Innocence & insistence power Tom Shadyac's legitimately feel-good film, BRIAN BANKS

A true-life tale that shines a most interesting light on  -- immediately and without any undue effort -- everything from the Black Lives Matter and Me2 movements to our woeful criminal justice system, BRIAN BANKS tells the story of the high-school student of the title, a 16-year-old boy with the not-at-all-impossible dream of playing for the NFL, whose life and career are cut short by an accusation leading to a prison term that destroys any possible football career. How this young man, seemingly innocent from just about every angle imaginable, sets out to prove this innocence against the odds is what lies ahead.

From a screenplay by Doug Atchison and directed by Tom Shadyac (shown at left), Brian Banks turns out to be that relatively rare "inspirational" movie that actually proves to be genuinely inspiring, rather than the faux feel-good we usually get from this genre. Mr. Atchison's screen-writing and dialog are up to the task at hand, while Mr. Shadyac's direction is just as good, seldom hitting things too hard or repeating what we know.

If repetition does occur -- as when Brian (played exceedingly well by Aldis Hodge, above and below) is told, over and over by the very folk he implores to help him -- this is for good reason, as he (and we) come to better understand just how loaded and unfair the criminal justice system is for the certain types of people who can so easily become incarcerated for years/decades. And, yes, I mean poor and/or "of color," rather than, say, Jeffrey Epstein.

What makes the movie -- and from all accounts, the man himself -- so stirring and active-positive, is Banks' unrelenting fervor and determination to prove his innocence. Mr. Hodge turns what could become annoying, repetitive and even tiresome into something rich and mammoth.

Hodge, who looks remarkably similar to the real Brian, wins us over completely, just as he does the folk from the California Innocence Project to whom he turns for help. The group's leader, Justin Brooks, played with his usual professionalism and subtle flair by Greg Kinnear (at right, below), is loathe to take on Brian as a client because the deck is so stacked against Banks that Brooks feels the result will only defeat and depress this prisoner, now a parolee, even further.

Interestingly, we don't learn the details of just why Brian has been tossed into prison until about a half-hour into the film. This is smart movie-making because it keeps us in a certain suspense, even as we grow to appreciate Brian himself. And when we do finally see what happened and meet Brian's accuser (brought to life by a terrific Xosha Roquemore), any puzzle pieces remaining begin to fall into place. (That's Sherri Shepherd, below, right, equally caring and commanding as Banks' mother)

If you are familiar with the story of Brian Banks, the movie should bring it all to fine life. If you're not, I suspect you'll be even more transfixed. From Bleecker Street and running just 99 minutes, the film opens nationwide this Friday, August 9. Here in South Florida, you can find it in the Miami area at a number of Regal Cinemas, at AMC's Sunset Place 24, Hialeah 12 and Aventura Mall 24 and at the Flagship Cinemas 14, Homestead; in Broward County at AMC's Pompano Beach 18 and the Cinemark Paradise 24 in Davie; and in Palm Beach County at the Cinemark Boynton Beach 14 and Cinemark Palace, Boca Raton. Wherever you live across the country, click here to find the theater(s) nearest you.

RELEASED gives us a moving pep talk for & about prisoners--from a quartet of ex-cons

For a film with a heavy-duty and not-at-all-subtle agenda that doubles as a hour-plus commercial for The Fortune Society and The Castle (that organization's ex-con rehab facility), RELEASED is a surprisingly moving, thoughtful and educational movie. Based on the play, The Castle, it basically tells the stories (four of them) about ex-cons who have struggled mightily and finally managed to succeed in the world of the "free."

Basically, that's it; the film is mainly talking heads, either on-stage, as they perform their play, or off, as they tell and sometimes show us, via old photos and film images, the lives they led before and during their various incarcerations. Yet the stories these four tell, together with the arc of their labors and achievements, become sometimes incredibly moving and surprising as the details build and our engagement with the four grows.

The movie begins with the statistic that some of you may already have heard: in these United States, two-thirds of all ex-cons return to prison within three years of their release. Some 68 billion dollars are spent each year on their "care," which is around $34,000 per convict -- that's as much as yours truly made yearly as a free-lance writer (during a good year). Surely, there's a better way to handle our incarcerated, and this is not just some bleeding-heart liberal speaking. From a purely monetary angle, since The Castle has recidivist rate of only 10 per cent (a hell of a lot better than prisons' 33!), more Castles in our society would lead to less incarceration and more responsible citizens.

Released does not go into this, but I fear our society's glee in and determination to make felons suffer is part of why the above scenario will not come into being. That, together with all the money that private investment and corporations now make off prisons, colluding with local, state and federal government in building and maintaining them, is simply too sweet a deal to give up.

Meanwhile, we have this movie to buoy us, and it does, offering a believable antidote to the pain- and-no-gain most prisoners suffer. The four storytellers -- Angelo (seen above), Caismiro (three photos up, with his daughter), Kenneth (two photos up) and Vilma (shown below) -- are theatrically compelling as performers and believable and empathetic as people. Consequently, when we see them in their pre- and convict days and then watch and understand how they slowly become responsible adults, the effect is both bracing and joyous.

Their stories contain those occasional moments of insight and inspiration that rivet: When he learned to read, rather far into his adulthood, Angelo explains, "For the first time I discovered I had a mind." Notes Casimrio: "Civilians are afraid of ex-cons. But not as much as we are afraid of them." As well directed by Philip Frank Messina, shown below, right, the movie appears to have been shot at various times during the play's performances in different venues, especially at prisons. Seeing the reactions of the prisoners as they watch is often as moving as the performance itself.

