¡LAS SANDINISTAS! -- Jenny Murray's stirring and informative documentary of Nicaraguan history, machismo and feminism

What an eye-opener is ¡LAS SANDINISTAS!, the first full-length documentary from actress-turned-director Jenny Murray. Those of us alive and aware of international politics/revolutions back in the 1970s would have known of the Sandinistas, the young revolutionaries set on deposing the corrupt and dictatorial tyrant Anastasio Somoza DeBayle (best-known as simply Somoza), who ruled the Central American country of Nicaragua from 1967 through 1979, whose family had been in power there since 1936. We might even have been aware, from the occasional photo or news story, that women were a part of that revolutionary group. But we could hardly have known just how important -- how utterly vital -- women were, at both that time and now, to the betterment of Nicaragua.

What Ms Murray, shown at right, gives us -- via a terrific interweaving of archival footage, photos and information with present-day interviews with some of the most important of those women -- combines to form a brief but compelling history of Nicaragua, as well as one of the strongest feminist movies you will have yet experienced. The documentary, without ever shouting or insisting, simply shows and tells us what these women accomplished at the time and how they have had to keep fighting ever since then for the justice and equality that ought to have long ago been granted.

The film begins (and returns again and again) to a woman named Dora María Téllez, who rose to the (unofficial) rank of top woman in the Frente Sandinista de Liberación Nacional (FSLN), whom we see in her youth (above, center) as a resistance fighter and now, in her senior years (below), still fighting for Nicaragua and its citizens.

Ms Téllez and her ideas are so strong and right, and though the woman speaks quietly, what she has to say will stay with you. There are a half dozen other women we see and hear from, all worth our time and caring.

One of these is Daisy Zamora, shown at left in her younger days and below these days. Together, they paint a picture of the emerging Sandinistas that is a light year away from what our own despicable President Ronald Reagan would have had us believe about the group and what it was supposedly doing to its home country. We see that lying and demented sleazeball during the time he and his cohorts were illegally, treasonously funding the "Contras," and we finally hear, via these women, what this was like as experienced by "the other side."

In addition to Reagan, we also get a look at a much younger Bernie Sanders, who -- of course -- came out on the right side of justice, suggesting that more politicians should come to Nicaragua and simply see what the Sandinistas were achieving.

The documentary makes us aware of how these women did not simply bear arms and fight along with the men; they were also expected to perform the usual "women's chores" -- from cooking and laundry to all the rest. (One women explains the difficulties of having to give birth and tend to a her infant during the revolution.)

Most shocking of all comes as we learn how the women were betrayed, compromised and kept completely out of power, once the revolution had been won.

We've heard and seen over the years countless examples of Latin American "machismo." The extreme downside of this is on full display here. ("They're even prettier when they're fighting" explains one male soldier about his female counterparts.)

When we're finally told that many of these women left their husbands during or after the revolution was won, this may not come as much of a surprise.

The film is full of history that we seldom received word of up north (or may not readily remember): the 1972 earthquake that leveled much of the city of Managua (instead of helping his people cope, Somoza preferred to have his army shoot the looters); the Castle House Raid of 1974, after which the dictator cracked down with even more intense repression; the National Palace Raid of 1978 (Somoza billed the conflict as a fight between the usual "Communist Menace" and Democracy); and finally, July of 1979, as the dictator was ousted and the battle for freedom appeared to have finally been won.

The second half of the documentary covers the post-revolution period, right up to recent times, as we learn how women's place in Nicaragua has actually devolved. It's not pretty. Yet hearing and seeing how the woman continue to work so tirelessly in every possible manner to achieve whatever they can is uplifting rather than depressing. By the time we view the country's own Me2 movement -- with one woman actually taking a stand against revolutionary leader and Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega by outing him as a rapist -- speaks volumes about entrenched male power and the difficulties of anything approaching real change.

In one of the film's penultimate scenes, above, we see a grandmother and her grandchild together, just sitting quietly and answering a question or two. This is oddly and remarkably moving. And then we're back to Ms Téllez (shown below with rifle, just left of center) and her quietly bracing, intelligent words. ¡Las Sandinistas! proves itself a major work. It is difficult to imagine any woman, or any man who actually cares about women, not embracing it with pleasure and gratitude. I hope it is shown in every Latin American country -- where it is most needed.

