Director: Bryan Buckley
Reviewed: 3 March 2013
jamesintexas rating--***1/2
Asad injects magical realism and lightness into the heaviest of subjects: war-torn Somalia with gun-toting subjects. A young boy struggles to bring a fish back to his village and change his reputation. Unusual and surprisingly powerful and funny as well.
Buzkashi Boys
Director: Sam French
Reviewed: 3 March 2013
jamesintexas rating--****
Afghanistan looks centuries old as a young boy struggles with his destiny as the son of a blacksmith. The boy and his best friend climb the decaying, bombed out buildings of Kabul, staring out on a starkly beautiful landscape. The film feels cold, but the performances are strong, especially the young boys. The sport of buzkashi was brutally painful to watch, as was the idea of a young boy coming to terms with his destiny. Haunting and elegiac.
Curfew
Director: Shawn Christensen
Reviewed: 3 March 2013
jamesintexas rating--**1/2
My least favorite of the nominees, "Curfew" stars director Christensen and chronicles a young suicidal man and his babysitting of his niece. The emotions are not as strongly rendered, and the territory seems familiar when juxtaposed against the other four films.
Death of a Shadow
Director: Tom Van Avermaet
Reviewed: 3 March 2013
jamesintexas rating--***1/2
A strangely dark film about a photographer of death taking place in World War One. In order to free himself, a young soldier must photograph moments of death, capturing the shadows of the dying for a bizarre collection. A young woman shows up, and complications ensue. I like the colors (yellow and black) and feeling of this film.
Henry
Director: Yan England
Reviewed: 3 March 2013
jamesintexas rating--***
"Henry" feels intensely sad in its focus: dementia in an older man as he retraces his love affair with his wife. I was struck by its stylistic choices that resembled "The Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" with lights fading out of scenes, mirroring memory loss. It was well-done and haunting.
