'What Happened to Monday'

'What Happened to Monday' Movie Review

'What Happened to Monday'

Posted on Dec. 28, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of Netflix

What Happened to Monday (2017)

As the movie opens, we see scenes of overcrowded places like city streets, subways, and beaches. We learn that the world is overpopulated and is getting worse every year. We hear people like President Obama talk about climate change and overpopulation. We learn that South America has been declared a disaster zone and that food shortages are rampant, as a man says, “Too many people, not enough food.” Genetically modified foods are being fast-tracked to keep up with demands for food, taking more and more chances that something could go wrong. Because of the tinkering with the food source, there has now been a spike in multiple births and genetic defects. Dr. Nicolette Cayman (Glenn Close) has been put in command of a project titled the child allocation act calling for only one child per family.

Checkpoints have been set up all across the nation, and each person is given an identification bracelet. Families with more than one child will need to pick which child they want to keep and then the remain children are put in a cryogenic sleep to be awakened when the overpopulation crisis has been relieved. We see a child willingly going into a cryogenic chamber as the doctor says on camera “Cryosleep, a way to a better world.”

We see a nursery where there are seven newborn babies crying away as a nurse attends to them. We see a worried Terrence Settman looking through a window at the babies as a doctor approaches Terrence. We learn that Terrence’s daughter, who he hasn’t seen in years, died in childbirth. His daughter died before being able to tell him who the father was. The doctor asks how Terrence will manage and keep the babies a secret. Terrence replies “I’ll manage; I have to.” Terrence has decided that since there are seven babies, he will name them the days of the week. Will Terrence succeed in keeping his grand babies alive and how will they survive in a world that will hunt them down if they are discovered?

Set in the near future, What Happened to Monday is a Sci-Fi action film starring Willem Dafoe, Glen Close and Noomi Rapace playing the seven grown-up septuplets that to the outside world are one person, Karen. The action sequences are fast-moving and well-choreographed with Rapace selling the action sequences as we know she can. Unfortunately, the movie takes too long to get going with the opening sequence incredibly dull. The film does start moving once the action sequence’s startup. I did enjoy the flashback sequences where we see how the children were brought up and taught by their grandfather. I also enjoyed seeing how the grownup septuplets changed their looks (some have different hairstyles and colors) to portray Karen in the outside world. I would have liked more of a setup to get to know each of the seven siblings, to see what influenced why they turned out differently but the film rushes into the action sequences too quickly to get to know their quirks.

Rapace is the reason to see this film. She gives seven unique performances as each sibling has a very different personality and outlook on life. It’s dazzling and brilliant tour de force performance that Rapace was meant to play. It’s impressive just how easily on the screen she makes performing the seven characters look and feel. Each sister feels different on the screen as Rapace plays each part with a precision that makes the idea fathomable. The splendid cast is led by Willem Dafoe playing the father who risks everything for his family, Glen Close as the scientist responsible for the program and Christian Rubeck who is sent out by Glen Close’s character to do her dirty deeds.

I wish the film, written by Max Botkin and Kerry Williamson and directed by Tommy Wirkola, was a little tighter as it feels its length of two hours and three minutes. The movie tries too hard to provide the twists and turns of the plot, and the film takes forever to end. Despite the length and the plot holes, What Happened to Monday is worth seeing due to Noomi Rapace and her brilliant work to make us believe she is seven different sisters. My Rating: Bargain Matinee

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

The film is currently available on Netflix.

What Happened to Monday Info

'Our Souls at Night'

'Our Souls at Night' Movie Review

'Our Souls at Night'

Posted Dec. 26, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of Netflix 

Our Souls at Night  (2017)

We open up with scenes of a small town in the mountain west. Louis (Robert Redford) sits down at the kitchen table to eat a meal that looks like it’s from the microwave. He doesn’t seem happy eating this solitary dinner. We see him go about his nightly routine, cleaning the dishes, reading the paper while Louis listens to the weather report. He looks at the crossword puzzle in the newspaper and realizes that he has already finished it.

