevolent attention he craves from a father rector Chloé Zhao obvious- visual sophistication of Japan’s figure. But when it becomes clear that James ly feels a deep affinity for (let alone the big-budget American CGI spec- is interested in a sexual conquest, Gregory America’s heartland, intro- tacles from Pixar), it is a charming and fun is simultaneously repulsed and drawn to ducing intriguing, offbeat film. Recommended. (S. Axmaker) unanticipated possibilities. Up to this point, Native American characters in this evocative, Play the Devil serves up an interesting dance empathetic, elegiac, contemporary Western HH1/2 of sexual ambivalence set against powerful set on the desolate, poverty-stricken Pine Sony, 99 min., PG-13, DVD: family pressures. But once Gregory becomes Ridge Indian Reservation in South Dakota. $25.99, Sept. 25 hostile to James’s attentions, the film loses The Rider tells the melancholy story of Sioux Tony Award-winning steam and heads toward a predictable ending. cowboy Brady Jandreau—playing a version theater director Michael Still, if filmmaker Maria Govan falls short on of himself as Brady Blackburn. After a near- Mayer’s adaptation of An- sustained drama, she’s very good at capturing death rodeo injury leaves him with a metal ton Chekhov’s classic 1896 the textures of given moments, from the plate in his head, neurological seizures in his play focuses on the summer ways male friends communicate to the mad hand, and under a doctor’s order never to residents of an idyllic lakeside estate located pitch of Carnival festivities. A strong optional ride again, stoic Brady must decide what to about 50 miles from Moscow. Annette Bening purchase. (T. Keogh) do with his life, being deprived not only of dazzles as aging Irina Arkadina, a narcissistic his one true passion but also of the family’s diva who arrives at the country dacha of her RBG HHH primary source of income. Living in a rented elderly, ailing brother Sorin (Brian Denne- Magnolia, 98 min., PG, DVD: , Brady’s taciturn, alcoholic/gambler hy), bringing along celebrated short-story $26.99, Blu-ray: $29.99 dad Wayne (Tim Jandreau) has no money, and writer Boris Trigorin (Corey Stoll), who loves Gloria Steinem calls her his ebullient little sister Lilly (Lilly Jandreau) fishing. Meanwhile, hapless schoolteacher “the closest thing to a super- suffers from a birth defect which has limited Medvedenko (Michael Zegen) pursues the hero that I know,” suggest- her intellectual capabilities. Brady’s mom estate manager’s daughter Masha (Elisabeth ing why diminutive Ruth died of cancer years earlier. Adding to Brady’s Moss), an aspiring actress who is in love with Bader Ginsburg has become dilemma, his best friend Lane (Lane Scott) the penniless young playwright Konstantin an icon. As the second woman appointed to is institutionalized with severe disabilities Treplyov (Billy Howle), who desires manip- the U.S. Supreme Court—after Sandra Day from his own rodeo injuries (the pair watch ulative Nina Zarechnaya (Saoirse Ronan), a O’Connor—Justice Ginsburg has become an rodeo together for hours). Determined teenage neighbor who fancies Trigorin, with unlikely trendsetter. With rapper Dessa’s “The to help Lane, who is unable to speak, Brady the latter ostensibly sleeping with Treplyov’s Bullpen” playing over glimpses of Ginsburg devises a physical therapy exercise, hoisting elitist mother. Got that? Plus, there’s Masha’s exercising (accompanied by disparaging his buddy onto a saddle, so he can hold onto mother, Paulina Andreyvna (Mare Winning-

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 31 VIDEO LIBRARIAN ham), and Dr. Dorn (Jon Tenney), who serves Reeves stars as Lucas Hill, who arrives in St. classic. It had to be the music, but how could as a compassionate observer. Not surprisingly, Petersburg to complete a deal to sell rare blue he improve on the funky Curtis Mayfield a melancholy mood reigns supreme, while diamonds to Russian mobster Boris (Pasha soundtrack that served as a kind of Greek much vodka is consumed (plus there’s a D. Lychnikoff). Unfortunately, his partner— chorus? According to Canadian-born Di- failed suicide attempt and a seagull crashes who is supposed to have the stones—has rector X, he was inspired by hip-hop star to earth). The film re-arranges some pivotal disappeared, forcing Hill to travel to Siberia Future, one of the originators of the Chekhov dialogue, diluting and distracting to try to retrieve them. Here he runs afoul sound, who enlists help from Miguel, Kha- from some of the narrative’s comedic impact, of some loutish locals, only to be rescued by lid, and Lil Wayne. Moving the setting from while upping the pace and increasing the ten- Katya (Ana Ularu), a bartender who quickly Harlem to Atlanta, the action-crime-thriller sion. Esteemed director didn’t falls into bed with Hill. But there is still that revolves around Youngblood Priest (Trevor fare as well with his 1968 screen version, unfinished business with Boris, so a fearful Jackson), a savvy coke dealer with a neck starring , James Mason, and Hill enlists the help of a big-time South tattoo and pompadour, who wants out of . But this new adaptation African dealer interested in acquiring the supplying drugs, noting “no car can outrun is also flawed, although the performances diamonds himself. And to add a bit of con- fate.” Priest’s ruthless rivals, known as the are superb. A strong optional purchase. fusion, there is an intervention by corrupt Snow Patrol, are headed by Q (Big Bank (S. Granger) Russian government agents. Siberia rouses Black), whose sociopathic protégé Juju itself for a climactic gun battle in the snow, (Kaalan “K.R.” Walker) tries to gun him Sheikh Jackson HHH but for most of its running-time the film is down. Priest has two live-in girlfriends: MVD, 93 min., in Arabic w/ a murky, tedious trek through uninteresting sophisticated Georgia (Lex Scott Davis) and English subtitles, not rated, territory with the perpetually morose Reeves younger Cynthia (Andrea Londo). Chasing DVD: $14.99 as an uncharismatic travelling companion. one “last score” so he can retire, Priest An oddball winner, Not recommended. (F. Swietek) turns to his mentor, martial-artist Scatter Sheikh Jackson was Egypt’s (Michael Kenneth Williams), but when that official entry in this year’s Summer 1993 HHH doesn’t work, Priest and his hard-working ’ foreign Oscilloscope, 96 min., in partner (Jason Mitchell) drive across the film category. Set in 2009, filmmaker Amr Catalan w/English subtitles, border to connect with a Mexican drug Salama’s eccentric gem centers on a joyless, not rated, DVD: $34.99, Blu- cartel manager (Esai Morales). In a subplot, strict Muslim cleric named Sheikh Khaled ray: $39.99, Sept. 18 Priest is also being exploited by a couple Hani (Ahmad El-Fishawi), who sleeps under So often the first reflex of corrupt police officers (Brian F. Durkin, his bed (as a reminder that death can happen, with a child who has en- ), leading to a satirical at any time) and condemns the Beyonce dured a major loss is to sting effort involving Outkast rapper/ videos his young daughter watches, but has a shield him or her from pain. That’s more or as Atlanta’s mayor, who reckoning after the news of Michael Jackson’s less what happens to 6-year-old Frida (Laia is running for re-election. Along with the death. It seems that years before Hani turned Artigas), whose father died and mother is obvious objectification of women,Superfly into a pillar of conservative religious values dying in a hospital that Frida is kept away serves up a superficial, formulaic gangsta (he demands that his wife be fully covered from. Frida is full of unanswered questions story. Optional. (S. Granger) when she’s outside), he found personal liber- that she isn’t ready to identify let alone seek ation in the 1980s as a major fan of Jackson’s, clarity about. Frida is sent from her Barce- A Taste of Phobia H even wearing his hair and dressing like the lona home to live with an aunt, uncle, and Artsploitation, 90 min., not late King of Pop. Hani’s Jackson obsession young cousin on a huge plot of land—with rated, DVD: $19.99 during adolescence also drew him to a girl thick and beautiful-if-spooky woods—in Most anthology movies who still haunts him decades later, and it the Spanish countryside. Here, Frida very are hit-and-miss affairs, but spurred the cruelty of his father after Hani’s slowly picks up hints about the cause of this horror compilation is mother died. Jackson’s death brings to the her mom’s death. Disoriented and fearing composed entirely of miss- fore several unresolved experiences of pain further abandonment, Frida sometimes acts es, 14 micro-budgeted shorts and loss, after which Hani begins to ease out in impulsive, angry ways, although she that offer few genuine scares, although some up on his tightly-wound demeanor and lose is not nearly as sociopathic as her aunt (Bru- are certain to cause a measure of disgust. The some certainty in doctrinal faith. A female na Cusí) believes her to be. Writer-director linking device here is that each short reflects therapist (who refuses to wear a scarf) enters Carla Simón is a gifted storyteller who is able a particular phobia—some commonplace, the picture, but the most interesting evidence to convey a lot even in such prosaic scenes such as mysophobia (a fear of germs), and of Hani’s crisis is in a dream that recreates one as washing a dress, climbing trees, and in- others more unusual, like parthenophobia (a of Jackson’s iconic music videos. The tonal dulging in a popsicle treat (with one in each fear of virgins). One (“Nyctophobia,” fear of mix here can be uneven (intense drama, hand). Sometimes families break apart and the night) comes from Nigeria, but the rest extreme goofiness), but this is ultimately an new, stronger configurations arise, and that are Italian (six), British (four), or American engaging character study. Recommended. is the evolutionary process deftly charted in (three). Regardless of country of origin, the (T. Keogh) this fine semi-autobiographical film. Recom- common element here is mediocrity: in many mended. (T. Keogh) cases the narrative is crushingly obvious (a Siberia H1/2 man with a bad cold who fears taking med- Lionsgate, 104 min., R, DVD: SuperflyHH icine is poisoned when he finally chugs the $19.98, Blu-ray: $21.99, Sept. Sony, 116 min., R, DVD: cough syrup), and hyperkinetic editing and 18 $30.99, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: jagged camera angles are overused in a desper- The career revival that $34.99, Sept. 11 ate attempt to generate chills. Some segments kickstarted One has to wonder why are marginally better than others, but the with the John Wick movies music-video auteur Direc- worst is certainly Jason Impey’s “Copropho- comes to an abrupt halt tor X—aka Julien Christian bia” (fear of feces), in which a man wrestles in director Matthew Ross’s dreary tale of Lutz—decided to remake with a combative lump of excrement for a chicanery set in the Russian diamond trade. Gordon Parks Jr.’s gritty 1972 few minutes. Not recommended. (F. Swietek)

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 32 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 AVAILABLE AT FINE DISTRIBUTORS EVERYWHERE

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An army veteran returns home to the Ozarks and finds Deep in the forest, a Christian community is having an abandoned young boy in the woods. As she a crisis of faith after a series of unsettling events. searches for clues to his identity, she discovers the When a stumbles onto their land, he local folklore about a malevolent, life-draining spirit is welcomed and nursed back to health...slowly his that comes in the form of a child; the Tatterdemalion. motives are revealed. From the director of The Brass Teapot. WORLD PREMIERE Starring (The Hunger Games, “True Detective"), (Suicide Squad, ""), TIFF and Taylor John Smith ("Sharp Objects") TORONTO INTERNATIONAL FILM FESTIVAL "A HAUNTING EXAMINATION OF FOLKLORE AND ISOLATION" "RIVETING. AS BEWITCHING AS IT IS MYSTERIOUS..." - MOVEABLE FEST - MIDWEST FILM JOURNAL

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In an effort to capture amateur video of outer space, A deadly pathogen is unknowingly carried to Dana’s two young brothers unexpectedly find themselves 30th birthday party, where her estranged father is in harm's way when a science experiment becomes coming to make amends. Soon, the get together a day filled with unearthly events that threaten their escalates to a horrific turning point as the epidemic sleepy coastal town. spreads, consuming everything in its path.

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(French) Invited to present his first feature film in (Italian) In this merry movie of matrimony, happily Normandy, a young director has no idea this film tour engaged Antonio brings his fiancé Paulo to the is about to change his life. From wild stampedes to exquisite old Italian village of his birth to meet his woeful screenings, from trawler trips to drunken headstrong parents and reveal his sexuality. He evenings, he ends up finding inspiration in this soon sets out on a quest to make a city founded on unlikely town at the end of the earth. religious tradition understand that love is love.

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FOR MORE INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT RICHARD ROSS AT [email protected] VISIT US AT BGPICS.COM Tehran Taboo HHH of the titular party game— this cliché-cluttered underdog story unevenly Kino Lorber, 94 min., in Farsi here, participants die if they directed by Charles Stone III has its heart in w/English subtitles, not rated, refuse to play or follow the the right place with messages about team- DVD: $29.99 rules—focuses on a group work and taking risks to achieve your goals Ali Soozandeh, an Irani- of California friends who go (as Uncle Drew says: “You miss 100% of the an-born filmmaker in Ger- to Mexico for spring break. shots you don’t take.”). Retired WNBA star many, uses rotoscope ani- Squeaky-clean Olivia (Lucy Lisa Leslie appears as Preacher’s irate wife. A mation (essentially painting Hale), who has been enticed strong optional purchase. (S. Granger) over live-action footage) in this film about into ditching her plans to work for Habitat for the contradictions and hypocrisies of life in Humanity by her flighty roommate Markie Upgrade HH modern urban Iran. Tehran Taboo focuses on (Violett Beane), is joined by Markie’s hand- Universal, 100 min., R, DVD: the stories of a handful of characters: Pari, a some boyfriend Lucas (Tyler Posey), and a $29.98, Blu-ray: $34.98 woman who works as a prostitute to support second couple—cynical premed Tyson (Nolan Writer-director Leigh her mute son while her husband is in prison; Gerard Funk) and his girlfriend Penelope Whannel’s Upgrade is a Sara, a professional woman in an oppressive (Sophia Ali)—as well as Brad (Hayden Szeto), grisly, gruesome, dystopian marriage and the early stages of a pregnancy a gay kid keeping his sexuality a secret from sci-fi tale that serves up a she doesn’t want; and Babek, a young musi- his macho cop dad. On their last night south low-budget revenge saga. cian who has a one-night stand with a girl of the border, they encounter thoroughly ob- One evening when automobile mechanic who claims that she was a virgin and needs noxious classmate Ronnie (Sam Lerner) and Grey Trace (Logan Marshall-Green) takes his surgery to restore her maidenhead or her a stranger named Carter (Landon Liboiron), tech-exec wife Asha (Melanie Vallejo) to visit husband-to-be will kill them both. Through who takes the group to an abandoned mission a reclusive client—billionaire inventor Eron these tales, Soozandeh paints a portrait of a church for a late-night bash and initiates (Harrison Gilbertson)—Asha’s self-driving culture in which women have no rights (Pari’s a game of Truth or Dare. And then Ronnie car goes awry, after which she is killed by a husband refuses to give her a divorce and she bolts, announcing that he has saved himself gang in a brutal attack that also leaves Grey has no legal recourse) and where officials who by foisting the cursed game on his fellow a quadriplegic. Grief-stricken and severely de- enforce Islamic law are quick to indulge in the students, who must play indefinitely for the pressed, Grey is suicidal—until Eron offers an behavior for which they punish others. While controlling demon’s pleasure—until they ei- experimental “biomechanical modification” it may sound salacious or exploitive, the ther die or pass it on to others. The film then (to be inserted into his spinal cord) known as film features nuanced characters in complex follows everyone back to the States, where STEM, an artificial intelligence entity (voiced relationships, while also taking a serious look those who a) refuse to play, b) lie instead of by Simon Maiden in a formal monotone at the lives of the poor and disenfranchised. telling the truth, or c) fail to complete a dare, that resembles HAL in 2001: A Space Odys- Recommended. (S. Axmaker) all die gruesomely. Naturally, the survivors sey). STEM enables Grey not only to regain will eventually return to Mexico to try to end control of his body but also to experience The Three-Way Wedding the curse, leading to the most frightening extraordinary physical prowess. “Do not get H1/2 development of all: a threatened sequel. Both overconfident, Grey,” STEM warns. Keeping Film Movement, 100 min., in boring and dumb, this is not recommended. his new mobility a secret from the detective French w/English subtitles, not (F. Swietek) (Betty Gabriel) investigating his case, Grey rated, DVD: $24.99 becomes a vigilante, determined to find the A silly, obnoxious cham- Uncle Drew HH1/2 hoodlums and wreak vengeance. A schlocky ber drama full of scene- Lionsgate, 103 min., PG-13, techno thriller, this is an optional purchase. chewing performances, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray/DVD (S. Granger) Jacques Doillon’s The Three-Way Wedding Combo: $39.99, Sept. 25 finds perversely narcissistic playwright Au- NBA All-Star Kyrie Irving HH1/2 gust (Pascal Greggory) at home when his ex- comes to the rescue in this Vazante Music Box, 117 min., in wife Harriet (Julie Depardieu)—a stage actress amusing senior citizen com- Portuguese w/English subtitles, who found success performing in August’s edy, a spin-off of viral Pepsi not rated, DVD: $29.99, Blu- works—comes around for discussions about ads in which the Celtics point guard ray: $34.99 a new work. Harriet is accompanied by her plays a grumpy, geriatric character. The Visually spellbinding lover Theo (), a fellow actor who set-up introduces basketball fanatic Dax but also meandering and is both excited and ambivalent about audi- (Lil Rey Howery), who has always wanted overlong, filmmaker Dan- tioning for August. With strong hints that the neighborhood team that he coaches to iela Thomas’s period piece the divorced couple had a passionately kinky win the $100,000 cash prize in Harlem’s is set in the titular area, a remote region of love life (and both still feel that compulsion), “Rucker Classic” tournament. But then his southeastern Brazil, in 1821, shortly after the the lines are quickly blurred between old and longtime rival (Nick Kroll) not only poaches country won independence from Portugal. new relationships. Adding to the confusion his streetball squad but also his materialistic Antonio (Adriano Carvalho) runs a faltering is August’s pending romance with a much girlfriend (Tiffany Haddish). Having already diamond mine acquired by marriage. His younger assistant working out of his house. spent his life savings on the registration fee, gloom intensifies when his wife dies in child- While all of this feels like the groundwork Dax convinces legendary Uncle Drew (Ir- birth (along with their newborn son), leaving for one of the rare comedies by Ingmar Berg- ving) and his septuagenarian buddies—Big him living with his senile mother-in-law, his man, Doillon makes every scene and line of Fella (Shaquille O’Neal), Preacher (Chris housekeeper and steward, and his compliant dialogue ludicrously pregnant with opaque Webber), wheelchair-bound Boots (Nate slaves, one of whom serves as his occasional meaning. Not recommended. (T. Keogh) Robinson), and legally-blind Lights (Reggie companion in bed. Antonio decides to marry Miller)—to return to the court one last time. Beatriz (Luana Nastas), the young daughter Truth or Dare H1/2 Not surprisingly, the seemingly decrepit but of his brother-in-law Bartholomeu (Roberto Universal, 100 min., PG-13, DVD: $29.98, Blu-ray/ surprisingly agile geezers outplay the “rappi- Audio), but after the wedding she takes up DVD Combo: $34.98 ty-hippity-hop” youngbloods. Produced by secretly with slave Feliciana’s (Jai Baptista) This silly movie about a possessed version ESPN in partnership with Pepsi and Nike, son Virgilio (Vinicius Dos Anjos). This nar-

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 34 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 rative thread plays rather like a Greek tragedy subtitled “Field Diary Revisited,” pointing 1890 Sioux massacre at Wounded Knee. In- transposed to the New World, but Thomas back to his 1982 nonfiction filmField Diary, spired by Eileen Pollack’s 2002 book Woman adds other strands to the tapestry: one in- which proved to be so controversial that Walking Ahead: In Search of Catherine Weldon volves a freedman named Jeremias (Fabricio Gitai was forced to leave his for and Sitting Bull, this loosely adapted historical Boliveira), who Antonio hires to turn his a decade. Like that earlier effort, this fol- directed by Susanna White land into a farm while training his slaves in low-up is essentially a road trip through the is recommended. (S. Granger) agricultural work; another centers on Lider occupied West Bank, with special emphasis (Toumani Kouyaté), a surly rebel among a on the city of Hebron, where Gitai talks to You Were Never Really group of recently-arrived African slaves, who people about current conditions and their Here HH attempts an escape; and a third deals with hopes and dreams for the future. Periodically, Lionsgate, 90 min., R, DVD: Bartholomeu fending off his wife’s demands he also inserts excerpts from talking-head $19.99, Blu-ray: $24.99 that he stand up to Antonio and take some of interviews with journalists and politicians Although Lynne Ram- the family property back. Thomas’s attempt regarding the Israeli occupation, which run say’s film is about a hit-man, to juggle all of these elements results in a the gamut of opinion—from demands that it is totally unlike the usual frustrating lack of focus in this slowly-paced it end to defenses of the current policy of hardboiled thriller. Loosely film. But she does create a compelling sense expanding settlements and building walls. adapted from the titular 2013 novella by of time and place as well as a brooding atmo- Some of the conversations are rancorous, Jonathan Ames, the story finds its protagonist sphere, delivered in stunning black-and-white while others—like one in which a Pales- caught up in a political conspiracy—which cinematography. A strong optional purchase. tinian boy cheerfully maintains his is admittedly a standard trope—but Ramsay (F. Swietek) to become a martyr in jihad against Israel gives it a defiantly idiosyncratic spin. Joe despite Gitai’s insistence that life is better (Joaquin ) is no fast-moving action The Wall HHH1/2 than death—are deeply sad. Interviews with hero but rather a lumbering, bearded bear of Dreamscape, 73 min., not a group of disillusioned Israeli veterans and a man whose preferred weapon is a hammer, rated, DVD: $24.99 with members of a support group for Israeli which he wields with grim ferocity. Joe is also Irish photojournal- and Palestinian mothers who have lost chil- a devoted son who cares—in between jobs— ist-filmmaker David Kin- dren in the conflict point toward a yearning for his elderly, infirm mother. He’s haunted by sella intended to make a for reconciliation. Gitai signals his own rueful memories—depicted in hallucinatory visual conventional documentary attitude about the possibility of progress by montages—of childhood abuse and traumatic about life in North Korea, bookending the film with excerpts from a wartime experiences, personal demons that but when the authorities insisted on con- 1994 interview with Prime Minister Yitzhak lead him to concentrate on a particular kind trolling the shoot to present a false portrait Rabin, the soldier-turned-statesman who ini- of mission: eliminating those involved in the of a socialist paradise he altered his plan, tiated the peace process and insisted it would sex trade and helping girls who have been crafting a fictionalized tale in which three not be derailed (Rabin was assassinated the seduced or kidnapped. Joe’s latest assignment Protestant Irish boys—with one, played by following year). Recommended. (F. Swietek) involves rescuing the daughter of a prominent Corey McKinley, representing the young Kin- politician and terminating those responsible sella himself—engage in soccer beside a tall Woman Walks Ahead with extreme brutality. But he ends up in the wall that divides them from hated Catholic HHH crosshairs of the powerful men behind the kids who are playing their own game. The Lionsgate, 102 min., R, DVD: trafficking, even as he descends into mad- boys are startled by the sudden appearance $19.99, Blu-ray: $21.99 ness. Ramsay’s attempt to transform a piece of Yung Hee (Yuna Shin), a poetess who tells In the 1880s, wealthy, of glorified pulp into art is visually striking them about her life in North Korea. Featuring widowed artist Catherine and Phoenix’s performance is mesmerizing, the earlier footage shot by Kinsella in North Weldon (Jessica Chastain) but the film remains a sterile exercise that Korea, along with dreamlike flashbacks and traveled by train from New will leave many viewers unmoved—whether surrealistic animation, Yung recalls idyllic York to the Lakota Pine Ridge Indian Reserva- to sympathy, revulsion, or anger. A film that times spent with her grandfather, her indoc- tion in the Dakota Territory to paint a portrait has split critics, this is a prime example of trination into the regime’s cultish idolization of Chief Sitting Bull, the last surviving Sioux style over substance. Optional. (F. Swietek) of the leader, her remittance to a labor camp warrior from the defeat of Lt. Col. George when her verse failed to please government Custer almost 15 years earlier. Dubbed an You Will Be Mine HHH judges, and her eventual escape. Yung’s tes- “Eastern agitator,” Weldon’s unwelcome ar- Film Movement, 100 min., in timony leads young David to question his rival on the frontier is mocked by Col. Silas French w/English subtitles, not animosity toward the children on the other Grave (Sam Rockwell), and she is ordered to rated, DVD: $24.99 side of the wall. Mixing gritty naturalism leave by Fort Yates’s dismissive commanding Timing is everything. with hallucinatory hyperrealism, The Wall officer (Ciarán Hinds). Helped by a sym- Classical piano student Ma- features a bold mix of styles, imaginatively pathetic Lakota lawman (Chaske Spencer), rie (Judith Davis) is learning and powerfully conveying its messages about defiant Weldon walks through the open how to be both expressive tolerance and the dangers of ideology taken prairie, finding depressed Chief Sitting Bull and poised while playing at a famous con- to a brutal extreme. Highly recommended. (Michael Greyeyes) digging potatoes in his servatory when she enters into a mad, dis- (F. Swietek) garden. Although he demands compensation ruptive relationship with her roommate Odile and the pair verbally spar for a while, proud (Fabienne Babe). The two drift into a sexual West of the Jordan River Sitting Bull eventually agrees to pose, while experience one night that sparks a volatile HHH Weldon becomes embroiled in his struggle to possessiveness by Odile, which not only Kino Lorber, 84 min., in retain Lakota land rights. Surprisingly, they complicates Marie’s competitive performanc- Hebrew, Arabic & English w/ are assisted by the arrival of the U.S. Cavalry’s es with her fellow piano students but also a English subtitles, not rated, Gen. Cook (Bill Camp), who has insidious promising romance with a male pianist. Odile DVD: $29.99 reasons to encourage the assembled tribes and Marie fall out repeatedly, but the former Israeli director Amos Gi- to oppose the proposed Allotment Act—a has a way of closing off possible escapes before tai’s 2017 documentary is gesture of defiance that ultimately led to the Marie can . Filmmaker Sophie Laloy’s

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 35 VIDEO LIBRARIAN French drama You Will Be Mine takes a page friend Jane (Emily Flain) devise a plan to secular society is tested when the archduch- from the 1992 American thriller Single White save Buster, but they will need the strength ess falls in love with him. Director E.A. Female, but it is more psychologically complex of the school bully, Pete (Ian O’Reilly). Dupont explores the uneasy relationship and mysterious, as the relationship between Eccentric Denise Austin () between Christians and Jews, with deeply the two women bends towards mutual cra- provides a walled-in backyard in which sympathetic performances by Ernst Deutsch ziness. And Laloy excels at visually using the to hide Buster. Costarring as as the conflicted Baruch, Avrom Morewski apartment layout as a fight or flight labyrinth. a strict, by-the-books security guard, this as his old-school father, and a subtle Hen- Recommended. (T. Keogh) feel-good tale is recommended. (S. Granger) ny Porten as the obsessed, taboo-breaking archduchess. The original German negative Zama HHH1/2 was lost, and this reconstruction was created Strand, 115 min., in Spanish Classic Films from five disparate nitrate prints released in w/English subtitles, not rated, foreign markets. Presented with two musical DVD: $27.99, Blu-ray: $32.99 The Adventures of Tom accompaniments—an ensemble score by Based on the titular 1956 Donald Sosin and Alicia Svigals, and an or- novel by Antonio di Ben- Sawyer HHH1/2 chestral score by French composer Philippe edetto, this offbeat period Kino, 91 min., not rated, DVD: Schoeller—extras include a featurette on the $19.99, Blu-ray: $29.99 piece—set during the height restoration, a surviving excerpt from a 1923 of Spain’s imperial powers in the 18th cen- Filmmaker Norman Tau- documentary on Weimar Germany’s cinema, tury—centers on Diego de Zama (Daniel rog’s 1938 classic adaptation a photo gallery, and a booklet with essays. Giménez Cacho), an amoral functionary for of ’s beloved Highly recommended. (P. Hall) and former war hero who is now 1876 novel covers all of the serving in an unrewarding administrative major scenes from the book as it follows the (mis)adventures of young Tom Sawyer The Big Country capacity for his government in the colonial HHH1/2 wilds of South America near what is now (Tommy Kelly), who is fond of skipping school, playing with frogs, and new classmate Kino Lorber, 166 min., not Paraguay. Zama has become an outmoded cog rated, DVD: $19.99, Blu-ray: caught up in the malfunctioning machinery Becky Thatcher (Ann Gillis). Living with his $29.99 frequently exasperated Aunt Polly (May Rob- of the Spanish Empire. Although he has no Gregory Peck stars as sea son) and constantly being ratted out by his particular belief in anything other than a captain James McKay, who smarmy, smirking half-brother Sid (a perfect hope to return to his family in Buenos Aires follows his love, Patricia David Holt—no kid ever begged more for a one day, he still must help to subdue and con- Terrill (Carroll Baker), to her family cattle baked confection to the face), Tom regularly trol the local indigenous tribes who refuse to ranch in Texas and lands in the middle of finds himself in troubles minor (such as the recognize Spanish dominance. Renowned di- a range war between his fiancée’s cattle famous fence-whitewashing episode) and rector Lucrecia Martel’s Zama exudes a seedy baron father Maj. Henry Terrill (Charles major (witnessing a murder). Wooing Becky elegance, as the claustrophobic environs of Bickford)—who still wears his military rank by day and joining up with pal Huckleberry de Zama’s post creates a quiet maelstrom of like a badge of authority—and a scruffy tense, unrequited sexual desire and creepy Finn () on nocturnal outings, family of desert rats led by Rufus Hannassey fetishism (de Zama is, among other things, a Tom eventually winds up in court accusing (Burl Ives). Although McKay has traded known voyeur who enjoys stealing peeks at Injun Joe (Victor Jory) of a murder, and later the endless oceans for the open prairie, unclothed native women). And Zama delivers meets Joe in a suspenseful climax while lost he navigates the latter with the same tools a twisted sort of Aguirre, the Wrath of God fa- in caves with Becky. One of the best versions and self-reliance he used at sea, while also talism in how it slowly grooms its protagonist of this oft-filmed tale—presented here in its befriending his fiancée’s best friend, Julie for a final comeuppance that seems wholly original 1:33:1 aspect ratio with a Technicolor Maragon (), a schoolmistress appropriate but not necessarily predictable. image that is bit soft but overall reasonably who shares his pacifist philosophy and Highly recommended. (M. Sandlin) vibrant—the David O. Selznick production determination to keep the peace between The Adventures of Tom Sawyer remains a great the sparring families. Charlton Heston is Zoo HHH family film. Including both the original full- Bickford’s loyal foreman, who carries an Samuel Goldwyn Films, 96 length version and an abridged 77-minute unrequited torch for Patricia, and Chuck min., PG, DVD: $19.99 1954 reissue, this is highly recommended. Connors is Hannassey’s bullying son. Based on a true story, (R. Pitman) Oscar-winning director William Wyler director Colin McIvor’s helms this sprawling Western epic with heartwarming family film The Ancient Law (Das poise, polish, and old-fashioned Hollywood centers on the efforts of alte Gesetz) HHH1/2 professionalism. Peck displays stiff sincer- rebellious 12-year-old Tom Flicker Alley, 135 min., not ity as the noble hero, but the supporting Hall (Art Parkinson) and his friends to save rated, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: cast steals the show, especially Ives (in an a baby elephant named Buster during 1941 $39.99 Oscar-winning performance) as the crusty air raids on Northern Ireland. After Tom’s This 1923 silent drama white trash patriarch whose sense of hon- veterinarian father leaves to fight in WWII, offers fascinating insight or is stronger than his sense of family—a Tom continues to visit the Belfast Zoo every into how the Weimar-era German film man who is more honest than Bickford’s day. While he’s fond of all the animals, Tom industry viewed its Jewish population. Set moneyed robber baron. Backed by Jerome quickly develops a special bond with Buster. in the mid-19th-century, the story follows Moross’s rousing score, this newly remas- When Germany starts bombing the coun- the journey of Baruch, the son of a Galician tered edition features extras including tryside, civil defense authorities determine shtetl rabbi, who defies his father’s wishes by film historian Sir that, if they escaped, the predatory animals and pursues a job as a theater actor. Through Christopher Frayling, the 1986 American could be a threat to the community, so the a quick series of admittedly too-convenient Masters documentary Directed by William military preemptively puts 33 down (shots circumstances, he becomes the protégé of Wyler, interviews, an archival behind- are heard but not seen). Fearing the beloved the Austrian archduchess and a star of the the-scenes featurette, and image galleries. pachyderm could be next, Tom and his Vienna stage. But Baruch’s assimilation into Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker)

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 36 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 new to : retro afrika collection

oct 23 street

FISHY sTONES UMBANGO gone crazy UPC: 845637002764 SRP: $19.95 UPC: 845637002757 SRP: $19.95 UPC: 845637002771 SRP: $19.95

A well-executed jewelry store heist In the wild west of KwaZulu-Natal, A psychopath seeking revenge on finds two amateur thugs on the run two friends accused of murder a small town mayor steals a mega- from the cops. They desperately prepare to fight back against a bomb from a local research facility: stash their loot in some shrubs in powerful, ruthless businessman part one of his convoluted plan to the boonies, before getting caught bent on revenging his dead brother. blow up the dam and drown the and thrown in jail. Fast forward When the innocent friends learn of town. Two police inspectors, working to two teenage boys who find a a gang out for their blood, they different angles of the case, team bounty of hidden diamonds upon prepare to stand their ground the up to rescue a kidnapped professor a camping expedition! Meanwhile, old-fashioned way. A final gun and stop the madman in the tracks the two thugs make a daring fight showdown in their five-horse of his evil scheme. The clock is escape, and pick up the trail of frontier town brings the action to a ticking in this lo-fi romp... their loot and the boys. head; blood will be spilt.

