Update: More than 300 Jewish creatives — including eight-time Oscar-winning composer Alan Menken, “SNL” star Sarah Sherman, actor and documentarian Alex Winter and “Seinfeld” writer Larry Charles — have added their names to the list of signatories of an open letter in support of Jonathan Glazer’s Oscars speech.
The number of signees now sits at 492, having more than tripled since Variety first published the April 5 letter, which criticized the attacks on Glazer for being a “dangerous distraction” from the mounting death toll in Gaza while also contributing to the “suppression of free speech and dissent.”
New additions also include Oscar-winning “Anatomy of a Fall” co-writer Arthur Harari, veteran U.K. producer and Oscar winner Jeremy Thomas, “Girls” co-showrunner and co-writer Jenni Konner and “The Hunger Games” writer and director and four-time Oscar nominee Gary Ross. Many members of the Israeli film community have also signed the open letter, including Oren Moverman, Nadav Lapid,...
The number of signees now sits at 492, having more than tripled since Variety first published the April 5 letter, which criticized the attacks on Glazer for being a “dangerous distraction” from the mounting death toll in Gaza while also contributing to the “suppression of free speech and dissent.”
New additions also include Oscar-winning “Anatomy of a Fall” co-writer Arthur Harari, veteran U.K. producer and Oscar winner Jeremy Thomas, “Girls” co-showrunner and co-writer Jenni Konner and “The Hunger Games” writer and director and four-time Oscar nominee Gary Ross. Many members of the Israeli film community have also signed the open letter, including Oren Moverman, Nadav Lapid,...
- 4/10/2024
- by Ellise Shafer and Alex Ritman
- Variety Film + TV
The first trailer has been released for a new movie called Spider in the Web, which stars Ben Kingsley as an aging spy who is past his prime. The story follows him on one final mission to clear his name of being suspected of fabricating intelligence. As you might imagine, a film like this is going to be filled with twists and turns as the story unfolds.
Here’s the synopsis that was released:
Adereth (Sir Ben Kinsgley), a once-lauded but aging field agent of the Israeli Mossad, is deemed past his prime by his superiors. Convinced that he’s been fabricating intelligence to maintain his relevance, they send a young operative, Daniel (Itay Tiran), to ensure that Adereth does not deviate from his mission to deliver crucial information he claims is waiting for him regarding a chemical weapons sale to a Middle Eastern dictatorship. That tip leads to the...
Here’s the synopsis that was released:
Adereth (Sir Ben Kinsgley), a once-lauded but aging field agent of the Israeli Mossad, is deemed past his prime by his superiors. Convinced that he’s been fabricating intelligence to maintain his relevance, they send a young operative, Daniel (Itay Tiran), to ensure that Adereth does not deviate from his mission to deliver crucial information he claims is waiting for him regarding a chemical weapons sale to a Middle Eastern dictatorship. That tip leads to the...
- 8/1/2019
- by Joey Paur
- GeekTyrant
"There are a lot of people out there who'd do anything to stop me from exposing the truth." Vertical Ent. has unveiled an official trailer for spy drama Spider in the Web, the latest film from Israeli filmmaker Eran Riklis. This "riveting new spy drama in the vein of John Le Carré" stars Sir Ben Kingsley as an aging Mossad agent struggling to maintain his relevance. His bond with a younger operative sent to monitor him while he's on a secret mission in the heart of a troubled Europe is a reflection on human relationships as well as "on the Europe of today – fragile, troubled, under constant threats from the outside and in turmoil on the inside." Also starring Monica Bellucci, Makram Khoury, Filip Peeters, and Itay Tiran. This looks like a solid, action-y spy thriller with some big twists, but it also looks rather derivative without anything new to offer.
- 7/29/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Israeli actor Itay Tiran also stars in Eran Riklis’ latest film.
London-based Film Constellation has sold out its Ben Kingsley and Monica Bellucci spy drama Spider In The Web and struck a North American deal with Vertical Entertainment.
Eran Riklis’ latest film centres on a young agent dispatched to follow an older operative whose behaviour has come into question and is following a tip on a chemical weapons sale to a Middle Eastern dictatorship.
Israeli actor Itay Tiran (Lebanon) also stars. Film Constellation co-financed Spider In The Web and announced the project and previously licensed Germany (Concorde/Telemuenchen), Greece-Cyprus (Tanweer...
London-based Film Constellation has sold out its Ben Kingsley and Monica Bellucci spy drama Spider In The Web and struck a North American deal with Vertical Entertainment.
Eran Riklis’ latest film centres on a young agent dispatched to follow an older operative whose behaviour has come into question and is following a tip on a chemical weapons sale to a Middle Eastern dictatorship.
Israeli actor Itay Tiran (Lebanon) also stars. Film Constellation co-financed Spider In The Web and announced the project and previously licensed Germany (Concorde/Telemuenchen), Greece-Cyprus (Tanweer...
- 5/16/2019
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
Film Constellation has pre-sold Ben Kingsley and Monica Bellucci espionage thriller “Spider in the Web” in territories including Germany and China, as the stars are seen together in an exclusive first-look image from the movie.
Production has just wrapped on the film, which is helmed by Eran Riklis and was shot in Belgium and the Netherlands. Concorde has picked it up for Austria and Germany, and Lemon Tree Media for China. Tanweer has prebought it for Greece and Cyprus. A studio deal is thought to be in the cards in another major territory.
Set in modern-day Europe and inspired by true events, the story follows a once-lauded but aging secret agent, Adereth (Kingsley), whose bosses want to put him out to grass. He embarks on a covert mission that involves finding the enigmatic Angela (Bellucci), while also being tracked by a rival agent played by Itay Tiran (“Lebanon”). Who is hunting whom becomes the question.
Production has just wrapped on the film, which is helmed by Eran Riklis and was shot in Belgium and the Netherlands. Concorde has picked it up for Austria and Germany, and Lemon Tree Media for China. Tanweer has prebought it for Greece and Cyprus. A studio deal is thought to be in the cards in another major territory.
Set in modern-day Europe and inspired by true events, the story follows a once-lauded but aging secret agent, Adereth (Kingsley), whose bosses want to put him out to grass. He embarks on a covert mission that involves finding the enigmatic Angela (Bellucci), while also being tracked by a rival agent played by Itay Tiran (“Lebanon”). Who is hunting whom becomes the question.
- 5/7/2018
- by Stewart Clarke
- Variety Film + TV
Oscar-winner Ben Kingsley, Italian actress Monica Bellucci and Israeli actor Itay Tiran (Lebanon) have signed on to star in Spider in the Web, a contemporary thriller from Israeli director Eran Riklis (Lemon Tree).