We cut to outside his home and Addie (Jane Fonda) starts walking towards Louis’s house, reconsiders and heads back the other way, only to stop and heads back toward Louis’s house. Louis, still reading the paper, hears a knock on the door, and it’s evident from his shocked reaction that he doesn’t get many visitors at night. He gets up, looks out the front door window and is surprised at what he sees. He opens the door, and they greet each other. It’s obvious from their conversation that they know each other but not well. Addie wants to talk to Louis about something, and they sit inside to talk. Addie has a proposal but is very hesitant to tell Louis what it is. She then says ‘Would you be interested in sometimes coming to my house to sleep with me?’ The question startles Louis and Addie goes on to explain that they are both alone, lonely and not sleeping well. She explains that it’s not about sex, ‘it’s about getting through the night, lying down in bed together and talking until we fall asleep.’ Louis seems to be a man of few words, or he is just shocked by Addie’s proposition. Louis tells her he will think about it and get back to her. Will Louis take Addie up on her proposition and could this ‘sleeping together’ develop into something more?

Robert Redford and Jane Fonda appear together fifty years after their iconic romantic comedy Barefoot in the Park. Our Souls at Night (what a horrible name for a romantic drama) is a slow-moving film that shows us that two people if they work hard enough for it, can find companionship late in life. This is the fifth film that pairs Fonda and Redford, and it shows on the screen. They both play off each other with impeccable timing, giving each other the space that is needed for this type of meandering, well-meaning film. The skill and grace they use to let us see their characters being revealed slowly to each other is a thing to watch. Redford plays the respectful and always careful Louis, who refuses to come into Addie’s house by the front door so that people won’t talk. Fonda plays Addie as more of a devil-may-care rebel who doesn’t care what people say or think about her. We learn that both are damaged by mistakes that happened in their past, some of them are their faults; other mistakes were made that couldn’t be helped, but both hurt them to their cores, and they are still dealing with those troubles.

I had high hopes for this film when I heard about it. It is directed by Ritesh Batra who made the beautiful romantic film The Lunchbox and the script, based on a novel by Kent Haruf, is adapted by writer Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who penned one of my favorite films of the past ten years, The Spectacular Now. I liked this movie but I wanted to love it. I don’t know if it is because it moves at a snail’s pace, or if it just feels a little too sentimental at times. I did enjoy the small bits of humor that the two characters share between each other and the fact that the director/writers didn’t put in a lot of old couple clichés.

The film is helped by an excellent supporting cast, including Bruce Dern, who plays a grumpy old man who is always telling horrible dirty jokes at the diner and is not liked by Louis, in fact, you keep waiting for Louis to say something to him. Judy Greer who plays Louis concerned daughter and in beautiful and moving performance, Iain Armitage, Addie’s grandson who is troubled by the breakup of his parents. Additionally, outstanding in his performance of Addie’s son who is bothered by her past mistakes is Matthias Schoenaerts.

Our Souls at Night ending feels a bit rushed, but you will enjoy spending time with two actors who have impeccable chemistry together playing two flawed characters who just might be able to heal each other with time and talk.    My Rating: Bargain Matinee

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

The film is currently available on Netflix.

Our Souls at Night Website

'Voyeur'

'Voyeur' Movie Review

'Voyeur'

Posted on Dec. 20, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of Netflix

Voyeur (2017)

If you want to know what the word voyeur means you could look it up in the dictionary, or you could just watch the documentary Voyeur and its subject matter, motel owner Gerald Foos. Foos bought a motel in Colorado, built a walkway in the attic and then installed vents in the ceiling, which didn’t do anything other than give Foos access to the rooms. From his perch in the attic, he could look down on his unsuspecting victims watching them live their lives. Foos did this for decades, and then he contacted legendary journalist Gay Talese in 1980. He told Talese that “I have to tell someone because I don’t want to die, and it be lost forever.” Talese, an inquisitive man by nature, starts up dialogues with Foos, thinking he could get at least a New Yorker article out of the man, and if the story is compelling enough, a book.

Filmmakers Myles Kane and Josh Koury filmed these conversations over the years as the two men talked about what Foos did and saw. Yes, the story is about a man who was addicted to watching other people, but it’s also about Gay Talese, how he views the world and how he interviews his subjects. The film uses photographs (some of which contains nudity), miniatures, and re-creations (always from Foos point of view) to give you an idea of what Foos saw and heard.

Both men are similar; they collect things; Talese collects stories (which he keeps in a converted wine cellar), and Foos collects ordinary stuff like baseball cards and coins. However, both men feel that they are also researchers into the human condition. At one point to convince Foos that Talese is the right one for the job he tells Foos “I am a voyeur myself.” It is a strange and captivating friendship, with Foos sloppily dressed into tight pullover shirts and giant tinted glasses and Talese in custom-made suits as they talk about why Foos did what he did. The conversations are fascinating, mostly because Foos is so proud of what he did because he thinks of his voyeurism is simply research to try to understand ever-evolving America.