Available through AEC, Baker & Taylor, Ingram Entertainment, Midwest Tape, Amazon and wherever fine films are sold. PPR/DSL and Non-Theatrical Licensing available thru Soundview Media Partners– soundviewmediapartners.com.

Find additional films and more at indiepixfilms.com #supportindiefilm Cold Turkey HHH1/2 confronts corrupt officials and townspeople eign melodrama that dressed Dietrich Olive, 102 min., PG-13, DVD: (in the first film plays a deadly in a man’s tuxedo and earned Oscar nomi- $14.99, Blu-ray: $29.99 gang leader) and leaves piles of corpses in his nations for both Dietrich and director von ’s sharp- wake. But while acting on the side of good Sternberg. And she played a Mata Hari-like toothed 1971 comedy he also has mercenary motives, making him spy in Dishonored (1931), sent to seduce Rus- broadside swipe at Nix- an intriguingly enigmatic figure. TheSartana sian officer Victor McLaglen, and starred as a on-era American values movies might not be Leone-quality classics, nightclub entertainer in Blonde Venus (1932) (originally released with a but this set will certainly be appreciated by who battles her jealous husband (Herbert PG rating, and upgraded to PG-13) is set in fans of spaghetti Westerns. Extras include au- Marshall) for custody of their child. Dietrich a recession-hit Iowa town called Eagle Rock, dio commentaries, cast and crew interviews, a and von Sternberg’s greatest collaborations whose mayor (Vincent Gardenia) enlists a video essay by critic Jonathan Bygraves, and are arguably Shanghai Express (1932), starring charismatic local priest (Dick Van Dyke) to photo galleries. Recommended. (F. Swietek) Dietrich as a high-class prostitute on a train spearhead a revitalization that will be made carrying civilian evacuees from war-torn possible if the town wins a self-promoting The Curse of the Cat Peking, and The Scarlet Empress (1934), with contest by a cigarette giant to award millions People HHH Dietrich as Russia’s Catherine the Great. Less to any community that can quit smoking for Shout! Factory, 70 min., not an historical epic than a self-aware creation of a month. The great cast—best known for their rated, Blu-ray: $29.99 expressionist decadence, The Scarlet Empress TV work—includes , Tom Poston, The success of the orig- was a commercial flop, as was the pair’s last Jean Stapleton, Barnard Hughes, Paul Bene- inal 1942 Cat People—a collaboration The Devil Is a Woman (1935), a dict, and Judith Lowery, who all go through shadowy psychological beautiful but narratively austere melodrama. the agonies of nicotine withdrawal and gnaw- horror film simmering with sexual repres- Taken together, these films combine ornate ing greed (meanwhile, the classic radio-come- sion—prompted RKO to request a sequel set design, delicate lighting, and a battery of dy team of Bob Elliott and Ray Goulding play from producer Val Lewton. His solution was hanging nets, smoke, and cross-hatched slats multiple roles as the entire electronic media surprising and inventive: a psychological to create a dense visual canvas while address- covering the escalating circus). Certain ele- drama with a child’s perspective and a ghost ing issues of sexuality and power through ments are badly dated—zingers about Walter story twist, centered on Amy (Ann Carter), both imagery and melodramatic narratives. Cronkite, , and the Maidenform Bra the dreamy young daughter of the hero (Kent Von Sternberg was able to conjure up a ad campaign—but ’s musical Smith) of the original film. Schoolgirl Amy is unique kind of glamour that has never been score is wonderful, and the film suceeds as a constantly lost in her imagination, so much replicated by any other director. All six films fine example of Watergate-era , created distracted by butterflies and stories of magic are newly remastered and are accompanied before Lear’s All in the Family made him a that she is shunned by other children. Left by a wide array of extras, including new household name. Highly recommended. alone, she befriends the aged widow of the and archival documentaries and featurettes (C. Cassady) “haunted” manor in the neighborhood and on Dietrich and von Sternberg, new and conjures up a magical friend: the ghost of Ire- archival interviews with film historians The Complete Sartana na (Simone Simon, from the first film), who is and experts, a video essay by critics Cristina HHH presented as a benevolent spirit looking after Álvarez López and Adrian Martin, a Lux Ra- , 5 discs, 466 min., not a dreamy girl. More modern than dio Theatre adaptation of Morocco featuring rated, Blu-ray: $99.99 horror film,The Curse of the Cat People was a Dietrich and Clark Gable, the song “If It Isn’t There was a lot more to box-office flop, perhaps because audiences Pain” (removed by censors from The Devil Is the than expected more rather a Woman), and an 80-page book with essays. just and Clint than delicate fantasy, but this is a tender tale Highly recommended. Editor’s Choice. Eastwood, as demonstrated by this fine com- of childhood innocence with poetic images (S. Axmaker) pilation of the five “official” movies featuring created on a B-movie budget by first-time one of the ’s many imi- feature filmmakers Gunther von Fritsch and El Sur HHH1/2 tators: a mysterious black-clothed gunslinger Robert Wise. Extras include separate audio Criterion, 94 min., in Spanish called Sartana (other movies using the name commentaries by film historians Steve Haber- w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99 were unauthorized knock-offs). Sartana is man and Greg Mank, the featurette “Lewton’s played in all but one of the films—released Muse: The Dark Eyes of Simone Simon,” an Ten years after releasing between 1968-70—by Gianni Garko (George audio interview with actress Carter, and a his lovely and tender 1973 Hilton took the role in the third film, 1970’s stills gallery. Recommended. (S. Axmaker) debut The Spirit of the Bee- Sartana’s Here…Trade Your Pistol for a Coffin), hive, director Victor Erice and all but the first were directed by Giuliano Dietrich & Von Sternberg made his second feature, based on a novella Carnimeo under the name Anthony Ascott in Hollywood HHHH by Adelaida García Morales that was pub- (1968’s If You Meet Sartana…Pray for Your Criterion, 6 discs, 542 min., lished in 1985. Set in 1957 Spain, 1983’s El Death was helmed by Gianfranco Parolini, not rated, DVD or Blu-ray: Sur is narrated by the adult Estrella, who credited as Frank Kramer). Over the course $124.99 recalls her father Agustín (Omero Antonut- of the series, Sartana evolves from a slick When Josef von Sternberg ti), a doctor with special “powers” that he gunman to an avenging angel of sorts (in returned to America after di- channels—like a medium or a water divin- 1969’s I Am Sartana, Your Angel of Death), and recting The Blue Angel (1930) er—using a pendulum on a chain to find his weapons become increasingly exotic: in Germany, he brought with him a new water under the earth. Eight-year-old Estrella he begins with a trick derringer, but in the discovery: Marlene Dietrich, who he featured (Sonsoles Aranguren) idolizes her father, a final entry,Light the Fuse…Sartana Is Coming in six lavish, lush productions that brought loving enigma estranged from his own par- (1970), he not only plays an organ that turns Hollywood art and craft to stories of sexuality ents (his father supported the Fascists), who into a machine gun, but is accompanied by a and power with exotic overtones and fetishis- spends much of his time locked away in the little (looking a bit like a mini-R2-D2) tic undercurrents. Dietrich made her Ameri- attic performing experiments. But Augustín that not only fires bullets but also sets off can debut as a sultry cabaret singer opposite changes after seeing an actress named Irene explosions. Throughout the series, Sartana Gary Cooper in Morocco (1930), a French For- Ríos (Aurore Clément)—a mystery woman

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 38 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

744-SeptemberOctober Video Librarian-spread.indd 1 7/30/2018 3:51:54 PM 744-SeptemberOctober Video Librarian-spread.indd 1 7/30/2018 3:51:54 PM from his past—in a movie melodrama. He it contains some nudity the critics and bombed with audiences. Still, begins to disappear at night and starts drink- and—for its time—fairly it is considered a minor , although ing until he becomes completely withdrawn, explicit sex scenes, Frank & there is little intelligence behind the parody while Estrella’s mother (Lola Cardona) takes Eva is essentially a portrait and it still feels like a failed attempt to sim- to bed because of her “condition,” leaving of an inveterate woman- ply shock. Extras include an archival video Estrella disillusioned with the parents she izer named Frank (Hugo interview with Downey conducted by writer once adored. Part memory film and part Metsers) who repeatedly Rudy Wurlitzer, and liner notes by the late reconstruction of childhood by a grown cheats on his long-suffering girlfriend Eva Jonathan Demme. Optional. (S. Axmaker) woman trying to make sense of her guarded (Willeke van Ammelrooy). She tolerates his parents and family mysteries, El Sur is a film wild misbehavior until she informs Frank that The Great Silence of delicate images—a beautiful and intimate she is pregnant, and the latter—claiming that HHH1/2 movie about storytelling, growing up, and she is trying to trick him into embracing the Film Movement, 105 min., in coming to terms with the failures of family. kind of family life he has always avoided—an- Italian w/English subtitles, not Extras on this Criterion edition include a grily abandons her to move in permanently rated, DVD: $29.99, Blu-ray: “making-of” featurette, a 2003 interview with with a younger woman (Sylvia Kristel) he has $39.99 Erice, a 1996 TV show episode with critics been sleeping with on the side. In response A 1968 spaghetti Western discussing El Sur, Morales’s original novella, Eva takes up with their mutual friend, a set in the winter snows of and an essay by critic Elvira Lindo. Highly more stable guy who has nonetheless long a mountain frontier town, The Great Silence recommended. (S. Axmaker) been Frank’s pal and enabler. Acting as the is one of the best—if also bleakest—Italian voice of experience is Max (Lex Goudsmit), Westerns ever made, yet it was rarely seen Female Trouble HH1/2 an elderly, ailing bon vivant who ruminates until its 2018 restoration and re-release. Di- Criterion, 97 min., NC-17, about past mistakes and warns Frank that he rected by , the film stars the DVD: 2 discs, $29.99; Blu-ray: too could wind up alone and regretful. So great French actor Jean-Louis Trintignant as $39.99 while the overall plot accounts for the film’s a mute gunslinger known as Silence, a mer- This 1974 feature by cult reputation as a freewheeling sex romp, it also cenary who has come to the isolated town of filmmaker and self-pro- ultimately serves—despite its cynical sense of Snow Hill. Klaus Kinski costars as the savage claimed “Pope of Trash” humor (as, for example, in Frank’s periodic bounty hunter and gang leader Tigrero, who John Waters is a perverse phony suicide attempts)—as a cautionary tale hunts down starving outlaws hiding in the satire of “good girl gone bad” drive-in melo- about the cheekily rule-breaking conduct that hills and terrorizes the town trapped by the dramas, starring his longtime collaborator it appears to celebrate. Extras include audio winter snows. Hero and villain aren’t so clear Divine (the screen name of the drag persona commentary by the director, a featurette on cut here: both play everything by the letter created by Harris Glenn Milstead) at her most sex in Dutch cinema, and photo galleries. A of the unforgiving frontier law, with master gleefully outrageous. Divine plays teenage strong optional purchase. (F. Swietek) gunman Silence provoking his opponents to brat Dawn Davenport, a high school girl draw first and Tigrero refusing to give Silence who runs away from home and into a life Greaser’s Palace HH an excuse to shoot. Kinski delivers one of his of wanton hedonism all because she didn’t Doppelganger, 91 min., R, Blu- most engaging performances and Trintignant get cha-cha heels for Christmas. During the ray: $29.99 brings real enigma to his role, part suffering course of the film she is molested by a sleazy Underground filmmaker savior and part cunning mercenary. Frank motorcycle thug (also played by Divine), Robert Downey (father of Wolff is affable as a moral but ineffectual gives birth to an unwanted daughter (Mink actor Robert Downey Jr.) sheriff with no love of bounty killers and Stole), variously works as a go-go dancer, cat went big with this 1972 Vonetta McGee makes her film debut as a wid- burglar, and underground model, and turns Western ow out for revenge. This smart film subverts herself into an unlikely fashion statement satire, a surreal retelling of the story of Christ expectations right up to the brutal ending. in an apocalyptic fashion show. Divine cuts set on the lawless frontier of the 19th-cen- Extras include an introduction by filmmaker loose in a wild, eye-rolling performance as a tury American West, filled with tasteless , the 1968 documentary Western, demented diva who locks her mother-in-law gags and outhouse humor. Allan Arbus stars Italian Style, two alternate endings, and a in a giant birdcage and massacres the opening as “Jessy,” who parachutes onto the prairie booklet with an essay by film critic Simon night audience of her nightclub act. One of in a 1940s-style zoot suit complete with Abrams. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker) the most extreme films from a director famed brightly-colored tie, wide-brimmed hat, and for redefining the borders of bad taste, this vaudeville gloves, proclaiming “I’m on my Gun Crazy HHH1/2 aggressively offensive movie is presented way to Jerusalem to be an actor-singer-danc- Warner, 87 min., not rated, with a 4K restoration from original 16mm el- er.” Along the way, Jessy heals the lame, raises Blu-ray: $21.99 ements in this Criterion edition that features the dead, walks on water, and then gets his John Dall is reformed extras including a 2004 audio commentary big break performing a boogie woogie song juvenile delinquent turned by Waters, new and archival cast and crew and dance at Greaser’s Palace, a saloon run by gentle marksman Bart Tare interviews, deleted scenes, behind-the-scenes the despotic (and constipated) Seaweedhead and Peggy Cummins is An- footage, and an essay by film critic Ed Halter. Greaser (Albert Henderson). The film also nie Laurie Starr, a sexy sideshow markswom- A strong optional purchase for more adven- features Toni Basil as a topless Indian maiden an in a cheap travelling carnival in this turous collections. (S. Axmaker) who wanders through the film (providing exhilarating 1950 from director gratuitous nudity), and Hervé Villechaize Joseph H. Lewis. Bart is obsessed with guns Frank & Eva HH1/2 as a sex-maddened dwarf with a transvestite but at heart is a sensitive guy who takes up Cult Epics, 97 min., in Dutch w/English subtitles, “wife” (Stan Gottlieb), and it ends—spoiler a life of crime in order to hang on to Annie, not rated, Blu-ray/DVD Combo: $34.99 alert for those completely unfamiliar with who wants money and doesn’t care how she Dating from 1973, the second of Surinam- Christianity—with Jessy being crucified in gets it (but she’s no mere ; her ese-Dutch writer-director Pim de la Parra’s the desert. Downey made this aggressively passion for Bart is genuine). Lewis turns this so-called artsploitation films now seems offensive, self-indulgent Christ parable on a thriller about criminal lovers on the run into more intriguing than shocking. Although budget of $1 million, and it was panned by an explosive and passionate mix, stirring

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 42 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 NEW RELEASES FROM THE CRITERION COLLECTION

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WWW.CRITERION.COM together sex, guns, love, and violence into a capital mired in economic the Moon Child, and Maribel Martín costars a proto-Bonnie and Clyde. Mixing documen- distress and social upheaval as an agent torn between serving the cause tary-like realism with bravura style and ex- under the Marcos dictator- and protecting David as she tracks him to pressionist exaggeration, Lewis creates one ship. Julio (Rafael Roco, Jr.), Africa, where he is taken in by a local tribe. riveting set piece after another on a starved a young man from a pro- Inspired by the 1923 novel Moonchild by budget, filming a heist and subsequent vincial fishing village, has notorious occultist Aleister Crowley, this high-speed getaway in a single long take come to Manila in search of largely forgotten cult movie takes viewers without ever leaving the back seat of the his sweetheart Ligaya (Hilda on a surreal journey filled with beautiful car. But what fuels the film is the smolder- Koronel), who was lured from her hometown and mysterious imagery (including dramatic ing passion that burns through the screen with the promise of a high-paying job but shots of the moon as David unleashes his as the couple’s doomed romance careens was instead forced into prostitution. Julio power). Extras include an interview with the out of control down the highway to hell. only learns of this after struggling to survive director, isolated score tracks by Dead Can Blacklisted screenwriter Dalton Trumbo by taking first a bone-breaking construction Dance, and a photo gallery. Recommended. co-wrote the script under the name Millard job under a cruel boss who cheats workers (S. Axmaker) Kaufman and a young Russ Tamblyn plays out of a portion of their wages, and then a the boyhood Bart in the opening scene. humiliating position in the male sex trade. Odds Against Tomorrow Bowing on Blu-ray in a newly remastered Eventually he finds Ligaya and prepares HHH transfer from the 2013 restoration, extras to take her home, but a twofold tragedy Olive, 96 min., not rated, DVD: include audio commentary by critic and intervenes, closing the film with a famous $24.99, Blu-ray: $29.99 film noir specialist Glenn Erickson, and freeze frame. Manila in the Claws of Light is a Robert Wise approaches the 2006 Noir: Bringing strange hybrid: on one hand, it presents an a classic film noir prem- Darkness to Light. Highly recommended. uncompromising depiction of the squalor ise—a team of volatile (S. Axmaker) of the city and its impoverished underclass criminals gather for a heist that is reminiscent of Italian neo-realism; that goes fatally awry—with a modern King of Hearts HHH on the other, gauzy flashbacks to the idyllic style and a story that turns on the poison Cohen, 102 min., not rated, countryside romance of Julio and Ligaya have of hate, anger, and . Harry Belafon- DVD: $19.99, Blu-ray: $25.99 the look of glossy TV commercials. Still, it te—who developed this 1959 project based Although somewhat dat- stands in stark contrast to the general run of on the titular 1957 novel by William P. ed, Philippe de Broca’s 1966 Filipino movies of the era, which were mainly McGivern—gets top billing as Johnny, a cult classic farce still packs a either dumb adventures or sappy soap operas, jazz musician, divorced father of a young memorable anti-war punch and it still carries a strong emotional punch. daughter, and gambling addict in debt to in its justly-acclaimed final Digitally restored for this fine Criterion edi- the mob. Robert Ryan is Earle, a resentful, scenes. Set in the French countryside during tion, extras include a short introduction by hot-tempered war veteran and ex-con with World War I, the film stars as , Christian Blackwood’s 1987 a history of violence and a deep-seeded big- Scottish soldier Charles Plumpick, who works feature-length documentary profile Signed: otry. Ed Begley is the disgraced ex-cop who with messenger pigeons. Due to a name mix- Lino Brocka, a 1975 “making-of” featurette, masterminds a bank heist in a small town up, Plumpick is mistakenly chosen to disarm a a new interview with filmmaker and critic and recruits the two initially resistant men. bomb set by nearby German forces in a village Tony Rayns, and a booklet with an essay by Wise brings a modernist look to the film where the locals have wisely fled—all except film scholar José B. Capino. Highly recom- with austere imagery and a style that favors for the inmates of a lunatic asylum who are mended. (F. Swietek) close, intimate shots that foreground the now free to roam the streets, donning various intensity of the characters’ emotions and colorful work costumes and assuming civilian Moon Child HHH conflicts. The score by John Lewis (of The and military positions for which they are no Cult Epics, 120 min., in Modern Jazz Quartet) combines classical doubt supremely unqualified. Plumpick des- Spanish w/English subtitles, and jazz approaches for an unconventional perately tries to find the bomb and save the not rated, Blu-ray/DVD soundtrack that enhances the tension. The people, but the latter are far more interested Combo: $34.95 social commentary here is hardly subtle, but in playing dress-up and have crowned Plum- A mix of fantasy, su- this is an intense crime drama with vivid pick as the King of Hearts—a role as leader pernatural thriller, and performances and terrific supporting turns of the insane that Plumpick gradually comes surreal odyssey, this fantasia from Spanish by Shelley Winters and Gloria Grahame. to prefer over the insanity of war. Geneviève filmmaker Agustí Villaronga follows the Recommended. (S. Axmaker) Bujold costars as a tutu-wearing innocent odyssey of a bullied orphan with telekinetic who becomes Plumpick’s love interest. The powers who is brought to a research center silly antics of the inmates eventually grow harboring children and adults with similar somewhat precious and tiresome but the film abilities. Enrique Saldana, who plays the Online is redeemed by a powerful ending. Extras curious orphan David—with wide eyes and Visit Video Librarian Online (www. include audio commentary by film critic an agape mouth—wears an expression of videolibrarian.com) during September Wade Major, and interviews with Bujold and perpetual anxiety. After David discovers and October for DVD/Blu-ray-specific cinematographer Pierre Lhomme. Recom- that the scientific facility is run by a cabal comments added to the video movies mended. (R. Pitman) of ruthless occultists who are plotting to reviewed here, as well as new reviews bring the fabled “Moon Child” into the of current and classic films, including: Manila in the Claws of Light HHH1/2 world and are willing to sacrifice their test Adrift, Damsel, The First Purge, First Re- Criterion, 126 min., in Tagalog w/English subtitles, subjects in the process, he runs off with formed, Hearts Beat Loud, Hereditary, The not rated, DVD: 2 discs, $29.99; Blu-ray: $39.99 other targets to find sanctuary in Africa. House of Tomorrow, Jurassic World: Fallen Widely considered the finest Filipino film Lisa Gerrard (of the cult band Dead Can Kingdom, The Life and Times of Judge Roy ever made, and regularly included in best Dance, which also provides the dreamy Bean, Oceans 8, Show Dogs, Solo, Tag, The films lists, Lino Brocka’s brutally raw 1975 soundtrack) plays Georgina, the alcoholic, Woman in the Window, and much more! melodrama is set against the background of dimwitted young woman impregnated with

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 44 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 TV on Video

Black Lightning: The cheating on his wives and lovers, and bra- rewarding comedies on TV. This season be- Complete First Season zenly thumbing his nose at the legal system gins with the pair’s favorite open field on the that made his career (for instance, Bungay verge of being closed to create a solar farm, HHH registered his car in the name of his dog to leaving them only a few weeks to search for Warner, 544 min., not rated, avoid parking and speeding tickets). The series Roman artifacts they are sure lay buried un- DVD: 3 discs, $29.99; Blu-ray: 2 discs, $39.99 ends midway through his career (and before der the sod. Meanwhile, Andy and his wife his marriage to Ronda), leaving the door open Becky (Rachael ) move in with her Based on a comic book for a second series. Likely to appeal to fans of mother () as they struggle to save created in the 1970s, Black offbeat British and Australian crime dramas, for a home of their own, and Lance begins Lightning features the first African American this is recommended. (S. Axmaker) dating a co-worker (Rebecca Callard) while superhero from the DC Comics universe to his grown daughter upsets his quiet life when headline a live-action TV show and is the she moves into his spare room. Their forays newest addition to CW’s expanding super- Delicious: Series 2 into the fields with metal detectors are their hero line-up. As developed by producers and HH1/2 showrunners Salim Akil and Mara Brock RLJ, 187 min., not rated, DVD: passion and the series celebrates the multi- Akil, this is also an urban comic book thrill- $34.99 tudinous benefits brought by their hobby: er that uses the format to explore the black This second season of not just the opportunity to follow dreams of experience in contemporary America. Cress the British comic drama finding treasure, but also the connection to Williams stars as Jefferson Pierce, a dedicated about two ex-wives of a ce- history, the quiet pleasure of the countryside, and passionate high school principal in a lebrity chef teaming up to bonding over a shared passion, and sharing predominantly black neighborhood—and run a restaurant finds Gina (Dawn French), that love with a community of like-minded father of two adult girls—who has the power a respected chef in her own right, and Sam characters who have their own eccentricities. to harness and control electricity. Pierce gave (Emilia Fox), a talented manager and busi- The lessons of karma and generosity are gen- up being Black Lightning after it cost him his nesswoman, clashing as they try to save the uine and satisfying in this gentle comedy of marriage but he dons the costume again when resort built by the late Leo (). The big dreams and small pleasures. Compiling a rogue drug dealer kidnaps his daughters operation was saved from bankruptcy last all six episodes from the 2017 third season, (who begin to manifest their own powers) season by an influx of hidden cash left by Leo, extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes and he battles the threat of a lethal new drug but tax inspectors are looking into suspicious and cast interviews. Highly recommended. that is traced back to a government conspir- finances while the two women struggle to (S. Axmaker) acy with echoes of the notorious Tuskegee overcome personal conflicts. Meanwhile, experiment. The series brings race, social Sam’s son (Ruairi O’Connor) is romantically East West 101: Series 2 justice, and the responsibilities of family and interested in Gina’s daughter (Teresa Benelli), HHH community together with colorful action and who is also his stepsister, and Gina’s estranged RLJ, 2 discs, 378 min., not it is currently the only show to feature a su- father ()—a charming con-man rated, DVD: $39.99 perhero approaching middle-age. Presenting who abandoned Gina years before—returns. The second season of the all 13 episodes from the 2018 debut season, And Adam (Aaron Anthony), a handsome Australian cop drama cen- extras include behind-the-scenes featurettes, and gifted young chef, joins the staff, bring- tered on Zane Malik (Don a 2017 Comic-Con panel, deleted scenes, and ing with him a secret that adds even more Hany), a devout Muslim a gag reel. Recommended. (S. Axmaker) conflict to the overheated kitchen. As in the on the major crime squad in an ethnically opening season, the ghost of Leo periodically diverse area of Sydney in the post-9/11 world, Dear Murderer: Series 1 appears to the living and provides narration opens with the bombing of a delivery van of HHH and plummy observations on life and death. a printing business that has ties to white na- RLJ, 2 discs, 233 min., not All in all, there is plenty of melodrama and tionalists. The government suspects Muslim rated, DVD: $39.99 lots of plot twists (some surprising, others terrorists and assigns a national security agent Mark Mitchinson stars as not) in this lively drama featuring a streak of (Gerald Lepkowski) to the investigation, who real-life New Zealand lawyer dark humor and soap opera emotions. Not all remains with the task force even after they Mike Bungay—a controver- of it is convincing (Gina’s renewed romance trace the crime to the Russian mob. Malik, sial barrister who defied with an old boyfriend lacks passion, and clashes with the agent’s anti-immigrant the staid tradition of the legal profession affair between Adam and Sam leaves a bad leanings, is sent undercover, where he finds in a high-profile career that was marked by taste), but the family drama is strong and links to human trafficking and sex slaves. courtroom theatrics and a self-destructive the gorgeous location (a small tourist village Meanwhile, the team is faced with white na- private life—in this witty and entertaining in Cornwall) makes for a lovely backdrop. tionalist attacks on the Muslim population, five-part 2017 series based on the titular 1997 Presenting all four episodes from the 2017-18 including the brutal torture of a schoolboy book by Ronda Bungay (who married Mike second season, extras include a behind-the- kidnapped in response to the bombing in 1983). The show follows Bungay from his scenes featurette and a photo gallery. A strong (which the public still assumes was the work troubled working-class origins in England optional purchase. (S. Axmaker) of an Islamic extremist terrorist), and Zane’s to his unconventional introduction to law partner Sonny Koa (Aaron Fa’aoso), a native school (apparently chosen by coin toss), and : Season 3 Pacific Islander, reaches out to help fellow on to his rise to fame when he defended the HHH1/2 locals avoid getting caught up in gangs and first and (to date) only man accused of espi- RLJ, 2 discs, 179 min., not crime. The series gives squad commander onage in New Zealand, in 1975. Mitchinson rated, DVD: $39.99 Wright (Susie Porter) a larger dramatic role, brings to Bungay a mix of scrappy underdog A most unassuming Brit- although Koa remains an underused support- defiance and professional confidence—the ish comedy, this low-key ing character in this otherwise well-made rebel lawyer taking on the establishment series about the lives of best show that tackles familiar themes such as the with legal acumen and flamboyant tactics. friends and fellow metal toll of police work on personal lives, along Bungay is captivating and entertaining, but detector enthusiasts Andy (series writer and with racism, , and extreme also completely self-absorbed, an alcoholic creator ) and Lance (Toby tactics used to prevent undocumented refu- constantly getting into scraps, flagrantly Jones) is also one of the warmest and most gees from reaching Australia. East West 101 is