Kingsley plays Adereth, a highly lauded secret agent now judged by his superiors to be past his prime, who gets an opportunity for redemption when he discovers a lead on the sale of chemical weapons to a Middle Eastern dictator.
The story, from a script by Gidon Maron and Emmanuel Nakkache, is inspired by real events.
Shooting on the Israel/Belgium/Holland/Portugal co-production is set to start in the...
Kingsley plays Adereth, a highly lauded secret agent now judged by his superiors to be past his prime, who gets an opportunity for redemption when he discovers a lead on the sale of chemical weapons to a Middle Eastern dictator.
The story, from a script by Gidon Maron and Emmanuel Nakkache, is inspired by real events.
Shooting on the Israel/Belgium/Holland/Portugal co-production is set to start in the...
- 1/29/2018
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Israeli helmer Eran Riklis is prepping Spider In The Web, a contemporary spy thriller with Ben Kingsley, Monica Bellucci and Israeli actor Itay Tiran (Lebanon) attached to star. Shooting begins in the spring on the Israel/Belgium/Holland/Portugal co-production. Fabien Westerhoff’s Film Constellation is co-financing and handling worldwide sales, introducing the project at the Efm next month. Kingsley plays a once highly-lauded secret agent, Adereth, who’s is deemed to be…...
- 1/29/2018
- Deadline
Berlin winner Eran Riklis directing project.
Source: Film Constellation
Ben Kingsley and Monica Bellucci
Ben Kingsley, Monica Bellucci and Israeli actor Itay Tiran will lead the cast of contemporary spy thriller Spider In The Web for director Eran Riklis.
Riklis’ previous credits include 2009 drama The Lemon Tree, an award-winner in Berlin’s Panorama strand, 2012 Toronto selection Zaytoun and 2004 comedy-drama The Syrian Bride.
Set to shoot in spring 2018 in Belgium and Holland, the film will see Kingsley play a highly-lauded secret agent, Adereth, who is deemed to be past his prime by his superiors. Haunted by his past, a last-minute redemption opportunity presents itself when he discovers a lead to the sales of chemical weapons to a middle-eastern dictatorship.
Bellucci is playing his enigmatic target Angela, while Tiran is young Mossad agent Daniel.
Writers on the film are Gidon Maron and Emmanuel Nakkache.
The project is an Israel-Belgium-Holland-Portugal co-production. Producers are Riklis, Michael Sharfshtein of [link...
Source: Film Constellation
Ben Kingsley and Monica Bellucci
Ben Kingsley, Monica Bellucci and Israeli actor Itay Tiran will lead the cast of contemporary spy thriller Spider In The Web for director Eran Riklis.
Riklis’ previous credits include 2009 drama The Lemon Tree, an award-winner in Berlin’s Panorama strand, 2012 Toronto selection Zaytoun and 2004 comedy-drama The Syrian Bride.
Set to shoot in spring 2018 in Belgium and Holland, the film will see Kingsley play a highly-lauded secret agent, Adereth, who is deemed to be past his prime by his superiors. Haunted by his past, a last-minute redemption opportunity presents itself when he discovers a lead to the sales of chemical weapons to a middle-eastern dictatorship.
Bellucci is playing his enigmatic target Angela, while Tiran is young Mossad agent Daniel.
Writers on the film are Gidon Maron and Emmanuel Nakkache.
The project is an Israel-Belgium-Holland-Portugal co-production. Producers are Riklis, Michael Sharfshtein of [link...
- 1/29/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Our resident VOD expert tells you what's new to rent and/or own this week via various Digital HD providers such as cable Movies On Demand, Amazon, iTunes, Vudu, Google Play and, of course, Netflix. Cable Movies On Demand: Same-day-as-disc releases, older titles and pretheatrical The Secret Life of Pets (animated; voices: Louis C.K., Eric Stonestreet, Kevin Hart; rated PG) Jason Bourne (action-drama sequel; Matt Damon, Tommy Lee Jones, Alicia Vikander, Julia Stiles; rated PG-13) The Hollars (comedy-drama; Sharlto Copley, Charlie Day; rated PG-13) Don’t Think Twice (comedy-drama; Keegan-Michael Key, Gillian Jacobs; rated R) Demon (horror-thriller; Itay Tiran, Agnieszka Zulewska; rated R) Burn Country (drama-thriller; James Franco, Rachel Brosnahan...
Read More...
Read More...
- 12/7/2016
- by Robert B. DeSalvo
- Movies.com
Polish filmmaker Marcin Wrona’s Demon, one of last year’s Tiff Vanguard selections, started quietly making its way into theaters just before this year’s edition of the festival, and has drawn a number of warm reviews in the last month. The scary-sounding title may have put off otherwise likely viewers, but it really shouldn’t: as Manohla Dargis puts it, Demon is “ready-made for the art house even if its mystical flourishes — an otherworldly claw, an undead bride — are the sort of woo-woo pleasures more often scared up in genre stories.” Michael Nordine has more at the Village Voice:Demon, while not straight horror, has one foot in the genre (the other, of course, is in the grave). It opens on an enigmatic river-crossing sequence, the body that gets dragged from the water serving as a harbinger of what Wrona has in store. His tale concerns a groom-to-be who,...
- 10/5/2016
- MUBI
Everything that happened after the vows on my wedding day is a bit of blur. The whirlwind reception of meet-and-greets with family and friends went by in a flash, so whenever a newly engaged couple asks me for advice about their wedding day, I tell them to remember to eat their dinner.
A wedding is the setting for director Marcin Wrona’s Demon, a satire as well as a horror film that evokes Polish history and culture to compose a remarkable genre-bending feature.
Piotr (Itay Tiran) is traveling from London to a small Polish town to meet his bride, Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska). Piotr and Zaneta are in a relatively new relationship, and their quick move towards marriage has made Zaneta’s father, Zygmunt (Andrzej Grabowski) cautious. The young couple plans on living in the dilapidated house of Zaneta’s grandfather, where they are also holding the wedding in a nearby barn.
A wedding is the setting for director Marcin Wrona’s Demon, a satire as well as a horror film that evokes Polish history and culture to compose a remarkable genre-bending feature.
Piotr (Itay Tiran) is traveling from London to a small Polish town to meet his bride, Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska). Piotr and Zaneta are in a relatively new relationship, and their quick move towards marriage has made Zaneta’s father, Zygmunt (Andrzej Grabowski) cautious. The young couple plans on living in the dilapidated house of Zaneta’s grandfather, where they are also holding the wedding in a nearby barn.
