Due to historical reasons, and some economic reasons preceding and following the historical ones, we should know by now that Iranian diaspora in the so-called Western World is large. Also, it is often well-educated and active in arts and culture, sometimes even on the both sides, in both homelands, old and new. Cinema is not an exception, but this list is not about, for instance, Asghar Farhadi working in the context of the French or Spanish cinema, nor is touching some well-established common places of greatness, such as Marjane Satrapi's Persepolis. We bring you five relatively recent films made by the filmmakers coming from the Iranian diaspora that might have flown under the radar somehow, in order of quality.
5. At Any Price
Ramin Bahrani reached greater success both with critics and audiences both before and after this film, either by touching the subjects from the (immigrants') margin, like in...
5. At Any Price
Ramin Bahrani reached greater success both with critics and audiences both before and after this film, either by touching the subjects from the (immigrants') margin, like in...
- 6/23/2023
- by Marko Stojiljković
- AsianMoviePulse
"Won't we go to funfair?" No matter where you live on this planet, life is not easy when you have no money. This is the great struggle with humanity, as we still haven't been able to solve this problem for all. Funfair is an award-winning short film from the streets of Tehran, Iran made by filmmaker Kaveh Mazaheri. This originally premiered in 2019 and he went on to debut his very first feature, titled Botox, in 2020. The film won a Special Mention for Best International Short at Palm Springs Shortfest 2020. After years of waiting and playing on the festival circuit, it's available to watch online. In Funfair, Majid is a financially struggling man who comes up with a ploy in order to better the life of his wife Sarah - pushing her in front of a car to collect the insurance money. Starring Soroush Saeidi, Sonia Sanjari, and Artin Rabiei. This...
- 8/17/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Who would've thought that a documentary about some bozo that invented a new bulletproof vest would be this fascinating and this unsettling?! But that's exactly why I had to watch this film and find out what it's all about and holy sh*t, it's totally nuts! This guy is nuts! But that is the story, that's the entire point of making this film. Another tale of the "American Dream" gone wrong. Iranian-American filmmaker Ramin Bahrani has cooked up his version "Tiger King" with this documentary called 2nd Chance, which just premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. The engrossing documentary tells the story of Richard Davis, a doofus from Michigan that somehow invented some lightweight bulletproof vests as part of a police fanboy fantasy. The way it plays out from there is totally crazy, and it gets even crazier as ...
- 2/4/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Showtime Documentary Films has acquired North American rights to the Sundance Film Festival documentary 2nd Chance, from director and Oscar-nominated screenwriter Ramin Bahrani.
Bahrani’s feature-length documentary debut, is an exploration of the life and legacy of Richard Davis, the charming and brash inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest who shot himself 192 times to prove his product worked. The film juxtaposes Davis’ actions with those of his righteous right-hand man, Aaron Westrick. Unwilling to passively present questionable truths, Bahrani instead lays bare the complexities of one man’s supposed virtue while speaking to the nature of power and impunity in America.
The pay cable channel is planning a theatrical release ahead of a network premiere later his year, leading into awards season.
Pic is written, directed, and produced by Bahrani. Daniel Turcan & Johnny Galvin of Vespucci, Charles Dorfman and Jacob Grodnik also serve as producers. The film is executive produced...
Bahrani’s feature-length documentary debut, is an exploration of the life and legacy of Richard Davis, the charming and brash inventor of the modern-day bulletproof vest who shot himself 192 times to prove his product worked. The film juxtaposes Davis’ actions with those of his righteous right-hand man, Aaron Westrick. Unwilling to passively present questionable truths, Bahrani instead lays bare the complexities of one man’s supposed virtue while speaking to the nature of power and impunity in America.
The pay cable channel is planning a theatrical release ahead of a network premiere later his year, leading into awards season.
Pic is written, directed, and produced by Bahrani. Daniel Turcan & Johnny Galvin of Vespucci, Charles Dorfman and Jacob Grodnik also serve as producers. The film is executive produced...
