I Wish for More of Josie
Rating: 5 Trees
Josie’s Lalaland, directed by Eb Hu, is computer animation piece that depicts a girl’s dying wish to be with her family. It contains beautiful colors and lighting that create euphoric and calming atmosphere. Red skies over black and yellow fields that wave in the wind, match the tone of the narrative voice. The subtle music creates a sense of drive that heightens the tension created by the little girls voice as you know something terrible is wrong. In this piece, it was a collection of all that worked on it that made this short standout among the rest.
The Pursuit of What We Know
The Pursuit of What We Know
Rating: 5 Trees
Directed by Majid Madjidi
Are we to be entertained by a movie about an ostrich handler in the rural plains of Iran? At first, I was skeptical, but due to a well developed story, endearing characters and cinematography this movie stand as phenomenal achievement. It may sound like it’s impossible, but Director Majid Madjidi, pulls off a story that offers deep insight into the struggles of the poor, and how those struggles can effect everything around them. In Song of Sparrows, the struggle to provide for ones family, leads an Iranian rural laborer, Karim, on a journey to the city where acquired wealth leads him to questions his moral values and unravels the threads of the very family he is trying to protect.
Reza Naji who recently won the, Best Actor Silver Bear, plays Karim giving a stunning performance, drawing the audience to empathize with his joy and dismay using his eyes, and wild antics. While the movie has subtitles and cultural references, one must not be detoured, as Director Majid Madjidi, draws upon a rich wealth of universal experiences, so that we can share common ground. Everyone will draw something important that will alter their perspective of cultural similarities and the human experience.