From Film Sales Co. and running 96 minutes, the documentary opens in its U.S theatrical premiere this Wednesday, November 21, at New York City's Film Forum for a two-week run. It is also scheduled to open in Chicago on November 30 at the Gene Siskel Film Center, and then later in Santa Fe at the Jean Cocteau Cinema. To keep abreast of further screenings as they are scheduled, click here.

Jason Reitman's absorbing, chastening walk down our political/journalistic memory lane, THE FRONT RUNNER, wrestles with vital ideas

I swear you could almost hear the audience at Tuesday evening's preview screening thinking about, piecing together and struggling to fully comprehend the many moral conundrums -- personal, political, journalistic -- they were faced with while viewing THE FRONT RUNNER, the new film co-written and directed by Jason Reitman (shown below).

Based on the book, All the Truth Is Out, by Matt Bai (who co-wrote the screenplay, along with Jay Carson), the movie details the 1988 campaign of Colorado Senator Gary Hart to gain the Democratic nomination for the upcoming Presidential election. Hart was indeed the "front runner" in the campaign, having lost the previous 1984 nomination to Walter Mondale, who then lost the election.

As shown us in the film, Hart appears to have been the most intelligent and wisest Democratic hopeful since Adlai Stevenson, with perhaps even better organizational and "realpolitik" skills -- with one major, if usual, flaw for high-level politicians: an inability to keep his dick from wandering in younger pastures.

He also failed to understand that journalistic mores, just as all other customs/conventions, were evolving over time. (Or, depending on your viewpoint, devolving.) As played by that fine and versatile actor, Hugh Jackman (above and below), Hart proves the focal point of the movie but not -- and this is very much to the film's great credit -- its hero. Hart is simply a little too flawed for that.

What TrustMovies remembers best (he was 47 years old at the time) about the scandal that erupted over Hart's extra-marital dalliance was how, when asked about his private life, the candidate actually taunted a member of the press to investigate him, so certain was he of somehow being protected from having his private life exposed. After all, many Presidents before him (and he probably would have been elected) had been granted this privilege. This time, however, the privilege was withheld, and the result is now history.

The way in which Reitman's movie explores all this is to give us everyone's viewpoint -- Hart's, his staffers, his family, that of the press, and even that of the woman with whom he cavorted, Donna Rice (played beautifully and tellingly by Sara Paxton, below) -- and it gives these as fully and honestly as seems possible in the space of 113 minutes. You may find yourself almost constantly shifting sides, at least a bit, which is a rare reaction to have in most American films.

Consequently, issues of personal privacy are weighed against political necessities. Is the duty of the press to inform readers or titillate them? How much of what we are seeing harks back to white, male power and privilege? All of this consistently bounces around, as Reitman, Bai and Carson, along with film editor Stefan Grube, weave it all together so well that you won't have time to take an extra breath. And listen well because there is always something intelligent and pertinent being tackled here.

Most especially, you will not be able to help comparing then with now. Hart felt that the American people would never stand for a politician's private life being put on this kind of display. Hell, now we can't seem to live without it. The citizenry has devolved every bit as much as press, politics, and all else.

In the film's fine supporting cast are luminaries like J.K. Simmons (above) as Hart's chief of staff; Vera Farmiga (below, right) as his wife, the personal moral center of the film; Alfred Molina (four photos up) as Washington Post editor; and especially Ms Paxton as the put-upon Ms Rice.

The scenes featuring Farmiga and Paxton are so rich and well-drawn that, without ever seeming to unduly try, they turn the film into absolute and full-bodied feminism. But, again, The Front Runner takes no sides. It simply shows. And it does this so damned well it ought to be a front runner for the Best Picture Oscar.

From Sony/Columbia Pictures, the movie opened on the coasts last week and moves further throughout the nation on Friday, November 16. Click here to locate the theater(s) nearest you.