- 1/29/2022
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
Multi-faceted filmmaker Mark Duplass discusses the movies he wishes more people knew about with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Duck Butter (2018)
The Puffy Chair (2005)
Prince Of Broadway (2008)
Tangerine (2015)
The Florida Project (2017) – Dennis Cozzalio’s review
Red Rocket (2021)
Starlet (2012)
Take Out (2004)
Mack & Rita (Tbd)
Old Joy (2006)
First Cow (2020)
Wendy And Lucy (2008) – Dennis Cozzalio’s favorite movie of 2020
Henry Fool (1997)
Trust (1990)
Amateur (1994)
Medicine For Melancholy (2008)
Shang-Chi (2021)
Your Sister’s Sister (2011)
My Effortless Brilliance (2008)
What the Funny (2008)
Humpday (2009)
True Adolescents (2009)
Man Push Cart (2005)
The White Tiger (2021)
Baghead (2008)
The Do-Deca-Pentathlon (2012)
Language Lessons (2021)
Stevie (2002)
Hoop Dreams (1994)
American Movie (1999)
What Happened Was… (1994) – Ti West’s trailer commentary
Manhunter (1986) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
My Dinner With Andre (1981)
Creep (2014)
Grown-Ups (1980)
Abigail’s Party (1977)
Nuts In May (1976)
Secrets And Lies (1996) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Naked (1993)
Parallel Mothers (2021)
The Freebie (2010)
East Of Eden (1955) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary
Strange...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
Duck Butter (2018)
The Puffy Chair (2005)
Prince Of Broadway (2008)
Tangerine (2015)
The Florida Project (2017) – Dennis Cozzalio’s review
Red Rocket (2021)
Starlet (2012)
Take Out (2004)
Mack & Rita (Tbd)
Old Joy (2006)
First Cow (2020)
Wendy And Lucy (2008) – Dennis Cozzalio’s favorite movie of 2020
Henry Fool (1997)
Trust (1990)
Amateur (1994)
Medicine For Melancholy (2008)
Shang-Chi (2021)
Your Sister’s Sister (2011)
My Effortless Brilliance (2008)
What the Funny (2008)
Humpday (2009)
True Adolescents (2009)
Man Push Cart (2005)
The White Tiger (2021)
Baghead (2008)
The Do-Deca-Pentathlon (2012)
Language Lessons (2021)
Stevie (2002)
Hoop Dreams (1994)
American Movie (1999)
What Happened Was… (1994) – Ti West’s trailer commentary
Manhunter (1986) – Josh Olson’s trailer commentary
My Dinner With Andre (1981)
Creep (2014)
Grown-Ups (1980)
Abigail’s Party (1977)
Nuts In May (1976)
Secrets And Lies (1996) – Glenn Erickson’s Criterion Blu-ray review
Naked (1993)
Parallel Mothers (2021)
The Freebie (2010)
East Of Eden (1955) – Larry Cohen’s trailer commentary
Strange...
- 12/21/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
From producer Ramin Bahrani, the directorial debut of Alex Camilleri is a heart-wrenching and naturalistic look at a Maltese fisherman. Kino Lorber has now unveiled the first trailer for Luzzu, the Sundance award winner in anticipation of its release in theaters on October 15.
In an award-winning performance, Jesmark (Jesmark Scicluna) is a hardened Maltese fisherman, struggling to repair his family’s Luzzu (a multi-colored traditional fishing boat), to continue his family legacy of making a meager living fishing. His world is upended by his newborn son’s health issues, forcing his to choice whether he has to decommission his Luzzu in exchange for a payout that could provide for his family or preserve his prized Luzzu and continue to struggle to provide for his wife and newborn son.
Michael Frank in our review praised aspects of the film, “A simple, yet beautiful film due to this sense of place, Luzzu...