When, toward the end of the film, we finally arrive at The Castle and learn how and why it is there, how it works, and the statistics on its success rate, we can only hope that this film will be seen by audiences that might include those very few decent politicians our country has left, who might then work toward real rehabilitation rather than the generally corrupt, useless, costly and repetitive imprison-and-punish system we currently have.

Released, from Winner Pictures LLC and running just 70 minutes, opens for a week's run at the Quad Cinema today, Friday, May 10. I should hope DVD and VOD possibilities will be in the works soon.

SOUL KITCHEN, from Fatih Akin & Adam Bousdoukos, proves anarchic, feel-good fun -- plus a very short Q&A with filmmaker

Anarchy runs rampant throughout SOUL KITCHEN, the new film from German/
Turkish writer/director Fatih Akin, but fortunately, since this is Mr. Akins's first comedy in a long while (rent In July, if you want another example of the filmmaker in a lighter mood), the anarchy is somehow productive and fun. Akin’s lead character Zinos (played by Adam Bousdoukos) is the young owner of (and cook at) a restaurant called, yes, Soul Kitchen, that serves up greasy-but-faithful grub to an equally faithful clientele. He’s got a gorgeous girlfriend, Nadine (Pheline Roggan: the blond in the poster, above), who’s about to leave for China on business, with whom he fights and then fucks as though each time were the first and most fabulous (Nadine’s response to one of these sessions is particularly funny).  Also in tow are a faithful barmaid, who, on the strength of the rich performance by Anna Bederke (shown three photos down), turns a subsidiary character into someone absolutely central, and a brother Illias (the great Moritz Bleibtreu) halfway out of prison (he returns there each night) and still addicted to gambling.

In the midst of all this, a new chef enters Zinos’ life, changing Soul Kitchen’s menu from greasy to gourmet, and what had seemed previously simply crazy now goes into overdrive. Mr. Akin (shown in action at right) has never been a subtle filmmaker: Energy and event are vital in all of his work, whether dramatic or humorous. Yet he manages to rein in his lesser impulses, while allowing the life force to explode, sometime disastrously for certain characters (in his dramas), sometimes with glee and a wild delight, as here. He drags his leading man through all kinds of horror -- from a back out-of-whack to major tax problems to a beating at the hands of thugs -- and still keeps us enjoying the pain.

This is due in large part of the performance of his leading man, Adam Bousdoukos (shown above), who also co-wrote the script (which is said to be based a good deal upon his own life: He was a Hamburg restaurant owner for nearly a decade). Zinos/Adam is a genuine force of nature. So full of energy, sexuality and (most important) the kind of active/positive personality that barrels through life, he’s simply unstoppable. To find a similar performance on this side of the Atlantic, you’d have to look to some of America’s great female performers -- Bette Midler or Renée Zellweger, to name a couple. This is not to say that Bousdoukos comes off in any sense as feminine. Nah: he’s a guy all the way. We don’t seem to have male actors with this much crazy flair for life, love and work. Our crazy guys – Christopher Walken and the late Dennis Hopper, for instance -- are/were a little too scary to be crazy-guy role models. Zinos is not, and Mr. Bousdoukos is in a class by himself.

As we follow Zinos and his crew, friends and enemies on their journey, events range from far-out and funny to quite over-the-top. Fortunately Akin pulls back from that brink and allows us to mostly enjoy the nuttiness. I can’t remember another movie (not even The Answer Man) that gets so many laughs out of a bad back, with Bousdoukos expertly mining the comedy and pain. Bleibtreu makes a wonderfully charming scamp brother; despite his dreadful misdeeds, you love him. Also in the cast are Birol Ünel (real-and-then-some as the temperamental new chef; Dorka Gryllus (from Irina Palm), shown below, as a helpful masseuse/chiropractor; Wotan Wilke Möhring as an old "friend" of Zinos; and everyone’s favorite German creep Udo Kier, as an over-eager investor.

Fortunately, the movie runs only 99 minutes; even then it some-
times threatens “too-muchness.” But that spirit of positive anarchy always, if barely, wins out. By the finale, you’ll feel good, all right, but you’ll also have been put through the mill. Soul Kitchen opens Friday, Aug. 20, at the IFC Center and the Lincoln Plaza Cinema.

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At the press screening/party for Soul Kitchen held two weeks ago at Manhattan’s Crosby Street Hotel (what a terrific screening room that place has!), Filmmaker Fatih Akin (shown below) welcomed guests, chatting them up in friendly, easy fashion, one by one. We managed to get him outside the door of the noisy party room for a quick chat, during which we asked why a guy as good looking as he does not work in front of the camera more often (you can see him playing a border guard in In July). “The actor who was supposed to play the role didn’t show up,” he explained, “so I had to step in. But no, I really prefer to be on the other side of the camera!”

We also asked about how Fatih had managed to corral such a great cast, with everyone so right for each role? “You get to know people, and you work with them, and you understand how and where they will best fit.” We also asked how he managed to get an actor as big and important as Bleibtreu, shown below, one of Germany’s most famous. “Moritz is an old friend:  We go way back. I also worked with him on In July and on Solino, and he was just as famous in Germany back then. But now, I think, he is more famous internationally. But he’s been big in Germany for many years.” (TrustMovies had forgotten that the actor was even present In July; it’s been over a decade since he's seen that film, and at the time he didn’t know who Bleib-
treu -- who’s done terrific work in everything from The Experiment to The Walker to The Baader Meinhoff Complex -- was.)

We didn’t want to take up too much of the director’s time, as many more folk were awaiting their chance to chat. So we thanked him for his very enjoyable film and will hope to see his next one soon.