Unearthed Films digs up another fun "classic," Jean-Paul Ouellette's THE UNNAMABLE

Celebrating its 30th anniver-sary this year, the cult horror film THE UNNAMABLE -- which TrustMovies had heard of occasionally over the years but never actually seen until now -- turns out to be a bit of good, old-fashioned horror/ supernatural fun, for reasons that begin with its surprisingly well-imagined and executed "monster" and include some decent dialog, well-placed scares, and better-than-average performances from most of the cast members. (The musical score is far too over-the-top, however.)

As directed and adapted (from an H.P. Lovecraft short story) by Jean-Paul Ouellette (shown at right), the movie's main problem (today, at least) is that the tale it tells seems awfully been-there/done-that, so audiences -- cult audiences are likeliest to fall for this one -- will simply have to ignore or forgive these trespasses and stick with what makes the movie the most fun.

The late Mr. Lovecraft, whose work has been adapted or inspired into nearly 200 movies so far (according to the IMDB, at least), did have a knack for scares & fright.

He knew how to make use of "the unknown," while turning the "knowing" of it into something much worse than one's previous ignorance.

In The Unnamable, we begin maybe a couple of hundred years previous, in a large New England house in which a very naughty "being" is semi-imprisoned. When it misbehaves, carnage ensues.

Cut to present day (present day circa 1988, anyway), where a very attractive bunch of university students plus one dweeby nerd (yes, the usual suspects) are discussing the rumors surrounding that house and what they might mean.

Before you can say "pile on some more exposition," sure enough, one of the fellows (two photos above, at left) decides to explore the place. Yes, say goodbye to him. Then we meet a couple of hot and hunky frat boys (clearly quite expendable victims), who talk two female students -- one hot, the other sweet, and all four shown above -- into exploring the house with them as a ruse and a road to some nooky.

All this is followed by suspense, scares, and more gore and carnage. And a little near-sex. One of the girls, played by Laura Albert, (above), possesses one of  the nicest nipples I've seen in a long while, and her character also keeps her on pearls on during sex -- always a sign of class.

Our hero is played by an actor who went at the time by the name of Charles King (but later became Charles Klausmeyer), shown being menaced, above. He is adorable and naive and properly sexy, at least to the girl (Alexandra Durrell, below) who pines for him but whom he does not notice properly until the finale. Well, the course of true love never did run smooth, as Willie the Shake told us way back when.

Now, to get to the main reason for watching The Unnamable: that really scary, amazingly put-together monster, of whom, as befits all good horror movies, we view only snippets until fairly close to the finale, when she (yes!) appears in all her gory glory.

What a creation this one is, and despite all the ugliness, there is more than a hint of sexuality and carnal desire present here. One gets the sense that if only one of our hot and hunky young men had pulled a nice, big boner for our creature, he might have remained alive. Or at least enjoyed himself a bit before the end. Ah, well. Best not to dwell on what might have been.

From Unearthed Films and running 87 minutes, the movie hit Blu-ray and DVD last month via MVD Entertainment Group -- for purchase and (I would hope) rental. The disc is full of Bonus Features, as well (click here for details), so fans can really dig in.

From Italy, with love (and pain), Cesare Furesi's WHO WILL SAVE THE ROSES?

For a film as poetic, elliptical, elusive and often beautiful as the new Italian movie, WHO WILL SAVE THE ROSES? -- from co-writer and director Cesare Furesi -- the words that lead off this film are surprising: "Dedicated to that big piece of shit of my father." TrustMovies suspects that the English translation here may be a bit off, and that the second "of" in the dedication might better be replaced with a comma. Either way, it does seem clear that Signore Furesi (shown below) is not a huge fan of his dad.

What follows this somewhat jaw-dropping dedication, however, is such a surprising and lovely story that I suspect U.S. movie-goers who appreciate foreign films and oddball tales may take quite a liking to this sweet, sad and finally take-no-prisoners endeavor. Its finale is as uncompromising as any I've seen in a long while and goes up against such a long-held taboo -- especially in its native Italy -- that I imagine the audience reactions there were rather mixed.

The very leisurely beginning put us in touch with an elderly male couple -- the amazing and quite delightful Giulio (Carlo della Piani, below, right) and his bed-ridden partner Claudio (Lando Buzzanca, at left) -- and their unusual everyday life, in which the aged and himself infirm Giulio does everything from feeding and caring for his partner to mowing the lawn on their rather large-but-gone-to-seed estate.