In an award-winning performance, Jesmark (Jesmark Scicluna) is a hardened Maltese fisherman, struggling to repair his family’s Luzzu (a multi-colored traditional fishing boat), to continue his family legacy of making a meager living fishing. His world is upended by his newborn son’s health issues, forcing his to choice whether he has to decommission his Luzzu in exchange for a payout that could provide for his family or preserve his prized Luzzu and continue to struggle to provide for his wife and newborn son.
Michael Frank in our review praised aspects of the film, “A simple, yet beautiful film due to this sense of place, Luzzu...
- 9/7/2021
- by Margaret Rasberry
- The Film Stage
Sônia Braga with her Aquarius director Kleber Mendonça Filho Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of New Directors/New Films, hosted by Film at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art, Kleber Mendonça Filho spoke with Richard Peña, Ramin Bahrani chatted with Larry Kardish, and Sara Driver will speak with Wendy Keys in the HBO sponsored live virtual Free Talks. Sleepwalk was screened virtually for free in the New Directors/New Films at 50: A Retrospective programme.
Jesmark Scicluna in Alex Camilleri’s Luzzu screens on Sunday, May 9 at 6:00pm
Ramin Bahrani joined Larry Kardish virtually last night for a wonderful in-depth conversation on his career. I sent in the following comment and question which...
In celebration of the 50th anniversary of New Directors/New Films, hosted by Film at Lincoln Center and the Museum of Modern Art, Kleber Mendonça Filho spoke with Richard Peña, Ramin Bahrani chatted with Larry Kardish, and Sara Driver will speak with Wendy Keys in the HBO sponsored live virtual Free Talks. Sleepwalk was screened virtually for free in the New Directors/New Films at 50: A Retrospective programme.
Jesmark Scicluna in Alex Camilleri’s Luzzu screens on Sunday, May 9 at 6:00pm
Ramin Bahrani joined Larry Kardish virtually last night for a wonderful in-depth conversation on his career. I sent in the following comment and question which...
- 5/6/2021
- by Anne-Katrin Titze
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Ramin Bahrani, Oscar-nominated writer/director of The White Tiger, discusses a few of his favorite movies with hosts Josh Olson and Joe Dante.
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The White Tiger (2021)
Man Push Cart (2005)
Chop Shop (2007)
99 Homes (2015)
The Boys From Fengkuei (1983)
The Time To Live And The Time To Die (1985)
The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie (1976)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
La Terra Trema (1948)
Umberto D (1952)
Where Is The Friend’s Home? (1987)
Nomadland (2020)
The Runner (1984)
Bashu, the Little Stranger (1989)
A Moment Of Innocence a.k.a. Bread And Flower Pot (1996)
The House Is Black (1963)
The Conversation (1974)
Mean Streets (1973)
Nashville (1975)
Aguirre, The Wrath Of God (1972)
The Enigma Of Kaspar Hauser (1974)
Paris, Texas (1984)
Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)
Vagabond (1985)
Luzzu (2021)
Bait (2019)
Sweet Sixteen (2002)
Abigail’s Party (1977)
Meantime (1983)
Fish Tank (2009)
Do The Right Thing (1989)
Malcolm X (1992)
Nothing But A Man (1964)
Goodbye Solo (2008)
The Spook Who Sat By The Door (1973)
Dekalog (1989)
The Double Life Of Veronique...
Show Notes: Movies Referenced In This Episode
The White Tiger (2021)
Man Push Cart (2005)
Chop Shop (2007)
99 Homes (2015)
The Boys From Fengkuei (1983)
The Time To Live And The Time To Die (1985)
The Killing Of A Chinese Bookie (1976)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
La Terra Trema (1948)
Umberto D (1952)
Where Is The Friend’s Home? (1987)
Nomadland (2020)
The Runner (1984)
Bashu, the Little Stranger (1989)
A Moment Of Innocence a.k.a. Bread And Flower Pot (1996)
The House Is Black (1963)
The Conversation (1974)
Mean Streets (1973)
Nashville (1975)
Aguirre, The Wrath Of God (1972)
The Enigma Of Kaspar Hauser (1974)
Paris, Texas (1984)
Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)
Vagabond (1985)
Luzzu (2021)
Bait (2019)
Sweet Sixteen (2002)
Abigail’s Party (1977)
Meantime (1983)
Fish Tank (2009)
Do The Right Thing (1989)
Malcolm X (1992)
Nothing But A Man (1964)
Goodbye Solo (2008)
The Spook Who Sat By The Door (1973)
Dekalog (1989)
The Double Life Of Veronique...
