DVD/digital debut for Philippe Van Leeuw's family-under-siege drama, IN SYRIA

We hear about Syria almost daily: the bombings, the gassings, the snipers, the deaths, the destruction, the emigration (not to mention the problems Syrians have as immigrants to new countries). So the arrival of a narrative film about a Syrian family and their neighbors in crisis mode as they endure bombings that grow ever closer, sniper fire, lack of water and much else is... well, "welcome" may not be quite the right word, but IN SYRIA, written and directed by Phillipe Van Leeuw, is certainly a worthwhile addition to cinema about the middle east today.

Whoops.... TrustMovies has just managed to somehow delete his entire post, other than the initial paragraph above, just as he was about to publish it. Technology. Fuck! And he simply does not have the time or energy to reconstruct it all over again, with the photos and editorial content. So he will simply say that this very well-written, -directed and -acted movie will give you a believable and gripping account of a family and their friends and neighbors under siege and trying to survive.

Considering the subject matter, the film is relatively low on heavy-duty violence -- a sniper incident early on and then later a nasty, graphic rape --  but the threat of violence is ever-present, and the cast members, led by Israeli actress Hiam Abbass (above and below) as the mother-in-charge, deliver first-rate performances throughout. If you want to experience Syria, second-hand at least, the movie is definitely worth seeing.

From Film Movement, in Arabic with English subtitles and running a relatively swift 87 minutes, In Syria arrives on DVD and digital this coming Tuesday, June 19 -- for purchase and/or rental. As usual with Film Movement titles, the disc includes a short film, as well: this one written and directed by In Syria star Ms Abbass back in 2000. Titled Le Pain (The Bread), it takes place in a French provincial town and involves a family of newcomers, lunch, and the need to go out to buy some bread. It's nicely done and worth seeing, too. Though the combination of the short and the film itself adds up to an awfully bleak watch. Gird up your loins.

Labor and reward: Tamer El Said's IN THE LAST DAYS OF THE CITY and Lucrecia Martel's ZAMA

Two very demanding movies are currently opening in our cultural capitals: Argentine filmmaker Lucrecia Martel's new work, ZAMA, which hit New York City a couple of weeks ago and opens in Los Angeles this week, and Egyptian filmmaker Tamer El Said's debut feature, IN THE LAST DAYS OF THE CITY, which opens in NYC this Friday and then hits L.A. on May 11.

Audiences for art films -- foreign, independent and documentaries in particular -- generally expect demands that are simply not present in

almost any mainstream movie. These two films, however, go far beyond the usual demands.

For starters, it might be a good idea for viewers expecting to see these films to brush up on their history: of Spain and its colonization of South America in the late 1700s (for Zama) and of Egypt and the middle east during the couple of years preceding what is now called Arab Spring and the ongoing Egyptian Crisis (for Last Days...).

Both films simply begin in media res and expect you to quickly center your self and catch up. Lots of movies do this, it's true -- but few give you as little orientation as here. And then there is the problem of each movie's protagonist -- the titular Diego de Zama (played by that fine Spanish actor Daniel Giménez Cacho, above) and Khalid, played by Scotland-born actor Khalid Abdalla, below -- men so oddly passive that the word "off-putting" does not begin to describe their character.

In the Last Days of the City looks like a documentary, but it's fiction, though its characters tend to all have names the same as their actors' given name. Our "hero," Khalid, is a filmmaker slowly working on a movie, and most of his friends seem to be filmmakers, too. We meet them early on, during a movie Q&A. "This is a panel of cinema," one of them notes, "but so far we are only talking politics." As these film-making friends josh and spar, their various homelands, current  residences and political views all surface, and we can't help but wonder, How safe are any of these people?

News flashes from TV referring to Marbarek dot the movie, as do the various women in Khalid's life: his ailing mother, maybe an aunt, and an ex-girlfriend -- with whom he is as passive as with all else. He is currently looking for a new apartment, yet we never get a clue from where his income arrives. Is he independently wealthy? "Watching is not living," our hero is told at one point, and when he notices below his apartment building a man attacking a woman and then films this, you'll want to jam his camera between his teeth.