Into their life returns Giulio's estranged daughter, Valeria (the beautiful Caterina Murino, below), who, though still angry at her father, proves to have remained very close to his partner, Claudio.

On the heels of her return comes that of her son (the men's grandson) Marco (Antonio Careddu, below), along with his girlfriend, with both of them soon involved in the lives of the elder set.

As for the usual back story, history and exposition that most family dramas would give us, Signore Furesi pretty much ignores all this. Oh, we get bits and pieces, but this hardly adds up to enough to deeply involve us. Instead, that involvement comes through the artful use of a kind of visual and verbal poetry that engages our mind and heart via the beauty of the well-chosen words and beautifully composed, often stunning images.

These includes sunsets (above and below) -- the film is set in Sardinia, which, as shown here looks to be a most beautiful and welcoming place -- which come into play not only for their beauty but as a "hook" for investors to help resuscitate an old family hotel (shades of the recent Mamma Mia! movie sequel). 

Gambling -- as art, vice and life -- also figures in the bizarre plot, as we learn that Giulio once allowed that very bad habit to intrude too heavily in his and his lover's life and finances. Now, here it comes again, this time as a possible savior, thanks to a wealthy old friend who owns the local casino (how good to see Philippe Leroy, shown below, left, in his senior years).

Finally, however, it is the performances of the two old men, especially that of the amazing Signore della Piane (above, right, and below), that brings the movie to life and holds it that way. Giulio's character -- forever dithering but helping, hoping against hope, using every means at his increasingly emptying disposal, love pouring out of every pore -- proves so memorable and amazing that you never doubt the unbreakable bond that exists between these two men.

There's a high-stakes poker game (below), the results of which question what is truth (in a manner than our current idiot President could never begin to appreciate or understand).  By the time we reach that finale, I suspect that anyone who has lived and loved hard enough and long enough will be able to fully savor the decision that has been reached.

I've often said that it is Italy that makes the best films about family. Here is yet another fine example. From Corallo Film, Who Will Save the Roses? arrived on VOD here in the USA this past Friday, November 9, and will have its American theatrical debut in the Los Angeles area at Laemmle's new Glendale theater this coming Friday, November 16.

The photo of the director, second from top, 

is by Camilla Morandi and comes 

courtesy of Getty Images.

Lee Jong-suk’s debut film, THE NEGOTIATION, makes its home video debut this Tuesday

If TrustMovies goes too long without seeing a new film from South Korea, he begins to get a bit antsy for the smart pacing, classy look, action, suspense and envelope-pushing plot twists so many South Korean movies provide. If one of that country's films manages to makes its way over here, chances are it'll be worth a look, and so it is with THE NEGOTIATION, which marks the directorial debut of Lee Jong-Suk. This is a hostage/conspiracy/ corruption/betrayal thriller that, though packing in its share of silliness, also offers maybe ten times that in sheer fun.

Mr. Lee (shown at left), his writer Choi Sung-hyun and crew give us a very fast-moving tale that begins with a police officer (Son Ye-jin, at right below), who is just beginning her vacation, being called back into service due to a sudden hostage crisis. That one goes quickly south, but wait.

The higher-ups now request her services on a new and very different case -- one that keeps expanding and changing the more our heroine probes and learns.

The fact that we're talking about uber-dirty dealings involving the very highest reaches of government, military, police and (or course) the business community should come as no big surprise.

Yet how the filmmaking team puts it all together, unveiling one small surprise at a time, proves exemplary fun. And casting two of Korea's currently most popular performers in the leading roles is smart, too. As the chief villain facing off against our negotiating heroine, that very rangy, handsome actor Hyun Bin (below) is knock-your-socks-off sexy. His character is clever and funny, too, so the pas de deux that goes on between the two is generally quite delightful.

If the movie starts well enough, it grows even better as it continues, until we see a bunch of lying, devious and very powerful men aligned against one quiet but smart negotiator and another perhaps even smarter young man. If we've seen this sort of thing before (and, oh, have we!), the pacing, plotting and very classy filmmaking makes it seem new enough to pass muster as first-rate entertainment.