The first half of the film is the conversations between Foos and Talese full of strange tales of what went on in that motel night after night. The film drags a bit as you get tired of Foos patting himself on the back proud of what he “accomplished.” The second half of the film is much more compelling when the film takes a turn you don’t see coming and becomes a completely different movie. I won’t give away what happens, but it’s pretty shocking and makes for some incredibly intense moments.

The camera work by Cristobal Moris, in this film, is imaginative as the camera peers from bookcases to watch Talese work in his office, reminiscent of Foos looking down on his victims through the vents in his crawlspace. The music by Joel Goodman, is well placed and helps build tension when needed, especially in the second half of the film. I wish the editing was a little tighter as a few of Foos stories get a little tedious.

Voyeur isn’t just about a sad little angry man who watched people from a dark crawlspace and wants to brag about it. It’s also about an iconic journalist who might have more in common with the voyeur that he would readily admit. I enjoyed this film, but I kept having a creepy feeling that just maybe I was the voyeur, that Foos and Talese were my unwitting victims.     My Rating: Bargain Matinee 

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

Voyeur is currently available on Netflix.

Voyeur Website

'Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond'

'Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond' Movie Review

'Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond'

Posted on Dec. 19, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of Netflix

Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond (2017)

Actors are a strange lot by nature. When performing on stage or screen, they have to convince us they are someone else, that even though we know they are playing a part, every actor wants us to believe they are that person and not the actor. Some actors like Daniel Day Louis have been known to stay in character between scenes in order to better play the role. Recently, James Franco directed The Disaster Artist in the voice of Tommy Wiseau so that he wouldn’t lose the cadence and the weird accent that Wiseau talked with.

In 1998 Jim Carey was at the top of Hollywood, coming off a string of hits like Ace Ventura, The Truman Show and Liar Liar. He would team with two-time Oscar-winning director Milos Forman to make Man on the Moon, the story of the late, great comedian Andy Kaufman. Little did Forman know that Carey was going to stay in character throughout the filming, not only becoming Andy Kaufman but also Kaufman as Tony Clifton, a vulgar lounge singer whom Kaufman often portrayed on talk shows and in his standup routine. Carey allowed a film crew total access to the set to get a behind the scenes look at the making of the film. Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond is a documentary that uses that footage to give us a look at the madness of making Man on the Moon. We learn that the footage has been in Carey’s office for the past 20 years. The footage was never used as the studio decided it was just too weird for an audience, that releasing the footage would hurt the film, not help it.

The film is full of fascinating facts, like that Carey was given Andy Kaufman’s famous bongos (they were a part of Kaufman’s notable appearances on Saturday Night Live and the Tonight Show) by the Kaufman family sometime before Carey had to audition for the role using those very bongos. Lynne Margulies, Andy Kaufman’s girlfriend, shot the footage for the behind-the-scenes film, which must have been pretty surreal for her. Carey explains that basically, Kaufman took over his performance, that he was no longer in control. There is a scene very early in the film that sums up what happened when making Man on the Moon. Milos Forman is talking to Jim Carey in full Andy Kaufman makeup and actor Paul Giamatti who plays Kaufman’s writing partner, Bob Zmuda. He tells Giamatti ‘You start now when Andy steps in.’ You can see the confusion on Forman’s face when Carey says, “When me, I step in.” They continue to talk back and forth with Carey insisting that he is Andy and that Forman must address him as such. Giamatti tells the camera “It’s really weird, totally surreal.’ That perfectly sums up the rest of the movie as Carey becomes more and more Kaufman as the filming goes on.

Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond is a look into almost madness as Carey pushes the boundaries of reality. At one point Carey, as Kaufman gets into a heated argument with the actor who is portraying his father, both men staying in character and bringing one of the crew members to tears. The movie moves back and forth from those four months of filming to present day where Carey comments on what was happening at the time. We learn as much about Carey as we do about Kaufman and how similar they think about life and comedy. Carey reveals a lot about himself both as a person and as an actor, and I have a feeling that this film was a catharsis for Carey. The interviews could have come off as self-important/indulgent, but instead, they give a real insight into creativity and how actors deal with it.