Who is this guy?:  Does he represent a passive Egyptian populace? No wonder his girlfriend (Laila Samy, above) bails on him. He is a handsome devil, however, and you may notice that, though he never seems to shave, the degree of stubble on his face remain exactly the same throughout the entire movie. Among the other visual delights is maybe the sexiest set of mannequins ever captured on film. First we see them nude, then behind windows covered with newspaper to obscure their naughty parts, and then finally completely hidden via burkas. 

Initially the movie is visually riveting -- so interestingly composed and edited that I was hooked. Along the way, we get some family, some history, some tradition, some religion, some politics, and even an ancient calligrapher.  Slowly, though, In the Last Days of the City (which times out at just over two hours) loses all power and finally most of its interest. When, toward the end, Khalid's very annoyed editor says to him, "I'm fed up. I feel I'm wasting my time!" you may second those sentiments completely. It's one thing to demand a lot of your viewers; it's quite another to finally give them so little in return.

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Ms Martel's Zama, while also demanding, at least pays off some dividends, though not, TrustMovies thinks, as many as have been found in her earlier films. Visually, the movie is often stunning, filled as it is with gorgeous, if often strange landscapes and vistas (there's one shot of soldiers asleep on an either sleeping or dead horse, the likes of which I've never seen). Sometimes phantasmagorical, more often simply strange but real, Martel's movie gives us an inside view of colonialism in which our "hero" -- a medium-level functionary of Spanish power in South America (Paraguay, I think) -- is both a purveyor of colonialism and its victim.

Directed and adapted by Martel (from the novel by Antonio Di Benedetto), the movie is rich in metaphor and symbolism, never more so than in its handling of a near-mythic character named Vicuña Porto, a rebel leader whom we keep hearing is dead or beheaded or "Here are his ears" but instead keeps re-surfacing, alive after all. When we finally meet him, via the very energetic and interesting performance by Matheus Nachtergaele, we begin to understand what all the fuss is about. Even if, as ever, our poor "hero" Zama has no clue.

A coward and a passive weakling, this guy is such a loser. Everyone uses him, and always to Zama's disadvantage -- from the "royal" lady for whom he lusts and pines, to the governor of the province, to the very natives whom he supposedly lords it over. This fellow is the proverbial schmuck. Even if his most appalling line of dialog -- "This noble family has suffered enough" -- will make you want to upchuck, still, what happens to the poor guy is awful indeed. By the finale of this near-two-hour movie, you'll have experienced wonderful visuals, reacted to some awful carnage, and perhaps had your brain and pre-conceptions jogged a little. It was enough for me, but despite the film's subject and wonderfully strange time and location, I would not place this among Martel's best work.

Zama, from Strand Releasing, opens in Los Angeles  this Friday, April 27, at Laemmle's Royal and Playhouse 7. Click here then scroll down to click on Screenings to view all upcoming playdates, cities and theaters.

In the Last Days of the City, from Big World Pictures, opens this Friday, April 27, in New York City at the Museum of Modern Art and on May 4 in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Monica Film Center, and then elsewhere, too. Click here then scroll down to see all upcoming playdates, cities and theaters. The filmmaker, Tamer El Said, will appears in Los Angeles and New York at certain screenings. Consult the individual theaters for date and time.

Doug Liman's THE WALL: an endurance test but perfect stand-in for our middle-east wars

To be honest, TrustMovies was bored bigtime through much of the new film, THE WALL, written by Dwain Worrell and directed by Doug Liman. And why not? The movie is mostly about two lone U.S. soldiers amidst a passel of dead bodies (other soldiers and contractors involved in one of the USA's current middle-east idiocies) who've been killed by a quite expert sniper -- who may or may not still be pointing his rifle at our two remaining guys. We quickly learn that indeed he is, as one soldier is wounded on the ground and the other high-tails it to shelter behind that small and crumbling wall of the title. And that's mostly it -- regarding, until the grand finale, any real visual action or change.