- 4/20/2021
- by Kris Millsap
- Trailers from Hell
Despite the proliferation of streaming services, it’s becoming increasingly clear that any cinephile only needs subscriptions to a few to survive. Among the top of our list are The Criterion Channel and Mubi and now they’ve each unveiled their stellar April line-ups.
Over at The Criterion Channel, highlights include spotlights on Ennio Morricone, the Marx Brothers, Isabel Sandoval, and Ramin Bahrani, plus Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard, Frank Borzage’s Moonrise, the brand-new restoration of Joyce Chopra’s Smooth Talk, and one of last year’s best films, David Osit’s Mayor.
At Mubi (where we’re offering a 30-day trial), they’ll have the exclusive streaming premiere of two of the finest festival films from last year’s circuit, Cristi Puiu’s Malmkrog and Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Labyrinth of Cinema, plus Philippe Garrel’s latest The Salt of Tears, along with films from Terry Gilliam, George A. Romero,...
Over at The Criterion Channel, highlights include spotlights on Ennio Morricone, the Marx Brothers, Isabel Sandoval, and Ramin Bahrani, plus Luchino Visconti’s The Leopard, Frank Borzage’s Moonrise, the brand-new restoration of Joyce Chopra’s Smooth Talk, and one of last year’s best films, David Osit’s Mayor.
At Mubi (where we’re offering a 30-day trial), they’ll have the exclusive streaming premiere of two of the finest festival films from last year’s circuit, Cristi Puiu’s Malmkrog and Nobuhiko Obayashi’s Labyrinth of Cinema, plus Philippe Garrel’s latest The Salt of Tears, along with films from Terry Gilliam, George A. Romero,...
- 3/26/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
‘The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey’ Series Will Be Directed By ‘The White Tiger’ Filmmaker Ramin Bahrani
The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey, an upcoming limited series at AppleTV+ that has Samuel L. Jackson on board to star, has found a director and added a new cast member to the “deeply engaging mystery” show. Ramin Bahrani, the acclaimed filmmaker behind movies like Man Push Cart, 99 Homes, and Netflix’s recent The White […]
The post ‘The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey’ Series Will Be Directed By ‘The White Tiger’ Filmmaker Ramin Bahrani appeared first on /Film.
The post ‘The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey’ Series Will Be Directed By ‘The White Tiger’ Filmmaker Ramin Bahrani appeared first on /Film.
- 3/11/2021
- by Ben Pearson
- Slash Film
The reminders from the Motion Picture Academy and the distributors arrive daily: See the movies! Judge the work! Choose your favorite!
Reminders are relevant because there’s an absence of passion about this year’s awards season (Oscar nominations are due by 5 p.m. today). The reasons are obvious: We all miss the festivals, the premieres, the buzz. We miss the movies.
I have my own “best picture” favorite, but I’m hesitant about revealing it; voters seem wary this season.
In that context I find myself missing Green Book, a movie that at least got everyone talking (or arguing). Critics checked in to anger-management clinics when it collected its Oscars and Globes in 2019. The movie became the accidental prototype for the Academy’s’ “most popular” category – the idea that was shouted down a couple of years ago. Still, it ignited passion.
This season several films have collected strong reviews...
Reminders are relevant because there’s an absence of passion about this year’s awards season (Oscar nominations are due by 5 p.m. today). The reasons are obvious: We all miss the festivals, the premieres, the buzz. We miss the movies.