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 45 VIDEO LIBRARIAN grittier than the usual British and Australian but that merely prolongs the family’s ordeal, (Jannis Niewöhner), son of cop drama. Compiling all seven episodes and subplots proliferate. Assaf repeatedly German Emperor Frederick from the 2009 second season, extras include a tries to escape, and Noa’s soldier boyfriend III, to Mary (Christa Théret), behind-the-scenes featurette. Recommended. infiltrates the house in an effort to rescue the new duchess of Burgun- (S. Axmaker) her. Eya, a school headmaster, is deeply in dy, in 1477. Their union debt to some unsavory people, who are now paved the way for the rise Girlfriends: Series 1 demanding that he pay up. And, inevitably, as of the house of Hapsburg, HHH the situation drags on, disputes arise among which would hold power in RLJ, 2 discs, 294 min., not the hostage-takers. Hostages is a well-acted the Empire until World War rated, DVD: $39.99 series, but in order to stretch the story the I. At the time Frederick was a weak ruler, poor Although the title and writers resort to twists that are increasingly and threatened by the Hungarians, the Ot- likable cast—Zoë Wanamak- implausible; still, the strengths here generally toman Turks, and internal dissension, while er, , and Mi- outweigh the weaknesses. Compiling all 10 Burgundy was about to be swallowed up by randa Richardson—might episodes from the first season, this is recom- the wily French monarch, Louis XI, who was suggest a genial comedy, writer ’s mended. (F. Swietek) supported by the region’s well-to-do burghers. British series is, despite some farcical ele- With the acquisition of Burgundy’s riches, ments, essentially a drama. The three stars I’m Dying Up Here: however, Maximilian was able to expand play old friends who come together to support Season One HH1/2 his Empire to the west by staving off French one another when each faces a crisis. As Linda Paramount, 3 discs, 581 min., conquest while stabilizing its eastern frontier. (Logan) and her husband Micky (Steve Evets) not rated, DVD: $39.99 The series covers the machinations at all three are enjoying an anniversary cruise, he disap- Set in the standup come- courts in 1477 (a brief postscript shows Mary’s pears overboard, and she is accused of having dy scene of the early 1970s— death in a hunting accident five years later), pushed him. Even if she is exonerated, Linda when was but does so in a markedly romantic fashion, may still face penury if Micky’s death is ruled pushing the envelope as a portraying the relationship between Max- a suicide and his insurance fails to pay. Mean- rising star and a spot on The Tonight Show imilian and Mary as love at first sight, and while, Gail (Wanamaker) is not only dealing could launch a career—this Showtime presenting Maximilian as an almost perfect with a recent divorce but also the return of original series serves up a mix of comedy chivalric knight (apart from a tendency to her ne’er-do-well son Tom (Matthew Lewis) and drama centered on the dreams and recklessness) who overcomes every obstacle (a from prison and having to care for his little frustrations of struggling young comics in bout with the plague, assassination attempts) boy. And Sue (Richardson) has just been fired Los Angeles. Melissa Leo stars as Goldie, in his quest for glory. Niewöhner and Théret as an editor at a glossy fashion magazine by owner and manager of the reigning comedy make an attractive couple, the locations are her boss (and married long-time lover) John club on the Sunset Strip, and Ari Graynor is well chosen, and the supporting cast is strong. (Anthony Head), who she considers suing. Cassie Feder, a female comedian (favored by Fans of period romance loosely based on The mystery of what happened to Micky is Goldie) working in a culture dominated by history will likely enjoy this. Recommended. the major arc running through the series, males. The rest of the cast is dominated by (F. Swietek) but other narrative threads involve various angry, aggressive, self-involved young (and children of the central characters. The sharp- not-so-young) men in a show that takes on Menace and Murder: ness of Mellor’s dialogue and the enthusiasm drug addiction, self-destructive behavior, A of the cast make even the most implausible and how the high of performing is its own Collection HH1/2 plot turns here palatable. Compiling all six drug. Clark Duke and Michael Angarano RLJ, 5 discs, 720 min., not episodes from the 2018 first season, extras are the most interesting figures in this guy’s rated, DVD: $59.99 include a behind-the-scenes featurette and a club, playing hopefuls who arrive from Combining three vintage cast panel at a Television Critics Association Boston with no money, and RJ Cyler stands British TV programs from event. Recommended. (F. Swietek) out as a young black comic who tackles race the pen of the writer best and other incendiary subjects. The series is known for , this anthology Hostages: Season 1 based on the titular 2009 book by William proves to be a mixed bag. The best of the trio HHH Knoedelseder and Goldie is a fictionalized is Mind Games, a 2001 feature-length telefilm Kino Lorber, 2 discs, 385 min., version of Mitzi Shore, the matriarch of the starring as a former nun now in Hebrew w/English subtitles, Sunset Strip club , which working as a police profiler, who takes on the not rated, DVD: $29.99 launched the careers of numerous comedians. case of a serial killer murdering middle-aged This Israeli suspense se- The period setting is fun and the standup women in their own homes. Although the ries premiered almost simul- comedy is well-done but the dramatic scenes denouement is almost incredibly complex, taneously with a CBS-aired fall into cliché and Leo tends to overplay her Shaw’s committed performance endows English-language adaptation in 2013 (the role as the tough Jewish businesswoman in a the plot with a genuine human dimension. American version was cancelled after a sin- chauvinist world. Compiling all 10 episodes The four-part miniseries Killer Net (1998) is gle season). The premise is that a group of from the 2018 first season, this is a strong comically dated in its depiction of Internet four masked home invaders take the Danon optional purchase. (S. Axmaker) activity, but the tale of a group of college stu- family captive: parents Eya (Micha Celektar) dents—including a young Paul Bettany—who and Yael (Ayelet Zurer), daughter Noa (Dar Maximilian and Marie de Bourgogne make the mistake of playing a malevolent Zuzovsky), and son Assaf (Yoav Rotman). The HHH video game remains creepily effective. The quartet have a single demand: Yael, a surgeon Kino Lorber, 2 discs, 290 min., in German & weakest offering is also the longest, Supply tasked with operating on the prime minister, French w/English subtitles, not rated, DVD: and Demand, which began as a 1997 telefilm must ensure he dies during the procedure. $29.99, Blu-ray: $34.99 about British agents foiling a drug-smuggling The reason why is withheld until late in Austrian national pride is at the center operation, and was expanded the following the series, but viewers learn early that the of filmmaker Andreas Prochaska’s opulent year into a six-part miniseries with Miriam intruders’ leader is an Israeli counter-terrorist six-part 2016 miniseries about the strategy Margolyes starring as the head of the under- officer. Yael manages to delay the operation, leading up to the marriage of Maximilian cover team. Divided into three two-episode

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 46 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 arcs, the first one, “Raw Recruit,” centers on solicitor who left a powerful Dublin law firm plot threads are eventually tied up, but not another drug-smuggling ring, but the second, and her cheating fiancé Eric (Rory Keenan) before the introduction of further unsettling “Golden Goose,” focuses on unsavory activi- to strike out on her own—opens with Tara elements, including police corruption, the ties at a notorious London club, and the third, kicked out of her office, her street smart assis- fate of children lost in the Bosnian war of the “Blood Ties”—easily the most interesting of tant Ray (Emmet Byrne) in jail, and her go-to ‘90s, and an actual danse macabre—leading to the bunch—features Richard Johnson as a private detective Meg (Fiona O’Shaughnessy) a literally explosive conclusion. Vengeance is a British defector who returns from exile in betraying her to her former boss, Richard thoroughly engrossing final chapter in a series Russia for reasons that the team must unravel. Dunbar (Paul Antony-Barber), who happens that began well and has only improved. Com- Supply and Demand is essentially a series of to be Eric’s father. Tara finds new space with piling all six episodes from the 2017-18 third procedurals filled with rather dull sequences George Cusack (), a and final season, extras include a “making-of” of suspects’ movements being tracked via veteran independent solicitor who reluctantly featurette. Highly recommended. (F. Swietek) surveillance cameras; it’s understandable rents to Tara’s chaotic practice but finds Tara’s why, despite Margolyes’s presence, the series private life and legal cases getting tangled up Will & Grace: The was cancelled after a single season. A strong with her own. Tara takes on cases involving Revival, Season One optional purchase. (F. Swietek) child custody, a messy divorce, and a nun su- ing her former convent for breach of contract, HHH Universal, 2 discs, 336 min., : while her mentor Vincent (Neil Morrissey) not rated, DVD: $29.99 Season 5 HHH1/2 works on a high-level corruption case. The second season continues to pit Tara against Eleven years after the Lionsgate, 725 min., not rated, original run of the sitcom DVD: 4 discs, $34.99; Blu-ray: her old firm in individual cases, while she 3 discs, $34.99 uncovers evidence of sinister schemes and Will & Grace, the cast and creators reunited for a revival that puts While previous seasons cover-ups that lead directly back to Dunbar. The uneasy alliances, shady deals, and Tara’s everyone back where they started: interior of Orange Is the New Black— decorator Grace (Debra Messing) is once again one of ’s signature own balance between seeking justice and crossing legal lines gives this light drama single and rooming with best friend Will (Eric original shows—have taken place over a few McCormack), a lawyer in a New York law firm; weeks or months, the fifth season unspools a bit of grit but it’s the characters who make the show. Compiling all six episodes from the unsuccessful actor Jack (Sean Hayes) is still over three days as the inmates of Litchfield living across the hall; and Karen (Megan Mul- Women’s Correctional Facility riot and take 2018 second season, extras include a behind- the-scenes featurette, a panel discussion from lally) remains rich and thoughtless, working over the prison. In the fourth season, the for Grace because she has nothing else to do. prison was pushed by an aggressive new head a Television Critics Association event, and a photo gallery. Recommended. (S. Axmaker) The original series was groundbreaking for of guards toward maximum security behavior putting gay characters and love lives on equal and turned into a pressure cooker by over- footing with the conventionally straight char- crowding, and the situation explodes when The Tunnel—Vengeance: acters within the conventions of smart-aleck the women finally fight back against the The Complete Third built around sex-obsessed singles, increasingly brutal treatment by the guards. Season HHH1/2 ridiculous situations, nasty cracks, and witty But here the sudden freedom from guards, PBS, 2 discs, 300 min., TV-MA, rejoinders. The revival delivers more of the routine, and rules becomes an invitation for DVD: $49.99 same, from the spot-on timing and raunchy many to give into their worst impulses. There The final season of this sexual euphemisms to the self-involved char- is little unity and a lot of conflict among the British-French crime dra- acters getting into ridiculous fights and mak- ladies, with many sabotaging the efforts of ma, adapted from the 2011 ing up with sentimental confessions. But it’s Taystee () to negotiate for bet- Swedish-Danish series Bron/Broen, ends on a also something of a time-capsule as the show ter conditions and more humane treatment. very dark, but satisfying note. The convoluted itself—despite a series of Trump jokes—seems And there is even an element of tragedy as plot—involving such hot-button contempo- trapped back in the sensibility of the 2000s. Crazy Eyes () goes off her meds and rary issues as the immigration crisis, human Director James Burrows, the sitcom legend careens into manic reactions to the chaos. trafficking, and British withdrawal from the who directed every episode of the original Piper (), once the central fig- European Union—begins with a fishing boat series, is back and the chemistry is intact, ure of the show, is just another self-absorbed arriving in flames on the coast of Kent, carry- but much of the humor is mean-spirited. bystander here until she’s finally roused into ing three Syrian children and a smuggler with Still, the revival was a hit for NBC—gleefully meaningful action. Entertaining, engaging, his tongue savagely cut out. The situation embraced by fans of the original series—and and often riveting, the popular Orange Is the grows even more grave when the refugees it features return appearances by Harry Con- New Black maintains its high-quality writing are later found in the beds of three English nick Jr., , , and storytelling, mixing dark comedy and children, who have mysteriously disappeared. Alec Baldwin, and others. Presenting all 16 dramatic conflict, along with some acute Simultaneously, a horde of rats is unleashed episodes from the 2017-18 first season, extras observations on the corrosive effects of prison in the Channel Tunnel, severely injuring a include behind-the-scenes featurettes and a life. Presenting all 13 episodes from the 2017 French maintenance worker, an incident that gag reel. Recommended, overall. (S. Axmaker) fifth season, extras include episode commen- is eventually tied to an Internet upload that taries, a behind-the-scenes featurette, and a implies a modern Pied Piper is at work. The gag reel. Highly recommended. (S. Axmaker) trans-Channel nature of the puzzle throws gruff British detective Karl Roebuck (Stephen Online Striking Out: Series 2 Dillane) and his French counterpart Elise Visit Video Librarian Online (www.vid- HHH Wasserman (Clémence Poésy) together again, eolibrarian.com) for more reviews during RLJ, 2 discs, 327 min., not but their relationship is clearly strained: Karl September and October including: Archer: rated, DVD: $39.99 has left his wife, and Elise has not only been Dreamland—The Complete Season Eight, The second season of this demoted but is still obsessing over an old Doctor Who: Tom Baker—Complete Season colorful Irish case involving a boy’s disappearance that she One, The Good Place: The Complete Second starring Amy Huberman believes she bungled—resulting in the im- Season, and much more! as Tara Rafferty—a young prisonment of an innocent man. All of these

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 47 VIDEO LIBRARIAN Video Reviews

Lots & Lots of Learning Fun! All About of the 2017 children’s book featuring illus- Ordering information for the titles reviewed in HHH trations by Raúl Colón and short vignette Trains poems by Margarita Engle tells a fictional- this section can be found in the “Distributor (2018) 40 min. DVD: $14.95 ($19.95 w/PPR). Marshall Publishing. ISBN: 978-1-936134-38-0. ized version of Don Quixote author Miguel de Addresses” listings at the back of the magazine. Cervantes Saavedra’s upbringing. Narrated “Carl the Conductor” and anthropomor- by Thom Rivera and featuring a strumming phic trains with names like “Frankie Freight” HHHH= Excellent guitar soundtrack, the segments include provide corny banter for this addition to the “Happiness,” “Stories” (in which young extensive Lots & Lots children’s series. Backed HHH= Good Miguel acts out plays in his “fanciful world by relevant clips (featuring more animation of brave deeds”), and “Hunger,” touching HH= Fair than actual trains), All About Trains uses on the family’s troubles when Miguel’s H= Poor diagrams to explore the ways that different trains work and drive—including various shifty gambling father is sent to debtor’s PPR = Public Performance Rights parts and functions—and discusses topics prison and his mother loses “furniture, silverware…hope.” The boy’s imagination is DRA = Digital Rights Available including speed, horn blast combinations and signals, markings and signs, and types depicted through images of adventure pop- Aud = Audience of cars (freight, passenger, caboose, etc.). ulated with knights, giants, and dragons, Noting that “trains are an important part and he is dismayed when books designated K = Preschool-Kindergarten of everyone’s life,” this would likely appeal as evil are burned. Finally, in “A New Life,” an older Cervantes is published in a book E = Elementary (grades 1-3) to railroad aficionados in the target group of ages 6-12. Recommended. Aud: K, E, P. with “pages shaped like open doorways.” I = Intermediate (grades 4-6) (J. Williams-Wood) Featuring a read-along option, extras in- clude author’s, illustrator, historical, and J = Jr. High (grades 7-8) biographical notes segments. Serving up a A Midsummer Night’s Dream HH1/2 H = High School (grades 9-12) (2018) 16 min. DVD: $38.99. Dreamscape Media. poignant imagining of the young life of a PPR. Closed captioned. ISBN: 978-1-52009-251-5. literary icon, this is recommended. Aud: E, C = Colleges & Universities P. ( ) Another collaboration between illustrator J. Williams-Wood P = Public Libraries Roberto Irace and author Luke Daniel Paiva adapting the Bard of Avon’s plays for younger : Onward + Pondward! viewers (see in VL- HHH 7/18), the vibrantly-colored, iconographic-an- (2018) 90 min. DVD: $14.99. PBS Video. ISBN: CHILDREN’S imated A Midsummer Night’s Dream is set in 978-1-5317-0450-6. the cutesy-animal-inhabited lush locale of When his human family goes off to school the enchanted Fairy Wood. Compacting the and work every morning, Nature Cat does Lots & Lots of Animal Stories for Kids! plot of four somewhat mismatched lovers, a not sit idly by a window all day. Nope, he Vol. 5: Donkeys HHH bickering royal fairy couple, and the mischie- dons a Robin Hood-like outfit and meets up (2017) 30 min. DVD: $12.95 ($14.95 w/PPR). vous sprite , this abbreviated adaptation with pals Hal (an exuberant dog), Squeeks Marshall Publishing. ISBN: 978-1-936134-72-1. is very busy, packed with almost Where’s (an enthusiastic mouse), and Daisy (a curious, In this latest entry in the Lots & Lots of Waldo?-ish details, along with asides ex- buck-toothed bunny). Together, they explore Animal Stories for Kids! series, a group of plaining key vocabulary terms such as “star- the environment in their neighborhood, and children learn about the history of donkeys crossed” and “betrothed.” Extras include a make a lot of friends along the way. This sev- and their close cousin, the mule. In a class- read-along option and a featurette on Shake- en-episode compilation from the PBS-aired room filled with primary colors, Miss Danni speare. A strong optional purchase. Aud: E, P. animated series kicks off with “Welcome to Donkey—who wears a bright red dress and (J. Williams-Wood) Vernal Pond,” in which the gang meets Fern, has donkey ears and a tail—tells her young a salamander looking for a place to lay her charges how much she enjoys reading, as she Miguel’s Brave Knight HHH eggs in a seasonal (i.e., temporary) pond that dons a pair of large red glasses, and sings a (2018) 23 min. DVD: $38.99. Dreamscape Media. is already occupied by other newborn critters. song about how glasses help her read. Miss PPR. Closed captioned. ISBN: 978-1-97490-266-8. “Swamp Thing” is a funny episode in which Danni talks about the roles that donkeys This iconographic-animated adaptation Nature Cat becomes more of a ‘fraidy cat due have played from Egyptian times to the late 1800s in America, telling stories that combine simple , original music, Dazzle Ships HHH1/2 and songs. In the first tale, a donkey named (2018) 25 min. DVD: $38.99. Dreamscape Media. PPR. Closed captioned. Cleopatra is dragging a large stone meant for ISBN: 978-1-97490-167-8. use in building a pyramid when a Broadway Subtitled “World War I and the Art of Confusion,” this icono- song helps her escape in her mind to Park graphic-animated adaptation of the 2017 picture book by author Avenue. In Athens, a donkey is squishing Chris Barton and illustrator Victo Ngai combines majestic music grapes to make wine when a lively tune with jaunty narration by Johnny Heller to explore a little-known encourages faster and faster stomping. Miss slice of history from the Great War. In an effort to thwart German Danni also tells the kids that the first mule Unterseeboots (aka U-boats) from taking down ships, British marine appeared in America in 1785 as a Spanish painter and Royal Navy patroller Norman Wilkinson came up with gift (literally named “Royal Gift”), and that the suggestion to camouflage vessels, using a variety of patterns, shapes, and colors de- pack mules were employed during the Gold signed to confuse submarine officers about the direction and speed of vessels—which Rush; less nervous than horses, pack mules led to the enemy wasting torpedoes. Termed the “dazzle” approach, the method was also helped pull firetrucks and played a major employed on over 4,000 ships, which allowed cargo ships to keep the Brits supplied. Fea- role in the Great Chicago Fire in 1871. A fun turing a read-along option, as well as author’s and illustrator notes and a historical time- educational title, this is recommended. Aud: line, this intriguing true war story is highly recommended. Aud: E, P. (J. Williams-Wood) K, E, P. (T. Root)

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 48 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 to rumors that a swamp monster is nearby (it turns out to be completely harmless). “There’s HHH1/2 Gold in Them Thar Hills” finds Squeeks dis- Gravity Falls: The Complete Series (2016) 7 discs. 900 min. DVD: $59.99, Blu-ray: $99.99. Shout! Factory covering a gold nugget in a stream, prompt- (avail. from most distributors). SDH captioned. ing the others (and a villainous neighbor cat) This Disney XD-aired animated comedy about two 13-year- to go looking for more (incidentally, viewers old city kids—Dipper Pines (voiced by Jason Ritter) and his can learn the right way to pan for gold twin sister Mabel (Kristen Schaal)—sent to stay with their weird watching this episode). And “Earth Day Every Grunkle (short for Great Uncle) Stan in the rural Oregon town Day” explores the tragedy of plastic refuse in of Gravity Falls plays like a mix of X-Files weirdness and Rick our waters and on land, while also demon- and Morty wacky humor for kids. Stan (voiced by series creator strating—through the efforts of Nature Cat Alex Hirsch) runs “The Mystery Shack,” a tourist trap filled and pals—what can be done about it. An with strange creatures and weird magic, and Dipper makes it entertaining, environmentally-minded treat his mission to get evidence of the fantastical things he discovers during their stay, for younger viewers—featuring the voices of from a race of magical dwarves and a giant lake monster to ghosts, demons, unicorns, Saturday Night Live current and former cast prehistoric creatures, secret rooms and passages, curses, and charms. members Kate McKinnon, , voices 15-year-old Wendy, a part-time employee Dipper crushes on, and Hirsch also , and Taran Killam—this is voices the odd but devoted handyman Soos and various recurring characters in the recommended. Aud: K, P. (T. Keogh) vast community. Gravity Falls—which ran for two seasons spread from 2012-16—is a funny and clever show, with wild humor and well-written young characters, win- The New Big Plane Trip HHH1/2 ning two . Compiling all 40 episodes, extras include cast and crew (2017) 44 min. DVD: $24.99. Little Mammoth episode commentary tracks, the feature-length retrospective documentary One Crazy Media (avail. from most distributors). PPR. ISBN: 1-929294-10-7. Summer, a featurette on the finale, deleted scenes, bonus shorts, and promos. Highly recommended. Aud: P. (S. Axmaker) An up-to-date revamp of The Big Plane Trip (VL-3/95), this thorough exploration of air travel offers passenger’s eye views of the details involved in flying from Atlanta’s a job. The animation sports wacky touches have been role models for girls and boys alike), Hartsfield-Jackson airport to Heathrow in and jump cuts featuring various styles, while the messages about teamwork here are solid. London. From the ticket counter to the the humor is tongue-in-cheek (trusting K.O. Compiling eight episodes, extras include a landing runway, The New Big Plane Trip takes mistakenly confides in Boxman’s “daughter,” bonus episode of PAW Patrol. Recommended. young viewers onto a Boeing 767-300, where saying “Thanks for the help, ominous strang- Aud: P. (T. Keogh) on-the-job commentary from professionals er! You’re the best!”). Also including a “Pla- covers topics including fueling, operations zalympics” competition event episode, the Splash and : One Big Ocean control, checklists for pilots, and more. Also double-length special “T.K.O.,” and “Parents HHH including interesting tidbits that go behind- Day,” centering on Enid’s out-of-the-ordinary (2018) 75 min. DVD: $6.99. PBS Video. ISBN: 978- the-scenes of luggage handling, meals (in family life, this zany series is a strong optional 1-5317-0458-2. business class, so things are especially fancy), purchase. Aud: P. (J. Williams-Wood) Created by the Jim Henson Company, this and flight attendant training, bonus features computer-animated PBS Kids-aired series include a kid’s tour of London. Serving up a Rusty Rivets HHH centers on a mixed group of ocean creatures fine primer on the ins and outs of plane travel (2016) 97 min. DVD: $14.99. Paramount Home who share adventures and learn about the that may ease some trepidation for young Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). interdependence of life beneath the waves. Closed captioned. first-time fliers, this is highly recommended. Friends Splash, Bubbles, Ripple, and Dunk Aud: K, E, P. (J. Williams-Wood) This compilation of episodes from the generally stay close to home, but when they titular Nickelodeon animated series for kids meet a young sea turtle named Scoot, the OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes: T.K.O. HH1/2 centers on Rusty Rivets, a boy inventor with group decides to escort him to a faraway coral (2018) 220 min. DVD: $14.98. Warner Home a crew of amusing robots and a gal pal named reef in the four-episode tale “One Big Ocean.” Video (avail. from most distributors). SDH Ruby, who all work together to solve big prob- Here, Splash and friends not only discover the captioned. lems. The first episode, “Rusty’s Rex Rescue,” vastness of the ocean but also learn about its Boy protagonist K.O.’s antics in the surreal is a cute story about a child who gets trapped unified environment. Along the way, they backdrop of Lakewood Plaza Turbo are at the on a tall tower of tires, prompting Rusty and help clean a reef with a fish that does that center of this 19-episode compilation from Ruby to build a robotic Tyrannosaurus Rex job naturally, and they travel along with a the original series. Flying with a puppyish disposition. After rescuing pod of whales. The message that ocean life is cars and dinosaurs aren’t the weirdest thing the youngster in distress, the “Robosaurus” not some random collection of living things in this futuristic city featuring townspeople wants to play fetch with enormous machine but rather a whole ecosystem requiring care (read: monsters, talking robots, anthropo- parts. In “Rusty’s Penguin Problem,” a group and deserving respect comes through loud morphic fruit and veggie people) who are of penguins intended for a zoo are accidental- and clear for young viewers in this bright and often heroic and spend much time protecting ly delivered to Rusty. Compounding the crisis appealing show. Also including the episodes the area from the evil Lord Boxman and is the fact that a bridge leading to the zoo is “The Greatest Treasure of All” and “Kelp Forest his henchmen. “Let’s Be Heroes” finds K.O. broken on a day that is scorching hot and Keepers” (in which our fishy heroes help re- wanting to learn how to be a hero and hone dangerous for the arctic birds. “Ruby Rocks” juvenate kelp growth), this is recommended. his power level after seeing his fitness dojo finds Rusty’s sidekick battling stage fright Aud: K, P. (T. Keogh) mom Carol’s old friend and bodega owner before her turn performing at an outdoor fes- Mr. Gar—a powerful hero himself whose face tival. And “Rusty Marks the Spot” involves a The Water Princess HHH is on trading cards. In “Let’s Be Friends,” teen treasure map and a succession of riddles lead- (2018) 9 min. DVD: $59.95 (study guide included). worker pals—human Enid and laid-back alien ing to glittering rewards. While it’s a shame Weston Woods Studios. PPR. Closed captioned. Rad—help save their new buddy K.O. from that Ruby is a supporting character and not ISBN: 978-1-33824-3-529. trouble at the Boxmore factory and score him an equal to Rusty (as a duo, the pair would This animated adaptation of author Susan

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 49 VIDEO LIBRARIAN Verde and illustrator Peter H. Reynolds’s 2016 picture book serves up a slice-of-life portrait HHH based on the childhood of model and advo- Borderline (2016) 88 min. DVD: $125: public libraries; $295: colleges & universities. cate Georgie Badiel. Narrator Yetide Badaki DRA. Collective Eye Films. PPR. Closed captioned. provides the voice of young “princess” Geor- gie, who in her imagination rules over her Regina is a foul-mouthed New Yorker with Borderline Person- Burkina Faso village where she can “make the ality Disorder (BDP). She’s intelligent, judgmental, and quick to tall grass sway when I dance” and play games anger. At times she even tries to direct this documentary by film- with wild dogs. The biggest hardship for the maker Rebbie Ratner, which alternates between color sequences girl is the daily early-morning miles-long trek with her 45-year-old subject and black-and-white segments with she takes with her mom and other females in psychiatrists. Dr. John Gunderson notes that interpersonal re- the community to retrieve precious water, lationships are particularly difficult for people with BDP since which must be used sparingly. Backed by a they can be overly-involved one day and casually dismissive score from Michael Bacon, this adaptation of the next. Regina is currently unemployed, a regular occurrence due to her combative the ALA Notable Book also features a read- attitude. After the dissolution of a 12-year relationship with a woman with whom she along option and an interview with Badiel shares canine custody, she’s also looking for love using dating apps. In her past, she that touches on her life (“I was a lazy child,” would cut herself. Now, she’s addicted to cosmetic procedures—like Botox—that she she giggles, who wanted to sleep in) and goals can’t really afford. She also attends therapy sessions and takes several mood-altering for bringing clean water and sanitation to medications. Although she acknowledges having a drinking problem, she believes that her homeland. Recommended. Aud: K, E, P. regular alcohol usage increases her meds’ effectiveness. According to Dr. Mary Zanarini, (J. Williams-Wood) BPD strikes men and women at roughly equal rates, but it is more closely associated with women because they are more likely to seek help. During the film, Regina goes on a date, plays volleyball, and travels to Virginia to meet with Gunderson along with PSYCHOLOGY & SELF-HELP Barbara, another person with BPD who Regina treats with withering disdain. Gunderson confirms Regina’s disorder, but also believes that she has the tools to keep it in check, and by film’s end Regina is working with a specialist to better manage her symptoms. Regina isn’t always the most pleasant company, but those who witness her story will Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405 come away with a better understanding of her debilitating psychological disorder. HHH Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy) (2017) 40 min. DVD: $325. Grasshopper Film. PPR. Filmmaker Frank Stiefel’s Oscar-winning In Pursuit of Silence HHH reverence. Cage’s 4’33 expresses the power of documentary draws no conclusions about (2016) 81 min. DVD: $29.95 ($395 w/PPR), Blu- silence, as does Shen’s film. Recommended. the therapeutic value of art, but it does il- ray: $34.95 ($445 w/PPR.). The Cinema Guild. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) lustrate how one woman uses art to process DRA. PPR. Closed captioned. ISBN: 0-7815-1556-4. her life experiences. Mindy Alper struggles to Patrick Shen’s documentary, based on the Mile Marker HHH keep the demons of mental illness at bay. To titular 2010 book by George Prochnik (who (2018) 93 min. DVD: $59.95 ($250 w/PPR from function properly, she takes several pills a day also serves as an interviewee here), argues that edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from for anxiety, depression, and obsessive-com- in a world of almost constant commotion and most distributors). pulsive disorder—as well as several others to noise, silence should be valued as a means of Filmmaker Korey Rowe, a veteran of alleviate side effects. Stiefel uses animated securing mental and physical health. Shen the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, travels sequences and in-camera effects to depict does not ignore the spiritual dimension, cross-country to talk with old buddies about Alper’s social-anxiety-generated visions. visiting both a Trappist monastery in Iowa problems they face in trying to reintegrate Although Alper speaks with her mother of- and a Buddhist temple in Japan to highlight into civilian society, while also interviewing ten, they had a strained relationship when religious traditions that view silence as a route medical specialists about the very real obsta- she was younger, beginning after the birth to a higher plane. The film also periodically cles posed by Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder of her younger brother (from that point returns to Greg Hindy, a young man who has (PTSD). The backdrop to Rowe’s trip is not onward, her mother refused to touch her). chosen to walk coast-to-coast under a vow of just the general statistic that 22 veterans And though her late father would eventually silence, expressing his thoughts in written commit suicide every day, but also the death admit that he was proud of her, she spent her form to the camera along the way. And it cap- of his erstwhile comrade-in- Jesse Snid- childhood living in fear that she would never tures the sheer beauty of solitude visually, via er, who lost his struggle with PTSD in 2014, live up to his expectations. Over the years, images of quiet parks and empty landscapes. fatally overdosing on opioids. The men here Alper has experienced suicidal thoughts, hos- But the focus here is on the physiological recall Snider’s troubling story as well as their pitalization, and shock treatment, along the effects of excessive noise, which can cause own tales involving difficulties accessing way losing her ability to put words together. not just stress but also—as demonstrated Veterans Administration resources, overuse Although she has since regained that ability, in one case study of a school located beside of prescribed medication, and the lure of she speaks in a careful, halting manner. She train tracks—an actual decline in cognitive criminal activity—particularly in the drug credits her therapist for helping her to “grow ability and concentration. Modern recog- trade. Although the film includes footage of up,” and her art instructor acknowledges the nition of the power of silence to rejuvenate the men’s service in combat, the bulk of the therapeutic value of her artistic practice, both soul and body is encapsulated in Shen’s material consists of interviews conducted which includes pen and ink drawings, water- repeated references to composer John Cage, by Rowe, along with his own on-the-road color paintings, and papier mâché busts. The who wrote cacophonous pieces for a variety observations, and insights from experts on pieces that Alper works on during the film of instruments, but in 1952 premiered 4’33, PTSD, including from a Vietnam veteran who end up in a gallery show that is met with a in which a pianist simply made no sound for himself still suffers from the condition while warm, well attended reception. Whether or 4½ minutes. Originally greeted with derision, serving as a counselor for soldiers returning not art has saved Alper’s life, it has certainly it has since become a widely-“performed” from more recent conflicts. A major argument made it easier to bear. Recommended. Aud: piece (suitable for any combination of instru- throughout is that the beneficial effect of C, P. (K. Fennessy) ments), and is treated with seriousness, even medical marijuana in smoothing the transi-