I don’t think I would have liked being a part of the crew of that film, but I am so glad that a camera was there to capture the creative madness of Jim Carey as he immersed himself into a role to give us an insight into the magical world of Andy Kaufman.    My Rating: I Would Pay to See It Again

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

Jim & Andy: The Great Beyond Website

'Wonder Wheel'

'Wonder Wheel' Movie Review

'Wonder Wheel'

Posted on Dec. 19, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of Amazon Pictures

Wonder Wheel  (2017)

We open up on Coney Island in the 1950s.  The beach is packed with people enjoying their time in the sand. We learn that our narrator is a lifeguard (Justin Timberlake) who is working the summer before going back to grad school. The lifeguard wants to be a playwright who ‘relishes melodrama with larger than life characters.’

We see Carolina (Juno Temple), a  young woman walking on the boardwalk with a suitcase in her hand. She asks a ticket taker where her father, Humpty (Jim Belushi) works. He tells her that Humpty works the carousel, but he has the night shift tonight. She asks if he knows where Humpty lives and he tells her that Humpty’s wife Ginny (Kate Winslet) works at a restaurant just down the road.  Carolina walks into the restaurant and talks with Ginny, who is surprised to see her. They discuss how upset Humpty will be to see her. Carolina tells Ginny she has no other place to go. We find out Humpty was married to Carolina’s mother before she died. Ginny and Carolina head for Ginny and Humpty’s apartment. We learn that they had to move from their last place in New Jersey because Humpty got drunk and busted up the lobby.

They enter the apartment, and we learn that Ginny has a child from her first marriage. The child is in trouble at school. Ginny heads to the sink and pulls a liquor bottle out from under the sink and takes a drink to help with her migraine. Humpty comes in all happy because he caught a lot of fish today. He sees Carolina in the apartment and asks what is she doing here. Humpty gets mad and tries to throw Carolina out, but Carolina explains that she is on the run from the mob that her husband works for. She is a marked woman and needs a place to hide from her husband who wants to kill her. Ginny wants Carolina gone because she worries about the safety of her kid. Humpty asks for alcohol and Ginny refuses to give him any. Carolina tells Ginny that she went to the police and ‘told them too much, that’s the problem.’ Humpty realizes that Ginny is probably safe on Coney Island because Ginny’s husband knows that Humpty told Carolina that he never wanted to see her again after she married the mobster.  Humpty decides that Carolina is going to stay with them. It’s a decision that will change all of their lives, even the lifeguard.

Woody Allen used to be creative and a marvelous storyteller. That’s in the past as Wonder Wheel is slow, predictable and full of unlikeable characters that talk for minutes at a time spewing regrets about their lives. He gives us reasons for why these characters have ended up where there are, but we have very little empathy for them because they are so miserable. The only likable character is Carolina who is probably going to end up dead, if she is found by the mob. The characters are so broadly built it feels like a work of Eugene O’Neill or Tennessee Williams wannabe, possibly foreshadowing what type of writer the lifeguard will turn out to be. The dialogue is clunky and feels forced, wasting the talents of Kate Winslet.

Winslet is given the most screen time as her character starts an affair Mickey, the lifeguard. It’s a role that should have showcased Winslet’s acting talent, but all we get out of her part is that Woody Allen hated her character, making Winslet the cause of everything that happens in the film. It’s a thankless part, and Winslet seems to know it, showing it in her performance. The script asks Jim Belushi to do things he is just not capable of doing, making his character seem shallow and underdeveloped. I usually like Justin Timberlake on screen but I never really bought his performance of the Mickey, the lifeguard. Timberlake looks uncomfortable on screen. I did enjoy the performance of Juno Temple, as the woman on the run who wants to start her life over. Temple has a nice presence on the screen, and it makes her character (the only one I cared about in the film) seem likable and warm almost right from the start.

Wonder Wheel never gets off the ground as the dialogue brings the film to too many screeching halts. It’s as if the carousel of this film had too many parts that were not working, the film itself has the same problem, too many characters that just don’t work on screen.    My Rating:  Cable

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

Wonder Wheel Website

 

'The Shape of Water'

'The Shape of Water' Movie Review

'The Shape of Water'

Posted on Dec. 8, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of Searchlight Pictures

The Shape of Water (2017)

As the film opens, the camera moves down a hallway that is underwater. We slowly enter a room where the chairs are floating in the water above a table. Through the windows, we see fish swimming by the apartment. The camera turns around the room, and we see a woman asleep floating above a couch. Suddenly the water leaves, an alarm clock rings and Elisa (Sally Hawkins) awakens, turning off the alarm. We hear a fire truck drive by with its alarm blazing. There is also talking going on, but we can’t quite place where it’s coming from. Elisa puts on a robe, goes in the bathroom and starts drawing a bath. As Elisa goes in the kitchen, the camera pans down, moving beneath the floorboard, going down until we realize the talking was coming from a movie theater that is directly below Elisa’s apartment.