I have my own “best picture” favorite, but I’m hesitant about revealing it; voters seem wary this season.
In that context I find myself missing Green Book, a movie that at least got everyone talking (or arguing). Critics checked in to anger-management clinics when it collected its Oscars and Globes in 2019. The movie became the accidental prototype for the Academy’s’ “most popular” category – the idea that was shouted down a couple of years ago. Still, it ignited passion.
This season several films have collected strong reviews...
- 3/10/2021
- by Peter Bart
- Deadline Film + TV
Editors note: Aravind Adiga won the Man Booker Prize in 2008 for his debut novel The White Tiger, which his old Columbia University classmate Ramin Bahrani turned into the movie that has been generating awards buzz since its Netflix release in January. Adiga penned a guest column for Deadline about how the pair became fast friends by bonding over Scorsese films in Bahrani’s dorm room, a kinship that has lasted ever since.
Back in 1993, the idea that any living writer could come near the Russian novelist Dostoevsky in greatness would have struck me and my undergraduate friends at Columbia University as blasphemy. But this was precisely the claim that a fellow student was making one night as we were studying at the library. Even more shockingly, he was claiming that a living American filmmaker named Scorsese was as good as Dostoevsky. He had a video back in his dorm room that would prove it.
Back in 1993, the idea that any living writer could come near the Russian novelist Dostoevsky in greatness would have struck me and my undergraduate friends at Columbia University as blasphemy. But this was precisely the claim that a fellow student was making one night as we were studying at the library. Even more shockingly, he was claiming that a living American filmmaker named Scorsese was as good as Dostoevsky. He had a video back in his dorm room that would prove it.
- 3/3/2021
- by Aravind Adiga
- Deadline Film + TV
By most accounts, the story behind “The White Tiger” has been festering for almost 15 years. The Netflix project is based on Aravand Adiga’s award-winning 2008 novel that tracks the rags-to-riches saga of a young chauffeur who follows a criminal path to success in modern-day India. The roots of the project, however, stretch back to a Columbia University dorm room and a DVD of “Mean Streets.”
That was where aspiring filmmaker Ramin Bahrani met Adiga in 1993 through a group of largely Middle Eastern friends on campus. “We were all reading things like Dostoyevsky and Camus,” said Adiga, who was an English lit major raised in India. “One day, Ramin came up to the group in the library and said there was a film we ought to see that was as good as the books we were reading.”
Back in his room, Bahrani started the DVD player and made an impromptu case...
That was where aspiring filmmaker Ramin Bahrani met Adiga in 1993 through a group of largely Middle Eastern friends on campus. “We were all reading things like Dostoyevsky and Camus,” said Adiga, who was an English lit major raised in India. “One day, Ramin came up to the group in the library and said there was a film we ought to see that was as good as the books we were reading.”
Back in his room, Bahrani started the DVD player and made an impromptu case...
- 2/16/2021
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
Writer and director Ramin Bahrani returns to the Independent Spirit Awards with “The White Tiger,.” This Netflix film just earned a Best Actor nomination for Adarsh Gourav. The multi-hyphenate Bahrani also adapted Aravind Adiga‘s Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name.
“The White Tiger” tells the story of Balram Halwai (Gourav), a young boy from a low Indian caste whose wit and intellect gives promise to a future of upward mobility. After his father’s death he’s forced to remain in his village and take a job in the tea house just to help ends meet for his family. But, determined to escape the trappings of life at the bottom of Indian society, Balram, called a “once in a lifetime white tiger” by a teacher, sets off to Delhi with a plan to be a driver for a wealthy man’s son. When life in the big city...