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 50 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 tion of veterans deserves much more serious which was done under the cover of darkness married at a young age and resolved to teach consideration, especially given the dangerous outside the city)? Was Pilate a reluctant, weak the Gospel in Burma (now Myanmar). The side effects of other drugs. Recommended. judge, or a cruel, vindictive, and spiteful lead- couple said goodbye to their Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) er? As Bonneville notes, the lasting legacy of families (evangelists traveling that far were Calvary is the vicious accusation that Jews not likely to return for a visit in those days) were “Christ killers,” which led to centuries and arrived in Burma to discover a very unde- RELIGION & PHILOSOPHY of anti-Semitic persecutions. Recommended. veloped country with a proud, easily-ruffled Aud: C, P. (S. Rees) king. The Judsons lost a baby during the ship’s passage to Burma, and then a second one after Jesus: Countdown to Calvary HHH Jesus: Dead and Buried? HHH seven months (in all, three children would (2018) 60 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS (2018) 47 min. DVD: $14.99. DRA. Vision Video die, leaving them childless). The Judsons Video. SDH captioned. ISBN: 978-1-5317-0465-0. (avail. from most distributors). suffered immeasurably from disease, arrest, In Jesus’s time, Jerusalem was a remote Was there a historical Jesus? If so, did he and brutality, but were able to fulfill their outpost of the Roman Empire. With troops in fact die while nailed to a cross? Why was mission (Myanmar is currently home to the stretched so thin, the Romans—who valued he often referred to as the “Lamb of God,” third largest population of Baptist Christians stability above all else—had to rule by collab- and what did that have to do with the Last worldwide, and the Judsons’ Burmese transla- oration; in this case, with a Jewish figurehead Supper? These questions and many more— tion of the Bible continues to be used there). leader and Jewish high priests. Passover was including several concerning Christ’s return Directed by Robert Fernandez, this inspiring a time of festivities, but also of tension, and from the dead and ascension to Heaven—are portrait of an early it was into this mixed atmosphere that Jesus, addressed here. Hosted by Luke Waldock, the Christian missionary couple is recommended. in the last week of his life, came to Jerusalem documentary Jesus: Dead and Buried?—filmed Aud: P. (T. Keogh) with his disciples. hosts in Israel and the U.K.—examines both the this PBS-aired documentary by filmmaker archeological and written recorded evidence Gerry Hoban on the fateful week between of a historical Jesus, dismissing conspiracy SOCIAL & POLITICAL ISSUES Palm Sunday, when Jesus entered the city theories that a lookalike substitute was bru- as a hero, and Friday, the day of the Cruci- tally crucified and that the post-Crucifixion fixion. The Roman governor Pontius Pilate, Jesus had not actually died. The “Lamb of Bullets on the Border HHH who usually resided at a coastal garrison, God” simile is placed squarely in Jewish tra- (2018) 82 min. DVD: $24.99 ($199.99 w/PPR). traveled to Jerusalem to make sure order was dition, while the consecration of bread and Dreamscape Media. Closed captioned. maintained. viewed any talk of the wine at the Last Supper is also explained in The policies and procedures governing kingdom of Heaven or a Messiah as an attack this engaging documentary. Recommended. the use of force by American border control on Rome. At the same time, the high priests Aud: P. (T. Keogh) agents in their contact with Mexican nation- resented Jesus’s assertion that Jewish temple als are examined by director Charlie Minn moneychangers were cheating in the house The Torchlighters: The Adoniram and through a consideration of three specific of God. Jesus and his radical talk constituted Ann Judson Story HHH cases that resulted in a death. In 2010, Sergio a threat that needed to be dealt with in a (2018) 30 min. DVD: $14.99. DRA. Vision Video Hernandez Guereca was shot by agent Jesus way that did not inflame the population. The (avail. from most distributors). Mesa Jr., who claimed the teen was among documentary considers the controversial role As inspiring stories of Christian missionar- a group transferring something over the of the disciple Judas Iscariot. Was he a greedy ies go, it’s hard to beat the waves of adversity border in Juarez and throwing rocks at him, betrayer, or simply carrying out Jesus’s plan faced by 18th-19th century Protestant mis- although surveillance footage shows the boy and divine mission (much attention is given sionaries Adoniram and Ann Judson—the hiding behind a pillar until he was struck. here to the phrase “handing over” of Jesus, first to be sent abroad from America—who The second incident involved José Rodriguez, who in 2012 was shot by agent Lonnie Swartz from a bridge as the young man was walking along a border street in Nogales (Swartz also Strange Occurrences in a Small Irish Village HHH claimed that he was being targeted by rocks). (2016) 90 min. DVD: $23.99. DRA. Janson Media (avail. from Midwest The lawyers for both victims’ families dispute Tape). the justification behind the shootings, as do The title of this wry, engaging documentary stems from an witnesses, and the remarks from Guereca’s 1879 newspaper headline referring to mysterious events that al- father and Rodriguez’s mother are heart- legedly took place in the tiny village of Knock, Ireland, where 15 breaking. But while Swartz is being prosecut- residents claimed to see holy apparitions. Filmmaker Aoife Kelle- ed as a result of popular protests, Mesa has her begins by letting contemporary descendants of the venerated been protected through legal technicalities. witnesses tell the tale of that special day (which was certified In the third case, from 2013—presented in by the as a genuine miracle), after which she the form of a dramatic re-enactment without goes beyond the lore to examine life in Knock, including the testimony—Cruz Velázquez, who had been arrangement of holy water for visitors to the apparition site, a visit to a tourist-trap hired to smuggle two bottles of liquid meth, shop that sells little statues of Jesus and other biblical trinkets, and testimonies from was induced to drink some by interrogators, those who claim to have been cured of disease and affliction. Most intriguing are who then failed to get Velázquez medical aid the efforts of savvy priest Fr. Richard Gibbons, who has successfully advocated for before he died (his family received an out-of- Knock’s targeted growth—e.g., building a small airport—as a tourist town. Enlisting court settlement from the U.S. government). such heavy-hitters as an American cardinal to galvanize the community, Gibbons is Minn’s film clearly suggests that the rules intent on leveraging the old story in order to bring the world to Knock. Kelleher allows covering agents’ use of deadly force should the people and the details to speak for themselves, never becoming satirical but rather be re-examined and that the government approaching the material with lightly bemused affection. Extras include additional should be more cooperative in seeing justice scenes. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) is done in these kinds of cases. Recommend- ed. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 51 VIDEO LIBRARIAN Democracy Road HHH1/2 minors coming from El Salvador and Hon- A Good American HH1/2 (2016) 60 min. In Dutch, English & Burmese w/ duras. Many have found a home on New (2016) 100 min. DVD: $50 ($125 w/PPR): public English subtitles. DVD: $348. Icarus Films. PPR. York’s Long Island and have been accused of libraries; $295 w/PPR: colleges & universities. DRA. Director Turid Rogne looks at the return a series of gruesome murders, some 25 since Collective Eye Films. Closed captioned. of the Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB) to 2016. Filmmaker Marcela Gaviria’s PBS-aired Whether the 9/11 attacks could have been Myanmar in 2015 following more than 20 Frontline documentary looks at America’s prevented if U.S. intelligence services had years of exile in Norway. With Myanmar catch-up efforts to deal with this violent gang, been using the best data-collection system moving from a military dictatorship to a comprised of 200-300 members, with many available is the provocative question raised democracy, DVB’s reporters and producers others in cliques. MS-13 not only pressures by Friedrich Moser’s documentary about Bill were hopeful they could re-establish an in- juveniles to join the gang, but also harasses Binney, a National Security Agency analyst dependent news channel within the country. friends and families, sometimes violently, and mathematical wiz who during the 1990s Democracy Road follows DVB editor-in-chief often in the form of dismemberment, with was successfully developing a program called Aye Chan Naing and reporter Than Win Htut assaults using machetes. Schools are “ground ThinThread, which was designed to identify as they meet with government officials and zero” for recruiting efforts, with nearby isolat- significant connections from the moun- ordinary folks to detail the challenges the ed woods being ideal spots to cloak activities. tains of material flooding into the agency country faces during this tumultuous tran- Many of those affected are illegal immigrants, every day. The argument made by Binney, sition period. An ambitious DVB production who are reluctant to approach possibly un- a soft-spoken man in a wheelchair—as well called Our Nation, Our Land gives voice to sympathetic police and other authorities. as other colleagues interviewed—is that Myanmar’s rural population, who were most- President Trump has fanned the flames of Binney’s digitally-based system would have ly silent during the years of government-con- alarm about the danger posed by illegals, isolated connections among the hijackers trolled media. However, the old dictatorship ordering “Operation Matador,” a roundup of from the metadata that might have allowed is not entirely willing to cede control, and suspected MS-13 members. Making a gang the agency to foil their plot. But his project the DVB team faces both minor annoyances sign, wearing insignia, sporting tattoos, or was eliminated in 2000 by NSA director and major hurdles in regaining their former even having something scrawled in a school Michael Hayden in favor of an inferior, ana- position. Offering an inspiring portrait of notebook can be enough for detention. Some log-based system called Trailblazer because, intelligent and dedicated journalists who are youths may not be members, but are never- according to Binney, Hayden and another serious about their craft and willing to risk theless subjected to solitary confinement, agency official had a financial interest in the company developing it. Binney further their lives to present the news, this is highly jailed far away from home or any support emphasizes that ThinThread included priva- recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) system, where they are surrounded by an cy protocols that would have prevented the alien culture and language differences (lead- widespread collection of metadata on average HHH ing to increased suicide attempts). Featuring The Gang Crackdown American citizens (which caused a scandal (2018) 60 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS interviews with Deputy Attorney General Rod Video. SDH captioned. ISBN: 978-1-5317-0436-0. about U.S. intelligence operations). Moser’s Rosenstein, among others, this is a timely, film is admittedly one-sided, relying entirely In recent years a violent gang known as fair-minded treatment of a hot immigration on assertions by Binney and his supportive MS-13 has appeared in the United States, topic that presents no easy solutions. Recom- colleagues, while also employing dramatic whose members are often unaccompanied mended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees) re-enactments and throbbing music to give an atmosphere of pervasive corruption. But while it cannot be considered conclusive, nei- Exodus: The Journey Continues HHH1/2 ther does it descend to the category of rabid (2018) 120 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS Video. SDH conspiracy-theorizing, and it certainly raises captioned. ISBN: 978-1-5317-0435-3. questions worth pondering. A strong optional One and a half million refugees have fled to the West in recent purchase. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) years, escaping war, terrorism, and poverty. At the same time, fearful nations have erected razor-wire fences and fortified bor- The Gun Shop HH1/2 ders, leaving many refugees in limbo. Filmmaker James Bluemel’s (2018) 60 min. DVD: $39.95. DRA. Film Ideas. PBS-aired Frontline documentary finds scores of displaced persons PPR. Closed captioned. living in tents, ramshackle houses, even in an abandoned rail John Douglas’s documentary, originally yard (in some cases, children have spent their entire lives in a broadcast on the Cutting Edge series on Brit- camp). Refugees have left everything behind in Syria, Iraq, and ain’s , aims to offer insights on sub-Saharan Africa, pursuing a dream of freedom, only to endure conditions worse than American gun culture. The focus is on the in their former lives—but risking death if they were to return. They resort to crossing Freedom Firearms gun shop in Battle Creek, borders and countries to seek a haven but are spurned in many cases as “fake refugees” MI, where store owner Joel Fulton greets the (one family has walked across half of Europe). The film shows migrants so desperate that start of each new business day by declaring they stiffen their resolve and courage with alcohol and weed before storming a border “Sun’s up, guns up!” Fulton advocates for re- fence, hoping that their numbers will get them across. In one instance, a family can sponsible gun ownership and has conducted only afford to send the pregnant mother on a flight to Germany (so her child can be classes on weapons usage over the last 14 considered a German citizen); reluctant to be separated, the woman is actually relieved years. The store’s patrons and staff talk about when she is stopped by airport authorities. For many, it’s a long, grueling, and uncertain why they own guns. One man, whose teenage process to be granted political asylum. Exodus is full of poignant images (happy end- daughter was badly injured in a local mass ings are rare), but while the documentary might have benefited from interviews with shooting, fails to see the value of strict gun government officials and hostile or welcoming citizens, the stories told by the refugees control, commenting that “the most unhelp- (in their hesitant way) are quite eloquent, as they struggle to try to understand why ful argument out there is take away all the the big wide world can’t find a small place for them, a place of peace and safety. Sure to guns.” Another woman enrolls her 9-year-old arouse strong reactions and debate, this timely documentary is highly recommended. in shooting lessons—she was the victim of an Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees) armed carjacking, which explains her interest in gun ownership. While the film tries to be

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 52 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 raising a family. Father Sean Major-Camp- bell, a 25-year advocate for individuals with I Am Another You HHH1/2 HIV and AIDS, welcomes LGBT members to (2017) 81 min. DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $24.95. FilmRise (avail. from his services (he caused a scandal when he most distributors). washed the feet of a lesbian couple in 2014). In I Am Another You, Chinese émigré filmmaker Nanfu Wang And Dane Lewis—who leads the Jamaica breathes new life into the human-interest/observational docu- Forum for Lesbians, All-Sexuals, and Gays mentary genre. Wang’s film begins on a whim in Miami after she (J-FLAG)—provides assistance and support to meets a charismatic drifter named Dylan, a well-spoken twen- young people like Spice. As he says, “The fight tysomething transient whose adventures Wang feels compelled for emancipation is in our blood,” a hopeful to follow, even if it means eating out of trash cans and sleeping signal that better days lie ahead. An inspiring rough in solidarity. Wang begins to get frustrated with Dylan, short documentary, this is recommended. however, when she witnesses certain troubling aspects in her subject that suggest a Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy) kind of privilege only available to someone intentionally homeless. She begins doubt- ing Dylan’s sincerity about the high-minded antisocial life he is leading, wondering Pennhurst HHH whether he is a principled noble tramp, or just a drunken bum who can’t handle (2018) 88 min. DVD: $59.95 ($299 w/PPR from real-world responsibilities. Wang eventually abandons Dylan but her obsession lingers, edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from so she travels to Dylan’s home state of Utah to seek out his conservative Mormon most distributors). family. What’s most fascinating about this film is Wang’s changing perceptions of In 1968, NBC News ran a harrowing Dylan throughout. Wang’s portrait of Dylan’s family—his dad is a Dudley-Do-Right investigative series on the Pennhurst State cop and his brother an icy classical pianist—gives viewers an overwhelming sense of School and Hospital, founded in 1908 outside the stiflingly prohibitive and restrictive atmosphere that shaped Dylan’s desire to take , PA. Fifty years later, filmmaker a different path in life. But it is during this latter stage of events that Wang uncovers Jodie Alexandra Taylor’s new documentary another, more disturbing, possibility for Dylan’s choices in life. Highly recommended. looks back at longstanding controversies Aud: C, P. (M. Sandlin). surrounding the institution, particularly over chronic, dehumanizing practices that went on for almost 80 years. At Pennhurst, the respectful of its subjects, it also gives a some- and court decisions), and—despite the Civil mentally challenged and otherwise disabled what dubious impression that the majority of Rights movement—persists to the present were, reportedly, stored as in a warehouse, the store’s patrons have a dangerously naïve day, growing increasingly blatant in recent neglected and restrained for long periods view of the value of gun ownership and a years. Combining an excellent selection of for no reason other than staff convenience. paranoid belief in the government’s alleged archival materials with new interviews, Cau- What Pennhurst discovers through inter- interest in voiding the Second Amendment. sey presents an eloquent argument regarding viewing surviving staff members and former Still, while this is unlikely to change minds a persistent flaw in America’s democratic patients (Pennhurst closed down in 1987) is on either side of the gun debate, its hot-but- dream. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) that during its latter years Pennhurst showed ton topic timeliness makes it a strong optional some improvement as conditions and policies purchase. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) Many Loves One Heart: Stories of were at least somewhat modernized, but Courage and Resilience HHH by all accounts the mammoth facility was The Long Shadow HHH (2017) 18 min. DVD: $69: high schools & public always woefully understaffed. Patient needs (2018) 84 min. DVD: $59.95 ($299 w/PPR from libraries; $149: colleges & universities. DRA. Good were ignored, cruelty was common, and an edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from Docs (avail. from www.gooddocs.net). PPR. industrial approach to basic care was the most distributors). For all the strides that the LGBT commu- brutal norm. Family members recall the pain The Long Shadow presents a history of nity has made throughout the world, Jamaica and guilt of surrendering a loved one to Penn- slavery and racism in America in the form of remains one of the least hospitable towards hurst, one-time patients talk about surviving a personal journey of discovery by director their presence. Filmmaker Sarah Feinbloom’s the haranguing and harshness of care staff, Frances Causey, who also serves as narrator. short documentary focuses on individuals and former doctors lament the substandard As a white child growing up in the South, who represent signs of change. As cultural treatment of the patient population, although Causey was proud of her ancestor Edmund studies professor Carolyn Cooper explains, a few past caretakers also describe some inno- Pendleton, a delegate to the Continental “Jamaica is a fundamentalist Christian soci- vations that they introduced to help patients Congress in 1774 and a supporter of indepen- ety, and people take the Book of Deuteronomy feel useful and worthy. An emotional roller dence. Causey later learned that Pendleton literally.” Like its former colonial ruler, the coaster that sadly reminds viewers of how had also proposed the modification excluding country outlawed (in Jamaica, society often treats the disabled by segregat- slaves from the provisions of the Virginia Dec- it is known as the Buggery Law), even though ing them from the rest of the world, this is laration of Rights in 1776, and by the time she Britain began the process of decriminaliza- recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) reached college, she concluded that she was tion in 1967. Spice, a sex worker, grew up with benefitting from a system of white privilege a father who dismissed him, saying “the boy Pride Denied: Homonationalism & the that functioned as a sort of American apart- is acting like a girl,” and making him sleep Future of Queer Politics HHH heid. After a stint at CNN, Causey became a in a chicken coop. For years, he struggled (2016) 61 min. DVD: $34.95 ($150 w/PPR): public filmmaker, focusing on the continuing strug- with suicidal thoughts and now lives on the libraries; $280: community colleges; $350: colleges gle for African American equality in the Unit- streets, where he has had to learn how to & universities. DRA. Media Education Foundation. ed States. Animated by the injustices revealed protect himself. For people like Spice, no state PPR. ISBN: 1-944024-01-8. in the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in support exists, and the police force is noto- Kami Chisholm’s documentary casts a Ferguson, MO, Causey here sketches out what riously unsympathetic. Fortunately, some critical eye at Toronto’s WorldPride event. she describes as systemic racism in America, of these institutions are starting to evolve. Activists and historians here offer a histo- which began with the introduction of slavery Mo Rowe, a trans man, is among the police ry of the gay rights movement, including in the colonial period, was codified in our force’s first openly LGBT members; he has a moments from America’s timeline, such as founding documents (and later legislation girlfriend and looks forward to marrying and the landmark 1969 Stonewall riots. Just as

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 53 VIDEO LIBRARIAN and stupefied at the lack of action against the fossil fuel industry, Ward—in the name Strange Victory HHH1/2 of protecting future generations—partic- (1948) 71 min. DVD: $34.95, Blu-ray: $39.95. Milestone/Oscilloscope (avail. from most distributors). ISBN: 978-1-933920-956-5 (dvd), 978-1- ipates in “monkey wrench” sabotage and 933920-96-2 (blu-ray). public protests (sometimes alone, some- An American self-critique presented in a compelling documen- times with cohorts) that border on trespass- tary style similar to the Russian school of colliding images, Leo ing. Ultimately, this divorced single father Hurwitz’s 1948 Strange Victory serves up a lightning-paced argu- winds up in a state courtroom, ment that Americans shed their own blood to defeat a genocidal financially depleted by legal fees (albeit strongman in World War II only to come back to anti-Semitic and supported by his son and girlfriend), but anti-black business as usual in the U.S. It’s hard to describe the unapologetic. Ward also insinuates that he experience of watching Strange Victory, which draws upon loads is being blackballed in the activist-advocacy of Nazi propaganda footage, newsreels, American-made hate materials, and original employment field and thus has no recourse images to put forth its thesis that discrimination and violence toward particular but to break the law. Another filmmaker groups are practically a common denominator in the human race. Hurwitz’s rapid-fire might have questioned some of Ward’s edits featuring incendiary material capture the filmmaker’s passion and rage toward actions tied to his all-consuming fear of American hypocrisy. And on the quirky side, a long middle section concerns babies a warmer planet, but producer-director and new mothers; it’s like a composer suddenly changing the key in a piece of music Lindsey Grayzel is clearly on the same to open up an unexpected, mysterious world. Hurwitz—a pioneering documentarian, team (she was also arrested along with CBS producer, and blacklisted left-winger—was an interesting figure, and hisStrange Ward in a protest). In a crowded field of Victory paints a portrait of post-WWII American Fascist tendencies that feels quite big-picture climate-change documentaries, relevant today. The copious extras include Hurwitz’s 1964 epilogue to Strange Victory this title focuses on the determination of celebrating Martin Luther King Jr. and the Civil Rights movement, an excerpt from individual activists more than arguments Ingela Romare’s 1992 documentary On Time, Art, Love, and Trees: A Meeting with Leo T. regarding science. Recommended. Aud: C, Hurwitz, an interview with producer Barney Rosset, and six bonus short films featuring P. (C. Cassady) Hurwitz as a cinematographer (including Pie in the Sky, starring Elia Kazan). Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) Spanish Exile: A Story of the Lost Generation HH1/2 (2017) 74 min. In Spanish w/English subtitles. Stonewall birthed a movement in the United tary Recovering Paradise is still alive by film’s DVD: $200. Yo Creo Content (avail. from (www. States, 1981’s bathhouse raids in Canada had a end, which is not intended to be a spoiler, spanishexile.eu/en). PPR. similar effect. Various pride parades followed, but rather a hint of the terrible stakes at play Rubén Hornillo’s film is a cinematic essay leading up to WorldPride, which came to in this grim work of journalism. Filmed in in which he discusses the plight of millions Toronto in 2014. Community activist Prabha rural Mexico, the narrative centers on an of young Spaniards who have migrated to Khosla found the early parades empowering, uprising of indigenous farmers who were other countries due to lack of opportunity but she sees WorldPride as a commercialized chased off their properties and out of their in Spain following the worldwide economic event that prioritizes capitalism. For instance, communities years before by narco-outlaws crash of 2008. An expatriate himself, Hor- since Trojan acts as an official sponsor, in- and drug cartels. Now, with the passage of nillo integrates his own story—shown via structors providing information about safe time and increasing frustration over lack , dramatic re-enactments, and sex practices must distribute their condoms. of official intervention, these ordinary occasional animation—into interviews that Instead of promoting radical ideas, Amer- folks have decided to meet up at rallies and he conducts with analysts back in Spain and ican Studies professor Christina Hanhardt arm themselves for a battle to retake what others who have gone abroad (Hornillo him- describes WorldPride as “conservative and is theirs. The camera follows the actions self ultimately landed in Los Angeles, where normative.” Members of Queers Against Israe- of several leaders in the fight, including a he studied film). The premise here is that the li Apartheid are particularly concerned about farmer who hasn’t seen his house in years, word “exile” is properly applied not only to “pinkwashing,” whereby Israel promotes itself a woman who worries about being alone political refugees but also to those who leave as an LGBT-friendly tourist destination while while cooking for the rebels, and various because of governmental policies that fail engaging in human rights abuses against elders who inspire others at their own peril. to deal with high unemployment. Hornillo Palestinians. Although initially welcome to Directors José Arteaga and Rafael Camacho devotes much of his narrative to Spanish participate in WorldPride, the group faced a don’t shirk from the action when it becomes politics, offering a rather strident chrono- brief ban in 2010 until public outcry led to terrifying and bloody: sudden gunfights, logical survey of the struggle between the their reinstatement. Sex workers and trans along with the torture and murders of sev- center-conservative People’s Party—whose people also testify about the ways in which eral rebels, are all part of the price to pay austerity-based approach has, in his view, WorldPride has left them feeling disen- while seeking justice. A rugged film with a exacerbated Spain’s problems by favoring the franchised. While Chisholm is looking at a compelling you-are-there look and feel, this wealthy—and the liberal (or radical) Podemos specific event, the broader implications are powerful documentary is recommended. Party, which Hornillo and most of his friends clear: corporatization involving marginalized Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) prefer but are often prevented from casting communities runs the risk of trivializing real ballots for due to draconian requirements issues and concerns. Recommended. Aud: C, The Reluctant Radical HHH regarding expatriate voting. The Spanish P. (K. Fennessy) (2018) 77 min. DVD: $50 ($125 w/PPR): public political discussion tends to be generally libraries; $295 w/PPR: colleges & universities. DRA. more compelling than Hornillo’s very de- Recovering Paradise HHH Collective Eye Films. Closed captioned. tailed coverage of the myriad troubles that (2017) 72 min. DVD: $39.95: public libraries & Ken Ward is a figure in the global-warm- he and his girlfriend have had to overcome high schools; $250: colleges & universities (study ing controversy who refuses to be a mere in California. Although meant to illuminate guide included). EPF Media. PPR. ISBN: 978-1- concerned bystander. Ward’s background the larger subject, this personal material ulti- 933724-53-9. work includes Ralph Nader’s public-interest mately distracts. A strong optional purchase. Not everyone in the unnerving documen- research groups and Greenpeace. Shocked Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 54 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 Troll Inc. HH1/2 only 30 days a year, even though she was runs for president of her 10th-grade class, (2018) 80 min. DVD: $19.99. Virgil Films (avail. his primary caregiver before she and her law and the girls appear to be doing well, but from most distributors). Closed captioned. enforcement officer husband divorced. Joan when Choothesa asks Fon’s mother about Trolling is an Internet age phenomenon— Meier, a professor of clinical law, believes the sale of her daughter, she denies that it often part of a click-based web economy that that gender bias is to blame; her research happened. He writes off her denial to saving thrives on eyeballs—which can be based on has found that family court judges are more face and fear of judgment, but the filmmakers fake news, outrageous conspiracy theories, likely to believe fathers seeking custody over uncover evidence that Choothesa fabricated and sometimes outright hate speech and lies. mothers alleging abuse (in addition, fathers the claims of trafficking, interviewing former The hero (or anti-hero) of George Russell’s often have better resources for legal represen- volunteers, a managing director, and the girls documentary is “,” an alias used by tation). Charlotta now volunteers for a local themselves. What they discover is a man who Andrew Auernheimer, a proud and profane shelter, while Tammy belongs to a group has lied about almost everything, including self-described “trickster” who delights in that advocates on behalf of abused mothers. his photography career. After the revelation, offending people. Trolling thrives in the An eye-opening, infuriating documentary the filmmakers continue tracking the story cynical, post-truth, post-9/11 world, in which on a systemic injustice that is long overdue as Choothesa evicts the girls who spoke to people feel a deep dissatisfaction, but haven’t for reform, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. them. What started out as a film about sex figured out what to do about it. Weev, who (K. Fennessy) trafficking, ends up being about fraud—one identifies as being part Jewish, also says he is more way that the poor are vulnerable to cra- a white supremacist, and is seen here throw- The Wrong Light HHH ven opportunists who see them more as meal ing out Nazi salutes. He wants to constantly (2017) 78 min. DVD: $99.95: public libraries; tickets than human beings. Recommended. ratchet up rhetoric, take people out of their $350: colleges & universities. The Cinema Guild. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy) comfort zone, and gross them out. Weev PPR. Closed captioned. ISBN: 0-7815-1558-0. claims that there is a distinction between Co-directors Josie Swantek Heitz and Dave trolling and bullying, and indeed many troll Adams got more than they were expecting TEEN ISSUES activities are cloaked in official-sounding when they set out to profile a Thai crusader titles. Weev attracted the attention of fed- dedicated to combating sex trafficking. Mick- eral authorities when he hacked the AT&T ey Choothesa solicits donations for COSA Broken Lines: A Story of Addiction website, publishing thousands of e-mails on (Children’s Organization of Southeast Asia), HH1/2 Gawker, which landed him in a minimum-se- which he founded. Unlike government-run (2018) 32 min. DVD: $149.95 (study guide curity federal prison for a couple years before organizations, COSA doesn’t seek to prosecute included). Human Relations Media. PPR. Closed his conviction was overturned and he was parents, but rather to help victims return captioned. ISBN: 978-1-62706-105-6. released. Defenders describe all of this as a to civilian life. Choothesa says he served as Director Peter Scheer’s guidance docu- dueling vision of Internet freedom vs. govern- a 17-year combat photographer in various mentary centers on Austin Guerra, a NJ- ment/corporate control of a monetized web. conflicts, including Desert Storm, and after based young man whose ADHD, Tourette’s Meanwhile, Weev, who has moved his base returning to Thailand, he launched his syndrome, and chronic anxiety are cited as operations outside the United States, remains second career by extracting trafficked girls reasons for his getting into drugs. Opening unrepentant. While somewhat scattershot, from brothels on the border with Burma. with home movies and comments from fam- this provocative documentary on a timely Most of the COSA inhabitants hail from the ily and friends—alternatively characterizing topic should be considered a strong optional hill tribes of Northern Thailand, and the Guerra as a “free bird” or simply “out of purchase. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees) directors use animated sequences to depict control”—Broken Lines recalls Guerra’s vola- the lives of two in particular: COSA’s website tile childhood tantrums (such as kicking his What Doesn’t Kill Me: Domestic Violence explains that 17-year-old Fon’s mother and mom’s seat so she couldn’t drive), pain from and the Battle for Custody HHH 16-year-old Eye’s aunt sold them into sex Tourette tics, and battles with his younger (2017) 81 min. DVD: $89: public libraries; $395: slavery. During the course of filming, Eye sister. Guerra himself talks about selling drugs colleges & universities. Women Make Movies. PPR. In a country in which one out of four wom- en experiences domestic abuse, mothers may Not Alone HHH have it the worst of all. Director Rachel Mey- (2016) 50 min. DVD: $95: high schools & public libraries; $295 w/PPR: rick profiles several subjects, concentrating colleges & universities (discussion guide included). DRA. Ro*co Films primarily on 86-year-old Charlotta Harrison, Educational. Closed captioned. who lives in Oklahoma. As an opening title The inspiration for this documentary came about in 2011 notes, “In America today, it is more likely when then-teenager Jacqueline Monetta learned of the suicide for a judge to award custody of children to of her best friend—a tragedy that was magnified when five other an abusive father than a protective mother.” students from her school took their lives within the course of a Charlotta put up with her husband’s abuse for year. Co-directed by Monetta and Kiki Goshay, Not Alone follows 40 years in order to protect their son, Brian. Monetta as she interviews nine teens from the California Bay After Fred struck her and threatened worse Area who considered suicide when they felt unable to cope with the problems in their in a grocery store, she decided she had had lives. The kids detail their respective issues, including dealing with bullying (both enough. By then, Brian was an adult, but the in-person and through social media), peer pressure, and low self-esteem. One young other women in this film lost custody when man talks about how his sexual orientation resulted in constant harassment, while a they sought divorces from their abusive hus- young woman of mixed race with a plus-size physique was forced to endure the dou- bands. Aleah, who lives in New York, says, ble-barreled bullying of racial slurs and body shaming. While teens will likely relate “Every day I wake up with a crushed heart more to the film because it does not bring in parents, teachers, counselors, or any adult when I think about my son.” According to authority figure to offer input or advice, this could give the incorrect impression that Barry Goldstein, a retired attorney, “It’s a kids were somehow able to solve their own problems with little or no adult help. Still, standard abuser tactic to go after custody as Not Alone—presented in both its full length and a 30-minute abridged version—would a way to regain control over their victims.” serve well as a discussion starter on teen suicide. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) Tammy, who lives in Virginia, sees her son