Elisa puts three eggs in boiling water, grabs a timer off the counter and heads toward the bathroom. She sets the time on the sink, looks at herself in the mirror, takes her robe off and gets into the bath. Later, she is dressed for work, Elisa pulls a page off the daily calendar, looking over the back of the page for an inspirational message, picks out her shoes, then gives them a shine. She takes a plate full of food with her as she exits her apartment and enters the apartment next door. She brings the plate of food to Giles (Richard Jenkins) who is working on painting an ad for Jell-O. Giles tells her that all the sirens were from fire trucks heading to a fire at the chocolate factory. As they converse, we realize that Elisa is mute, she communicates through sign language and gestures. They stop their conversation to watch an old musical starring Shirley Temple as Shirley dances with Bill Robinson.

Elisa leaves Giles apartment, does a little tap dance in the hallway and heads outside. We see the fire down the street and men are changing the theatre marquee. Elisa gets on a bus, whistles a bit in her seat, takes off her hat and leans on the bus window. Elisa arrives at work, and her name is called out, her friend Zelda (Octavia Spencer) is holding her space in line to punch a time card. The camera pulls in on the time card slot, and we see that it’s midnight. We follow the two around as they do various cleaning chores. It’s apparent that the two work at some sort of laboratory. As they work, Zelda keeps talking to Elisa about her life with her husband. They enter a restricted area where Zelda has to use a key card to open the large doors. They have entered a room that is full of workers and scientists. It is apparent that some of the equipment that they have in the room has just come in, as there are shipping boxes and paper everywhere. As the supervisor gives everyone a speech on how important their latest project is and how secret it is, workers come into the room with a large, long tube with windows. As the tube is brought into the room, we see a man in a dark suit and hat comes in behind the tube. He is a man (Michael Shannon), a stern looking, no-nonsense type of man. As the man in the dark suit meets with several scientists in the room, Elisa comes over to the tube to see what is inside. The contents of the tube are going to change Elisa on how she sees herself in the world, and it might just change her life.

When you got to a Guillermo del Toro film, you know you are entering a very different world than the world you live it. There will be mystical things happening on the screen that will challenge you as a viewer. The Shape of Water is no different, taking the tale of The Creature from the Black Lagoon and putting it on its ear. This is a beautiful looking film from the opening shot going down the submerged apartment hallway to the last shot of this film. Cinematographer Dan Laustsen gives the film a warm look in its lighting of Elise’s and Giles apartments, making us ready for something magical to occur. Laustsen makes the cinema below her seem like a warm and wonderful place. There should be a vast contrast with the lighting of the laboratory, but the harsh lighting of the fluorescent s is muted by the use of green and blue hues of the tiles and the water in the tube. The light of the town at night has a green hue to it as if we are still underwater with Elise in her apartment during the opening scene.

Del Toro has the camera constantly moving, always with Elise in the center of the picture, as if everything in this world centers around her. This is a love story between a lonely woman who is set in her routine and the creature that is inside the tube, an underwater creature (Doug Jones) that looks like a cross between a man and a fish (think Creature from the Black Lagoon). The film has everything; musical dances (one in black and white), a spy plot full of intrigue, a villain so ruthless that you hate him from the first time you see him, and a romance where the woman is the one who is doing the wooing.

The cast is superb with Octavia Spencer perfectly cast as Elise’s best friend. Spencer does what she does best, the bossy best friend who doesn’t have an off switch and will do anything for her Elise’s happiness. Richard Jenkins is terrific as the sad sack neighbor Giles. Jenkins is masterful at getting everything out of a part, and his performance of the down on his luck artist is superb. Michael Shannon as the man who thinks it’s his job to torture the creature, finding joy when he does. Shannon is adept at making each performance his own and in this one, he brings to life a man whose blood runs cold. The film centers on the divine Sally Hawkins who gives a lovely and touching performance. Hawkins Elise is a strong woman who is ready to take chances when love is involved. It’s Hawkins that makes you believe that her love for an amphibian man is real and not strange. Hawkins seems to float on the screen, especially when she is dancing, moving gracefully in each scene. Her curiosity about the creature and later love for it is infectious and shows on the screen. Hawkins makes Elise a character that anyone would want to be friends with.