“The White Tiger” tells the story of Balram Halwai (Gourav), a young boy from a low Indian caste whose wit and intellect gives promise to a future of upward mobility. After his father’s death he’s forced to remain in his village and take a job in the tea house just to help ends meet for his family. But, determined to escape the trappings of life at the bottom of Indian society, Balram, called a “once in a lifetime white tiger” by a teacher, sets off to Delhi with a plan to be a driver for a wealthy man’s son. When life in the big city...
- 2/5/2021
- by John Benutty
- Gold Derby
After directing an adaptation of Aravind Adiga’s book “The White Tiger” for Netflix, director Ramin Bahrani will next take on the author’s book “Amnesty” that’s also set up at the streamer.
Bahrani will write, direct and produce an adaptation of “Amnesty,” which was published in 2020 and is the story of an illegal immigrant in Australia, who realizes that he has information about the sudden murder of one of his employers. The book takes place over the course of one tense summer day as the man plays a game of cat and mouse with the suspected murderer, all while fearing that he will be deported if he speaks up.
Bahrani will produce “Amnesty” for Noruz Films alongside Ashok Amritraj for Hyde Park Entertainment and Bahareh Azimi.
The novel “The White Tiger” was a New York Times bestseller and won the Man Booker Prize; Bahrani’s film adaptation debuted...
Bahrani will write, direct and produce an adaptation of “Amnesty,” which was published in 2020 and is the story of an illegal immigrant in Australia, who realizes that he has information about the sudden murder of one of his employers. The book takes place over the course of one tense summer day as the man plays a game of cat and mouse with the suspected murderer, all while fearing that he will be deported if he speaks up.
Bahrani will produce “Amnesty” for Noruz Films alongside Ashok Amritraj for Hyde Park Entertainment and Bahareh Azimi.
The novel “The White Tiger” was a New York Times bestseller and won the Man Booker Prize; Bahrani’s film adaptation debuted...
- 2/2/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
When do today’s top directors know that they have gotten the perfect shot? What do they wish they knew when they first started out as filmmakers about the ups and downs of directing a film that they know now? And which classic films do they revisit and love the most?
These were just some of the questions answered by four top helmers during Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts directors Q&a panel. Watch our full group chat with Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (“Cherry”), Rod Lurie (“The Outpost”), Ramin Bahrani (“The White Tiger”) and Robert Jury (“Working Man”) above. Click on each name above to view each person’s individual interview.
See Meet the Experts Directors panel: ‘The Father,’ ‘Greyhound,’ ‘I’m No Longer Here,’ ‘Sound of Metal’
“I miss those moments from my first films where I knew nothing,” admits Bahrani when asked what advice he would give his younger self.
These were just some of the questions answered by four top helmers during Gold Derby’s Meet the Experts directors Q&a panel. Watch our full group chat with Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (“Cherry”), Rod Lurie (“The Outpost”), Ramin Bahrani (“The White Tiger”) and Robert Jury (“Working Man”) above. Click on each name above to view each person’s individual interview.
See Meet the Experts Directors panel: ‘The Father,’ ‘Greyhound,’ ‘I’m No Longer Here,’ ‘Sound of Metal’
“I miss those moments from my first films where I knew nothing,” admits Bahrani when asked what advice he would give his younger self.
- 2/1/2021
- by Rob Licuria
- Gold Derby
“It’s a story about a man who wants to be free,” declares “The White Tiger” writer/director Ramin Bahrani about what ultimately underpins the narrative of his sprawling epic. “He wants to be free to reach his full potential as a human being and society is not giving him that chance. It’s been rigged against him because of where he was born and what lot in life he was born into.” We talked with Bahrani as part of Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with key 2021 guild and Oscar contenders. Watch our interview above.
“The White Tiger,” which Bahrani adapted from Aravind Adiga‘s acclaimed novel of the same name, follows Balram, a poor Indian driver (Adarsh Gourav), who embarks on an epic journey to break free from the shackles of servitude to his rich masters to forge hi sown destiny and rise to...