- 10/3/2016
- by Monte Yazzie
- DailyDead
Review by Stephen Tronicek
Demon is an anticlimactic piece of filmmaking, but it’s a film where that might actually be the point. A wedding is a big event that requires a lot of planning, and when something goes wrong, it doesn’t just go away. When something goes really wrong, it pops the thin veneer of happiness that the band and plastered smiles provides and sticks there forever tainting the chances of true fun and happiness. For all intents and purposes, the monster of Demon doesn’t seem to be the “monster,” but the effect of that ever annoying fleck sitting on the side of happiness.
That’s getting a little ahead, though. The focus of Demon is the wedding of Piotr and Zaneta, a couple who is brought together under hinted at unusual circumstances. Piotr, in the effort to fix the house on Zaneta’s grandfather’s land,...
Demon is an anticlimactic piece of filmmaking, but it’s a film where that might actually be the point. A wedding is a big event that requires a lot of planning, and when something goes wrong, it doesn’t just go away. When something goes really wrong, it pops the thin veneer of happiness that the band and plastered smiles provides and sticks there forever tainting the chances of true fun and happiness. For all intents and purposes, the monster of Demon doesn’t seem to be the “monster,” but the effect of that ever annoying fleck sitting on the side of happiness.
That’s getting a little ahead, though. The focus of Demon is the wedding of Piotr and Zaneta, a couple who is brought together under hinted at unusual circumstances. Piotr, in the effort to fix the house on Zaneta’s grandfather’s land,...
- 9/23/2016
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Demon Opens in St. Louis at Landmark’s The Tivoli Theater (6350 Delmar Blvd) on September 23rd
Starring Itay Tiran (Lebanon), Agnieszka Zulewska (Chemo) and Andrzej Grabowski, Demon was the 2015 Best Horror Feature Winner at Fantastic Fest!
Newly arrived from England to marry his fiancee Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska, Chemo), Peter (Israeli actor Itay Tiran, Lebanon) has been given a gift of her family’s ramshackle country house in rural Poland. It’s a total fixer-upper, and while inspecting the premises on the eve of the wedding, he falls into a pile of human remains. The ceremony proceeds, but strange things begin to happen…During the wild reception, Peter begins to come undone, and a dybbuk, the iconic ancient figure from Jewish folklore, takes a toehold in this present-day celebration-for a very particular reason, as it turns out. The final work by Marcin Wrona, who died just as Demon was set to premiere in Poland,...
Starring Itay Tiran (Lebanon), Agnieszka Zulewska (Chemo) and Andrzej Grabowski, Demon was the 2015 Best Horror Feature Winner at Fantastic Fest!
Newly arrived from England to marry his fiancee Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska, Chemo), Peter (Israeli actor Itay Tiran, Lebanon) has been given a gift of her family’s ramshackle country house in rural Poland. It’s a total fixer-upper, and while inspecting the premises on the eve of the wedding, he falls into a pile of human remains. The ceremony proceeds, but strange things begin to happen…During the wild reception, Peter begins to come undone, and a dybbuk, the iconic ancient figure from Jewish folklore, takes a toehold in this present-day celebration-for a very particular reason, as it turns out. The final work by Marcin Wrona, who died just as Demon was set to premiere in Poland,...
- 9/14/2016
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
In a day and age where we see dozens (upon dozens) of possession films released every year, Marcin Wrona’s Demon manages to stand out as a truly special cinematic experience. The film consistently defies expectations from beginning to end by going against genre conventions, playing up the scenario’s more darkly comedic elements, and creating a haunting allegory that reflects how even though we often think we can bury our past, it will always find a way to rear its ugly head. Demon also soars due to the stunning performance from Itay Tiran, whose harrowing transformation is a marvel to behold.
At the beginning of Demon, we meet Piotr (Tiran), who arrives in a small village in Poland to marry the lovely Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska) and meet his new family for the very first time. The plan is for the lovebirds to get hitched on the estate of Zaneta’s family,...
At the beginning of Demon, we meet Piotr (Tiran), who arrives in a small village in Poland to marry the lovely Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska) and meet his new family for the very first time. The plan is for the lovebirds to get hitched on the estate of Zaneta’s family,...
- 9/9/2016
- by Heather Wixson
- DailyDead
In the case of director Marcin Wrona, it’s hard to begin any review of his latest film, Demon, without first discussing how it became his last. After the film debuted to high praise at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, Wrona would go on to take his own life just prior to the film’s Polish debut. A filmmaker long described as the next Roman Polanski, Wrona’s last film is finally arriving in theaters, and with roots set firmly in both Polish cinema and horror cinema more broadly, Demon is a pitch black comedy that moonlights as one of the year’s most tense horror/thrillers.
Set ostensibly over the span of one wedding, the film introduces us to Piotr (Itay Tiran) as he arrives in a small Polish village to marry the sister of a close friend, a beautiful blonde named Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska). Hoping to...
Set ostensibly over the span of one wedding, the film introduces us to Piotr (Itay Tiran) as he arrives in a small Polish village to marry the sister of a close friend, a beautiful blonde named Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska). Hoping to...
- 9/9/2016
- by Joshua Brunsting
- CriterionCast
Less than a week after his third film, Demon, premiered to positive reviews at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival, director Marcin Wrona committed suicide in a hotel room just before its Polish premiere at the Gdynia Film Festival. It was a promising career cut short, as Wrona—who directed two films in Poland before making his international breakthrough with Demon—would not live to see himself hailed as the heir to Roman Polanski’s existentially unsettling art-horror throne.
It may seem morbid to ask viewers to go into a movie with the director’s untimely death in mind. But to fail to do so would be to ignore the lesson of Demon, a film where refusing to confront the past leads to the past coming back to confront us. The film takes place in a small Polish village, where Piotr (Itay Tiran)—a.k.a. Pyton—a laborer...
It may seem morbid to ask viewers to go into a movie with the director’s untimely death in mind. But to fail to do so would be to ignore the lesson of Demon, a film where refusing to confront the past leads to the past coming back to confront us. The film takes place in a small Polish village, where Piotr (Itay Tiran)—a.k.a. Pyton—a laborer...