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 55 VIDEO LIBRARIAN out of the family home, a stint in rehab, and special needs. Sam, on the other hand, is a going further in his professional ambitions. the painful aftereffects of an August 2010 car gregarious kid who excels at woodworking Another former prisoner, Billy Cabrera, starts accident he caused by thrill-seeking driving and other creative endeavors. Sam has trouble a new life as the owner of a barbershop, of- at 100 mph. Although the program features reading and maintaining friendships but says fering free haircuts and a resource center for some heavy-handed and mawkish vignettes that woodworking makes him feel calm. At released prisoners. And Jesus Ruiz is preparing (including Guerra trudging down the yellow Bridges, teachers spend time getting to know to return to freedom but faces financial and lines of a street to the song “We’re Going to their students before turning to classwork personal pressures that seem to overwhelm Be Friends”), Guerra’s story has a redemptive by way of ice breakers and team-building him. Shot over a four-year period, Beyond the ending, with his return to college, mending of activities. Pilar Muñoz, who teaches Spanish, Wall takes an in-depth look at the emotional fences with family and friends, and newfound believes that it’s important to keep the kids difficulties and societal pressures placed upon career goals in the mental health industry. engaged and help them manage stress by these men as they try to reset their lives. A strong optional purchase. Aud: H, C, P. letting them know it’s okay to make mistakes. While criticizing the criminal justice system (J. Williams-Wood) Science teacher Sean Kangataran feels that for its failure to properly prepare the men for “there’s no such thing as an average student,” their return to the wider world, the filmmak- The Warning Signs of Addiction HH1/2 and that individually-tailored curriculums ers also make it clear that the men are respon- (2017) 30 min. DVD: $64.95. DRA. TMW Media will produce the best outcome. Aside from sible for their choices and decisions, which Group. PPR. Closed captioned. standard subjects, the students at Bridges also carry consequences. Often disturbing but A tearful participant laments “I don’t know step outside the classroom to raise chickens ultimately moving, this trenchant portrait why this to myself…you just become so and restore cars. It’s clear that Bridges Acad- of life after prison is highly recommended. lost” in this addition to the Teens in Treatment emy isn’t your average school—and a shame Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) series. Unfortunately, the young people and that there aren’t more like it. Recommended. adults—who may be speaking in a professional Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy) capacity—interviewed here are not identified NATURE, MATH & SCIENCE onscreen, so the commentary on gateway sub- stances such as nicotine and alcohol, triggers LAW & CRIME to addiction (including family and peer pres- Biology & Chemistry: The Science of sure, depression, hereditary predisposition, HHH and low self-esteem), and personal stories Beyond the Wall HHH1/2 Forensics tend to run together, with added clips and (2016) 74 min. DVD: $59.95 ($299 w/PPR from (2016) 11 min. DVD: $44.95. DRA. TMW Media Group. PPR. Closed captioned. vignettes reflecting party and drug culture. edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from Still, the topics covered on addiction are solid, most distributors). This addition to the Show Me Science Ad- including relevant questions (“Have you ever Filmmakers Jenny Phillips and Bestor Cram vanced series looks at the fundamentals of gotten into a car with someone intoxicated?” deliver a raw and provocative study of former forensic science. Citing popular TV shows “Do you have blackouts?” “Are your family and current convicts struggling to rebuild and advancements in crime scene investiga- and friends concerned?”), physiological effects their lives after incarceration in this docu- tions, The Science of Forensics delves into the on the brain and body, and steps for recovery mentary set in the depressed Massachusetts history of forensics, which dates back as far and treatment. A strong optional purchase. localities of Lawrence and Lowell. Each man as 500 B.C. to fingerprinting by the ancient Aud: J, H, P. (J. Williams-Wood) finds a different route to redemption and Chinese, and it includes the first autopsy after reinvention. Diaz works with prisoners the death of Julius Caesar, Henry Goddard’s as a substance abuse counselor and re-entry 1835 Scotland Yard bullet comparison, chem- EDUCATION specialist, helping convicts to achieve sobri- ist James Marsh’s arsenic testing, and Nobel ety and avoid recidivism. However, his crim- Prize-winning biologist Karl Landsteiner’s inal background often prevents him from categorization of blood types. The program 2e2: Teaching the Twice Exceptional HHH (2018) 77 min. DVD: $29.95: individuals; $150: The Family I Had HHH1/2 public libraries; $300: colleges & universities. Child (2017) 80 min. DVD: $19.95, Blu-ray: $24.95. FilmRise (avail. from of Giants (dist. by 2e: Twice Exceptional). Closed www.amazon.com). captioned. ISBN: 978-1-7321304-0-1. Katie Green and Carlye Rubin’s documentary, which aired on As in his previous documentary, 2e: Twice Investigation Discovery, tells the story of an incomprehensible Exceptional (VL Online-7/15), director Thomas tragedy. The focus is on Charity Lee, a restaurant worker in Ropelewski defines 2e individuals as those Abilene, TX, whose life was shattered in February 2007. While who are intellectually gifted or highly tal- Lee was working a night shift on Super Bowl Sunday at her ented and have some form of learning dif- Buffalo Wild Wings job, she received a telephone call from the ference or disability. Most of the subjects in police informing her that her 13-year-old son Paris had choked his follow-up, which centers on the Bridges and stabbed his 4-year-old sister Ella to death. This was not the Academy in Studio City, CA, are high-func- first time that violence destroyed Lee’s family: when she was a child, her father was tioning teen and pre-teen students on the murdered and her mother was arrested under suspicion of being behind the crime. autism spectrum. Throughout the film, kids Paris, who has a 141 IQ, initially claimed that his sister was demonically possessed, try to explain how their brains work. Jake, a but later admitted that he had also considered killing his mother. Lee, who maintains 10th grader, sighs, “That’s a tricky question. a strained relationship with her mother, had another child after Ella’s death. Paris, Sometimes I’m not sure what’s going on in who is incarcerated, will be eligible for parole in 2027, and Lee—who is still in touch there.” For Jake, who wears contractor-grade with him—worries about how he will react to a new half-sister. Both Lee and Paris noise-canceling headphones, it’s easier to are remarkably articulate in their interviews, detailing the horror of the past while write than speak, which made his early years voicing apprehension over what the future will bring. A provocative and often dis- difficult. As his mother notes, Jake’s previous turbing portrait of grief and suffering, this is highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) school wasn’t accustomed to smart kids with

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 56 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 also looks at various contemporary forensics Earthquakes—an entry in the six-part The methods—including DNA and PCR (poly- Earth’s Furies series—which centers mostly on merase chain reaction) analysis—as well as historic and pending earthquakes in Western jobs related to forensics, such as psychologist, Europe and Eurasia. The complex conditions pathologist, nurse, and positions in local that cause earthquakes are examined, along MEDIA 15oz government. Offering a fast-paced peek into with the reasons why some areas (such as LIBRARIAN $14.95 a “rewarding” science with constant innova- Haiti) have suffered immeasurably from the MUGS! + shipping tions on the horizon, this is recommended. same force that did less damage elsewhere. Aud: J, H, P. (J. Williams-Wood) Trying to pinpoint the next Big One is the www.greenplanetfilms.org/merch Holy Grail of seismology, although some Earth Seasoned: #Gap Year HHH believe that incalculable destruction will (2017) 75 min. DVD: $350. Bullfrog Films. PPR. occur within a couple of centuries in Turkey. SDH captioned. ISBN: 1-941545-98-X. Earthquakes offers a solid mix of information, Filmmaker Molly Kreuzman’s inspiring disaster footage, and speculation on one of documentary chronicles the experiences Earth’s most destructive forces. Other titles of Tori Davis, a special needs teenager with in the series include Avalanches and Lightning. ADD, who decides to take a gap year before Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh) going to college. Tori joins four other young An epic journey of the Atlantic Salmon in an at- women for a year’s stay in the Oregon Cas- The Earth’s Furies: Volcanic Eruptions tempt to unravel the mystery of their life at sea. cade Range mountains. Led by two instruc- HHH Salmon are plummeting to critical levels. The tors, the Caretaker Program gives teenagers cause is mortality at sea. For the first time, using (2017) 52 min. In English & French w/English the latest DNA technology, scientists are tracking a chance to live semi-primitively for four subtitles. DVD: $39: public libraries; $89: high the salmon from the rivers into the vast North seasons in the forest—minus the convenienc- schools; $150: colleges & universities. DRA. Green Atlantic and back again, in hopes of finding an es and technology of today’s society—in Planet Films. PPR. SDH captioned. answer before it’s too late. order to connect with nature, detoxify from As if we don’t have enough to worry about, modern-day stresses, and learn self-reliance. sometime in the next 10,000 years, planet Earth will witness a super-volcano that could During the fall, the young women build a www.greenplanetfilms.org fi re using friction and cook their own meals, very well end all life. Fortunately, the top working together as a team while adjusting to 10 most likely volcanoes to become global 415-377-5471 isolated living. Using only hand tools—axes, murderers are under constant surveillance. [email protected] hacksaws—the women design and construct But with Kilauea pouring lava over streets a winter shelter by chopping down trees, and homes on Hawaii’s Big Island, and mem- binding logs together with cord, and mixing ories lingering of Iceland’s catastrophic 2010 mud plaster by hand that is then applied to volcano putting the brakes on air travel, the bark and other forest materials to form a documentary Volcanic Eruptions—an entry roof. With less work during the short days in the six-part The Earth’s Furies series—also of winter, Tori enjoys sledding, reading, and serves as a reminder that we all live on a writing in her journal. As spring approaches, dynamic planet whose geological changes Tori learns about tracking and spends time are far from finished. Directed by Franck alone meditating, listening to the sounds of Gombert, the fi lm looks at the “Ring of Fire” nature, and observing wildlife. While Tori that surrounds the Pacifi c Ocean with one had trouble remembering information and long tunnel of magma, as well as famous keeping friends at high school, she credits eruptions in South America, Indonesia, and her gap year experience with helping her Island in the Indian Ocean. Besides to gain self-confi dence, establish trust and telling viewers the difference between an friendships, and find her own place in a “effusive” volcano (spewing lava) and one group—all of which help to make her life that blows up like a bomb, Volcanic Eruptions easier in college. An interesting look at the also features weirdly fascinating information benefits of a back-to-nature program for about secondary effects of volcanic ash on jet modern youth, this is recommended. Aud: engines and the of sheep. This offers H, C, P. (T. Root) a timely look at one of nature’s more cata- strophic phenomena in an age of accelerated The Earth’s Furies: Earthquakes HHH disasters due to climate change. Other titles (2017) 52 min. In English & French w/English in the series include Mega Fires and Tornadoes. subtitles. DVD: $39: public libraries; $89: high Recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh) schools; $150: colleges & universities. DRA. Green Planet Films. PPR. SDH captioned. Prediction by the Numbers HHH1/2 The good news, supposedly, is that a (2018) 60 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS lot of earthquakes means planet Earth is Video. SDH captioned. ISBN: 978-1-5317-0433-9. pretty healthy, jostling tectonic plates and Filmmaker Daniel McCabe’s PBS-aired sending waves of energy through whatever NOVA documentary examines the hit-and- lies beneath the planet’s crust in any par- miss pursuit of forecasting. Strangely, the ticular place: solid rock (best-case scenario proliferation of digital technology has failed for people on top) or loose sand or landfi ll to bring a greater degree of scientifi c accuracy (not so good). The difference is made clear to predicting the proverbial sure-bet. One of in filmmaker Franck Gombert’s partly the most obvious examples of prediction is French-language (with English subtitles) found in the synergy between casino gam-

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 57 VIDEO LIBRARIAN treatment centers—but also find despoiled Sex, Lies and Butterflies HHH1/2 rivers where nothing can live. Along the way, (2018) 53 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR), Blu-ray: $29.99 ($54.99 they talk to the people who are working to w/PPR). PBS Video. ISBN: 978-1-5317-0477-3 (dvd), 978-1-5317-0478-0 take care of and protect water. At times, the (blu-ray). brassy Stephens and Sprinkle—urinating on Actor narrates filmmaker Ann Johnson Prum’s the side of a road, stopping for hamburgers, PBS-aired on butterflies and their evolution- or swimming in the nude—look like stars in ary ancestors, moths. Obviously, there is visual splendor (in the a John Waters version of an environmental grass, in the air, in the flowers) in the closeup cinematography, but treatise, but no one can say that watching the the film complements the beauty of the insects with good biology, ecological content here feels like homework. albeit often of the Believe-It-Or-Not variety. Moths, according A wacky public service documentary, this is to cutting-edge research, actually emit a sort of “jamming” recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) frequency to trick the sonar of their chief predators, bats. A certain Peruvian butterfly peacefully co-exists—both as a caterpillar and as an adult—with voracious ants who otherwise eat and fight everything in their path. The “painted lady” butterfly makes a HEALTH & FITNESS generations-spanning high-altitude migration from Africa to northern Europe and back. And other butterflies (or their larva) generate natural toxins—or mimic species that do—in order to avoid becoming a meal. Sure to appeal to lovers of Lepidoptera, this in- 4 Wheel Bob HHH formative and gorgeous nature documentary is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (C. Cassady) (2018) 56 min. DVD: $99.95: high schools & public libraries; $269: colleges & universities. Tritone Films. PPR. Closed captioned. bling and mathematics, first considered by dependent marine life. Melting arctic ice has Without stooping to sentimentality, film- the 16th-century Italian mathematician Gi- also caused ocean levels to rise, contributing maker Tal Skloot’s PBS-aired documentary ancarlo Cardano. The most famous forecaster to an increase in heatwaves and hurricanes. profiles a remarkable athlete-activist who featured here is Billy Beane, whose use of George Tsiattalos, founder of Everything refuses to let his handicap prevent him analytics in running the Oakland A’s baseball Connects, notes that we are approaching the from having an active life. California’s Bob team revolutionized the sport, as chronicled tipping point at which human-made damage Coomber lost the use of his legs due to com- in both the book and film Moneyball. Beane is becomes irreversible. When D’Haeze visits plications from Type-1 diabetes. Nonetheless, a joyful raconteur, whose explanations of sta- government websites to learn more about even with the risk of insulin shock, he persists tistics could encourage viewers to dive deeper climate change, he finds that the Environ- in hiking difficult trails in a rugged wheel- into mathematical research. Indeed, Prediction mental Protection Agency, under President chair (returning to the Kearsarge Pass in the by the Numbers tackles the subject with such Trump, has removed data that previous Sierra Nevada with the dogged persistence a sense of enthusiasm that examinations of administrations shared freely (D’Haeze also of Ahab chasing Moby Dick). Bob also takes the mathematical theories of 17th-century mentions EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt, who part in local councils and advisory boards. Blaise Pascal and 18th-century Thomas Bayes has since resigned under a cloud of scandal). Along with its stereotype-busting portrait, come across not as arid academic topics but Scientists such as Max Holmes find Trump’s the film gingerly raises issues of how society rather wondrous. On the more serious side, description of climate change as “a hoax” as a whole views the disabled (or even the be- the film poses important questions about the especially irksome—a false belief that benefits yond-middle-aged), as the resilient Coomber impact of big data on forecasting and what the fossil fuel industry while everyone else finds himself unable to gain employment— that might mean for a wider society that loses. D’Haeze concludes with a list of ways not even sedentary work in the IT field—and puts too much faith in forecasting’s abilities. that kids can help fight climate change. This must turn to prolific freelance writing to have A fascinating, offbeat documentary, this is is an informative documentary that may spur an income. DVD extras include bonus scenes, highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (P. Hall) young viewers to think and act. Other titles with Coomber participating in a marathon. in the series include Everything Connects and Recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady) Tipping Point HHH Plastic Is Forever. Recommended. Aud: J, H, P. (2017) 26 min. DVD: $79: public libraries & high (K. Fennessy) Delay, Deny, Hope You Die HHH schools; $149: colleges & universities. DRA. The (2018) 52 min. DVD: $59.95 ($250 w/PPR from Video Project. PPR. Closed captioned. Water Makes Us Wet HHH edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from Aided by his parents, 14-year-old Dylan (2017) 80 min. DVD: $149 ($349 w/PPR). DRA. most distributors). D’Haeze directed this short documentary— Juno Films. Tens of thousands of enlisted men and part of the Kids Can Save the Planet series— In this naughty-wink-titled follow-up to women sent to Iraq and Afghanistan follow- designed to introduce young people to the Goodbye Gauley Mountain (VL-9/15), U.C. San- ing 9/11 have been exposed on a daily basis to concept of climate change. Although most ta Cruz professor Beth Stephens and former lethal gases emanating from so-called “burn of the speakers are adults, a few well-spoken sex worker Annie Sprinkle bring a humorous pits” spread across both war zones. These deep kids—such as Charley Peebler from Heirs to flamboyance to their claim to be eco-lovers dump sites have been filled with everything Our Oceans—also contribute to the com- of Earth’s ecosystem—in this particular case, from jet fuel to paint, human waste, chemi- mentary. D’Haeze starts by talking about water. The lesbian couple filmmakers serve up cals, trash, and body parts. Enormous black the processes, such as coal-burning, that lots of footage of like-minded folks—artists, plumes are seen rising non-stop from these pump carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. oracles, teachers—in various colorful rituals toxic areas in close proximity to military As he notes, people use fossil fuels for almost that have a cheeky edge but are also deeply bases. In Gregory W. Lovett’s shocking doc- everything we do, from heating homes to serious about what we are all doing with the umentary, veterans describe chronic health driving cars. Oil extraction, however, pro- world’s water (including wasting, destroying, issues faced while on active duty: burning duces methane, which is even more harmful. and giving it to Nestle to market in bottles). eyes, respiratory problems, rashes (one As more of these types of contaminants enter Stephens and Sprinkle tour California’s vet recalls being endlessly coated in ash). the atmosphere, Earth’s temperature rises, western coast to check out the infrastructure It’s no surprise that many veterans who creating catastrophe in the ocean’s ecosys- of water management—crystal-clear creeks lived through that exposure are terribly ill tem as coral degradation adversely affects overseen by officials, watersheds, and waste today, suffering from debilitating cancers or

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 58 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 Defining Hope HHH1/2 (2017) 77 min. DVD: $29.95, Blu-ray: $34.95 ($349 w/PPR from www. kinolorberedu.com). DRA. Kino Lorber (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. Filmmaker Carolyn Jones’s Defining Hope focuses on hospice and palliative care, detailing the work of two nurses, Diane Ryan of Calvary Hospital in and Gilbert Oakley of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York, and their commitment to treating patients in the final weeks of life. Ryan, a cancer survi- vor herself, is especially sensitive to maintaining patient dignity while also recognizing the burdens that failing bodies undergo. While many of the patients are elderly—including a charming and still-alert 95-year- old man regularly visited at home by Oakley—the film also follows a teen girl who is facing the potential for permanent memory loss with a planned brain tumor surgery. At a time when many documentaries on healthcare focus on the business side of the industry or on problems and scandals resulting from inadequate care, it is refreshing to witness a positive portrait of dedicated professionals who clearly have their patients’ best interests in mind. Defining Hope is a sensitive, mature documentary about life, death, and human kindness. Extras include additional interviews and scenes. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) other ravages. Because no studies were done bol of the manufacturers’ malfeasance, while correlating the burn pits with human health also applauding the efforts of officials such as concerns, no scientific evidence links the two, Kentucky Attorney General Andy Beshear, which allows the U.S. Department of Defense who brought suit against the company. The and Veterans Administration to ignore claims film also gives voice to grieving parents who of illness resulting from burn pit exposure. struggle to persuade state legislatures to Some of the doctors and other experts inter- enact laws that will make it easier for rela- viewed here liken the situation to the U.S. tives and friends of addicts to intervene and government’s decades-long denial that Agent compel institutionalization for treatment. Orange—a toxic chemical defoliant used by Also discussed here is Purdue’s international America in Vietnam—caused grievous harm arm Mundipharma, which is following the to soldiers (and the Vietnamese people). The example set by Big Tobacco: namely, as health burn pits turn out to be the handiwork of concerns squeeze the American market, sell KBR, a notorious subsidiary of Halliburton, dangerous products to the rest of the world which was awarded millions in government to bolster the bottom line, regardless of the contracts to perform practical tasks in war consequences to people in foreign countries. areas. The documentary persuasively claims The seriousness of the opioid epidemic in the that KBR was paid to dispose of refuse in Iraq United States is beyond dispute, and Wiland and Afghanistan, and did so as cheaply as does an admirable job of outlining its various possible, leaving the costs of related health- facets in this timely documentary. Recom- care to others. A maddening exposé, this is mended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) Genetically Modified Children HH1/2 (2018) 54 min. In English & Spanish w/English Do No Harm: The Opioid Epidemic subtitles. DVD: $19.95. Cinema Libre Studio (avail. HHH from most distributors). (2018) 90 min. DVD: $29.95 ($299 w/PPR). Media The harmful impact of agrochemicals on Policy Center. Argentina’s impoverished tobacco farmers Actor narrates filmmaker Harry and their families is the subject of Juliette Wiland’s straightforward but impassioned Igier and Stephanie Lebrun’s impassioned documentary about how big pharma in its documentary. The directors first travel the promotion of opioid formulations as safe countryside from north to south, visiting treatments for chronic pain induced doctors growers who have been using herbicides to prescribe medications that were in fact containing glyphosate since 1996, when the addictive, thereby creating a “man-made government authorized the employment epidemic” that has brought agony to users of genetically-modified organisms on the and their families—not only from overuse basis of research provided by chemical giant of prescription drugs but also as a gateway to Monsanto—which was pushing adoption of heroin addiction. Produced by the Media Pol- its product Roundup. They report that many icy Center, Do No Harm argues that the drug families who used Roundup and Bayer’s makers must be held responsible for their pesticide Confidor now have children with gross misconduct, and points a finger par- serious birth defects (three boys who suffer ticularly at Purdue Pharma, whose aggressive from horrifying conditions are profiled). They marketing of OxyContin has become a sym- further suggest that Philip Morris, virtually

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 59 VIDEO LIBRARIAN the sole purchaser of crops from the region, is (which was prompted in part by spokespeople Stumped HHH complicit in the chemical companies’ opera- for natural supplements already on the mar- (2017) 72 min. DVD: $129: high schools & public tions. The narrative then turns to those who ket) to place kratom on its list of controlled libraries; $349: colleges & universities. DRA. Good are attempting to put political pressure on the substances. But he also includes—although Docs (avail. from www.gooddocs.net). PPR. Closed government to outlaw the use of agrochem- without much emphasis—claims that kratom captioned. icals and bring legal action on companies has potentially serious side effects, including Will Lautzenheiser, the engaging subject that failed to provide accurate information death, and while favorable comments are of Robin Berghaus’s documentary, has had on potential side effects. Interviewees include made by several doctors, most of the scientists to reinvent his life after the partial loss of doctors and journalists collecting evidence of and physicians interviewed argue that more his limbs. In 2011, after moving from Boston the toxic impact on the population and en- clinical testing is needed before its use should to teach film at Montana State University, vironment, lawyers who bring suit on behalf be officially allowed (it should be noted that Lautzenheiser experienced leg pain that led of victims, and mothers who have lost chil- this year the FDA issued a warning against to a staph infection, sepsis, and organ failure dren to illnesses they blame on carcinogenic kratom’s use for any purpose). An interest- before amputations of his arms and legs saved chemicals. Genetically Modified Children makes ing contribution to the continuing debate his life. He credits his twin brother, Chris, and no pretense of objectivity, but it does present on how to address the opioid crisis, this is boyfriend, Angel, for supporting him through an emotionally powerful case, especially by recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) his hospital stay and beyond. Through reha- introducing viewers to families devastated by bilitation, Lautzenheiser learns how to do corporations that activists persuasively claim A Skin So Soft HH everything all over again, such as writing are more concerned with profit than safety. (2018) 94 min. In French & English w/English to his niece using a prosthetic hand. Before Although technically rudimentary, the doc- subtitles. DVD: $24.99. Breaking Glass Pictures amputation, he used to walk everywhere; umentary is topical, especially since lawsuits (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. now he alternates between a wheelchair and against Monsanto are also underway in U.S. Denis Côté’s French documentary serves up prosthetic legs. In his off hours, he works courts over the effects of Roundup. A strong a non-narrative observatory look at beefcake on short films, photography projects, and optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) men and women bodybuilders flexing their comedy routines with his friend, Steve, who pecs and endlessly eating, exercising, and also serves as a personal assistant. Just as it A Leaf of Faith HHH talking about their training regimens, follow- seems as if he’s growing accustomed to his (2018) 87 min. DVD: $59.95 ($299 w/PPR from ing these grunting musclebound subjects in changed body, Lautzenheiser looks into arm edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from seemingly indiscriminate fashion. While view- transplant surgery. More than anything, he most distributors). ers might wonder what drives them to become says, he longs for independence. After a year The latest documentary by former body- Schwarzeneggerian hulks, the film makes of testing, he begins the wait for a donor. builder Chris Bell—who took on steroid no attempt to delve into any motivations or Transplant specialist Dr. Matthew Carty abuse in Bigger, Stronger, Faster* (VL-9/08)—is aspirations. All of the bodybuilders have their emphasizes that the operation will entail timely, given that the opioid epidemic, which own personal rituals and approaches to the art a lifelong commitment to rehabilitation encompasses both the overuse of prescribed of being outrageously muscular: some have and immunosuppressant drugs that have medications and heroin addiction, has personal trainers (or are trainers themselves) significant side effects. Once donor arms reached crisis proportions in the U.S. A Leaf and practically live inside cross-training facil- become available, Berghaus films the steps of Faith examines a natural substance called ities and gyms of some sort. One of the film’s from surgery to aftercare, incorporating ma- kratom, which is harvested from an abundant subjects pulls 18-wheeler trucks in stunt shows terial from an NPR segment on his subject’s plant in Southeast Asia. Kratom leaves have and is a low-level wrestler on the French cir- journey. Berghaus lets Lautzenheiser, who is been used for hundreds if not thousands of cuit. Another is a Zen therapist of some kind, alternatively philosophical and realistic, set years as a pain reliever with few apparent ill shown performing what looks like reiki on his the tone, which helps her documentary avoid effects, according to a regional researcher clients. But other than the oddball visual as- the “inspiration porn” territory in which the interviewed by Bell—as well as brewed into pects of the film—namely the posing, flexing disability defines the human being. Recom- tea, which suggests it might be both a safer silent giants—there’s no David Attenborough mended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy) alternative for treatment of chronic pain, here to authoritatively guide viewers through and a means of weaning addicts from opioids the curious animalistic behaviors found in Survival Guide for Pain-Free Living (the testimony presented in favor of kratom this puzzling habitat. Extras include a bonus HHH1/2 is largely anecdotal). Bell celebrates a 2016 short film by the director. Optional. Aud: C, (2018) 4 discs. 110 min. DVD: $29.99 ($59.99 w/ victory in obstructing threatened FDA action P. (M. Sandlin) PPR). PBS Video. ISBN: 978-1-5317-0379-0. Longtime yoga instructor Peggy Cappy and neuromuscular therapist Lee Albert Tai Fit: 24 Form HHH1/2 combine their talents in this four-disc col- (2018) 120 min. DVD: $29.95. YMAA Publication Center. ISBN: 978-1- lection featuring a wide variety of exercises 59439-611-3. designed to relieve pain. Cappy uses a chair Situated in front of ocean waves and scenic trees in Oahu, Ha- at times, Albert does the moves without waii, master teacher David-Dorian Ross here demonstrates 24 tai aids, and participant Linda demonstrates chi exercises, encouraging viewers to take their time, be attentive while mostly sitting down in the separate to breathing, and enjoy the slow flowing movements. Aimed at programs “The Basics,” with an emphasis on both beginners and those with some experience, Tai Chi Fit: 24 the importance of stretching and mountain Form is divided into sections that include a short warm-up, a rou- poses; “Lower Body,” presenting gentle cir- tine featuring all of the forms, four separate workouts designed to cling segments for back, hips, legs, knees, and teach each form, and a cool down. Ross describes each form as he feet; “Upper Body,” focusing on head, neck, performs it, and he is accompanied by C. J. McPhee, who provides backup examples of shoulder, elbow, wrist, and hand care; and the moves. Peaceful Hawaiian-tinged instrumental background music helps foster the “Preventing Pain,” with attention to lumbar slow and relaxed movements. An excellent guide to these ancient Chinese exercises that support issues. Featuring very gentle, relaxed are beneficial to health and well-being, this is highly recommended. Aud: P. T.( Root) workouts (some using blocks or pillows), this excellent exercise series also includes a bonus

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 60 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018

mass-produced generic wine for sale. Now, some wine enthusiasts are returning to the Understanding the Opioid Epidemic HHH1/2 (2018) 60 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS Video. SDH captioned. old ways, using huge clay pots called qvevri, ISBN: 978-1-5317-0419-3. in which the grape slurry is stored under- Opioid drug abuse is one of the leading causes of death under ground for six months before the pots are 50, cutting across all age groups, races, and both sexes throughout unsealed and the resultant wine ladled out for America. According to filmmaker John Grant’s PBS-aired docu- tasting. Railsback follows the process from the mentary, narrated by William Fichtner, this pain killer “hijacks artful fashioning of the qvevri—which must the brain” and can take over one’s life. Prescribed by mostly be kept in the kiln for up to a week—to their well-meaning doctors (over 240 million prescriptions are written burial in a dark cellar (accompanied by reli- each year), opioids can start users on a slippery downhill slope gious ritual), to opening after fermentation, that ultimately leads addicts to seek out cheaper street alternatives and consumption in subsequent communal such as heroin and fentanyl. Many become hooked on pain medications following feasts, where the singing of traditional songs an accident or surgery, with more aggressive treatments encouraged by profit-minded adds to the enjoyment of the new vintage. pharmaceutical companies. West Virginia has been particularly hard hit, affecting Along the way, Railsback visits with archae- both schools and the larger communities. Nationally, opioid abuse has racked up ologists, skilled qvevri-makers, and farmers costs of 75 billion dollars, affecting healthcare insurers on both ends—treatment for who have dedicated themselves to recovering a patient’s pain, followed by treatment to wean patients off the drugs. Patients and nearly-extinct grape varieties in order to make doctors interviewed here note that addiction is a chronic disease, and that recovery is the distinctive wines of their forefathers. At a long and difficult road with frequent relapses, especially since the attached stigma times a bit scattershot, Our Blood Is Wine is dissuades many sufferers from finding help. Opioid addiction has no cure, only a “daily also as charmingly homemade as the wines reprieve,” aided by education, prevention, and early identification. The documentary that Railsback and Quinn enthusiastically concludes that it is a national “disease of denial,” and that we are all potentially one drink during their journey. Extras include accident away from being hooked. An informative, timely, and valuable film, this is deleted scenes, traditional Georgian songs, highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (S. Rees) and a sketch and poster art gallery. Recom- mended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)

“Survival Guide” featurette on managing day- deadly pesticides (as exposed by Rachel Car- BEAUTY & FASHION to-day pain. Highly recommended. Aud: P. son’s Silent Spring) led quasi- rebels to (J. Williams-Wood) grow and harvest food that was chemical-free. Narrated by Frances McDormand, Evolution Straight/Curve: Redefining Body Image Tai Chi Fusion Fire HHH of Organic features interviewees including HHH (2018) 60 min. DVD: $29.95. YMAA Publication author Julie Guthman and others who recall Center. ISBN: 978-1-59439-563-5. that the first-timers had no idea what they (2017) 82 min. DVD: $95: high schools & public libraries; $350 w/PPR: colleges & universities Host and instructor David-Dorian Ross is were doing, making up organic methods as (discussion guide included). DRA. Ro*co Films featured in this latest addition to his “Taiji- they went along. Original crops, some admit, Educational. Closed captioned. fit” series that kicks off with a melodramatic were misshapen, sparse, and costly. Still, as Jenny McQuaile’s documentary is an ex- drum-backed tiki torch demonstration. Ross cancer scares spread throughout the buying tension of Anastasia Garcia’s Straight/Curve: describes the Fire program as a blend of tai public, the organic/natural designation start- Fashion Reimagined photo exhibit, using the chi and kung fu that taken in combination ed to really matter to worried ‘80s consumers. photo shoot as a framing device to explore provides a more intense cardio workout. Meanwhile, organic-committed farmers the fashion industry as a driver for the ways Performing before an ocean backdrop, Ross sharpened their financial acumen along with that people—especially teenage girls—think presents a warm-up, two workouts, and a their cultivation techniques, and trendy chefs about body image. According to data pro- cool-down segment, with moves including such as Sibella Kraus put a hipster stamp on vided by the Girl Scouts of America, 60% of “catch and embrace the moon,” “sinking the organic ingredients (particularly in salads). American girls compare themselves to fashion chi,” and “mongoose running across grass,” Sure to appeal to health-conscious foodies, models, which leads to self-esteem issues that along with martial arts punches and kicks. this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady) increase sharply between the ages of 13 and Recommended. Aud: P. (J. Williams-Wood) 17. Claire Mysko, chief executive officer of Our Blood Is Wine HHH the National Eating Disorders Association, (2018) 78 min. In English & Georgian w/English notes that no direct correlation exists be- FOOD & SPIRITS subtitles. DVD: $29.95. Music Box Films (avail. tween ultra-thinness and health—or even from most distributors). happiness—but that is the message being France may be the country most famous for sent by the fashion industry. Schools, the Evolution of Organic HH1/2 wine today, but the origins of winemaking media, and other entities bolster that message (2017) 86 min. DVD: $350. Bullfrog Films. PPR. can be traced back some 8,000 years to the through an excessive focus on weight and SDH captioned. ISBN: 1-941545-94-7. Caucasian fields of the former Soviet republic body mass index. Garcia’s shoot takes place The rise of the organic-produce industry of Georgia. In her likable documentary (shot in the wake of New York’s “Fashion Week” in America (which in this telling is restricted entirely on an iPhone 6), director Emily with models that are more diverse than the almost exclusively and myopically to Califor- Railsback—accompanied by Jeremy Quinn, industry standard in terms of size and eth- nia) may not sound like a scintillating topic, a sommelier from Chicago—traverses the nicity. McQuaile interviews some, including but habitual Whole Foods shoppers will ap- countryside to investigate and celebrate the Iskra Lawrence, who decided to stop dieting preciate filmmaker Mark Kitchell’s ploughing revival of small scale (one might say artisanal) and embrace her shape, and Philomena Kwao, up of the hidden history in which agriculture wine production after seven decades that saw a British model of Ghanaian descent who met the counterculture. The disillusionment Communist authorities effectively eradicat- must constantly explain to observers that of 1960s youth (including Vietnam veterans) ing hundreds of grape varieties in order to she isn’t African American (as if that is the with corporate factory-farm techniques and create large, state-controlled vineyards that only way to be black in the Western world).