With The Shape of Water Guillermo del Toro brings us a fairy tale of a film that weaves a magical spell over the audience. It’s a moving tale that you won’t soon forget.     My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

The film is currently playing at Atlanta area theaters.

The Shape of Water Website

'The Breadwinner'

'The Breadwinner' Movie Review

'The Breadwinner'

Posted on Dec. 1, 2017 on CWAtlanta.cbslocal.com

Wayback Machine Archive Post

Photo courtesy of GKids

The Breadwinner (2017)

We open with Parvana (voiced by Saara Chaudry), an 11-year-old girl, who is sitting on the walkway with her father (Ali Badshah) as he attempts to sell a pretty outfit of Parvana’s that she has never worn. We can tell from Parvana’s worried face that times are tough for her family. She notices that several men from the Taliban are harassing a shop owner. Parvana keeps grabbing her headdress and pulls it across to hide her face. Her father she’s that she is worried and uncomfortable, so he decides to distract her by telling her a story about the origins of the country she lives in, giving her a vibrant and colorful tale of her proud people. It’s region that has seen many battles and many rulers. Her father tells Parvana that when he was young, this country knew peace but soon war broke out again. Parvana is asked to tell a story by her father, and as she starts to narrate, a dog comes over and interrupts her. She yells at the dog and at that moment, several members of the Taliban come over and chastise the father for letting his daughter yell out in the open, bringing attention to herself. The father pleads for understanding but the Taliban, especially a teenage boy, refuse to listen. The father is forced to stand, and even when the father tells the young man that the father was his teacher years ago, the teenage boy is still mad, refusing to listen. We see that Parvana’s father is missing a leg, which he explains to the Taliban that he lost it in the war. The teenage boy inquires on how old Parvana is because he will be looking for a wife soon, but the father explains that she is already promised to another man. The teenager is dragged away by a bigger man when he gets very angry with Parvana’s father because he starts defending her. Father decides it’s time to go home and try to sell the garment tomorrow.

On their walk home, Parvana asks if she is getting married. Her father laughs and says she is too young; she should be playing and telling stories. Parvana tells her father, she is too old to tell stories and walks off. The teenage boy from the Taliban has overheard the conversation, hiding in a doorway to spy on Parvana and her father. They arrive home, and Parvana’s mother, Fattema (Laara Sadiq) prepares a meal for Parvana, her big sister Soraya (Shaista Latin) and their much younger brother. The two sisters fight about chores. Just then the Taliban burst into the house, led by the teenager that we met earlier. They arrest Parvana’s father for teaching his daughters and lying about his daughter’s betrothal. The Taliban drives off to take the father to prison as his family is left in tears. Parvana is going to have to grow up quickly if she and her family are going to survive in this male-dominated world of strict religious beliefs.

The Breadwinner is a tale of two stories: one is the story of Parvana and the plight of her family, the second story is the tale that Parvana tells her brother of a boy who is trying to get back the spring harvest seeds that were stolen from his village by magical beasts. This animated film is full of lush and vibrant colors, with the story Parvana tells her brother full of mosaic-like frames. The animation of Parvana’s journey is more realistic and at times is stunning in its composition, even the bleakness of the town and especially the room that the family lives in are full of life and color.

Director Nora Twomey gives us a story that is a little grim and at times scary. This is a harsh world that Parvana and her family live in, with the Taliban constantly being run from or confronted with. Due to their religious beliefs, once Parvana’s father is imprisoned, life becomes almost unbearable for the family. Without a male in their life, the women are not allowed to shop or gather water, since they are not accompanied by a husband or brother per the rules of the Taliban. This is why Parvana chooses to look and act like a boy. Evil has come to Parvana’s town in the shape of the Taliban and even worse, in the form of a teenage Taliban leader that seems to delight in causing Parvana and her family pain.

The Breadwinner is captivating and delightful, though it is at times heartbreaking as Parvana is given obstacle after obstacle that she finds ways to overcome. While dealing with a tough subject, it’s a film that families, especially young girls should see, a film about the determination of a girl who won’t stop to protect and feed the family that she desperately loves. It’s a rough and scary world that Parvana lives in but due to her courage and her families love, Parvana perseveres against all the odds.    My Rating: I Would Pay to See it Again

My movie rating system from Best to Worst:  1). I Would Pay to See it Again  2). Full Price  3). Bargain Matinee  4). Cable  5). You Would Have to Pay Me to See it Again

The Breadwinner is playing exclusively in Atlanta at Landmark Midtown Art Cinema