“The White Tiger,” which Bahrani adapted from Aravind Adiga‘s acclaimed novel of the same name, follows Balram, a poor Indian driver (Adarsh Gourav), who embarks on an epic journey to break free from the shackles of servitude to his rich masters to forge hi sown destiny and rise to...
- 2/1/2021
- by Rob Licuria
- Gold Derby
By Sugandha Rawal
New Delhi, Jan 31 (Ians) American-Iranian director Ramin Bahrani was struck by the realism and humanism in the works of Satyajit Ray, and says he continues to reflect upon the Maestros cinematic craft and imbibe some of the hues on his canvas.
The director also appreciates the current wave of Independent cinema in India, and feels it reflects something that was missing from cinema in our country for a long time.
"I have a vivid memory. In college in the 1990s, (author) Aravind (Adiga), I and one of our friends, we would walk to the Lincoln Plaza Cinema. Because that summer, Martin Scorsese had restored and was releasing nine of Satyajit Ray's films. So, every two weeks we would walk all the way and see the film, and then we would walk all the way back talking about it," Bahrani told Ians, while opening up about the influence of Ray on his work.
New Delhi, Jan 31 (Ians) American-Iranian director Ramin Bahrani was struck by the realism and humanism in the works of Satyajit Ray, and says he continues to reflect upon the Maestros cinematic craft and imbibe some of the hues on his canvas.
The director also appreciates the current wave of Independent cinema in India, and feels it reflects something that was missing from cinema in our country for a long time.
"I have a vivid memory. In college in the 1990s, (author) Aravind (Adiga), I and one of our friends, we would walk to the Lincoln Plaza Cinema. Because that summer, Martin Scorsese had restored and was releasing nine of Satyajit Ray's films. So, every two weeks we would walk all the way and see the film, and then we would walk all the way back talking about it," Bahrani told Ians, while opening up about the influence of Ray on his work.
- 1/31/2021
- by Glamsham Editorial
- GlamSham
Ramin Bahrani’s The White Tiger, newly streaming on Netflix, has two openings, both of them startling. In Delhi, in 2007, a truck whose driver, Pinky (Priyanka Chopra), is drunk, speeds down a dangerously foggy road, swinging and swerving its way amid the night’s hidden dangers — a vehicle here, a cow there. Then the truck hits a child.
And we get thrown into opening number two, in Bangalore, circa 2010, and into the world of the man who should have been driving that truck: Balram Halwai (Adarsh Gourav), who in 2007 was...
And we get thrown into opening number two, in Bangalore, circa 2010, and into the world of the man who should have been driving that truck: Balram Halwai (Adarsh Gourav), who in 2007 was...
- 1/22/2021
- by K. Austin Collins
- Rollingstone.com
Four top film directors will reveal details behind their projects when they join Gold Derby’s special “Meet the Experts” Q&a event with key 2021 guild and Oscar contenders this month. Each person will participate in two video discussions to be published on Thursday, January 28, at 5:00 p.m. Pt; 8:00 p.m. Et. We’ll have a one-on-one with our senior editor Rob Licuria and a group chat with Rob and all of the group together.
RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2021 guild and Oscar contenders:
“Cherry” (Apple TV+): Joe and Anthony Russo
The Russo brothers are Emmy winners for “Arrested Development.” Other projects have included “Avengers: Endgame,...
RSVP today to this specific event by clicking here to book your reservation. Or click here to RSVP for our entire ongoing panel series. We’ll send you a reminder a few minutes before the start of the show.
This “Meet the Experts” panel welcomes the following 2021 guild and Oscar contenders:
“Cherry” (Apple TV+): Joe and Anthony Russo
The Russo brothers are Emmy winners for “Arrested Development.” Other projects have included “Avengers: Endgame,...
- 1/21/2021
- by Chris Beachum and Rob Licuria
- Gold Derby
It seems oddly fitting that it would be Rahmin Bahrani who would adapt this film for the big screen since the author of the Man Booker prize novel it is based on, Aravind Adiga, has known the filmmaker for years and, in fact, dedicated the book to him. Add to that its subject matter, concerning poverty and poverty traps - including those of the mind - and it is is also fully in keeping thematically with Bahrani's earlier work, including Man Push Cart and 99 Homes, in that it shows how just getting by can be a Sisyphean task in itself for the underclass.