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 62 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 She also interviews students, nutritionists, extraordinary achievements are just the pealing, at least in terms of the playfulness marketing consultants, and fashion design- most notable examples of every engineer’s of drills. Want to teach a little kid about ers such as Christian Siriano, who is famed drive to find effective answers to the prac- swinging a bat at a moving target? Give for his attentiveness to all body types. Of tical difficulties encountered in building, her a fat plastic bat and blow soap bubbles his celebrity clients—from Ariana Grande and it spotlights the efforts of one young at her. Want to work up to catching a ball to Oprah—he says, “They’re all beautiful professional to design structures better able in a glove? Start with the bottom half of a in their own way.” And that inclusive state- to withstand earthquakes, and another plastic milk jug (catching tennis balls like ment could also serve as the tagline for this who heads a non-profit devoted to finding rain in a cup). Little tricks with chalk, foot- encouraging documentary. Recommended. ways to construct much-needed footbridges work, neckties (yes, neckties) and more will Aud: H, C, P. (K. Fennessy) in remote areas where the topography is help turn novices into confident players in especially dangerous. Also spotlighted are several sports. Recommended. Aud: E, I, J, a Phoenix high school class that built an P. (T. Keogh) COMPUTERS & TECHNOLOGY underwater robot that performed well in a California competition, and a Mississippi The Cage Fighter HHH1/2 team that beat MIT rivals in a solar car (2018) 81 min. DVD: $24.98. MPI Media Group AlphaGo HHH challenge in Australia. Filmed in the IMAX (avail. from most distributors). (2017) 90 min. DVD: $95: high schools & public format, this loses something on the small Joe Carman, a 40-year-old husband and libraries; $295 w/PPR: colleges & universities screen, but the images remain impressive father who works as a boilermaker for the (discussion guide included). DRA. Ro*co Films in this semi-promo documentary produced Washington State Ferries system, has a Educational. Closed captioned. in partnership with the American Society loving, affectionate relationship with his In order to fully appreciate Greg Kohs’s of Civil Engineers. Extras include an educa- family. But as viewers quickly learn in this documentary, it helps to have some under- tor’s guide, educational shorts, behind-the- remarkably revealing documentary, Joe also standing of the ancient Chinese board game scenes featurettes, and “Fun Facts” clips. has a dark secret: he is addicted to mixed Go, a strategic game played on a 19-by-19 line Recommended. Aud: I, J, H, P. (F. Swietek) martial arts cage fighting. When he tells grid using stones. Mastering his wife (who has health issues) that he’s the game is no mean feat for human players, going out for a run at night, Joe is actually but Kohs’s film follows an effort by the Goo- SPORTS, GAMES & RECREATION heading for some fight club, where he can gle-owned DeepMind Company to create pummel somebody and get pummeled an artificial intelligence (AI) program called back. It doesn’t take long for his spouse and AlphaGo that will enable a computer to gain Backyard Sports HHH children to see what’s going on behind their international dominance as a Go player. The (2018) 55 min. DVD: $24.95. Youth Sports Club. backs. In fact, they’ve all been down this challenges of translating Go’s complexity PPR. road before, with Joe repeatedly promising into an AI brain offers fascinating insights Drawing from earlier releases, Coach to stop fighting. But he can’t. The thing that into the work of the computer programmers Marty Schupak’s wide-ranging Backyard drives him toward the cage at the expense faced with this daunting task. Former Euro- Sports serves up a series of brief drills aimed of everything else slowly becomes clearer, pean champion player Fan Hui is recruited at helping kids become comfortable with especially during the final minutes, which in 2015 for a five-game tournament against the fundamentals of pitching and catching are rich with folly and irony. But before that, the AlphaGo program and loses all of his a baseball, controlling a basketball and filmmaker Jeff Unay—who had extraordi- matches, but a 2016 match in Seoul against soccer ball, playing golf and lacrosse, and nary access over a three-year-plus period— South Korean champion Lee Sedol ended more. The approach here is to break down captures naked moments of heartbreak, with AlphaGo winning four of five match- essentials into bite-size bits of skill-build- despair, confusion, and anger. An epic tale of ups (Lee’s sole victory against the computer ing, progressing logically through increas- one man who could lose it all while chasing reaffirmed that AI technology was fallible). ing challenges. Of all the sports discussed a mirage, this is highly recommended. Aud: AlphaGo serves up a winning of here, baseball comes across as the most ap- C, P. (T. Keogh) technological genius, although the game itself is not exactly cinematically compelling (fortunately, however, the editing mercifully Coach Jake HHH1/2 speeds up the action here). Recommended. (2018) 82 min. DVD: $19.95. First Run Features (avail. from most Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) distributors). Filmmaker Ian Phillips’s documentary profiles Martin Jacob- Dream Big: Engineering Our World son, a soccer coach who guided Martin Luther King Jr. High HHH School in Manhattan to a record 17 citywide championships. Ja- (2017) 2 discs. 42 min. DVD: $19.99, 4K/Blu-ray cobson’s triumph is a story of victory against amazing odds: when Combo: $29.99. Shout! Factory (avail. from most he arrived in 1994, the school had a poor reputation for athletics distributors). SDH captioned. and an even worse reputation for academic achievement. It also Adopting an attitude of aw-shucks won- didn’t help to be a soccer coach at a school without a soccer field. derment, Jeff Bridges narrates Greg Mac- Working with a student body primarily consisting of immigrant Gillivray’s big-screen IMAX inspirational youth from Africa, the Caribbean, and Latin America, Jacobson brought structure and tribute to the past triumphs and present discipline to his players’ lives, both on the field and outside of the game. Jacobson’s dreams of civil engineers. Dream Big begins success became wider known thanks to a 2007 New York Times feature that detailed with footage of children constructing with how he had helped several players get housing, green cards, and scholarships. Coach toy blocks, and it suggests that the creative Jake also deals frankly with Jacobson’s personal struggle: a recovered heroin addict, impulse has given rise to numerous marvels he is now living with the Hepatitis C virus and cirrhosis of the liver. While the film over the centuries, ranging from the Great certainly sports a feel-good vibe, it does not sugarcoat the stories of Jacobson and his Wall of China to the International Space players, who are presented as complex individuals facing a multitude of challenges. Station and other modern skyscrapers and Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) bridges. The documentary argues that such

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 63 VIDEO LIBRARIAN The Workers Cup HH1/2 (2018) 92 min. DVD: $69.95 ($350 w/PPR from Julius Caesar HHH1/2 edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from (2017) 163 min. DVD: $24.99, Blu-ray: $29.99. Opus Arte (dist. by most distributors in October). PPR. Naxos of America). The 2022 FIFA World Cup is scheduled Directed by Angus Jackson, this 2017 Royal Shakespeare to be held in Qatar—a tiny but fabulously Company mounting of the Bard’s historical drama about polit- wealthy Persian Gulf state—which has al- ical machinations in the late Roman Republic is a straightfor- ready begun building facilities to host the ward, energetic production. Andrew Woodall is an imperious, tournament with its expected multitudes of bellicose Caesar; Martin Hutson a febrile, reckless Cassius; fans. The construction workers are not Qatari, Alex Waldmann a calculating but nervous Brutus; and James of course, but migrants (mostly from Africa Corrigan a rough but shrewd Mark Antony. The supporting and East Asia) who after being lured to the cast is strong as well, and the spare sets are complemented by project by recruiters making false promises traditional toga-and-breastplate costuming. The droning of Mira Calix’s background concerning pay and working conditions find music is occasionally intrusive, the battle sequences are of course small-scaled, themselves living in cramped dormitory-like and some of the comic bits tend to fall flat. Overall, however, this is a dependably quarters as virtually indentured servants. In traditional production in which the verse is articulated with admirable clarity—a order to boost morale—and ostensibly show a major strength in a play that contains some of the Bard’s most memorable lines. degree of “social responsibility”—the people Extras include an audio commentary by Jackson, cast interviews, a brief lecture on in charge of the operation decide to sponsor Caesar’s place in history by the redoubtable Mary Beard, and a cast gallery. Highly a soccer tournament, fielding teams of work- recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek) ers from the various companies that have been contracted to manage the construction projects. Adam Sobel’s documentary fol- movement’s most influential directors, does Popeye-style scowl and spits out text in shrill lows one such team representing the Gulf not here offer a conventional introduction line readings. Her poor command of the Construction Company (GCC) as it trains to the movement; instead he serves up mon- role is especially obvious when confronted and competes in a series of games leading to tages of clips from individual films (often with John Shrapnel’s full-throttle fury as the the championship match, focusing on five not identified), which are juxtaposed with Ghost—his gut-punch take on the character is players—from Ghana, Nepal, Kenya, and In- excerpts from archival interviews of directors a true highlight (Shrapnel does double-duty dia—as well as an Indian from the company’s like his father and Nelson Pereira dos Santos, as Claudius, where he is equally innovative, middle management who serves as the team as well as their collaborators, such as cinema- in an often-thankless part). Still, if this manager. Sobel examines their hopes and tographer Mário Carneiro, who elucidate the doesn’t always hit the mark, it surely deserves disappointments as each tells his story, with philosophy behind the movement. The result credit for daring to be different. A strong op- team captain Kenneth (who dreams of par- is an impressionistic overview rather than a tional purchase. Aud: H, C, P. (P. Hall) laying his play into a soccer career), emerging chronological survey, which will appeal more as an especially touching figure. By the close, to those who are already familiar with cinema Sidemen: Long Road to Glory HHH viewers may be left with the sad realization novo rather than newcomers. Nonetheless, (2017) 80 min. DVD: $24.95. Once & For the tournament is just another form of this is obviously a labor of love, and on its (avail. from www.sidemenfilm.com). exploitation, not just of the players, but also own terms is extremely well-researched and Three legendary musicians receive the co-workers who cheer them on in the edited. Extras include a booklet with a help- their due in Scott Rosenbaum’s affectionate name of company loyalty. Recommended. ful contextual essay by Randal Johnson and documentary. Pianist Pinetop Perkins and Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) Robert Stam. Recommended, particularly for drummer Willie “Big Eyes” Smith—who both film history collections. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) won a shared Emmy in 2011—played with , while guitarist Hubert Sum- THE ARTS Hamlet HH1/2 lin accompanied Howlin’ Wolf. Rosenbaum (2018) 192 min. DVD: $24.95. Film Movement combines performance footage with inter- (avail. from most distributors). Closed captioned. views of his subjects, animated sequences, HHH Sarah Frankcom’s 2014 staging at the Royal narration by Marc Maron, and testimonials (2016) 92 min. In Portuguese & French w/ Exchange Theatre in Manchester, England, from musical disciples such as Derek Trucks, English subtitles. DVD: $29.98 ($348 w/PPR offered a bare-bones, modern dress, multicul- who has played with Sumlin; Bonnie Raitt, from www.icarusfilms.com). Icarus Films Home tural interpretation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet who has performed with Perkins and Smith; Video (available from most distributors). Closed that included gender reassignment in a few and , who produced Waters’s captioned. key roles. This experiment works brilliantly comeback album, . Perkins, who The title of Eryk Rocha’s documentary when Polonius becomes Polonia, creating a was born in Mississippi in 1913 and left refers to a movement among Brazilian remarkably uncomfortable tension between home at 16, joined forces with Sonny Boy filmmakers during the 1960s and ‘70s that Katie West’s unstrung Ophelia and Gillian Williamson, and by 1969 was part of Waters’s reflected the country’s political upheavals Bevan as her scheming parent since the band. Sumlin, born in Mississippi in 1931, and the dire conditions in which ordinary now-mother-daughter duel further enflames saw Howlin’ Wolf play at a young age, and people lived, but also did so with distinctive the already strained relationship. And the he recalls, “I was determined to be with that stylistic freedom and energy. The period was updating features an imaginative sight gag, guy.” In 1954, he got the call to join Wolf in marked by military rule following a 1964 as Polonia grants her departing son Laertes Chicago. Smith, born in Arkansas in 1936, coup, along with continuing economic dis- (played by black actor Ashley Zhangazha) moved to Chicago when he was 17, where tress exacerbated by governmental austerity a credit card to cover the expenses of his he met Waters, with whom he would play programs that failed to stem growing national schooling. Still, the key element to this in- for decades. Through these associations, the debt. Reflecting popular discontent, cinema terpretation is the casting of Maxine Peake trio of sidemen went on to inspire British acts novo became increasingly radical in the so- as Hamlet, who is visually fetching with who built their rock ‘n’ roll bands on a blues cial views it espoused as the years wore on. her androgynous haircut and wardrobe but foundation, such as , whose Rocha, the son of Glauber Rocha, one of the tends to look about her surroundings with a cover of Wolf’s “Little Red Rooster” topped

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 64 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 the charts. , who claimed Sum- lin as an infl uence, covered Wolf’s “Killing Floor,” which Sumlin performs in the fi lm (the two also played together). Rosenbaum’s fi lm shines a valuable light on signifi cant contributors to widely celebrated works who didn’t always receive the credit they deserved STREAMING VIDEO FOR ALL LIBRARIES (all three musicians passed away in 2011). Extras include a deleted scene and a bonus performance by blues musician Robert Ran- dolf. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy) HISTORY & CURRENT EVENTS

After Auschwitz HHH1/2 (2018) 88 min. DVD: $69.95 ($325 w/PPR from edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from most distributors in October). PPR. Filmmaker Jon Kean’s documentary focus- es on six women who survived the Auschwitz concentration camp in their late teens and early 20s. While their liberation from Nazi imprisonment was miraculous, their return to postwar European life was plagued with tragedy and problems: families perished during the war, homes and possessions were lost, and the dawning of the Cold War brought new hardship to Eastern Europe. The women eventually left for America and were amazed by the prosperity and generosity of their new homeland. All began remarkable new lives (one woman would become nanny to actor Ricardo Montalban’s children), but postwar America was eager to move on, and the women encountered few people who were interested in learning about their expe- riences. By the late 1970s, however, attitudes changed, as numerous fi lms and TV produc- tions appeared that dealt with the Holocaust, and the women were sought out as public speakers and consulted on projects related to Holocaust history. Kean, who also focused on the Holocaust in his 2009 documentary Swimming in Auschwitz (VL-9/09), here serves up a fi ne tribute to the human spirit, along with a reminder of the importance of never allowing this most heinous of tragedies to slip away into half-forgotten history. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (P. Hall)

Great Escape at Dunkirk HHH1/2 (2018) 60 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS Video. SDH captioned. ISBN: 978-1-5317-0294-6. Aired on PBS’s NOVA series, filmmaker John Hayes Fisher’s documentary retraces the extraordinary events of May 1940, when hundreds of thousands of Allied troops trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk, France, were rescued by a combination of Royal Navy vessels and an armada of private boats. As years went by, the Dunkirk evacuation took on mythic proportions, culminating in Christopher Nolan’s 2017 epic Dunkirk. Great Escape at Dunkirk seeks to correct many inaccuracies that have clouded the story of

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 65 VIDEO LIBRARIAN the evacuation, most notably the incorrect films, including the nobility of death, the in Paris, where she feels she can be herself assertion that the Royal Air Force (RAF) did favoritism of teamwork over individualism, and pursue her passion. But the magazine’s not offer protection to the stranded soldiers and the glorification of nationalist fervor. satirical jabs at the more extreme elements of facing Luftwaffe bombing. The excavation of Still, some surprises could be found: a young Islam are met with fierce resistance, including a recently discovered wreck of a Spitfire jet pre-Hollywood appeared in protests, death threats, and the firebombing is used here to strengthen the claims of RAF the 1938 trifleThe Four Companions, while of their offices. After the horrific shooting in heroism during this campaign. Also included G.W. Pabst, who was unable to emigrate, 2015, Rhazoui says she felt dazed, although is coverage of the work of archeologists, div- helmed the 1943 drama Paracelsus, which she still takes part in the citywide demonstra- ers, and historians in locating the remains of included a bizarre interpretative dance se- tion against the attack. Afterward, she moves ships, airplanes, and personal effects of the quence designed to symbolize the coming to a safe house and receives police protection men involved in this endeavor. Drawing on of the 16th-century post-Black Death plague due to threats on her life. When she becomes newly declassified information, the film offers in Germany. Considering the scope of the pregnant, Rhazoui has to figure out whether a fresh new look at a seminal moment in subject, Suchsland is here only able to share the life she is living is sustainable for a child World War II history. Highly recommended. bits and pieces of narrative film segments, (the filmmakers provide no information Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) with very little newsreel footage, and no about the father, possibly for his protection). animation from the period. And in the nar- During the course of filming, terrorist attacks Hitler’s Hollywood HH1/2 ration by German actor Udo Kier, heavily also take place at Paris’s Bataclan during a (2018) 105 min. In English & German w/English accented line readings often sound phonetic concert and at a Bastille Day celebration in subtitles. DVD: $29.95 ($349 w/PPR from www. (the film also has a German voiceover option). Nice. Whether or not Rhazoui will remain kinolorberedu.com). DRA. Kino Lorber (avail. from Still, this is overall a compelling follow-up at Charlie Hebdo is still a question at film’s most distributors). Closed captioned. to Suchsland’s earlier film. Recommended. end, but it’s clear she will continue to speak For most Americans, the cinema of Na- Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) out against the roots and results of terrorism. zi-era Germany consists primarily of the Recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy) propaganda epics of Leni Riefenstahl and a Nothing Is Forgiven HHH few hideous anti-Semitic productions. But (2017) 61 min. In French w/English subtitles. The Subversives HHH German films made between 1933 and 1945 DVD: $390. Icarus Films. PPR. (2018) 70 min. In English & Spanish w/English were diverse in content, ranging from lavish Moroccan-born journalist Zineb El subtitles. DVD: $349. DRA. Juno Films. PPR. musicals to mild to historic Rhazoui was in Morocco when 12 of her Filmmaker Miles Roston’s documentary extravaganzas. Rüdiger Suchsland, who doc- colleagues died in the Charlie Hebdo massacre. The Subversives takes viewers back to the 20th umented German cinema from 1919 to 1933 In Vincent Coen and Guillaume Vanden- century when the U.S. selectively supported in the acclaimed nonfiction filmFrom Caligari berghe’s documentary, shot over several right-wing military dictatorships in global to Hitler (VL-11/15), considers the Nazi-era years, she comes across as an intelligent, hot spots under the banner of fighting global output in this fascinating yet somewhat quick-witted woman who doesn’t care what Communism. Older viewers will certainly frustrating presentation. Nazi censorship anybody thinks of her: she smokes, drinks, recall the hell that much of Central and policies limited certain offerings—most swears, and speaks freely at all times. Al- South America descended into following notably feminist dramas and, oddly, sci- though she finds Islam fascinating, she coups that toppled democratically elected ence-fiction—while the defection of Jewish describes herself as a Moroccan atheist. In leaders, leading to the torture, murder, and and Hitler-hating Christian artists resulted in 2011, when an Islamist government comes to disappearances of hundreds of thousands a noticeable void (the few comedies power in Morocco, she doesn’t feel there is a of people. The film centers on the work of a of the era were truly dreadful). Also, there place for her anymore, and in 2012, she takes United Nations maverick, Theo van Boven, were heavy-handed themes throughout these a job at the political magazine Charlie Hebdo who led investigations into human rights abuses with vigor, determined to unearth the truth no matter who it upset. Beginning GI Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II HHHH in 1977, van Boven (an elderly interviewee (2018) 90 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS Video. ISBN: 978-1- here) embarked on numerous human rights 5317-0307-3. inquiries, traveling to Chile, Argentina, Filmmaker Lisa Ades’s PBS-aired documentary centers on the Guatemala, and elsewhere, playing things 550,000 Jewish-Americans who served in the nation’s military down a bit by labeling his commission an during World War II, men and women who faced two concurrent innocuous-sounding “working group.” Still, battles: one against the Axis powers seeking to destroy the global he was accused of being a Communist, often Jewish population, and the other against home-front anti-Semi- upset U.S. officials, and rattled the U.N. top tism. The film’s focus on the latter struggle is especially powerful, brass. The film presents a powerful history as many Jews in service were subjected to such ugliness for the first lesson, combining archival footage together time in their lives while in the service of their country. Incredibly, with interviews of survivors who have no idea many anti-Semites of the era openly questioned the patriotism of the Jewish population where loved ones vanished. As human rights and wondered if they had the physical capacity to serve in combat. GI Jews features abuses continue in the 21st century—most interviews with several veterans who became prominent figures in the postwar years, recently in the Trump administration’s forced including Henry Kissinger, Mel Brooks, and —the latter is especially funny, separation of children from parents illegally recalling a Southern soldier who assumed that all Jews knew each other and asked the crossing the U.S. border—this is a timely New York-born Reiner if he knew a Jewish grocer named Goldfarb from Shreveport, LA. documentary about a sadly perennial issue. The film also looks at the perils Jewish soldiers confronted when fighting in Europe, Recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) recounting the heroism of Master Sgt. Roddie Edmonds in his defiance of a German prisoner-of-war camp commander’s orders to identify the Jewish soldiers in his ranks. Syria: Children at War HHH1/2 GI Jews is a compelling and timely documentary about fighting against prejudice while (2017) 52 min. DVD: $225. DRA. Film Ideas. PPR. in the pursuit of liberty. Extras include extended interviews with Reiner and Brooks. Closed captioned. Highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. Editor’s Choice. (P. Hall) The Syrian Civil War is in its seventh year and shows no signs of ending. Considering

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 66 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 North Korea, and Manchuria, serving in the Spying on the Royals HHH1/2 post until 1998. During those two decades (2016) 100 min. DVD: $24.99 ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS Video. SDH he assiduously accumulated works by local captioned. ISBN: 978-1-5317-0474-2. artists, often displaying them in the em- In December 1936, England was upended when the newly bassy, and in 1997 he established an awards crowned King Edward abdicated to marry the American divorcée program recognizing outstanding con- Wallis Warfield Simpson. Prior to that, the aging, ailing King temporary Chinese artists (at a time when George had regarded the relationship with alarm, feeling that many were suspect in official circles). In the then-Prince of Wales had acquired the “worst American 2012, Sigg donated nearly 1,500 items from habits” of consuming cocktails and going to nightclubs. When his collection to the M+, a museum being the prince went on a spending spree, buying jewels and furs, built in . Michael Schindhelm’s the king—convinced the prince had a “schoolboy crush gone documentary provides an overview of Sigg’s mad”—ordered an investigation. Drawing on recently opened files, filmmaker Paul extraordinary life, combining archival foot- Elston’s PBS-aired documentary examines this unique probe. Detectives believed that age with extended interviews of Sigg, as well Simpson’s husband was an ambitious “bounder” who was using Edward, and that his as recollections by some of the most notable wife was a gold digger. When the king died in early 1936, the stakes increased. Initially, artists whose works Sigg collected, including the prince and his lover were fairly discreet, but gradually authorities feared that a royal Fang Lijun, Wang Guangyi, Cao Chong’en, scandal was in the making, as the couple met others with a “hedonistic lifestyle.” When Cao Fei, and the renowned Ai Weiwei. Less Edward later abdicated and turned his throne over to his deeply reluctant brother, the an introduction to the artworks than a whole matter became a security concern, especially when the couple displayed Nazi consideration of the relationship between sympathies: visiting Germany, meeting propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels, and the artist and society, the film also offers sharing tea with Hitler. To get rid of the ex-king, Churchill pressured him to accept the an incisive portrait of a farsighted, sophis- position of Governor of the Bahamas, a lonely outpost of empire. Edward resented this ticated man whose comments on meetings comedown, and he even lobbied against America’s entry into WWII, although British with governmental officials such as Deng authorities eventually concluded the couple were merely a pair of “arch beachcombers” Xiaoping will fascinate those interested in and “frivolous chancers.” The documentary, which features dramatic re-enactments, the recent transformation of China into a spins a fascinating tale of phone taps, spies, secrets, and coded messages, unearthed global power. Extras include private footage after three quarters of a century. Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (S. Rees) of Sigg’s time in China during the 1980s, and a promotional video for the Chinese Contemporary Art Award program. Recom- that the U.S. media has no interest in sending is a short drama centering on the fact-based mended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek) its cameras to the frontlines, this documenta- 1860 flight of Maria Ennals (Lindsey Aeriel ry and others such as Last Men in Aleppo (VL- Grimble), her husband Stephen (Joel Ashur), 1/18)—capturing the carnage and suffering and their newborn baby. A visually powerful that takes place in Syria—are the only way film that captures the casual cruelty of slave that people can witness the war up-close. treatment with horrifying details tucked into Filmmaker Maldavsky focuses his camera the backgrounds of various scenes, the film on a family in Aleppo living in the section recreates the experience of the Underground of the city under rebel control. Maintaining Railroad, with Tubman contacting white a family in a war zone is an uncommon abolitionists who shelter fleeing slaves in challenge, to be certain, and this one faces their homes before the fugitives are able to complex questions regarding whether to move on at night. Writer-director Josh Henry actively participate in the fight against the emphasizes the harsh physical conditions national army. And, of course, there is the that escaped slaves (and Tubman herself) en- question of what kind of emotional damage dured on these runs (terrified for her child’s is being done to the children in this hostile safety, Maria sometimes balks at Tubman’s . Maldavsky provides a riveting look commands, which include having to wade at a seemingly ordinary household in the waist-level through a freezing river with the extraordinarily violent environment created infant in her arms). The ongoing tensions, From Best-Selling Lincoln biographer close-calls, and secret-agent action effectively by despotic Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Ronald C. White and Emmy-winning bring viewers into the courageous work of the Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) director Ken Kebow comes remarkable Tubman. Recommended. Aud: J, H, C, P. (T. Keogh) Lincoln’s Greatest Speech BIOGRAPHY The Chinese Lives of Uli Sigg HHH (2016) 93 min. In English, German & Mandarin Highly Recommended w/English subtitles. DVD: $29.98 ($348 w/PPR ~Video Librarian Carry Me Home: A Remember America from www.icarusfilms.com). Icarus Films Home HHH Video (available from most distributors). Film Available exclusively from (2018) 23 min. DVD: $14.99. DRA. Vision Video Uli Sigg is recognized as the owner of (avail. from most distributors). the largest private collection of modern Actress Karen Abercrombie is mesmerizing Chinese art in the world. Sigg first went to here as the 19th-century former slave Harriet China as a representative of the Schindler Tubman, who is seen during the period when Group to conduct the company’s business she orchestrated, at considerable personal operations during the country’s opening to peril, the escapes of over 300 slaves through the West in the 1980s. In 1995, Sigg was ap- www.ActionLibraryMedia.com the Underground Railroad. Carry Me Home pointed as the Swiss ambassador to China,

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 67 VIDEO LIBRARIAN Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars HH1/2 (2018) 159 min. DVD: $14.98, Blu-ray: $21.98. Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes—Feeling Heart Eagle Rock Entertainment (avail. from most distributors). HHHH (2017) 118 min. DVD: $24.95: individuals; $49.95: public libraries & Eric Clapton, the dean of rock guitarists, high schools; $295: colleges & universities. California Newsreel. PPR. SDH deserves a thorough, insightful documen- captioned. tary about his influences, achievements, Aired on PBS’s American Masters series, filmmaker Tracy Heather and the pivotal chapters in his artistic life. Strain’s biographical documentary chronicles the remarkable life Unfortunately, director Lili Fini Zanuck’s of Lorraine Hansberry, a black writer/artist, profound thinker, Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars is not quite that social activist, and compassionate individual. Hansberry grew film, although there is particular merit in up on the south side of Chicago following the first World War. its overview of the master’s early years. Watching her father’s struggles to use the legal system to improve Viewers meet Clapton as a nondescript boy conditions for black Americans affected her thinking, and she chose writing as her who signals nothing of greatness ahead, own way to fight for racial and social justice. After two years of college, Hansberry and they follow his emerging passion for moved to Harlem, joined the Communist Party, and worked for the Freedom newspa- blues guitar and relentless efforts to play the per—editing, writing, and collaborating with other activists in the 1950s. She married music of Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Albert a Jewish man from her Youth League and resettled in Greenwich Village, where she King, and many more. After a trial with one turned to playwriting and wrote A Raisin in the Sun (1959), which centered on a black band, Clapton anchored the outstanding family in Chicago trying to achieve the American Dream. The play won the New York Yardbirds, a group in the forefront of the Drama Critics Award and became an instant success on Broadway—starring Sidney 1960s blues scene in London. But he was Poitier and Ruby Dee, who also appeared in the acclaimed 1961 film version. Hans- a restless soul too dedicated to berry continued to work on other plays but grew ill in 1963. Although she wanted to to cross over to the Yardbirds’ drift toward take a more active role in the growing Civil Rights movement, she was able to write pop, and he bolted to join John Mayall’s the text for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee’s album The Movement. rootsy ensemble. The film does a decent Hansberry was only 34 when she passed away in 1965. Interviewees including Poitier if impressionistic job of laying out what and Harry Belafonte pay tribute to Hansberry’s passion for justice and her artistic ability came next: the Olympian heights of power to capture the experience of black life in mid-20th-century racially-divided America. trio Cream, the mysterious beauty of Blind Highly recommended. Editor’s Choice. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Root) Faith’s music, and the epic brilliance of the Derek and the Dominos album Layla and . But the film is Other Assorted Love Songs cation Act. While living in San Francisco’s equally interested in the more sensational, My Letter to the World HHH Hunters Point projects, she associated with oft-told story about Clapton falling in love (2018) 81 min. DVD: $29.95. Music Box Films members of the Black Panther Party and the (avail. from most distributors). SDH captioned. with friend ’s wife, Pattie National Farm Workers Association, which Boyd (the subject of both Harrison’s Beatles Filmmaker Solon Papadopoulos’s doc- led to her participation in the Native Ameri- hit “Something,” and Clapton’s “Layla”). umentary about the life and work of can occupation of Alcatraz Island in 1969, a Indeed, that complicated affair had a big 19th-century American poet Emily Dick- impact on Clapton’s creativity as well as “watershed moment,” as she describes it in inson builds on A Quiet Passion (VL-9/17), his emotional sanity, but 12 Bars comes an archival interview. When her husband Terence Davies’s recent biographical drama perilously close to simply wallowing in this attempted to curtail her activist efforts, starring Cynthia Nixon. My Letter to the love triangle story. Similarly, the accidental the pair divorced, and she returned to World not only includes clips from the film death of Clapton’s young son is treated Oklahoma with her daughters. Jay Hannah, to complement archival materials, but also here in more maudlin than illuminating former secretary treasurer of the Cherokee often inserts excerpts from Dickinson’s fashion regarding Clapton’s subsequent Nation, describes it as a matriarchal clan. verse read by Nixon. But most of the film well-being. And the film glides right past In their mythology, the Sun is female and is given over to commentary by Dickinson a long period in the mid-to-late ‘70s when the Moon is male, but during the 20 years scholars, who offer various perspectives on Clapton was producing mellower material. that Mankiller lived in the Bay Area, the her personal relationships and frequently On the plus side, there is much to enjoy in patriarchy had taken over. Once she began divergent analyses of her work (as well as the tales of Clapton’s friendships with fel- to work on behalf of the Cherokee people, very different views on the poet’s idio- low guitar wizards Jimi Hendrix and Duane Mankiller set out to improve their economic syncratic punctuation). The documentary Allman. Extras include a featurette with a fortunes, starting with a volunteer project also periodically visits a museum where conversation between Zanuck, Clapton, and that brought running water to a commu- Dickinson-related artifacts are housed, one musician Jools Holland. A strong optional nity. After the Cherokee Nation’s chief left of the most interesting being a daguerre- purchase. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh) to take a government position, Mankiller, otype that some have argued shows the his second in command, took charge, and poet in middle-age—which, if true, would Mankiller: Activist, Feminist, Cherokee then ran for reelection (along the way, she be a remarkable addition to the record, Chief HHH also remarried). All the while, she faced since the only authenticated photograph of (2018) 57 min. DVD: $129: high schools & public resistance from tribal members who did Dickinson hails from much earlier. This is a libraries; $349: colleges & universities. DRA. Good not believe a woman could lead them, but fine introduction to a writer who, although Docs (avail. from www.gooddocs.net). PPR. Closed she persisted and under her leadership, reclusive and virtually unknown during her captioned. education, jobs, and healthcare became lifetime, is now recognized as an import- Wilma Mankiller, (1945-2010) the sub- priorities. Mohl also looks at her subject’s ant figure in American literature, a writer ject of filmmaker Valerie Red-Horse Mohl’s health challenges, including a near-lethal whose highly innovative style has been a PBS-aired documentary, was the first female car accident, kidney failure, lymphoma, and major influence on modern poetry. Extras leader of the Cherokee Nation. She spent the cancer that claimed her life. A worthy include a selection of Dickinson’s poems her early years in Oklahoma before going testament to an admirable woman, this is read by Nixon and Davies. Recommended. to California as a result of the Indian Relo- recommended. Aud: C, P. (K. Fennessy) Aud: H, C, P. (F. Swietek)

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 68 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 To Auschwitz and Back: The Joe Engel Story HHH1/2 Series Update (2017) 47 min. DVD: $24.99 ($199.99 w/PPR). DRA. Dreamscape Media. Closed captioned. The following titles are new additions When he moved to Charleston, SC, after barely surviving the to series previously recommended. Titles Holocaust, Polish Jew Joe Engel, born in 1927, opened a dry-clean- are available from most distributors un- ing business and never spoke in detail about his experiences in the less otherwise noted. Warsaw Ghetto and the Auschwitz-Birkenau death camp. Upon retiring, however, Engel made it his mission to educate as many Kino Lorber’s The people as possible about what the Nazis wrought and how—still to Emma & Lachy Show his amazement—no one could stop it. Filmmaker Ron Small draws (50 min., DVD: $14.99) on archival footage capturing Nazi atrocities in this documentary that tells one more features Emma Wat- valuable story about an innocent victim’s personal nightmare. Engel’s sharp memories kins and Lachy Gilles- of barely lasting through acts of utter sadism (including being left outside in freezing pie—married members weather after cold water was poured over him), and his daring escape and subsequent of the acclaimed Aus- work with the Resistance, are both dispiriting and inspiring. Speaking calmly but firmly, tralian children’s enter- Engel notes that not a day has gone by when he doesn’t think about the parents and tainers The Wiggles—in a new musical family he never saw again—or the youth that was stolen from him. A powerful portrait, production. See review of The Wiggles: this is highly recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (T. Keogh) Go Santa Go! in VL-11/17.

The Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo comedy writer on and Nickelodeon and Paramount Home as the earthy, self-deprecating panelist on Media Distribution have released Nella HHH1/2 Hollywood Squares. But she actually began her the Princess Knight: Royal Quests (94 (2018) 57 min. DVD: $24.99: individuals; $250: min., DVD: $12.99, Target exclusive), institutions. City Projects. PPR. career in the 1920s at the age of 3 as a singer and spent decades as a headliner in vaude- featuring the titular princess knight In this atypical PBS-aired documentary, ville, radio, nightclubs, and television. Jason and friends in episodes including “Sir filmmaker Phillip Rodriguez employs arti- Wise’s documentary focuses on Rose Marie’s Coach’s Knightly Trading Card” and fice, f-words, and fourth-wall-breaking to long and often tumultuous career, with Rose “Royalicious Plumberry.” See review of rediscover a Latino activist/literary figure Marie (who died shortly after the film’s pre- Nella the Princess Knight in VL-3/18. who is largely unknown today. Oscar Zeta miere) speaking frankly about the colorful Acosta was a flamboyantly reckless attorney and controversial people she encountered. PBS Home Video’s latest entry in the who appears in a sidekick role in Hunter The most fascinating highlights involve her animated series based on the children’s S. Thompson’s 1972 alt-journalism classic relationship with organized crime lords: Al books by Marc Brown is Arthur: D.W. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas disguised as Capone invited her to his Chicago home, and the Beastly Birthday (70 min., “Dr. ,” a “300-pound Samoan.” The while Bugsy Siegel credited her with the DVD: $6.99), which centers on aard- racial retouching irked the real Acosta, a successful launch of his Flamingo resort in vark Arthur’s little sister’s birthday. Mexican-American lawyer who attempted Las Vegas. Rose Marie speaks lovingly about See review of Arthur: Big Brother Binky to embrace the spotlight in the tumultuous her marriage to trumpeter Bobby Guy, noting in VL-5/08. early 1970s as a Chicano revolutionary, that they needed to elope to avoid the wrath although he was never really accepted by of her too-protective father. The majority of Newly available from Shout! Factory the political street-guerillas he sought to her recollections are vibrant and positive, is Super Sentai—Mirai Sentai Time- champion. Having a contentious relationship although she is uncharacteristically sour in ranger: The Complete Series (1,200 with Thompson, Acosta wrote two books recalling her experiences in the Broadway min., DVD: 8 discs, $59.98), the 2000-01 himself before literally vanishing into ob- and film versions of Top Banana and with latest set from the Japanese scurity—hence interview-portrayals here by her costar Phil Silvers. Featuring interviews precursor to the popular Power Rangers actors (Jesse Celedon as Acosta, Jeff Harms with Van Dyke, Carl Reiner, and Peter Mar- action franchise, following members as Thompson), with similar impersonations shall, along with archival footage (as well as of the 30th-century-era Time Protec- of friends, ex-wives, and cronies, living and clips from Rose Marie’s home movies), this tion Department as they travel back in dead. The result is not only a clever Citizen is a wonderful tribute to an old-school icon. time. See review of Super Sentai—Ninja -type composite portrait of a complex, Kane Extras include audio commentary by Wise, Sentai Kakuranger: The Complete Series fallible figure in identity politics, but also a “making-of” featurette, deleted scenes, and in VL-7/16. a more successful transliteration of gonzo a Q&A with the cast. Highly recommended. journalism than Terry Gilliam’s 1998 film Aud: C, P. (P. Hall) A&E and Lions- adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. gate have released Extras include audio in which Acos- executive producer ta’s sister makes the literary-conspiracy claim Leonardo DiCaprio’s that Acosta deserves co-authorship credit for The Men Who Built Thompson’s bestseller, and that Thompson Visit Video Librarian Online (www. America: Frontiers- snidely confessed as much. Highly recom- videolibrarian.com) for more reviews men (329 min., DVD: mended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady) during September and October, including: 2 discs, $19.99), a 2018 Antarctica: In the Footsteps of the Emperor, History-aired docuseries that explores Wait for Your Laugh HHH1/2 Black Hole Apocalypse, Caviar Dreams, Con- the evolution of the American Dream (2017) 82 min. DVD: $19.95. Samuel Goldwyn nect, End of Life, Free CeCe!, Love the Sinner, with depictions of influential figures Films (avail. from most distributors). Closed such as Daniel Boone, Tecumseh, and captioned. Maynard, Old Dog, Scanning the Pyramids, Scream for Me Sarajevo, Survivors Guide to Lewis & Clark. See review of The Men For many viewers of a certain age, Rose Prison, and much more! Who Built America in VL-7/13. Marie is best remembered as the wisecracking

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 69 VIDEO LIBRARIAN Japanese Anime Atom: The Beginning— ties into executing his enemies and is also ment-issued blood), and a “Dullahan” from The Complete Collection after the grimoire. While the characters are Irish folklore, who carries her head separated intriguing—with particularly good chemistry from her body. Thoughtful teacher Tetsuo HH between Zero and the Mercenary—some of Takahashi takes a special interest in the young (2017) 2 discs. 300 min. In their personality quirks are silly, and the series ladies, mentoring them and studying their Japanese w/English subtitles. Blu-ray: $59.98. Sentai is hampered by slow pacing, animation that individual physical and emotional needs. Filmworks (avail. from most is more utilitarian than imaginative, and Faculty member Miss Sato is also a “demi”— distributors). plot twists that feel forced. Presenting all 12 specifically a succubus concealing super-pow- Astro Boy, the robot superhero who became episodes from 2017 in a dual-language Blu-ray ered erotic allure beneath a frumpy tracksuit, the first anime superstar, emerged full-blown edition, rated TV-14, this is a strong optional and she is fearful of expressing her attraction from the brain of Osamu Tezuka, who created purchase. (F. Swietek) to Tetsuo. Based on a popular manga series, the seminal manga in 1951, followed by the this engaging show places farcical emphasis beloved TV series in 1963. The original Jap- Hand Shakers H1/2 on character development rather than action, anese version of the character, however, was (2017) 4 discs. 300 min. Blu- slapstick hijinks, or special effects. Presenting called Mighty Atom, and this new series based ray/DVD Combo: $64.98. all 13 episodes from 2017 in a dual-language on a 2014 manga by Tetsuro Kasahara, serves Funimation (avail. from most Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated TV-14, this is distributors). as a prequel. The story follows the efforts of recommended. (C. Cassady) university students Hiroshi and Umataro to Action anime series in- fashion a robot strong enough to win com- volving competitive fighting Kabukibu! Complete often feature fairly ridicu- petitive battles against other robots, but also Collection HHH1/2 capable of experiencing human emotion. The lous premises, but few are quite as incredible (2017) 2 discs. 325 min. Blu- result is an android they call A106, or “Six” as the plot of Hand Shakers. Invited to a sci- ray: $59.98. Sentai Filmworks for short, who is steadily improved over the entific institute, young Tazuna finds mute, (avail. from most distributors). course of the series to be able to intervene white-haired girl Koyori sleeping; when he The renowned all-female heroically when threats arise. Hiroshi is pre- approaches, she awakens and grabs his hand, anime collective sented as kindly and soft-hearted, while Uma- after which a researcher named Makihara contributed designs to this adaptation of a se- taro is arrogant and ambitious, and there are informs the boy that if he lets go, she will rialized novel series set in a modern Japanese a couple of likable female characters: Motoko, die. Tazuna and Koyori have become Hand high school. Kurogo is a fan of the ancient, a fellow student infatuated with Hiroshi, and Shakers, destined to battle similar teams with highly ritualized art of kabuki theatre. He Hiroshi’s shy little sister Ran, who is drawn to special abilities in an alternate reality called doggedly charters a student kabuki club, Six. For most of the narrative arc, however, Six Ziggurat, all for the right to be granted a wish staffed with such eccentrics as a preening remains pretty much a blank, and the anima- by God (although it is later suggested that teen rocker (said to be the illegitimate son tion is little more than adequate. Presenting some players desire to challenge, or even kill, of a vagabond kabuki actor), as they try to all 12 episodes from 2017 in a Blu-ray edition, God). As the narrative progresses, Team Gear popularize kabuki with radical stagings and in Japanese with English subtitles, rated TV- (so-called after Tazuna’s mechanical aptitude) updates of the archaic scripts. Meanwhile, 14, this is an optional purchase. (F. Swietek) faces off against five other teams, although Kurogo hopes to win approval from class- except for Koyori anyone killed or wounded mate Jin, a bona fide kabuki talent whose Grimoire of Zero: in Ziggurat will be returned to life and health family has performed for generations, but Complete Collection after coming back to the real world. Why whose pride and perfectionism make him Koyori differs from the other players will be disdain the “amateur” club. This pleasant HH1/2 revealed in time, as will the dark motivations (2017) 2 discs. 300 min. Blu- comedy-drama has abundant helpings of of some ancillary characters. Marred by oddly Japanese historical and cultural references, ray: $69.98. Sentai Filmworks garish animation, Hand Shakers is as visually (avail. from most distributors). with iconic folk-figures like Benkei and unattractive as it is narratively peculiar. Adapted by Tetsuo Hi- Yoshitsune respectfully invoked. Shochiku, a Presenting all 12 episodes from 2017 in a real-life theatre-film troupe that is well over a rakawa from Kakeru Kobashiri’s dual-language Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated manga, Grimoire of Zero is set in a quasi-me- century old, is credited here for kabuki-scene TV-14, extras include a bonus OVA episode. quality control. Presenting all 12 episodes dieval world of witchcraft and sorcery, where Not recommended. (F. Swietek) the “Beastfallen”—half-human, half-ani- from 2017 in a Blu-ray edition, in Japanese mal—who were created by witches to serve with English subtitles, rated TV-14, extras as their soldiers are hunted. One such is the Interviews with Monster include an epilogue OVA episode. Highly Mercenary, a massive figure who looks like Girls: The Complete recommended. (C. Cassady) a giant white tiger but walks on two legs, Series HHH speaks, and longs to be fully human. The (2017) 4 discs. 325 min. Blu- Love and Lies: Complete Mercenary is saved from bounty hunters by ray/DVD Combo: $64.98. Collection HH Zero, a diminutive witch who offers him a Funimation (avail. from most distributors). (2017) 2 discs. 300 min. In bargain: if he will protect her as she searches Japanese w/English subtitles. for the grimoire—a book of magical knowl- An intelligent, dia- Blu-ray: $69.98. Sentai edge that could be used in very dangerous logue-laden classroom comedy, Interviews Filmworks (avail. from most ways—she will make him human in return. with Monster Girls belongs to that subgenre distributors). The two are joined in their quest by Albus, a of anime comedy-fantasies that demystify Based on a shojo manga young boy interested in magical knowledge supernatural creatures by putting them in by Musawo Tsumugi, this anime series is built who harbors a major secret, and Holdem, a quotidian settings. In a world where paranor- around a strange premise: in order to combat wolf Beastfallen dedicated to protecting the mal beings are commonly accepted minorities a falling birth rate, the government has ini- granddaughter of the great witch Sorena, who in society, one high school has several of tiated a program to assign every 16-year-old was unjustly killed by men. The heroes face these “demi-humans” enrolled as schoolgirls, a marital partner based on compatibility a grim opponent in Thirteen, a stern male including a young Queen Elsa-like snow tests. Although Yukari Nejima has long been witch who manipulates human communi- maiden, a vampire (who receives govern- infatuated with his lovely classmate Misaki

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 70 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 Takasaki and finally works up enough cour- facing scowling bears, wolf packs, and wild features an entire marketplace of seers and age to confess his feelings, he is officially dogs. To the rescue comes a huge, free-roam- soothsayers (overwhelmingly female) called partnered with petite Ririna Sanada. Rather ing golden mastiff who is seemingly unafraid “Uraras,” and where teen girls constantly than becoming rivals, however, Misaki and of facing any predators. Tenzin befriends this arrive hoping to learn divination as a career. Ririna are soon the best of friends, and Ririna stray pooch, who is often vilified by others, A quartet of besties form around eccentric encourages Misaki’s relationship with Yukari including a local bandit who blames the dog newcomer Chiya, a girl left behind by her so that Ririna can learn about true love. As for killing his brother. But when a series of mother in the woods. Having grown up this odd triangle develops, Yukari’s best friend violent attacks on whole villages come under in nature, Chiya lacks some social graces also becomes involved, ultimately advising investigation, the dog is subject to further but appears to be a natural mystic with Yukari to follow his heart. While the basic scrutiny, although the evidence points to an affinity for the spirits and supernatural idea behind Love and Lies is promising, it is something much worse. An engaging boy- beings who occasionally accompany the not developed in any particularly interesting and-his-dog story with a deeply felt subplot girls’ wobbly necromancy attempts. Some fashion; rather than examining the ramifi- about Tenzin’s failure to receive his father’s real-life fortunetelling lore is shown (as well cations of bucking the system and putting love, filmmaker ’sThe Tibet- as skin, in ongoing fan-service cheesecake), the characters into some degree of jeopardy an Dog features mesmerizing visuals of life in as the aspiring clairvoyants go through their to create suspense, the series simply repeats a remote, icy corner of the world. Presented in coursework, with the overarching storyline the same beats over and over again, gradually a dual-language Blu-ray edition, rated TV-14, occasionally returning to the low-intensity reaching a blandly romantic finale that offers this is recommended. (T. Keogh) mystery about the true whereabouts of Chi- no real resolution. Presenting all 12 episodes ya’s missing mom. Presenting all 12 episodes from 2017 in a Blu-ray edition, in Japanese Touken Ranbu: from 2017 in a Blu-ray edition, in Japanese with English subtitles, rated TV-14, this is with English subtitles, rated TV-14, this is a Hanamaru HH1/2 optional, at best. (F. Swietek) (2016) 4 discs. 300 min. Blu- strong optional purchase. (C. Cassady) ray/DVD Combo: $64.98. Magic of Stella HH1/2 Funimation (avail. from most (2016) 2 discs. 300 min. Blu- distributors). HHH ray: $59.98. Sentai Filmworks While based on a video (2009) 85 min. Blu-ray: $29.99. (avail. from most distributors). game, the plentiful dialogue Maiden Japan (avail. from most Anime has regularly de- references to Japanese history and folkloric distributors). picted video games and characters here somewhat distinguishes Released in theaters in players, usually falling back this anime series from so many others 2009 as a 3D anime feature, on the narrative gimmick about young “sentai” teams of warriors. In Yona Yona Penguin centers on a feisty little girl of turning gameplay into a sort of total-im- the year 2205 (which, at least in confined named Coco who wears a coat with its sleeves mersion virtual-reality environment. Magic of settings, does not look particularly different sewn up, resembling penguin wings. Refus- Stella goes the opposite route, verging on the from today), an unseen “Master” has given ing to take guff from other kids who tease mundane as it shows a high school “doujin” human form to the most famous swords in her about penguins being flightless, Coco is club of females determined to design their Japan’s feudal past (wielded by mythic he- noticed for her spunk and resemblance to a own games—particularly a role-playing roes such as Minamoto no Yoshitsune and penguin. And she seems to match a predic- adventure about an ailing princess named Oda Nobunga). The result is a team of eager tion that such a bird will prove to be a brave Stella. Shy first-year student Tamaki joins the young fighters with different temperaments heroine who will defeat the evil Bukka-boo game-building SNS Club but she constantly (one constantly rues that he is not based on and his army of demons. With an assist from worries about not being a good enough artist the original sword, just a copy of it), who some new friends—including a goblin and an to measure up, and a deadline is approach- embark on missions to various eras to fight angel—Coco is ready to try the impossible. ing to enter the “Magic of Stella” game in a against a “History Retrograde Army” that is With bright and pleasing visuals and a host of contest. The highlight is a funny bit when trying to rewrite the outcomes of famous clan likable allies, this should appeal to kids, who a dialogue box addresses the heroines as a battles and duels (with monsters). Even with will love seeing one of their own take on the spirit-muse, in what is mostly a talky saga of a premise promising loads of action, there baddies. Presented in a dual-language Blu-ray teamwork and creative rivalries. The charac- is just as much—if not more—non-violent edition, rated TV-G, this is recommended. terizations tilt towards the whiny side—even comedy-drama and lengthy talk (even musi- (T. Keogh) by the hand-wringing standards of the shojo cal-style) about divided loyalties, longing for genre—but the overall approach here is up- “old times,” the living swords’ contrasting lifting, if also rather innocuous. Presenting all personalities, and—of course—who gets to do A Classic Reboot 12 episodes from 2016 in a Blu-ray edition, in the chores around the compound. Presenting Nearly 30 years after its Japanese with English subtitles, rated TV-14, all 12 episodes from 2016 in a dual-language original release, an anime this is a strong optional purchase. (C. Cassady) Blu-ray/DVD Combo set, rated TV-PG, this is classic is rebooted. Fans will a strong optional purchase.(C. Cassady) once again board the be- HHH loved Space Battleship Ya- (2011) 90 min. Blu-ray: $29.98. Urara Meirocho: The mamoto in Star Blazers 2199, Maiden Japan (avail. from most Complete Collection Part One (Funimation, Blu- distributors). ray/DVD Combo: 4 discs, HH1/2 After city-dwelling young (2017) 2 discs. 300 min. In $64.99), which compiles the first 13 episodes Tenzin’s mother dies, the Japanese w/English subtitles. of this 2013 futuristic series that follows the boy is sent to live with his Blu-ray: $59.98. Sentai crew of the Yamamoto as they embark upon seemingly loveless father in Filmworks (avail. from most a dangerous mission to save humankind, the snowy hills of Tibet in this 2011 anime distributors). fighting off the threat of the intergalactic feature. As the only doctor in the region, Fortunetelling is the subject of this fitfully superpower known as the Gamilas, while also Tenzin’s dad is frequently absent, leaving the entertaining, lighthearted shojo-oriented dealing with internal conflicts and dangerous youngster to fend for himself as a shepherd fantasy set in the town of Meirocho, which cosmic phenomena.

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Arminio HHH1/2 carnival, although her papal treasurer father, Das Land des Lächelns (2017) 168 min. In Italian w/ Balducci (Maurizio Muraro), wants to marry HHH English subtitles. DVD: 2 discs, her off to Cellini’s rival, Fieramosca (Laurent (2017) 103 min. In German w/ $46.99, Blu-ray: $41.99. C Naouri). In the ensuing melee, Cellini kills English subtitles. DVD or Blu- Major/Unitel (dist. by Naxos of Fieramosca’s friend Pompeo (André Morsch), ray: $39.99. Accentus Music America). but Pope Clement VII (Orlin Anastassov) (avail. from most distributors). George Frideric Handel’s will grant a pardon—and reward him with Apart from The Merry Includes Video Librarian Magazine Plus Online Access to 40,000 DVD/Blu-ray/Digital Reviews 1736 opera is presented in Teresa’s hand—if he fi nishes casting a huge Widow (1905), the operettas an opulent and stirring bronze statue of Perseus. Valery Gergiev’s rival of Franz Lehár are essentially much ignored production from the 2017 Handel Festival version from Salzburg (VL-9/11) is also well today, outside of the occasional provincial in Karlsruhe, Germany. Inspired by the sung and conducted, but Gilliam’s staging— production, so this 2017 mounting of The Germanic leader Arminius’s defeat of the while undoubtedly gaudy—better refl ects the Land of Smiles (1929) by the Zurich Opera Roman forces of Publius Quinctilius Var- 16th-century setting than Gergiev’s strangely is rather remarkable for its very existence, us in 9 A.D., the production features an futuristic visuals. Presented in DTS 5.1 and let alone its opulence. Set in 1912, the piece 18th-century costume and set design that PCM stereo, this is highly recommended. tells the bittersweet tale of Chinese prince suggests the decline and fall of the aristocra- (F. Swietek) Sou-Chong and an Austrian countess named cy in the French Revolution, complete with Lisa, who meet in Vienna, fall in love, marry, a guillotine that is not for mere decorative Così Fan Tutte HHH1/2 and go to China, where Lisa is unable to ac- purposes. The opera’s human drama—the (2016) 184 min. In Italian w/ commodate herself to the culture and decides intrafamilial diffi culties involving Arminio, English subtitles. DVD: $29.99, to return to Europe. A secondary romance his wife Tusnelda, and their family—is framed Blu-ray: $39.99. Opus Arte between Sou-Chong’s sister Mi and Viennese against a greater struggle brought about by (dist. by Naxos of America). diplomat Count Gustav also ends unhappily. the invading Romans under the leadership of Jan Philipp Gloger’s 2016 The title derives from the prince’s decision the general Varo. With Arminio imprisoned staging of Mozart’s opera to let his beloved depart, smiling despite his by the Romans, Varo sets his sights on Tus- at the Royal Opera House loss—supposedly meant to illustrate the Chi- nelda while Arminio’s traitorous father-in-law in Covent Garden begins nese way of dealing with misfortune. Domi- Segeste conspires with the Roman occupiers. at the end, with an overture accompanied nated by a magnifi cent spiral staircase, the set Although many Handel scholars consider by curtain calls by performers from a “tra- is imposing and the costumes are gorgeous. Arminio to be among his lesser works, this pro- ditional” staging of the piece. Then the real Fabio Luisi leads the company orchestra in duction receives an energetic boost thanks to singers mount from the audience in an affectionate performance of the score, and the excellent performances by countertenor modern dress, and the classic story begins, the chorus is excellent. Of the soloists, Piotr Max Emaneul Cencic as the heroic Arminio telling the tale of two men prompted by an Each Video Librarian Plus! Beczala stands out as Sou-Chong, handling and American soprano Lauren Snouffer as his older friend to test their fi ancées’ fi delity by every demand of the role written for tenor Subscription Includes: beloved Tusnelda. Their charisma and vocal donning disguises to romance each other’s power create theatrical alchemy, turning a betrothed. Gloger’s purpose is to emphasize Richard Tauber with aplomb—including its Video Librarian magazine somewhat predictable story into a compel- the comedy’s relevance across the centuries, most famous number, the so-called Tauberleid ling and enchanting work of imagination. but the gimmick comes across as ham-fi sted. “Dein ist mein ganzes Herz.” And if Julia 40,000 DVD/Blu-ray/digital reviews Presented in DTS 5.1 and PCM stereo, this is Fortunately, the overall excellence of what Kleiter occasionally sounds a bit strained as highly recommended. (P. Hall) follows makes up for that initial stumble, Lisa, she is generally a fi ne partner, while searchable by title, text, date, star although the deliberate artifi ciality of the Rebeca Olvera and Spencer Lang add humor Benvenuto Cellini settings (including the Garden of Eden!) as the secondary lovers. Although hardly the rating, and more continues to wink at the absurdity of the plot. equal of The Merry Widow, this opera has its HHH1/2 moments, and lovers of Viennese schmaltz Over 200 critical DVD/Blu-ray/digital Exclusive bi-weekly DVD/Blu-ray (2015) 180 min. In French w/ While a few of the best-known arias are taken English subtitles. DVD: 2 discs, quite slowly, conductor Semyon Bychkov’s will appreciate the effort that has gone into reviews in each bi-monthly issue selection recommendations $29.99, Blu-ray: $29.99. Naxos account of the delicious score mostly zips this revival. Presented in DTS 5.1, Dolby (avail. from most distributors). along, and the orchestra plays beautifully. Digital 5.1, and PCM stereo on DVD, and Movies • TV • Documentaries Calendar of upcoming DVD/Blu-ray Premiering in Paris in The vocalism is also first-rate, with tenor DTS-HD 5.1 and PCM stereo on Blu-ray, this 1838, Hector Berlioz’s fi rst Daniel Behle (Ferrando) and soprano Corinne is recommended. (F. Swietek) Children’s • Music • Anime releases with linked pre-pub reviews opera was a failure and has rarely been per- Winters (Fiordiligi) doing especially ravishing formed since. This 2015 production mounted work, while mezzo Angela Brower (Dorabella) Il Borgomastro di Calendar of upcoming video games Searchable database of distributors by the Dutch National Opera is directed with and baritone Alessio Arduini (Guglielmo) are Saardam HHH1/2 enormous panache by Monty Python alum- not far behind. Bass Johannes Martin Kränzle (2017) 108 min. DVD: $29.99, Guide to new movies based on books Resources and expanded newsbriefs nus, animator, screenwriter, and fi lmmaker as Don Alfonso, the manipulative arranger Blu-ray: $39.99. Dynamic (dist. Terry Gilliam. In his hands, the stage (and at of the deception (who anachronistically by Naxos of America). times the aisles) of the Stopera in Amsterdam keeps his 18th-century garb), and soprano Gaetano Donizetti’s rare- is not only full of grandiose sets and colorful Sabina Puértolas as Despina, the maid (here ly performed 1827 light costumes but also positively exploding with a cynical girl-about-town) Alfonso enlists as comic opera receives its activity. The effect is sometimes visually his confederate, are also fi ne. This is a defi - world premiere video recording in this overwhelming, but it complements a score antly unconventional Così, and sometimes invigorating 2017 production staged at the that brims with drama, bombast, and fl orid too clever by half, but ultimately one of the Festival Donizetti Opera in Bergamo, Italy. vocal demands. Mark Elder leads the Rotter- better versions of the opera available on disc. The slight tale of mistaken identities and dam Philharmonic in a vibrant reading that Presented in DTS 5.1 and stereo secret romances fi nds the Russian Tsar Peter Patrons with Netflix subscriptions avoids the raucousness Berlioz sometimes in- on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo the Great working incognito in a shipyard in vites, and the cast is outstanding. Tenor John on Blu-ray, extras include a brief introduction the Dutch city of Saardam, where he plans to will also love Video Librarian’s picks and Osborn brings a ringing tone to the titular to the opera, a behind-the-scenes featurette learn about shipbuilding in order to enhance pans when adding titles to their queues! Why not sculptor who schemes to carry off his lover, with set designer Ben Baur, and a cast gallery. his kingdom’s naval power. Alongside him is Pietro Flimann, a deserter from the Russian add a second print copy—only $64—for them? 9479 Bayshore Dr. NW, Suite 203, Silverdale, WA 98383 Teresa (Mariangela Sicilia), during the Roman Highly recommended. (F. Swietek) Fax: 360-626-1260 • E-mail: [email protected] Also available through EBSCO’s Flipster Video Librarian Plus! is also available through your subscription agent. Canadian subscribers: $104; all other foreign subscriptions: $121. digital magazine service. SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 73 VIDEO LIBRARIAN military who is in love with Marietta, a La Campana Sommersa turned to Rome to assassinate Silla, while the woman whose legal guardian is the mayor HHH1/2 dictator’s sister Celia (María José Moreno) and of the city. The arrival of a visiting sultan (2016) 140 min. In Italian w/ her lover Cinna (Inga Kalna) are also plotting in search of the disguised tsar creates con- English subtitles. DVD: $24.99, against Silla. In the end, Silla suddenly turns fusion, with the mayor mistaking the jittery Blu-ray: $34.99. Unitel (dist. by somewhat implausibly benevolent, forgiving Flimann for the monarch. And when Peter Naxos of America). everyone and allowing the happy couples to receives word of a revolt at home, he needs While Ottorino Respighi wed. Ivor Bolton conducts smartly, but with- to bring his Dutch adventure to a close and (1879-1936) is best known out the verve of Milan’s Marc Minkowski, and tie up the loose romantic ends. The plot for his orchestral works, he also composed the singing, while good, is a shade inferior as is, admittedly, very silly, but the vigorous several pieces for the stage, although none well (even Kalna, repeating her role as Cinna, performances by Giorgio Caoduro as the are now regularly performed. That makes is not quite as impressive here). A few textual confident Peter, Juan Francisco Gateli as this 2016 mounting of his 1927 fairy-tale differences are found between the two pro- the anything-but-confident Flimann, and opera The Sunken Bell from the Teatro Lirico ductions, such as the restoration of the role of Andrea Concetti (buried under theatrical di Cagliari an unusual and welcome event, Silla’s friend Aufidio (Kenneth Tarver), which makeup) as the elderly and bumbling mayor since it boasts attractive music presented was cut at La Scala, but the major contrast is help to float the farcical shenanigans, while within an impressive production. The story visual: Marshall Pynkoski’s Milan staging, the house orchestra plays solidly under the revolves around a bell-maker named Enrico, in 18th-century style, was classically elegant, baton of Roberto Rizzi Brignoli. Presented whose latest creation is submerged in a lake by while director Claus Guth here strives for a in Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo, this is a prankish faun. Moved by his grief, beautiful heavily dramatic tone, reflected in a huge highly recommended. (P. Hall) water spirit Rautendelein enters the real world modernist set and stark costumes. Presented to console Enrico, who in turn falls in love in Dolby Digital 5.1 and PCM stereo on DVD, Il Vologeso HHH with her, leaves his wife Magda, and repairs to and DTS-HD 5.1 and PCM stereo on Blu-ray, (2015) 183 min. In Italian w/ the forest to build a pagan temple. Only when this staging—while not equal to the slightly English subtitles. DVD or Blu- he hears of Magda’s suicide does he return superior Milan production—is still recom- ray: $29.99. Unitel (dist. by home, and on his own deathbed he prays to mended. (F. Swietek) Naxos of America). kiss Rautendelein one more time. Based on a Niccolò Jommelli (1714- play by Gerhart Hauptmann, the plot recalls The New York Cantors 1774) was one of the pre- Dvorák’s better-known Rusalka, while the HHH eminent composers of his score combines the richness of Richard Strauss (2018) 55 min. DVD: $24.99 day (over 50 of his estimated 80 operas with the voluptuous orchestration that Re- ($54.99 w/PPR). PBS Video. survive). Although some of his works are spighi learned from his mentor Rimsky-Kor- ISBN: 978-1-5317-0468-1. comic pieces, he specialized in opere serie like sakov (there are no immediately memorable In the tradition of the Il Vologeso, which was first performed at the tunes, but the level of craftsmanship is consis- famous Three Tenors, a trio Ludwigsburg palace of his patron in 1766 tently high). The Cagliari company does this of New York-based cantors— and is here presented in a 2015 production rarity proud, with veteran Donato Renzetti Yaakov Lemmer of the Lincoln Square from the Staatsoper in Stuttgart (the duchy’s eliciting sensual and vigorous playing from Synagogue, Azi Schwartz of the Park Avenue 18th-century capital). Written to a libretto the orchestra. The soloists—led by Angelo Synagogue, and Netanel Hershtik of the that was also used by many other composers, Villari (Enrico) and Valentina Farcas (Rauten- Hampton Synagogue—have joined forces the tale focuses on the titular Persian king delein)—might not have world-class voices, to offer concerts of sacred songs and more (Sophie Marilley), who has supposedly fallen but they deliver committed performances, secular pieces. In this PBS-aired concert in battle against the Roman general Lucio and the sets and elaborate costumes hew to recorded at Amsterdam’s 17th-century Sep- Vero (Sebastian Kohlhepp), a man in love with the old-fashioned fairyland specifics of the hardic Portuguese Synagogue in December Vologeso’s intended, Berenice (Ana Durlovs- story (video projections are also effectively 2017, the singers are backed by Jules van ki). But of course Vologeso is still alive, and employed). Presented in DTS 5.1 and PCM Hessen’s orchestra and chorus. The 12-song after he and Berenice recognize one another, stereo, this most worthwhile unearthing of setlist ranges from Shabbat songs like “Kol Lucio futilely tries to persuade her to choose a neglected opera is highly recommended. nidre” to traditional Jewish pieces such as him over her beloved. His lovestruck efforts (F. Swietek) “Ose shalom,” with an occasional side trip to are complicated, however, by the sudden contemporary melodies (Josh Groban’s “The arrival of his own betrothed, Lucilla (Helene Lucio Silla HHH Bells of ” and Andrew Lloyd Schneiderman), daughter of the emperor Mar- (20176) 180 min. In Italian Webber’s “Close Every Door”), giving each co Aurelio. She and Senator Flavio (Catriona w/English subtitles. DVD: of the cantors the opportunity to shine as a Smith) are determined to convince Lucio to $29.99, Blu-ray: $39.99. Bel Air soloist while also displaying their ability to forget Berenice. This plot, which makes a hash Classiques (dist. by Naxos of harmonize as a group. In honor of the loca- of history, is told in typical opera seria fashion America). tion, a medley of Sephardic songs is included through a series of florid arias with only a few The second home video (with helpful subtitles). The setting is beau- ensembles. But Jommelli was a fine craftsman, release of Mozart’s youthful, tiful and the performances are exceptional and while the numbers are formulaic, they rarely performed opera seria (the men’s voices have distinctive timbres, are also unfailingly elegant. So too is the vo- to appear in recent months, this solid 2017 but each is remarkably clear and supple). calism of Marilley, Kohlhepp, and Durlovski production from the Teatro Real in Madrid Presented in stereo, extras include two bonus (Schneiderman and Smith are a mite wobbly). does not quite match the 2015 mounting songs. Recommended. (F. Swietek) With sets and costumes that cleverly combine from Milan’s La Scala (VL-5/18). The plot modern and classical touches, the production focuses on the machinations of the title Nijinsky: A Ballet by John Neumeier is anchored by the modestly-sized Staatsor- character—Roman dictator Lucio Silla (Kurt HHH1/2 chester Stuttgart, which is stylishly conducted Streit)—to woo the beautiful Giunia (Patricia (2017) 135 min. In German w/English subtitles. by veteran Gabriele Ferro. Presented in DTS Petibon), whose intended, Cecilio (Silvia Tro DVD: 2 discs, $31.99, Blu-ray: $41.99. C Major 5.1 and PCM stereo, this operatic rarity is Santafé), has reportedly died in exile. But (dist. by Naxos of America). recommended. (F. Swietek) Cecilio is very much alive and has actually re- With all due respect to more recent lumi-