That sniper, whom we never see but merely hear his voice (offered up with award-caliber nuance by Laith Nakli), leads that grunt behind the wall (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, below) backward, forward and every which way, as he mocks, cajoles, threatens, surprises and bedevils that poor soldier -- having already wounded, maybe killed his counterpart (John Cena), who lies stone still on the ground on the other side of that wall.

Mr. Liman, pictured left, has shown his moviemaking skills numerous times, most especially via Go and The Bourne Identity and to some extent with later efforts like Fair Game and Edge of Tomorrow. I suspect that he, even more than many movie directors, is immensely helped along by the often very good writers involved in his projects. Here, that writer is Mr. Worrell, who intentionally or not, has given us an almost perfect movie metaphor for America's ever-present and increasingly worsening involvement in the middle east.

The America we see via The Wall  -- both individually and as a country -- is stupid in the extreme, possessing little sense of history, morality or even political intelligence. And if you bridle at this description, consider how that sniper is able to control the actions of our would-be heroes, over and over again, until.... well, you'll find out.

Little wonder U.S. meddling in this oil-rich part of the globe brought about, first, the rise of Islamic fundamentalism (after our deposing of a democratically-elected leader and our placement of the corrupt and totalitarian Shaw in his place), and then, post-9/11, our further attacks on Afghanistan and then Iraq helping lead to the rise of the Taliban and now ISIS. We're being led around by the nose by the very folk we supposedly want to help/conquer. But by now, our noses must have either been anesthetized into non-feeling, or perhaps what's going on somehow feels "right" -- simply because it's been going on for so very long now.

Visually, The Wall is mostly Mr. Taylor-Johnson, and while I have appreciated his work in movies from Nowhere Boy to Kick Ass and beyond, there is not so much the actor is able to do with this role, as he ends up consistently playing second fiddle to that creamy, duplicitous voice. Mr. Cena, above, has a fun scene at film's beginning, shaking his booty, but then is reduced to something approaching corpse.

Once their soldier is stuck behind that wall, writer and filmmaker try their best to provide some variation but are consistently stymied by their situation and their lack of character, let alone any character development. Compare this film to Steven Knight's Locke, which confines a single character to the interior of a car on a long drive, during which whole worlds unfold and change in the course of some 90 minutes.

And yet: As tiresome as I found the film as it moved slowly along, I have not been able to get it out of my mind, post-viewing. Everything about it, from the soldiers' action at the beginning to the dark but absolutely unsurprising conclusion, is perfectly calibrated to indict America's behavior in the middle-east. No outside nation in history has yet been able to successfully conquer this area. So we will? Talk about hubris.

You may very well come away from The Wall admiring most the cleverness, not to mention the sheer energy, wit and provocation of the antagonist and his marvelous voice. Against which, over and over again, our poor Americans are simply no match. As continues to happen historically, as supposed "wins" become in reality losses, we are consistently outmatched by something we have not understood and evidently do not even wish to understand.

You can certainly view this film as simply a wartime thriller/confined-space movie, and as such it works predictably, if reasonably well. If you care to dig a tad deeper, however, prepare to be very depressed.

From Roadside Attractions via Amazon Studios and running a thankfully short 82 minutes, the movie opens everywhere tomorrow, Friday, May 12. Here in South Florida, you can find it in the Miami-Ft. Lauderdale area at the Aventura Mall 24, the Paradise 24 in Davie, the South Beach 18 in Miami Beach, the Kendall Village Stadium 16, the Sunset Place 24 in Miami; in Palm Beach County at the Cinemark Palace 20 in Boca Raton, and the City Place 20 in West Palm Beach. Elsewhere in the state or country? Click here (then click on GET TICKETS) to find the theater nearest you.