- 9/8/2016
- by Katie Rife
- avclub.com
Anything you try to bury will come back to haunt you. And as many times as you bury it, it will come back, and no doubt hurt those you least want to see hurt. The past can never be escaped, and its denial will only force you to deal with it over and over. Such seems to be the moral of Marcin Wrona's haunting and surreal Demon, a strange ghost story set at an even stranger wedding. Mixing absurdist family comedy with the most terrifying of imagery, this is a family gathering that shakes the viewer to the core. Peter (Itay Tiran) has arrived from the UK to marry his Polish fiance Zaneta (Agnieska Zulewska). Zaneta's father has given them the old family homestead as...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 9/8/2016
- Screen Anarchy
Nothing’s allowed to derail the guests of a Polish wedding from having fun, not even the groom’s epileptic seizure. You just pick him up and cart him out. Send the ambulance away so it won’t scare the crowd, pump him full of meds to even him out, and simply bring out more vodka to spike the punch and confuse everyone’s equilibrium when the revelers start spreading rumors that he’s been possessed by a Jewish demon. We aren’t celebrating the union of man and wife after all, this is an excuse to go wild and revere the bride’s father as an unforgettable host. So what if those rumors are true and there’s at least one set of skeletal remains beneath our feet. We can worry about all that tomorrow.
This is Marcin Wrona‘s final film Demon in a nutshell: a tale of destiny,...
This is Marcin Wrona‘s final film Demon in a nutshell: a tale of destiny,...
- 9/7/2016
- by Jared Mobarak
- The Film Stage
"Buried for decades... silent until now." The Orchard has released an official Us trailer for a horror-comedy called Demon, from the late Polish filmmaker Marcin Wrona, who finished this film and died last year just before its initial release. Titled Ha'dibouk in Hebrew, the film is about a man possessed by an "unquiet" spirit in the midst of his own wedding. It's a new take on the Jewish legend of the dybbuk, described as "part absurdist comedy, part love story that scares, amuses, and charms in equal measure." Starring Agnieszka Zulewska and Itay Tiran, with Andrzej Grabowski and Tomasz Schuchardt. The film is actually partially in English, so dive right in, even though this trailer doesn't seem to show much of the comedic side. This looks quite chilling and unique, worth seeking out if you're a fan of possession horror or Polish cinema. Here's the official Us trailer (+ poster) for Marcin Wrona's Demon,...
- 8/3/2016
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
A wedding is a big day for the bride and groom, a celebration of one’s love filled with friends, family, and most importantly, a sense of love and joy. But things can undoubtedly go wrong when the groom has been possessed by an unquiet spirit. That’s the case in the new Polish film “Demon,” which premiered at last year’s Toronto International Film Festival. The film follows Piotr (Itay Tiran), or “Python” as he’s called by his friends, who comes from England to a small Polish island to meet his bride, Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska). They plan to live in her family’s home, but it’s stood for decades and in need of restoration. The effort quickly unearths buried bones close to the house, and one day Piotr falls into the remains in the middle. Soon, he begins to be transformed by a presence that an aging Jewish professor labels a dybbuk,...
- 8/3/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
I saw Marcin Wrona‘s Demon under what I’d consider ideal circumstances: as a blind viewing at the tail-end of last year’s Camerimage Film Festival, by which point I was a bit delirious from the week’s workload and, most of all, the jet lag that had never quite faded away. And so what, to me, was rather clearly a unique take on the demonic possession story grew all the more odd and terrifying as a result of my half-closed eyes and open mind. Total surprises are hard to come by in even the best of films, even though its wheels were a bit greased — and the experience is what it is.
I’d guess these are not the circumstances under which The Orchard would prefer you see their new release. Regardless of how the viewing happens, make time for Demon despite the extent to which a U.
I’d guess these are not the circumstances under which The Orchard would prefer you see their new release. Regardless of how the viewing happens, make time for Demon despite the extent to which a U.
- 8/3/2016
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Prague International Film Festival’s primary award went to Iceland for the second year running.
Rúnar Rúnarsson’s Sparrows was awarded the Grand Prix in the New Europe Competition at this year’s Prague International Film Festival - Febiofest which closed with the Czech premiere of Dexter Fletcher’s Eddie The Eagle.
Rúnarsson’s sensitive coming of age story is the second Icelandic film in a row to receive the top honour in Prague after Baldvin Zophoniasson’s Life In A Fishbowl took the Grand Prix home in 2015.
Amnesty International Award
Febiofest’s 23rd edition also saw the launching of a new prize, the Amnesty International Febiofest Award.
A jury consisting of the actress Martha Issová, the director of Amnesty International Czech Republic, Mark Martin, and the former Rotterdam programmer Gertjan Zuilhof selected Carlos Tribino Mamby’s The Silence Of The River from a line-up including Mustang, Nahid and Strange Heaven.
Speaking to Screen...
Rúnar Rúnarsson’s Sparrows was awarded the Grand Prix in the New Europe Competition at this year’s Prague International Film Festival - Febiofest which closed with the Czech premiere of Dexter Fletcher’s Eddie The Eagle.
Rúnarsson’s sensitive coming of age story is the second Icelandic film in a row to receive the top honour in Prague after Baldvin Zophoniasson’s Life In A Fishbowl took the Grand Prix home in 2015.
Amnesty International Award
Febiofest’s 23rd edition also saw the launching of a new prize, the Amnesty International Febiofest Award.
A jury consisting of the actress Martha Issová, the director of Amnesty International Czech Republic, Mark Martin, and the former Rotterdam programmer Gertjan Zuilhof selected Carlos Tribino Mamby’s The Silence Of The River from a line-up including Mustang, Nahid and Strange Heaven.
Speaking to Screen...
- 3/29/2016
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
The marriage of a possession-driven horror film and a wedding comedy initially seems like an odd, opposites-attract union, especially when you add elements of the enduring legacy of the Holocaust in Poland. Theoretically, combining these elements shouldn’t work, leaving the audience in a state of whiplash as they’re thrown from one end of the genre spectrum to the other. But thanks to the talent of director Marcin Wrona, “Demon” combines these seemingly disparate threads to create an unsettling, oddly funny film with more to say than either the average horror film or comedy. Loosely based on Piotr Rowicki’s play “Adherence,” “Demon” quickly moves outside the confines of a stage production. It begins by traveling in a small town in Poland, where buildings and the bright yellow of a front loader are vivid against a backdrop of fog, the first evidence of the film's fine cinematography from Pawel Flis.
