The Lebanon director’s unflinching family tragedy, set in a surreal Israel where loss and pain are randomly distributed, offers an urgent and witty picture of futility
Foxtrot, by the Israeli film-maker Samuel Maoz, is a compelling family tragedy played out in three acts; a nightmarish triptych of loss, waste and grief that is nonetheless arranged with such visionary boldness that it dares us to look away. Maoz won the 2009 Golden Lion here at Venice with Lebanon, his last film but one, which pundits suspect may count against him this time around. And yet Foxtrot makes a mockery of that kind of received wisdom and formal protocol. The world, it tells us, is random and inept – as likely to kill you by mistake as on purpose. I’m not sure the film sees this as amusing, exactly. But it has the wherewithal and wit to manage the odd hollow laugh.
Foxtrot, by the Israeli film-maker Samuel Maoz, is a compelling family tragedy played out in three acts; a nightmarish triptych of loss, waste and grief that is nonetheless arranged with such visionary boldness that it dares us to look away. Maoz won the 2009 Golden Lion here at Venice with Lebanon, his last film but one, which pundits suspect may count against him this time around. And yet Foxtrot makes a mockery of that kind of received wisdom and formal protocol. The world, it tells us, is random and inept – as likely to kill you by mistake as on purpose. I’m not sure the film sees this as amusing, exactly. But it has the wherewithal and wit to manage the odd hollow laugh.
- 9/4/2017
- by Xan Brooks
- The Guardian - Film News
It wasn't quite Day of the Locust, but union scribes swarmed Hollywood on Tuesday in a solidarity march ending near Grauman's Chinese Theatre.
The WGA march down Hollywood Boulevard sought to keep strike commitment high among the rank and file before a Thanksgiving break in picketing and then the resumption of negotiations with studio reps Monday. The WGA hasn't held any bargaining sessions with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers since Nov. 5, the first day of the now 17-day-old strike.
"This is to show solidarity and let the companies know that we continue to be serious in wanting to negotiate a fair contract," said Jonathan Feldman, a TV writer and one of the parade marshals on hand to coordinate a crowd that police estimated at about 1,500 and the WGA said reached 4,500.
Three big Teamsters rigs were parked along the truck route, and members of SAG and AFTRA joined the writers at the event.
"I think this says we're all in this together," said Amy Brenneman, star of ABC's Private Practice and a SAG member.
The WGA march down Hollywood Boulevard sought to keep strike commitment high among the rank and file before a Thanksgiving break in picketing and then the resumption of negotiations with studio reps Monday. The WGA hasn't held any bargaining sessions with the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers since Nov. 5, the first day of the now 17-day-old strike.
"This is to show solidarity and let the companies know that we continue to be serious in wanting to negotiate a fair contract," said Jonathan Feldman, a TV writer and one of the parade marshals on hand to coordinate a crowd that police estimated at about 1,500 and the WGA said reached 4,500.
Three big Teamsters rigs were parked along the truck route, and members of SAG and AFTRA joined the writers at the event.
"I think this says we're all in this together," said Amy Brenneman, star of ABC's Private Practice and a SAG member.
- 11/21/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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