DVDebut: Asif Kapadia/Christopher Hampton's featherweight but very pretty ALI AND NINO

A movie that has much in common with last week's offering, The Ottoman Lieutenant -- same time period (World War I) and same location (the middle east) -- ALI & NINO, from that very up-and-down director, Asif Kapadia, and similar screenwriter Christopher Hampton, has all the markings of a work-for-hire done by people who were not especially enamored by their subject matter but labored dutifully and professionally to produce a decent product.

They have, and at only 100 minutes, the movie is not difficult to sit through. Visually, in fact, it is quite a treat, what with its gorgeous interiors (homes/palaces of the uber-wealthy) and exteriors (it was filmed in Azerbaijan and Turkey in some pretty spectacular locales). But the writing by Mr. Hampton is merely workmanlike, telling its story pretty much as expected, while the direction by Mr. Kapadia (shown at right) is of the same ilk.

The two leads are played by Palestinian actor Adam Bakri (above, right) and Spanish actress Maria Valverde (above, left). Both are charming, attractive and play well together. Though limited by what they were given to do and say, they acquit themselves professionally. As does much of the oddly starry and underused supporting cast, led by Mandy Patinkin (below) and Connie Nielsen and Nino's parents, with the standout performance given by Italian actor Riccardo Scamarcio (at bottom, right), playing the rather quickly dispatched villain of the piece. He's hissable and more.

A lot of incident is packed into the movie's running time, and as this piles up, it simultaneously seems to somehow lessen in importance, even though it deals with issues like life and death and love. But we've seen it all before, even if not perhaps in such picturesque locations.

From IFC Films and after a very limited and don't-blink-or-you'll-miss-it theatrical release, the movie hits DVD this Tuesday, March 21 -- for purchase and/or rental. 

In THEO WHO LIVED, a kidnapped journalist survives to show & tell in David Schisgall's doc

How odd that, within a bit more than two weeks, two documentaries would open that feature their protagonists as both the subject and the narrator of their tales. And yet, the two films are as different as, well, oil and water, or maybe truth and falsehood. The first was the more-or-less execrable doc about that faker, JT Leroy/Laura Albert, a movie that seems to exist to build upon, glamorize and entertain us with lies. The second, opening this Friday, offers a lot more truth -- which, these days, seems a rarer commodity than one might think in documentary films.

THEO WHO LIVED tells the true story behind the 2012 kidnapping by Syria's al-Qaeda of American journalist Theo Padnos, who was held and tortured, escaped only to be caught, held and tortured some more, for nearly two years. As the title explains and as anyone who remotely followed this story at the time will know, Theo does live and is here now on film to provide us with his tale, as helped along by the documentary's director, David Schisgall (at left), who also acted as screen-writer (which I take to mean that he helped Theo present a more professional scenario).

As Theo (shown in the photos below) points out, and more than once as I recall, it was rather stupid of him, as a not-so-well-known freelancer, to undertake this speculative opportunity to interview fighters inside Syria and then write about them and hope to sell the piece. But he did. And then paid dearly for it. The young men who promised to put him in touch with those he wanted to interview turned out to be al-Qaeda agents only too happy to first beat an American journalist senseless, then turn him over to the powers-that-be.

Theo, however, spoke fluent Arabic and is also, as we soon see, hear and understand, a smart, resourceful and above all empathetic fellow. As horrible as things grew from time to time, he managed to form a kind of bond with his captors (some of them, at least) that somehow helped him survive. How all this occurred is told us by Theo as he returns to some of the landmarks of that "trip" -- which began in Turkey (the border of which with Syria, he explains, is quite a porous one), moves on to Syria and imprisonment, and ends up in Israel.

Much of the film uses recreations, but always with Theo front and center, to explain what went on and why. We visit the small apartment building in Turkey where those supposedly university students lived, and meet the "nice young men" who live there now and who might be, from all we know, al-Qaeda themselves. All this is uneasy-making and deliberately so. Theo's first escape comes fairly easily, it seems, and he ends up in the local police station. What happens next is doubly disturbing and should give you a very good sense of how the law operates in Middle-eastern countries at war with themselves.