- 3/28/2016
- by Kimber Myers
- The Playlist
Anything you try to bury will come back to haunt you. And as many times as you bury it, it will come back, and no doubt hurt those you least want to see hurt. The past can never be escaped, and its denial will only force you to deal with it over and over. Such seems to be the moral of Marcin Wrona's haunting and surreal Demon, a strange ghost story set at an even stranger wedding. Mixing absurdist family comedy with the most terrifying of imagery, this is a family gathering that shakes the viewer to the core.Peter (Itay Tiran) has arrived from the UK to marry his Polish fiance Zaneta (Agnieska Zulewska). Zaneta's father has given them the old family homestead as a wedding...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 10/1/2015
- Screen Anarchy
On September 19th, director Marcin Wrona was found dead at the age of 42 in an apparent suicide. It’s inevitable and unavoidable when discussing his final film Demon, especially when his death was so recent and fresh in memory. It lingers over the film and likely will be influential on all reviews coming out of Fantastic Fest. The thing is that the movie would have been a major breakthrough for Wrona after working in TV and shorts for most of his career. It’s full of a dread and an atmosphere that’s palpable from moment one. There’s such an assured directing hand that it becomes easy to imagine the demons that seemed to plague Wrona and became too strong to handle.
The story revolves around a couple on the eve of their wedding moving with a new property to begin their lives together. The man accidentally backs into a tree with a digger,...
The story revolves around a couple on the eve of their wedding moving with a new property to begin their lives together. The man accidentally backs into a tree with a digger,...
- 9/30/2015
- by Mike Hassler
- Destroy the Brain
Demon
Written by Pawel Maslona & Marcin Wrona
Directed by Marcin Wrona
Poland/Israel, 2015
Part ghost story, part social commentary, director Marcin Wrona’s Demon offers plenty of appeal while remaining frustratingly elusive. The stellar performance from Itay Tiran, a genuinely creepy aesthetic, and a healthy dose of dark humor keep this possession drama interesting throughout. Unfortunately, the final act is a mess, which makes for an arbitrary and unsatisfying conclusion.
Piotr (Tiran) is a young man in love. He has dreams of living happily-ever-after with his fiancée, Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska), and living on her father’s farm in the Polish countryside. Piotr arrives in town and immediately starts making renovations in advance of the massive wedding that Zaneta’s father, Zgmunt (Andrzej Grabowski), has meticulously planned. Things take a decidedly creepy turn, however, when some errant excavator work unearths a human skeleton in the backyard. Unwilling to upset Zaneta, Piotr...
Written by Pawel Maslona & Marcin Wrona
Directed by Marcin Wrona
Poland/Israel, 2015
Part ghost story, part social commentary, director Marcin Wrona’s Demon offers plenty of appeal while remaining frustratingly elusive. The stellar performance from Itay Tiran, a genuinely creepy aesthetic, and a healthy dose of dark humor keep this possession drama interesting throughout. Unfortunately, the final act is a mess, which makes for an arbitrary and unsatisfying conclusion.
Piotr (Tiran) is a young man in love. He has dreams of living happily-ever-after with his fiancée, Zaneta (Agnieszka Zulewska), and living on her father’s farm in the Polish countryside. Piotr arrives in town and immediately starts making renovations in advance of the massive wedding that Zaneta’s father, Zgmunt (Andrzej Grabowski), has meticulously planned. Things take a decidedly creepy turn, however, when some errant excavator work unearths a human skeleton in the backyard. Unwilling to upset Zaneta, Piotr...
- 9/25/2015
- by J.R. Kinnard
- SoundOnSight
Exclusive: Wedding-set supernatural tale to premiere in Vanguard section.
Paris-based genre specialist Reel Suspects had picked up world sales to Demon ahead of its premiere in the Vanguard section of the Toronto International Film Festival (Sept 10-20).
It is the third feature by Polish director Marcin Wrona, whose previous award-winning work The Christening also screened in Vanguard to packed houses and critical acclaim in 2010.
“I’m really exited to work on Marcin’s third film film. It’s a perfect crossover title that fits our line-up perfectly,” said Reel Suspects CEO Matteo Lovadina.
“It combines a well mastered drama base with a supernatural element. Demon should find an audience both among cinephiles and curious genre fans alike,” he added.
ICM Partners is handling North America.
Taking inspiration from the Jewish mythological figure of the dybbuk, a malicious spirit, Demon revolves around a wedding that takes a sinister turn when the groom is possessed just prior to the...
Paris-based genre specialist Reel Suspects had picked up world sales to Demon ahead of its premiere in the Vanguard section of the Toronto International Film Festival (Sept 10-20).
It is the third feature by Polish director Marcin Wrona, whose previous award-winning work The Christening also screened in Vanguard to packed houses and critical acclaim in 2010.
“I’m really exited to work on Marcin’s third film film. It’s a perfect crossover title that fits our line-up perfectly,” said Reel Suspects CEO Matteo Lovadina.
“It combines a well mastered drama base with a supernatural element. Demon should find an audience both among cinephiles and curious genre fans alike,” he added.
ICM Partners is handling North America.
Taking inspiration from the Jewish mythological figure of the dybbuk, a malicious spirit, Demon revolves around a wedding that takes a sinister turn when the groom is possessed just prior to the...
- 8/25/2015
- ScreenDaily
Read More: Toronto International Film Festival Reveals First Slate of Titles: New Ridley Scott and Cary Fukunaga Films Top List, 'Demolition' to Open The Vanguard Section of the Toronto International Film Festival is always filled with bizarre and eclectic titles, and Marcin Wrona's ("The Christening") "Demon" looks to be no exception. The horror film's trailer is plenty frightening, as a happy wedding turns into something much more sinister, hinting at plenty of sex, blood and possession. The film stars Itay Tiran ("Lebanon") and Agnieszka Żulewska. The official synopsis reads: "A young man is a stranger visiting the hometown of his future wife. As a wedding gift from the bride's grandfather, he receives a piece of land where the two can build a house and raise a happy family. While preparing the land to build the house, he finds the bones of human bodies in the ground beneath his new property.
- 8/12/2015
- by Ethan Sapienza
- Indiewire
New films by Jerzy Skolimowski, Filip Bajon and Marcin Wrona are among selected titles.
The 40th Gdynia Film Festival (September 14-19) will feature a total of 18 titles in its main competition this year.
Jerzy Skolimowski’s Polish-Irish co-production 11 Minutes, starring Richard Dormer, Agata Buzek, Beata Tyszkiewicz and Mateusz Kościukiewicz follows the same 11 minutes in the lives of several different characters, while the action of Bajon’s Panie Dulskie is set in 1914, 1954 and the 1990s, with a cast including Krystyna Janda, Katarzyna Figura and Maja Ostaszewska.
Wrona will be in Gdynia with his surrealistic third feature, the Polish-Israeli co-production Demon, starring Itay Tiran, about a Polish gangster whose body is possessed by the spirit of a young Jewish girl.