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 74 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 naries like Rudolf Nureyev intimate club setting), but she holds them and DTS-HD 5.1 and LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, and Mikhail Baryshnikov, in thrall with her smoky vocals on fine ren- this solid entry from the Rolling Stones from Vaslav Nijinsky remains the ditions of “Day Breaks,” “Don’t Be Denied,” the Vault series also features two audio CDs icon of male ballet danc- a rousing “Flipside,” and “Carry On,” while capturing the entire concert. Recommended. ers. During his career with authoritatively tickling the ivories on the daz- (R. Pitman) Sergei Diaghilev’s Ballets zling Duke Ellington instrumental “Fleurette Russes (1909-13), his fame Africaine.” The sparse dip into her pop/rock/ Tommy Shaw: Sing for surpassed that of the most country back catalog features stripped-down the Day! HH1/2 renowned ballerinas, with versions of “After the Fall,” “Out on the Road,” (2016) 82 min. Blu-ray: $19.98. his virtuosity and choreographic innovation and “Little Broken Hearts,” and she delights Eagle Rock Entertainment making him an international superstar. By the attendees near concert’s end with her (avail. from most distributors). 1919, however, Nijinsky was diagnosed with early breakout hit “Don’t Know Why.” This Styx singer-guitarist- schizophrenia, and was periodically institu- being a mostly jazz-inflected concert, there songwriter Tommy Shaw tionalized for the last 30 years of his life. Ni- are a few wonderful unscripted moments, the joins the Cleveland-based jinsky, choreographed for the Hamburg Ballet most entertaining being when Thomas gives Contemporary Youth Orchestra (CYO)—ebul- by artistic director John Neumeier in 2000, up using a bow on standup bass in favor of his liently conducted by Liza Grossman—for a is an impressionistic reverie on the dancer’s fingers and the band starts over on “Night- 12-song set (plus an overture) in 2015 before a life. In the first act, which is set during a final ingale.” Presented in DTS-5.1, Dolby Digital modestly-sized audience (mainly comprised, performance before a small audience as his 5.1 and stereo on DVD, and DTS-HD 5.1 and one suspects, of CYO parents). Seated in front mind was deteriorating, Nijinsky (Alexandre LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, other extras include of the orchestra and accompanied by musical Riabko) recalls his most memorable roles— an interview with Jones. Sure to appeal to fans director Will Evankovich on guitar, Shaw al- Harlequin and Le Spectre de la Rose (danced of Jones’s jazz work, this is recommended. ternates between acoustic and electric guitar by Alexandr Trusch), the Golden Slave and (R. Pitman) on several Shaw-penned Styx classic rock the Faun (Marc Jubete) and Petrushka (Lloyd hits, including “Crystal Ball” (with a never-re- Riggins)—as he dances to music by Chopin, Rolling Stones: No corded last verse), “Fooling Yourself,” “Man Schumann, and Rimsky-Korsakov. Hovering Security—San Jose ’99 in the Wilderness,” “Renegade” (featuring over the proceedings is the figure of Diaghilev HHH former CYO violinist Lavinia Pavlish), and (Ivan Urban), who was Nijinsky’s lover until (1999) 118 min. DVD: $24.98 “Blue Collar Man.” Only serious fans will be the dancer wed Romola (Carolina Agüero), (audio CDs included), Blu-ray: familiar with the less-well-known Shaw solo causing a rupture between the men (Nijinsky $29.98 (audio CDs included). career songs (“Girls with Guns,” “Diamond”) has ecstatic duets with both). The second act, Eagle Rock Entertainment and tunes from his stint with Damn Yankees set to more brutal music by Shostakovich, (avail. from most distributors). (featuring—cough, cough—Ted Nugent). connects Nijinsky’s radical choreography of Another year, another vintage Stones con- Sexagenarian Shaw’s voice is in fine form Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring with the horrors cert from one of the oldest and seemingly and he is backed with spirited if not always of World War I and the dancer’s unhappy most documented bands in rock ‘n’ roll histo- technically impressive playing by the CYO, family history, particularly the insanity of his ry. Filmed at the San Jose Arena in 1999 (not whose members’ facial expressions range brother Stanislav (Aleix Martínez). Neumeier in , unfortunately), the bad boys from wondrous to decidedly grim. While this weaves all of this into a deeply expressive of British rock— (mostly vocals, ultimately does not feel like a Styx concert, whole in this uniformly superb performance some guitar), Keith Richards (mostly guitar, some fans will still appreciate. Many a young filmed at the Hamburg State Opera in 2017. some vocals), Ronnie Wood (guitar), and American male during the ‘70s was drawn to Presented in DTS 5.1 (DTS-HD 5.1 on the Charlie Watts (drums)—are backed by one of Shaw’s angst-ridden what-is-my-place-in-the- Blu-ray edition) and PCM stereo, extras in- their all-time-best line-ups, including Darryl world? lyrics (such as the line “sometimes clude an interview with Neumeier. Highly Jones on bass, Chuck Leavell on keyboards, it makes no sense at all” from “Man in the recommended. (F. Swietek) the late and great Bobby Keys on sax, Blondie Wilderness”). Presented in DTS-HD 5.1 and Chaplin on percussion, and Lisa Fischer on LPCM stereo on Blu-ray, extras include four Norah Jones: Live at backup vocals. Sadly, Fischer’s signature song bonus songs performed to a photo montage. Ronnie Scott’s HHH “Gimme Shelter” is not part of the generous A strong optional purchase. (R. Pitman) (2017) 90 min. DVD: $15.98, 20-song setlist, although there are plenty of Blu-ray: $20.98. Eagle Rock other hits here: “Jumpin’ Jack ,” “Honky Entertainment (avail. from Tonk Women,” “Paint It Black,” “Start Me Rolling Stone Tribute most distributors). Up,” “Tumbling Dice,” “Brown Sugar,” and Pop/jazz chanteuse the standard closer “Sympathy for the Dev- Directed by Oscar-win- Norah Jones comes full cir- il.” This is a mature, supremely confident, ner Alex Gibney and Em- cle in this return-to-roots concert filmed in very efficient Stones concert, featuring the my-winner Blair Foster, 2017 at London’s Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Club. de riguer B-stage breakout mini-set of three Rolling Stone: Stories from the Backed by Christopher Thomas on various songs: “Route 66,” “Get Off of My Cloud” (a Edge (DVD: 2 discs, $26.98; bass instruments and Brian Blade on drums, rousing blast from the past during which a Blu-ray: 2 discs, $34.95) Jones displays her considerable chops on pair of black panties sail on to the stage), and will bow on September 11 vocals and piano in a 16-song set dominated a 12-minute “Midnight Rambler.” Of course, from Shout! Factory and by cuts from her 2016 release Day Breaks (in- there is the usual price to pay of having HBO Documentary Films. Narrated by Jeff cluding the bonus track “Burn,” Jones plays to hear Richards sing “You Got the Silver” Daniels, the six-part special tribute to the 10 of the album’s 12 songs), an album that (plus—adding insult to injury—“Before They 50th anniversary of the celebrated magazine found her once again mining the jazz vein Make Me Run”), but overall this is prime Rolling Stone features music by a wide array that launched her career in 2002’s Come Away Stones in their well-oiled arena-rock-ma- of artists, including The Rolling Stones, Bob with Me. In very brief remarks to the audience, chine form, masterfully playing both their Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, , Janis Jones apologizes for not looking their way instruments and the audience. Presented in Joplin, , The Sex Pistols, Ice-T, (she is clearly a bit uncomfortable in this DTS-5.1, Dolby Digital 5.1 and stereo on DVD, The Clash, and Fleetwood Mac.

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 75 VIDEO LIBRARIAN Distributor Addresses

Grasshopper Film Ro*co Films Educational Contact information for distribu- 12 East 32nd St., 4th Fl. 80 Liberty Ship Way, Ste. 8 New York, NY 10016 Sausalito, CA 94965 tors of titles reviewed in this issue Tel: (646) 586-3060 Tel: (415) 332-6471 are listed below. Some titles must Web: grasshopperfilm.com Web: rocoeducational.com be ordered direct, while others are Green Planet Films TMW Media Group available from a wide variety of P.O. Box 247 2321 Abbot Kinney Blvd. distributors. Corte Madera, CA 94976 Venice, CA 90291 Tel: (415) 377-5471 Tel: (800) 262-8862 Web: greenplanetfilms.org Web: tmwmedia.com

Human Relations Media Tritone Films 59 Kensico Dr. 4430 Jana Vista Rd. 2e: Twice Exceptional Mt. Kisco, NY 10549 El Sobrante, CA 94803 1700 La Loma Avenue Tel: (800) 431-2050 Tel: (510) 685-5432 Berkeley, CA 94709 Web: hrmvideo.com Web: 4wheelbobfilm.com Web: 2emovie.com/2e2 Icarus Films The Video Project Bullfrog Films 32 Court St., 21st Fl. 145 Ninth St., Ste. 230 P.O. Box 149 Brooklyn, NY 11201 San Francisco, CA 94103 Oley, PA 19547 Tel: (800) 876-1710 Tel: (800) 475-2638 Tel: (800) 543-3764 Web: icarusfilms.com Web: videoproject.com Web: bullfrogfilms.com Juno Films Vision Video California Newsreel 940 Princeton Kingston Rd. P.O. Box 540 P.O. Box 3400 Princeton, NJ 08540 Worcester, PA 19490 Lancaster, PA 17601 Tel: (609) 933-1806 Tel: (800) 523-0226 Tel: (877) 811-7495 Web: junofilms.com Web: visionvideo.com Web: newsreel.org Kino Lorber Edu Weston Woods Studios The Cinema Guild 333 W. 39th St., Ste. 503 90 Old Sherman Tpke. 2803 Ocean Ave. New York, NY 10018 Danbury, CT 06816 Brooklyn, NY 11229 Tel: (800) 562-3330 Tel: (800) 243-5020 Tel: (800) 723-5522 Web: kinolorberedu.com Web: westonwoods.scholastic.com Web: cinemaguild.com Marshall Publishing Women Make Movies Cinema Libre Studio 1075 Bradford Ct. 115 West 29th St., Ste. 1200 120 S. Victory Blvd., 1st Fl. Elgin, IL 60120 New York, NY 10001 Burbank, CA 91502 Tel: (888) 300-3455 Tel: (212) 925-0606 Tel: (818) 588-3033 Web: marshallpublishinginc.com Web: wmm.com Web: cinemalibrestudio.com Media Education Foundation YMAA Publication Center City Projects 60 Masonic St., #A P.O. Box 480 P.O. Box 86738 Northampton, MA 01060 Wolfeboro, NH 03894 Los Angeles, CA 90086 Tel: (800) 897-0089 Tel: (800) 669-8892 Web: brownbuffalofilm.com Web: mediaed.org Web: ymaa.com

Collective Eye Films Media Policy Center Youth Sports Club 1315 SE 20th Ave., #3 2932 Wilshire Blvd., Ste. 203 9 Florence Ct. Portland, OR 97214 Santa Monica, CA 90403 Valley Cottage, NY 10989 Tel: (971) 236-2056 Tel: (310) 828-2966 Tel: (845) 536-4278 Web: collectiveeye.org Web: mediapolicycenter.org Web: youthsportsclub.com

Dreamscape Media Midwest Tape 1417 Timberwolf Dr. P.O. Box 820 Holland, OH 43528 Holland, OH 43528 Tel: (877) 983-7326 Tel: (800) 875-2785 Web: dreamscapeab.com Web: midwesttapes.com

EPF Media Music Box Films 324 S. Beverly Dr., PMB 437 173 N. Morgan St. Beverly Hills, CA 90212 Chicago, IL 60607 Tel: (888) 570-5400 Tel: (312) 241-1320 Web: epfmedia.com Web: musicboxfilms.com

Film Ideas Naxos of America 308 N. Wolf Rd. 1810 Columbia Ave., Ste. 28 Wheeling, IL 60090 Franklin, TN 37064 Tel: (800) 475-3456 Tel: (615) 771-9393 Web: filmideas.com Web: naxos.com

Film Movement Passion River 237 West 35th St., Ste. 604 154 Mt. Bethel Rd. New York, NY 10001 Warren, NJ 07059 Tel: (866) 937-3456 Tel: (732) 321-0711 Web: filmmovement.com Web: passionriver.com

First Run Features PBS Video 630 Ninth Ave., Ste. 1213 2100 Crystal Dr. New York, NY 10036 Arlington, VA 22202 Tel: (800) 229-8575 Tel: (800) 531-4727 Web: firstrunfeatures.com Web: pbs.org

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 76 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 Title Index

2e2: Teaching the Twice Exceptional ...... 56 Desert Bride, The ...... 20 My Letter to the World ...... 68 4 Wheel Bob ...... 58 Detectorists: Season 3 ...... 45 Nature Cat: Onward + Pondward! ...... 48 Adventures of Tom Sawyer, The ...... 36 Dietrich & Von Sternberg in Hollywood ...... 38 New Big Plane Trip, The ...... 49 After Auschwitz ...... 65 Disobedience ...... 21 New York Cantors, The ...... 74 AlphaGo ...... 63 Do No Harm: Opioid Epidemic ...... 59 Nijinsky: A Ballet by John Neumeier ...... 74 Always at the Carlyle ...... 16 Dream Big: Engineering Our World ...... 63 No Dress Code Required ...... 28 American Animals ...... 16 Earth Seasoned: #Gap Year ...... 57 Norah Jones: Live at Ronnie Scott’s ...... 75 Ancient Law (Das alte Gesetz) ...... 36 Earth’s Furies: Earthquakes ...... 57 Not Alone ...... 55 Arminio ...... 73 Earth’s Furies: Volcanic Eruptions ...... 57 Nothing Is Forgiven ...... 66 Atom: The Beginning—Complete Collection ...... 70 East West 101: Series 2 ...... 45 Odds Against Tomorrow ...... 44 Avengers: Infinity War ...... 16 El Sur ...... 38 Oh Lucy! ...... 28 Back to Burgundy ...... 16 Elis ...... 21 OK K.O.! Let’s Be Heroes: T.K.O...... 49 Backyard Sports ...... 63 Endless, The ...... 21 On Chesil Beach ...... 28 Bad Samaritan ...... 16 Eric Clapton: Life in 12 Bars ...... 68 On the Beach at Night Alone ...... 30 Beast ...... 18 Evolution of Organic ...... 62 Operation Red Sea ...... 30 Benvenuto Cellini ...... 73 Exodus: The Journey Continues ...... 52 Orange Is the New Black: Season 5 ...... 47 Beyond the Hills ...... 18 Family I Had, The ...... 56 Our Blood Is Wine ...... 62 Beyond the Wall ...... 56 Female Trouble ...... 42 Outsider, The ...... 30 Big Country, The ...... 36 Frank & Eva ...... 42 Overboard ...... 30 Biology & Chemistry: Science of Forensics ...... 56 Freak Show ...... 22 Pennhurst ...... 53 Black Lightning: Complete First Season ...... 45 Gang Crackdown, The ...... 52 Pickings ...... 30 Blue Desert ...... 18 Genetically Modified Children ...... 59 Play the Devil ...... 31 Book Club ...... 18 GI Jews: Jewish Americans in World War II ...... 66 Prediction by the Numbers ...... 57 Borderline ...... 50 Girlfriends: Series 1 ...... 46 Pride Denied ...... 53 Borg vs. McEnroe ...... 18 Good American, A ...... 52 RBG ...... 31 Boxcar Children: Surprise Island ...... 20 Gravity Falls: Complete Series ...... 49 Recovering Paradise ...... 54 Broken Lines: A Story of Addiction ...... 55 Greaser’s Palace ...... 42 Reluctant Radical, The ...... 54 Bullets on the Border ...... 51 Great Escape at Dunkirk ...... 65 Rider, The ...... 31 Bye Bye Germany ...... 20 Great Silence, The ...... 42 Rise and Fall of the Brown Buffalo, The ...... 69 Cage Fighter, The ...... 63 Grimoire of Zero: Complete Collection ...... 70 Rolling Stones: No Security—San Jose ’99 ...... 75 Carry Me Home: A Remember America Film ...... 67 Gun Crazy ...... 42 Rusty Rivets ...... 49 Chinese Lives of Uli Sigg, The ...... 67 Gun Shop, The ...... 52 Satellite Girl and Milk Cow ...... 31 Ciambra, A ...... 20 Hamlet ...... 64 Seagull, The ...... 31 Cinema Novo ...... 64 Hand Shakers ...... 70 Sex, Lies and Butterflies ...... 58 Coach Jake ...... 63 Heaven is a Traffic Jam on the 405 ...... 50 Sheikh Jackson ...... 32 Cold Turkey ...... 38 Hitler’s Hollywood ...... 66 Siberia ...... 32 Complete Sartana, The ...... 38 Homeless ...... 22 Sidemen: Long Road to Glory ...... 64 Così Fan Tutte ...... 73 Hooked ...... 22 Skin So Soft, A ...... 60 Curse of the Cat People, The ...... 38 Hostages: Season 1 ...... 46 Spanish Exile ...... 54 Daphne & Velma ...... 20 Hotel Salvation ...... 22 Splash and Bubbles: One Big Ocean ...... 49 Das Land des Lächelns ...... 73 How to Talk to Girls at Parties ...... 22 Spying on the Royals ...... 67 Dazzle Ships ...... 48 Human Flow ...... 22 Straight/Curve: Redefining Body Image ...... 62 Deadpool 2 ...... 20 I Am Another You ...... 53 Strange Occurrences in a Small Irish Village ...... 51 Dear Murderer: Series 1 ...... 45 I Dream in Another Language ...... 24 Strange Victory ...... 54 Defining Hope ...... 59 I’m Dying Up Here: Season One ...... 46 Striking Out: Series 2 ...... 47 Delay, Deny, Hope You Die ...... 58 Il Borgomastro di Saardam ...... 73 Stumped ...... 60 Delicious: Series 2 ...... 45 Il Vologeso ...... 74 Subversives, The ...... 66 Democracy Road ...... 52 In Harmony ...... 24 Summer 1993 ...... 32 In Pursuit of Silence ...... 50 Superfly ...... 32 In Syria ...... 24 Survival Guide for Pain-Free Living ...... 60 Inflame ...... 24 Syria: Children at War ...... 66 Interviews with Monster Girls ...... 70 Tai Chi Fit: 24 Form ...... 60 Ismael’s Ghosts ...... 24 Tai Chi Fusion Fire ...... 62 Advertiser Directory Jesus: Countdown to Calvary ...... 51 Taste of Phobia ...... 32 Jesus: Dead and Buried? ...... 51 Tehran Taboo ...... 34 Action! Library Media Service ...... 67 John From ...... 26 Three-Way Wedding, The ...... 34 Baker & Taylor Entertainment ...... 2 Journey’s End ...... 26 Tibetan Dog, The ...... 71 Breaking Glass ...... 33 Julius Caesar ...... 64 Tipping Point ...... 58 Collective Eye ...... 57 Kabukibu! Complete Collection ...... 70 To Auschwitz and Back: The Joe Engel Story ...... 69 Criterion ...... 43 Keep the Change ...... 26 Tommy Shaw: Sing for the Day! ...... 75 Dark Hollow Films ...... 4 King, The ...... 26 Torchlighters: Adoniram and Ann Judson Story ...... 51 King of Hearts ...... 44 Touken Ranbu: Hanamaru ...... 71 Dreamscape ...... 7 La Campana Sommersa ...... 74 Troll Inc...... 55 EPF Media ...... 61 Leaf of Faith, A ...... 60 Truth or Dare ...... 34 Film Movement ...... 23, 25, 27 Lean on Pete ...... 26 Tunnel—Vengeance: Complete Third Season ...... 47 Films Media Group ...... 65 Life of the Party ...... 26 Uncle Drew ...... 34 First Run Features ...... 9 Little Pink House ...... 27 Understanding the Opioid Epidemic ...... 62 Green Planet Films ...... 57 Long Shadow, The ...... 53 Upgrade ...... 34 Lorraine Hansberry: Sighted Eyes—Feeling Heart ...... 68 Urara Meirocho ...... 71 Icarus Films ...... 13 Lots & Lots of Animal Stories for Kids! Vol. 5: Vazante ...... 34 IndiePix Films ...... 37, 78 Donkeys ...... 48 Wait for Your Laugh ...... 69 Kino Lorber Education ...... 11 Lots & Lots of Learning Fun! All About Trains ...... 48 Wall, The ...... 35 Midwest Tape ...... 80 Love After Love ...... 27 Warning Signs of Addiction, The ...... 56 Music Box Films ...... 17 Love and Lies: Complete Collection ...... 70 Water Makes Us Wet ...... 58 NCircle Entertainment ...... 40, 41 Lucio Silla ...... 74 Water Princess, The ...... 49 Magic of Stella ...... 71 West of the Jordan River ...... 35 Oscilloscope Pictures ...... 19 Manila in the Claws of Light ...... 44 What Doesn’t Kill Me ...... 55 Passion River Films ...... 79 Mankiller: Activist, Feminist, Cherokee Chief ...... 68 Will & Grace: Revival, Season One ...... 47 PBS Video ...... 5 Many Loves One Heart ...... 53 Woman Walks Ahead ...... 35 Shout! Factory ...... 21 Maximilian and Marie de Bourgogne ...... 46 Won’t You Be My Neighbor? ...... 3 Strand Releasing ...... 29 Menace and Murder ...... 46 Workers Cup, The ...... 64 Midsummer Night’s Dream, A ...... 48 Wrong Light, The ...... 55 Vision Video ...... 15 Miguel’s Brave Knight ...... 48 Yona Yona Penguin ...... 71 White Crane Productions ...... 59 Mile Marker ...... 50 You Were Never Really Here ...... 35 Wolfe Video ...... 39 Mimic, The ...... 28 You Will Be Mine ...... 35 YMAA Publication Center ...... 59 Moon Child ...... 44 Zama ...... 36 Moss ...... 28 Zoo ...... 36

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 77 VIDEO LIBRARIAN Final Frame

leases shortly after receiving press releases around the world; and Kino (within an hour, Video Librarian announced Lorber and Zeitgeist Films’ The Other News Criterion’s scheduled November 20, 2018, Forbidden Films: The Hidden release of the mammoth 30-disc boxed set Legacy of Nazi Film, which When Video Librarian first began publica- Ingmar Bergman’s Cinema, a comprehensive re-examines the propagan- tion, the news arrived by mail. Pony Express. centennial celebration collecting all of the da films created by the German film industry Just kidding, but it was definitely snail mail Swedish master’s most important films). under the Third Reich. (emphasis on snail). This was 1986, long be- We made a conscious decision when set- It is this other news—which generally fore the advent of e-mail press release blasts ting up our news briefs blog that we would receives far less coverage—that is most in- and the research-world-at-one’s-fingertips avoid most announcements about contem- teresting and rewarding to share with our Internet. Back in 1997 when we launched porary movies being released to home video readers. And the news brief section is now the original version of the Video Librarian (the latest Melissa McCarthy comedy or Liam free to all visitors. website, relevant news was posted—like all Neeson stop-taking-my-family-members All of us here have our own favorite web- of the other content on the site—every two thriller), as any number of websites cover sites that we visit for news and reference, weeks, and that model stayed in place until… these kinds of releases ad infinitum. Instead, ranging from IMDB.com to Hollywood cough…this year. we wanted to concentrate on documentaries, Bitchslap. One of my go-to places is Blu-ray. Although admittedly a wee bit slow to classic films, notable TV shows, and librari- com, which features a lot of useful technical evolve online, we finally bit the modern-day an-specific industry news. information about disc releases ( bullet in late February of this year with a On the documentary front, many of these drawback of Blu-ray.com—apparent in the complete overhaul of the website, during titles are DVD-only releases, including— title itself—is the absence of any coverage which we added a bunch of new features—in- looking over past posts—Sony’s three-hour of DVD releases). We hope you will add VL cluding digital copies of full issues for Video Elvis Presley: The Searcher biographical profile; (www.videolibrarian.com) to your website Librarian Plus! subscribers. First Run Features’ The People Speak, inspired favorites and we look forward to bringing One of my favorite new enhancements is by Howard Zinn’s books A People’s History you more exciting news (none of it fake). the way we now handle the posting of “news of the United States (1980) and Voices of a Randy Pitman briefs.” Thanks to the WordPress platform, People’s History of the United States (2004); we were able to transform the news briefs PBS’s FRONTLINE: UN Sex Abuse Scandal, section into a running blog that could be an investigation into the more than 1,700 updated on the fly, which allows us to share allegations recorded over the past 15 years interesting and exciting announcements by the United Nations of instances of sexual regarding upcoming DVD and Blu-ray re- abuse by its peacekeepers in conflict zones

oct 9 street

Available through AEC, Baker & Taylor, Ingram Entertainment, Midwest Tape, Amazon and wherever fine films are sold. PPR/DSL/Non-Theatrical Licensing available thru Soundview Media Partners.

learn more at indiepixfilms.com

VIDEO LIBRARIAN 78 SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2018 GROW YOUR COLLECTION WITH THESE NEW MEGA-HITS

As Seen On AFTER AUSCHWITZ THE WORKERS CUP One War Ends. Another Begins. Inside the Labor Camps of Qatar, A Tournament For Workers “Profound.”

Opening Night Film at Sundance Film Festival "Stands out as one of the most upbeat Holocaust documentaries ever." “Remarkable Inside Access” - MovieNation

“A powerful testament to individual humanity emerging from inhuman horrors.” Endorsed by staff of the Human Rights Watch and Business & Human Rights Resource Centre After Auschwitz is a “Post-Holocaust” documentary that follows six extraordinary women, capturing what it means to move from tragedy and trauma towards life. The Workers Cup is set inside the labor camps of Qatar, where the World Cup is being These women all moved to LA, married, raised children and became “Americans” but they built on the backs of 1.6 million migrant workers. never truly found a place to call home. What makes the story so much more fascinating is The film follows a team of laborers living a real-life version of fantasy football. By day how these women saw, interpreted and interacted with the changing face of America in the they sweat to build the World Cup; by night they compete in a “workers welfare” second half of the 20th century. football tournament, playing in the same stadiums that will one day host the world’s In watching the struggles of survival, the audience feels a searing connection to our greatest players. current political climate, as history teaches us the vital role humanity plays in our hopes for We join one team of men from Nepal, India, Ghana, and Kenya whose only common greater understanding and compassion. These powerful women serve as our guides on an ground is their love for football. Each match offers them a momentary escape from the unbelievable journey, sometimes celebratory, sometimes heartbreaking but always homesickness and isolation they endure as the lowest class in the world’s inspiring. richest country. Please inquire about the award-winning prequel, Swimming In Auschwitz. Holocaust Studies | Jewish Studies | Womenʼs Studies | Contemporary History Documentary | Labor Law | International Studies | Political Science | Sociology | Sports 82 min. | UPC: 602573752517| SRP: $69.95 | PPR: $325.00 | Closed Captioned 82 min. | UPC: 602573752500| SRP: $69.95 | PPR: $325.00 |Closed Captioned Available Exclusively to Libraries Available Exclusively to Libraries

WE THE ANIMALS A Remote PIacSifiLc IAslaNndD. An S ArOmyL RDecrIuEiteRr's Paradise. Based on the acclaimed novel by Justin Torres

“The very personal impact of historical and “this year's Moonlight... economic forces comes through with a Critic's Pick. Utterly Timeless.” powerful melancholy.” “This movie is gorgeous.”

“The case of Micronesia’s relationship to the U.S. is “Mesmerizing and dream-like, a fascinating one, and Island Soldier captures the feel of the novel with does a fine job bringing it to light.” uncanny precision.” - Toronto Film Scene Through an intricate weave of the personal journeys undertaken by Pacific Islander Three boys tear through their rural New York hometown, in the midst of their young soldiers, the film illustrates a larger story of a remote region whose interests are parents’ volatile love that makes and unmakes the family many times over. While Manny caught in the ever-changing tides of international politics. and Joel grow into versions of their loving and unpredictable father, Ma seeks to keep Island Soldier asks challenging questions while offering viewers a unique her youngest, Jonah, in the cocoon of home. More sensitive and conscious than his older perspective on a globalized world. Who are these virtually unknown foreign soldiers siblings, Jonah increasingly embraces an imagined world all his own. fighting America’s wars? What does it mean for the United States to use, and practically With a screenplay by Dan Kitrosser and Jeremiah Zagar based on the celebrated Justin discard, foreign citizens from their military? What happens to Micronesian veterans, Torres novel, We the Animals is a visceral coming-of-age story propelled by layered and their families, when they return home and cannot access their benefits performances from its astounding cast – including three talented, young first-time actors (healthcare, treatment for PTSD, loans, etc)? What is the future of these islands that - and stunning animated sequences which bring Jonah’s torn inner world to life. Drawing exist at the mercy of foreign superpowers and strategic military interests? from his documentary background, director Jeremiah Zagar creates an immersive portrait of working class family life and brotherhood. Documentary| American Studies| Political Science| Military Science| Civil Rights Narative | Drama| Family Studies| Early Childhood Development|LGBT 86 min. | UPC: 602573752593| SRP: $59.95 | PPR: $299.00 | Closed Captioned 94 min. | UPC: 889845942702 | SRP: $24.95 | PPR: $299.00 | Closed Captioned Available Exclusively to Libraries

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