As all this is happening we meet Theo's mom and sister (the latter is shown above, with Theo), who describe their actions and feelings as all of this was going on. "It's an emotional dead zone," mom explains. the "routine of daily life" being all that keeps one going. Theo remembers so many details that his experience resonates with alternately lively and horrible events. He also, without even trying it seems, expresses via his very being how his personality and liveliness enabled him to carry on. Even so, you may find yourself wondering how he could have managed this without totally giving in and up. Especially after those guards who were kindest to him end up dead and/or martyred.

Theo's story grows more and more amazing without ever seeming to lose its hold on the truth. There's another prisoner added to the mix who, with Theo's help, manages to escape but leaves our boy behind to face the consequences. Another journalist, Jim Foley, is taken prisoner and the two families of the men unite and help each other as best they can over the dark time ahead. Finally, Theo's mom explains how "shoe size" figures into all this, and her remarks proves darkly ironic and telling.

At the end of it all, how Theo feels about the whole experience -- his torture, his captors, and what is going on in the middle east -- should, if you are listening and feeling keenly enough, stop you in your tracks. Thanks to Mr. Schisgall and Theo we've been given entry into an experience that puts us in touch with life and the world in a new and very different manner that encompasses much more than you will expect. All the details Theo has given us add up, in their strange and specific way, to what really matters. Suddenly we look at things differently: the homeless man on the street in Israel, for instance.

This an amazing movie and, for my money so far this year, it's the documentary to beat come Oscar time. From Zeitgeist Films and running 86 minutes, Theo Who Lived opens this Friday, October 7, in New York City at the Lincoln Plaza Cinema; in Cambridge, Massachusetts, at the Brattle Theater on October 14; and in Los Angeles at Laemmle's Monica Film Center on Friday, October 21. Click here, then scroll down, to see all currently scheduled playdates -- which I hope, once word-of-mouth starts growing, will increase exponentially.

THE BUREAU: Smart 'n classy French TV series from Eric Rochant gets exclusive U.S. run via the SundanceNow Doc Club

For those may have found the French TV series Spiral a little too over-the-top regarding sex, violence and very dark doings, here comes a new French television show that has already won awards and popularity: THE BUREAU (Le Bureau des Légendes), which will have its American premiere this coming Monday, October 3, streaming via the SundanceNow Doc Club, that purveyor of first-class documentaries and -- very occasionally -- some interesting narrative ventures, as well.

Created by Eric Rochant, shown at right, who wrote three of the (20 thus far, though only the first ten are being shown now) episodes and directed eleven of them, the series details the workings of a supposed top-level French intelligence agency and several of its employees (or shall we call them "spies"), both high level and low. Featured most prominently is Guillaume, aka Malotru (Mathieu Kassovitz, below, who bears a rather obvious resemblance to M. Rochant), who is just now returning to France after a very long posting in the Middle East.

As usual in the spy game, all old ties must be severed thoroughly and completely. This proves a bit more difficult regarding the affair our boy has with his mistress, Nadia (Zineb Triki, below). We also quickly learn some things regarding Guillaume's "professional" life, and about his French family, especially his adolescent daughter of whom he is quite fond.

There is always some glamour attached to things mysterious, and so it is here. Yet what we observe in The Bureau seems less glamorous and much more prosaic and detailed than what we see in so many of our American versions of the same genre.

Those details -- what is stored in the lockers at "work," for instance -- even if they are not true (and how would I know?), prove fascinating and in any case seem real enough to pass muster. Style-wise and visually, the series appears almost documentary direct. It moves along quickly enough, always keeping us on our toes, but it is never super slick and/or Greengrass showy.