The competition will also include Kinga Dębska’s My Sister and Bartek Prokopowicz’s Chemo, which are both showing in closed screenings at next week’s Polish Days during Wrocław’s New Horizons Film Festival (July 23 - August 2) as well...
The 40th Gdynia Film Festival (September 14-19) will feature a total of 18 titles in its main competition this year.
Jerzy Skolimowski’s Polish-Irish co-production 11 Minutes, starring Richard Dormer, Agata Buzek, Beata Tyszkiewicz and Mateusz Kościukiewicz follows the same 11 minutes in the lives of several different characters, while the action of Bajon’s Panie Dulskie is set in 1914, 1954 and the 1990s, with a cast including Krystyna Janda, Katarzyna Figura and Maja Ostaszewska.
Wrona will be in Gdynia with his surrealistic third feature, the Polish-Israeli co-production Demon, starring Itay Tiran, about a Polish gangster whose body is possessed by the spirit of a young Jewish girl.
The competition will also include Kinga Dębska’s My Sister and Bartek Prokopowicz’s Chemo, which are both showing in closed screenings at next week’s Polish Days during Wrocław’s New Horizons Film Festival (July 23 - August 2) as well...
- 7/21/2015
- by screen.berlin@googlemail.com (Martin Blaney)
- ScreenDaily
Title: Run, Boy, Run Director: Pepe Danquart Starring: Andrzej and Kamil Tkacz, Jeanette Hain, Rainer Bock, Itay Tiran, Katarzyna Bargielowska. ‘Run, Boy, Run’ (German: ‘Lauf, Junge, lauf,’ Polish: ‘Biegnij, ch?opcze, biegnij,’ French: ‘Cours sans te retourner’) is a 2013 German-Polish-Frenchco-production of the film director and producer Pepe Danquart. The film is an adaptation of the 2000 novel ‘Run, Boy, Run’ by Uri Orlev, based on true events from the life of Yoram Fridman. It’s the Shoah seen from the eyes of a nine year old: Skrulik is the youngest of five Jewish siblings living in a village near Warsaw. His father will sacrifice himself to spare the young boy from [ Read More ]
The post Run, Boy, Run Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
The post Run, Boy, Run Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.
- 1/24/2015
- by Chiara Spagnoli Gabardi
- ShockYa
This harrowing television drama, from the U.K.’s Channel 4, is a provocative look at the state of the modern Middle East that will shock as many people as it will enthrall, merely by dint of its reasoned look at Israel and its treatment of the Palestinians: Claire Foy (Little Dorrit) and Christian Cooke (Cemetery Junction) lead an international cast, including Itay Tiran (Lebanon), Haaz Sleiman (The Visitor), Ali Sulaiman (Paradise Now) and Perdita Weeks (Lost in Austen), in Peter Kosminsky's new four-part drama serial. Just as 18-year-old Londoner Erin (Foy) sets off to spend summer in Israel with her best friend, Eliza (Weeks), she unearths an old diary belonging to her seriously ill grandfather, Len (Cooke). Intrigued by the life of this old man she barely knows, she takes the diary with her, and is stunned to learn of his part in the post-wwii British peace-keeping force in what was then Palestine.
- 3/1/2011
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
Here’s the trailer for brand new Channel 4 drama called, The Promise which will be on a TV near you this Sunday 6th February.
The show stars Claire Foy and Christian Cooke in Peter Kosminsky’s four-part drama serial. 18-year-old Erin sets out on an emotional journey when she retraces her grandfather’s footsteps.
Synopsis: Written by BAFTA award-winning Director Peter Kosminsky (Warriors and The Government Inspector), The Promise is an inspiring depiction of political injustice experienced in modern day Israel and the old state of Palestine in the Second World War.
Claire Foy (Little Dorrit) and Christian Cooke (Cemetery Junction) lead an international cast, including Itay Tiran (Lebanon), Haaz Sleiman (The Visitor), Ali Sulaiman (Paradise Now) and Perdita Weeks (Lost in Austen), in Peter Kosminsky’s new four-part drama serial, released on DVD and Blu-ray on 28th February.
Just as 18-year-old Londoner Erin (Foy) sets off to spend...
The show stars Claire Foy and Christian Cooke in Peter Kosminsky’s four-part drama serial. 18-year-old Erin sets out on an emotional journey when she retraces her grandfather’s footsteps.
Synopsis: Written by BAFTA award-winning Director Peter Kosminsky (Warriors and The Government Inspector), The Promise is an inspiring depiction of political injustice experienced in modern day Israel and the old state of Palestine in the Second World War.
Claire Foy (Little Dorrit) and Christian Cooke (Cemetery Junction) lead an international cast, including Itay Tiran (Lebanon), Haaz Sleiman (The Visitor), Ali Sulaiman (Paradise Now) and Perdita Weeks (Lost in Austen), in Peter Kosminsky’s new four-part drama serial, released on DVD and Blu-ray on 28th February.
Just as 18-year-old Londoner Erin (Foy) sets off to spend...
- 2/3/2011
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Chicago – It’s not hard to imagine viewers of “Lebanon” starting to sweat. It is a claustrophobic tale of war that has drawn deserved comparisons to Wolfgang Peterson’s brilliant “Das Boot” and it is nearly as good a film. This surreal nightmare stands as one of the better war films of the last several years and deserves a much broader international audience than it has yet achieved.
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
The reason for the audience claustrophobia is simple — almost the entirety of “Lebanon,” the winner of the prestigious Golden Lion at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, takes place inside a tank. We see out through the sights of the machine just like one of the young men in it but even that offers only part of the picture. The tank itself becomes a symbol for war as it becomes unstable along with the fearful boys inside it. Samuel Moaz’s riveting...
Blu-Ray Rating: 4.5/5.0
The reason for the audience claustrophobia is simple — almost the entirety of “Lebanon,” the winner of the prestigious Golden Lion at the 2009 Venice Film Festival, takes place inside a tank. We see out through the sights of the machine just like one of the young men in it but even that offers only part of the picture. The tank itself becomes a symbol for war as it becomes unstable along with the fearful boys inside it. Samuel Moaz’s riveting...