And if you find yourself asking, But how, against such huge odds, will justice ever triumph?, the movie has an oddball ace up that sleeve, too. No spoilers here, but I think the ending is just different enough that, though you might wish for something more, you'll be willing to buy into the if-only scenario that you're given.

Welcome comic relief is provided by Kim Sang-ho (above, left), while the rest of the cast is, as usual in Korean cinema, certainly up to snuff. But it is Ms Son and Mr. Hyun who carry the film, bringing with them surprising weight and not a little emotion, as the sweet/sour finale approaches.

From CJ Entertainment and running 113 minutes, The Negotiation makes its digital home video debut this coming Tuesday, November 13, on Amazon, iTunes and Google Play -- for both purchase and/or rental.

A PRIVATE WAR: documentarian Matthew Heineman's first narrative feature opens

Those who saw Matthew Heineman's earlier documentaries, Cartel Land or City of Ghosts, well understand how effectively, near shockingly, he is able to place you, as well as the people whose stories he is telling, in the midst of horribly fraught situations in which the choices go from bad to beyond appalling.

Mr. Heineman, shown at left, has now directed his first narrative film -- A PRIVATE WAR -- an unusual bio-pic which brings us up close (and very personal) to a famous war correspondent, Marie Colvin, and the reporting she did from the middle of some of the most horrible wars of the end of this past century and those that occurred during the new one.

Using a documentary style, the filmmaker's achievement -- in addition to giving that wonderful actress Rosamund Pike (below) the best role she's had since Gone Girl (which she tears into so completely that, were there any justice to those generally frightful Academy Awards, she have another nomination sewn up) -- lies in placing us so firmly and relentlessly in the middle of the violence, carnage, desperation and despair Colvin is covering, that we feel we're as close to it all as movies can manage.

What's really interesting here is that Heineman, together with his cinematographer (Robert Richardson) and editor (Nick Fenton) instead of offering up lots of visual razzmatazz, goes more for precision and specific detail, as well for logistics and a sharp sense of space and place.

The director also concentrates as much on the results of the violence as on the violence itself -- showing us grieving women, parents who've lost their children, and those still in the midst of trying to save and/or somehow protect their offspring under the most difficult of circumstances.

All this works to demonstrate journalist Colvin's real mission: to show us the rotten results of war rather than glamorizing its excitement and violence, and not coincidentally, pointing the finger at heartless shitheel dictators like Syria's Assad, who would, has and will continue to sacrifice his entire nation's population in his bid to retain power.

The movie begins in the Syrian city of Homs, which would prove to be Ms Colvin's final assignment, then goes back to the late 1990s in Sri Lanka (three photos above), making its way via conflict after conflict until it again returns to Homs.

By this time, we've ascertained quite well who this unusual woman is, what she does, and why she must do it. (And, yes, you may decide that, buried within her along with all else, is something of a death wish.)  Ms Pike brings her to life in all her strength, sadness and oddball beauty (even with that eye patch she must use after Sri Lanka). We even get a good dose of this woman's alcohol addiction, too.

Heineman and his writer Arash Amel (whose screenplay is based on a magazine article by Marie Brenner) weave in Colvin's history, family background, sexual needs and lots more (some humor, too), doing this in short, swift scenes that help make her character as full-bodied as we could want, given the movie's 106-minute time frame.

In the supporting cast are some excellent actors, including Jamie Dornan (above, as the photographer she meets early on and continues to work with), Stanley Tucci (below, left, as her companion used as much for his intelligence as for his sexual expertise) and especially the wonderful Tom Hollander (two photos up) as her newspaper editor: kindly, smart, a little bit craven but mostly frightened for his intrepid reporter.

Colvin's story is a vital and important one, especially now, as so much that so many of us hold dear seems to be spinning out of control. I hope that audiences will rise to the occasion and go see this movie so that Academy members can't/won't simply pass it by.

From Aviron Pictures, A Private War opened last week on the coasts and expands this week to additional cities and venues, including here in South Florida  Wherever you reside, to find the theaters nearest you, simply click here, and then click on GET TICKETS in the task bar atop the screen.