Trust and betrayal are generic/epidemic to/in spy stories, and so it is here. Yet The Bureau has been able to add a few new wrinkles to the meaning of betrayal. As it moves along, the series grows ever mores dense, with subplots involving the training of a new recruit (Sara Giraudeau, above), as well as whether an old one may have sold out his employers, as well as his co-workers. The latter involves the use of a most interesting behavioral psychologist (played by the excellent Léa Drucker, below)

The theme of trust broken keeps raising its head, making certain we understand how difficult it is to ever really know anyone. Only three episodes were provided us critics to preview. But these were enough to quickly corral TrustMovies. If all ten had been provided, he'd have probably binge-watched the lot.

Look for the debut of The Bureau this coming Monday, October 3. via the SundanceNow Doc Club, which you can learn all about -- and maybe join -- by clicking the previous link. (Above is that splendid actor Jean-Pierre Darroussin, as special here -- playing the head of the bureau -- as he always is.)

A vast-canvas road trip of genocide and longing: Fatih Akin's surprising saga, THE CUT

As much as I have welcomed the disparate work of German-born, Turkish-descended filmmaker Fatih Akin, whose creative, energetic and moving films have run the gamut from In July and Soul Kitchen to Head On and The Edge of Heaven, I would never have pegged him to tackle such a vast-canvas, very nearly epic family saga of genocide and search like his new film, THE CUT. Yet Herr Akin has come through with a movie that's rich, colorful and relatively "epic," yet small enough to be intimate, as needed.

The filmmaker, shown at right, who directed and co-wrote (with Mardik Martin) is here addressing the Armenian genocide which has its 100th anniversary this year and remains unacknowledged still by the Turkish nation. (Where would justice lie had the Germans refused to acknowledge their somewhat later Holocaust? I suppose if Turkey had been bent on world domination -- and stopped from that goal -- responsibility would have had to be accepted by now. I find it interesting that Akin comes from both these cultures, and that his films, among other surface things, are always about bringing together supposedly opposites, outsiders and insiders, while finding a place for "the other."

I would guess that The Cut is his biggest-budget effort thus far. An international co-production involving France, Germany, Italy, Russia, Poland, Canada and (yes), Turkey, and filmed in five countries (Jordan, Germany, Malta, Cuba and Canada), the movie looks terrific and seems utterly place-specific.

Its star is the French actor of Algerian descent, Tahar Rahim (above, of A Prophet, Free Men, Day of the Falcon and The Past), whose ability to make much using little is in rare form here. The film's title refers to a particularly nasty and life-threatening wound, given early on in the movie that deprives our hero, Nazaret, of his voice. M. Rahim makes the most of his facial expressions, hand movements and body language to communicate throughout.

Initially, The Cut is about our hero's ability to simply stay alive in the face of the genocide around him. Once some kind of freedom presents itself, reuniting with his family take precedence and leads to the road-trip/search that makes up the remainder of the movie. Along the route, Nazaret encounters a wealth of varied characters, helpful or harmful, and these people help make the movie a more interesting one (they also help pass the pretty lengthy two-hour-and-nineteen-minute running time). Good and bad characteristics are doled out with enough (but not too obvious) equanimity -- amongst Muslims and Christians, men and women, along with the differing countries -- that few hackles will be raised. In a particularly sweet/sour irony, the man who gives Nazaret his wound is also the one who saves his life.

Among the most memorable, if terrible, of this movie's scenes takes place, post genocide, in a kind of camp in which women and children have been left dead or to die, in which Nazaret encounters his sister-in-law. The "look" of this scene, with its dreck-tinged colors and design, is something that may stick with me forever. I don't recall seeing anything quite like it previously. (The production design comes via Allan Starski.)

Movies like The Cut depend somewhat on an audience's good will and its need for that feeling of satisfaction and closure that "search" films demand. Akin delivers this at the same time as he offers up its cost, with a finale is moving but reticent. Overall, this is a fine addition to the filmmaker's oeuvre, as well as to the continuing history of bringing to light (and keeping it there) the Armenian genocide.

The Cut -- from Strand Releasing -- opens tomorrow, Friday, September 18, in New York City at the Lincoln Plaza Cinema and Landmark Sunshine Cinema, as well as in the Los Angeles area at Laemmle's Playhouse 7 and Royal theaters.