- 1/31/2011
- by adam@hollywoodchicago.com (Adam Fendelman)
- HollywoodChicago.com
Samuel Maoz’s Lebanon is a unique breed of film - one you won’t want to watch twice. There are no plot intricacies to wade through, no Easter eggs adorning the background. This is not an exercise in storytelling but a stalwart recreation of Maoz’s brief time as a trigger man on an Israeli tank crew during the 1982 Lebanon War. As one of several Israeli films in the last few years to deal with the emotional fallout affected the men who served in the 1982 war (Ari Folman’s lauded Waltz With Bashir leading the pack), Lebanon is a strong entry but effectively goes beyond cultural limitations. I would argue that it is an allegory dressed up as a funereal war film, but maybe that’s so key. The importance of Lebanon lies in experiencing and responding to the film, and in that regard it comes highly recommended.
Gunner...
Gunner...
- 1/20/2011
- by Mark Zhuravsky
- JustPressPlay.net
Hitting movie theaters this weekend:
No Strings Attached – Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline
The Way Back – Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell (limited)
Movie of the Week
The Way Back
The Stars: Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell
The Plot: A group of gulag escapees journey 4,000 miles to their freedom.
The Buzz: This is Director Peter Weir’s latest — that’s enough buzz right there.
In watching the film’s trailer, one gets the feeling that The Way Back is more of an adventure tale than it is a tale about the gulag. But we’re not talking carefree adventure here; this looks to be a story predominantly about survival, and survival in the most brutal of conditions. Knowing the film is based on a true story, combined with the way in which it has been marketed, allows for one to somewhat safely assume a happy ending (otherwise it...
No Strings Attached – Natalie Portman, Ashton Kutcher, Kevin Kline
The Way Back – Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell (limited)
Movie of the Week
The Way Back
The Stars: Ed Harris, Jim Sturgess, Colin Farrell
The Plot: A group of gulag escapees journey 4,000 miles to their freedom.
The Buzz: This is Director Peter Weir’s latest — that’s enough buzz right there.
In watching the film’s trailer, one gets the feeling that The Way Back is more of an adventure tale than it is a tale about the gulag. But we’re not talking carefree adventure here; this looks to be a story predominantly about survival, and survival in the most brutal of conditions. Knowing the film is based on a true story, combined with the way in which it has been marketed, allows for one to somewhat safely assume a happy ending (otherwise it...
- 1/19/2011
- by Aaron Ruffcorn
- The Scorecard Review
On Jan 18, Lebanon, starring Yoav Donat, Itay Tiran, Oshri Cohen, Reymond Amsalem and Ashraf Barhom (Clash of the Titans), comes to DVD and Blu-ray.
In celebration of the home video release, BuzzFocus and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment are teaming up to give away (1) copy of the Lebanon on DVD.
About Lebanon
In 1982, during the First Lebanon War, a tank manned by a novice crew of Israeli soldiers are led into a town previously bombed by the air force. Young men who have never fought before are now placed inside of a killing machine and thrown into a situation that quickly spins out of control, testing the mental toughness of the men inside of a confined space, with only the lens of a periscopic gun sight to see the madness outside. In Lebanon, writer-director Samuel Maoz has created a compelling, visceral drama in the tradition of Das Boot. Based on his...
In celebration of the home video release, BuzzFocus and Sony Pictures Home Entertainment are teaming up to give away (1) copy of the Lebanon on DVD.
About Lebanon
In 1982, during the First Lebanon War, a tank manned by a novice crew of Israeli soldiers are led into a town previously bombed by the air force. Young men who have never fought before are now placed inside of a killing machine and thrown into a situation that quickly spins out of control, testing the mental toughness of the men inside of a confined space, with only the lens of a periscopic gun sight to see the madness outside. In Lebanon, writer-director Samuel Maoz has created a compelling, visceral drama in the tradition of Das Boot. Based on his...
- 1/12/2011
- by Buzzfocus Staff
- BuzzFocus.com
It is possible that a 90 minute movie based in a tank is one of the best of the year...
<!--break-->
After watching The Hurt Locker, I had an idea for a feature. The film would follow a tank crew almost entirely within the tank itself. It would depict the boredom, excitement and sheer fear of watching a war through the barrel of a cannon ala Das Boot. Having not seen Lebanon at the time (it was originally released in Israel back in 2009), I didn't know that Samuel Maoz already made this movie. Lebanon is also a lot better than I ever could have expected.
It begins in a sunflower field, a quiet and colorful environment. Then the urban warfare kicks in. By then we are in the tank, spending our time with 4 bickering crew members. The colors turn black and green. The oil of moving parts oozes onto the dials, all of which don't work.
<!--break-->
After watching The Hurt Locker, I had an idea for a feature. The film would follow a tank crew almost entirely within the tank itself. It would depict the boredom, excitement and sheer fear of watching a war through the barrel of a cannon ala Das Boot. Having not seen Lebanon at the time (it was originally released in Israel back in 2009), I didn't know that Samuel Maoz already made this movie. Lebanon is also a lot better than I ever could have expected.
It begins in a sunflower field, a quiet and colorful environment. Then the urban warfare kicks in. By then we are in the tank, spending our time with 4 bickering crew members. The colors turn black and green. The oil of moving parts oozes onto the dials, all of which don't work.
- 12/17/2010
- by FanboyCrew
Writer-director Samuel Maoz exorcises his own trauma in his feature-film debut set during the initial 24 hours of the First Lebanon War in June 1982. Eschewing screenwriting conventions such as background, exposition and dramatic structure, he opts instead for an experiential approach from an extremely limited point of view. The effect is immediately claustrophobic, but the strategy quickly grows old: We can listen to a soldier piss within the confines of a tank only so many times before it starts to smell.
And that’s the limit of our experience: the confines of a tank. The audience is trapped inside with four twentysomething soldiers: Assi (Itay Tiran), the commander who struggles to control his men; Hertzel (Oshri Cohen), the troublemaking loader who is often mistaken for the leader; Shmuel (Yoav Donat), the gunner who has trouble pulling the trigger now that his targets are living, breathing human beings; and Yigal (Michael Moshonov), the naïve driver.
And that’s the limit of our experience: the confines of a tank. The audience is trapped inside with four twentysomething soldiers: Assi (Itay Tiran), the commander who struggles to control his men; Hertzel (Oshri Cohen), the troublemaking loader who is often mistaken for the leader; Shmuel (Yoav Donat), the gunner who has trouble pulling the trigger now that his targets are living, breathing human beings; and Yigal (Michael Moshonov), the naïve driver.
- 8/6/2010
- Moving Pictures Magazine
Paris -- The U.K.'s Channel 4 and French networks Canal Plus and Arte are heading on a small screen pilgrimage to Israel for Peter Kosminsky's mini-series "Homeland," Canal Plus said on Friday (June 11).
The film will be produced by David Aukin and Hal Vogel from the U.K.'s Daybreak Pictures in co-production with Channel 4 and by Georges Campana for Breakout Films with Canal Plus and Arte France on board from Gaul.
The four-episode, 60-minute mini-series is set to air in 2011 on Channel 4 followed by broadcasts on Canal Plus and Arte.
The film follows a young girl from London who goes to Israel after discovering her dying grandfather's journal recounting the horrors of his experience in the British army during the time of the Holocaust.
Kosminsky will mix the fictional story with eyewitness accounts from real British, Israeli and Palestinian veterans.
"Homeland" stars Claire Foy,...
The film will be produced by David Aukin and Hal Vogel from the U.K.'s Daybreak Pictures in co-production with Channel 4 and by Georges Campana for Breakout Films with Canal Plus and Arte France on board from Gaul.
The four-episode, 60-minute mini-series is set to air in 2011 on Channel 4 followed by broadcasts on Canal Plus and Arte.
The film follows a young girl from London who goes to Israel after discovering her dying grandfather's journal recounting the horrors of his experience in the British army during the time of the Holocaust.
Kosminsky will mix the fictional story with eyewitness accounts from real British, Israeli and Palestinian veterans.
"Homeland" stars Claire Foy,...
- 6/11/2010
- by By Rebecca Leffler
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
This is the trailer for Lebanon, directed by Samuel Maoz and stars Reymond Amsalem, Ashraf Barhom, Oshri Cohen, Yoav Donat, Guy Kapulnik, Michael Moshonov, Zohar Shtrauss, Dudu Tassa and Itay Tiran. Lebanon is a personal film, a film about four boys who had never been involved in anything violent before and found themselves killing people. A film about survival against a palpable threat of death, a situation in which the conflict between their basic instincts and human conscious claims its victims.
- 5/16/2010
- by Dan Higgins
- Pure Movies
To build up the release of Lebanon, Pure Movies looks at other films where the main character 'loses it' including Apocalypse Now, Shutter Island, The Beach, Kids, Falling Down, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Shining. Lebanon is directed by Samuel Maoz and stars Reymond Amsalem, Ashraf Barhom, Oshri Cohen, Yoav Donat, Guy Kapulnik, Michael Moshonov, Zohar Shtrauss, Dudu Tassa and Itay Tiran.
- 5/15/2010
- by Georgie Hobbs
- Pure Movies
Last week, we got to interview the director of new movie, Lebanon which is released in cinemas 14th May. The movie is a hard hitting tale about the men inside one of the tanks and almost all of the film is shot from their claustrophobic story within the tank itself. What makes this movie all the more impacting is that it’s based on the real life experiences of director Samuel Moaz who has experienced the war first hand. The movie stars Yoav Donat, Itay Tiran, Oshri Cohen, Michael Moshonov, Zohar Strauss and Dudu Tassa.
Our interview will go up next week but in the meantime, here’s some images and the trailer from the movie which will tell you a little more about it.
Synopsis: The First Lebanon War – June, 1982. A lone tank is dispatched to search a hostile town that has already been bombarded by the Israel Air Force.
Our interview will go up next week but in the meantime, here’s some images and the trailer from the movie which will tell you a little more about it.
Synopsis: The First Lebanon War – June, 1982. A lone tank is dispatched to search a hostile town that has already been bombarded by the Israel Air Force.
- 5/3/2010
- by David Sztypuljak
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
- #3. Lebanon Director: Samuel Maoz Cast: Yoav Donat, Itay Tiran, Oshri Cohen, Michael Moshonov, Zohar StraussDistributor: Rights Available. Buzz: Another Golden Lion option at Venice this year, there are obvious comparisons between this debut and such recent examples as Beaufort and Waltz with Bashir, the difference is this first time filmmaker actually remembers the war. If he didn't make the film, Moaz's torture would have continued to god knows where. There is a lot of good product coming out of Israel this year - and this could be the country's selection as Best Foreign Language film. The Gist: "I had just turned 19 in May of 1982. Life was beautiful. I was in love. Then I was requested to go to a military base. They assigned me to be the gunman of a tank, the first one to cross the Lebanese border. It was supposed to be a one day mission. It
- 8/22/2009
- IONCINEMA.com
From the opening sequences, in which crackpot mental-hospital patient Moni Moshonov holds a skull aloft and quotes extensively from Hamlet while a catatonic soldier slumps against a tree in the background, Forgiveness feels like a high-concept stage play, the kind of well-meant but pretentious project where grand themes are worked out in a claustrophobic setting among a small cast. While Israeli-born director Udi Aloni (Local Angel) opens up the settings to include location shooting in New York City and Israel, and operates with a complicated timeline, he never shakes that feeling of a small, crowded stage. Itay Tiran plays the son of Auschwitz survivor Michael Sarne, whose meek mixed guilt and pride in his heritage drives Tiran to a defiantly single-minded Zionism: He picks a fight at a Middle East peace rally, gets the star of David tattooed on his chest, moves to Israel to enlist in the army,...
- 9/11/2008
- by Tasha Robinson
- avclub.com
By Neil Pedley
Some might be quick to dismiss this week as part of the post-summer lull, but others might see it as a week of films that have been years in the making . it's been 13 since the now re-paired Robert De Niro and Al Pacino were last on screen together, while Diane English's remake of "The Women" took 12 to make it to the big screen, and the Flaming Lips' "Christmas on Mars" spent a mere seven years in the offing. As for fans of the Coen brothers, it only seems like forever since "No Country for Old Men."
"Able Danger"
Another week, another 9/11 conspiracy film, this one actually getting released on the seventh anniversary of the tragedy. Loosely inspired by "The Maltese Falcon," this Dv noir offers something of a date movie for far-left conspiracy theorists who take issue with perceived abuse of power on the part of our government.
Some might be quick to dismiss this week as part of the post-summer lull, but others might see it as a week of films that have been years in the making . it's been 13 since the now re-paired Robert De Niro and Al Pacino were last on screen together, while Diane English's remake of "The Women" took 12 to make it to the big screen, and the Flaming Lips' "Christmas on Mars" spent a mere seven years in the offing. As for fans of the Coen brothers, it only seems like forever since "No Country for Old Men."
"Able Danger"
Another week, another 9/11 conspiracy film, this one actually getting released on the seventh anniversary of the tragedy. Loosely inspired by "The Maltese Falcon," this Dv noir offers something of a date movie for far-left conspiracy theorists who take issue with perceived abuse of power on the part of our government.
- 9/8/2008
- by Neil Pedley
- ifc.com
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.