I'm not usually a fan of voiceover but Bahrani uses it consistently here as a useful framing device - an email, which his hero Balram (Adarsh Gourav) is writing to the Chinese premier, recounting his life story. This means Bahrani is able to start towards the climax.
I'm not usually a fan of voiceover but Bahrani uses it consistently here as a useful framing device - an email, which his hero Balram (Adarsh Gourav) is writing to the Chinese premier, recounting his life story. This means Bahrani is able to start towards the climax.
- 1/21/2021
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Online, the memes are about guillotines, and at the movies, the stories are about why rich people should care about income inequality, if only for their own continued survival. Alongside Michel Franco’s blistering “New Order,” coming later this year, we get “The White Tiger,” Ramin Bahrani’s caustic adaptation of Aravind Adiga’s acclaimed novel about the lengths to which one man will go to climb out of his caste.
For as long as there has been literature, there have been tales of penniless men who advance by diligent hard work, cleverness, love, and perhaps a little larceny, but those narratives rarely address why the hero was penniless in the first place. “The White Tiger” illustrates the extremes to which the poor are driven to violate the rigid class structure of India, with the implication that our hero and his methodology is perhaps the face of post-superpower capitalism itself.
For as long as there has been literature, there have been tales of penniless men who advance by diligent hard work, cleverness, love, and perhaps a little larceny, but those narratives rarely address why the hero was penniless in the first place. “The White Tiger” illustrates the extremes to which the poor are driven to violate the rigid class structure of India, with the implication that our hero and his methodology is perhaps the face of post-superpower capitalism itself.
- 1/5/2021
- by Alonso Duralde
- The Wrap
This adaptation of Aravind Adiga’s Booker-winning novel about aspiration in modern India is teeming with energy and sadness
The White Tiger is a story of servitude, resentment and love – and what its hero calls “the contented smile that comes to the lips of a servant who has done his duty by his master”. He does a lot of smiling in this film, but this is about something other than contentment. It is a professional reflex and a personal holding pattern, a blank grin kept in place while the servant decides if he in fact hates his master, and while he also decides if he might somehow one day be the master himself. It is an ambiguous smile, which causes him to wonder if he hates the master behind a facade of loving, or loves this role-model behind a facade of hating. And this desperate aspirational cunning and survival-struggle is happening in India,...
The White Tiger is a story of servitude, resentment and love – and what its hero calls “the contented smile that comes to the lips of a servant who has done his duty by his master”. He does a lot of smiling in this film, but this is about something other than contentment. It is a professional reflex and a personal holding pattern, a blank grin kept in place while the servant decides if he in fact hates his master, and while he also decides if he might somehow one day be the master himself. It is an ambiguous smile, which causes him to wonder if he hates the master behind a facade of loving, or loves this role-model behind a facade of hating. And this desperate aspirational cunning and survival-struggle is happening in India,...
- 1/5/2021
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
We’ve now entered a new year, and one that will hopefully go better than the prior one. As we look towards the cinematic offerings of 2021, we’ll soon be publishing our comprehensive previews of the best films we’ve already seen on the festival circuit as well as most-anticipated new films, but first today brings a look at January.
While some high-profile December theatrical releases will make their digital debuts, such as Promising Young Woman, News of the World, One Night in Miami…, Pieces of a Woman, and more, this month also brings notable festival favorites finally arriving. Check out our roundup below.
11. Identifying Features (Fernanda Valadez; Jan. 22)
The winner of the Audience Award and Best Screenplay in the World Cinema (Dramatic) section at Sundance Film Festival last year, we recently caught up with Identifying Features at New Directors/New Films last month. Mark Asch said in our review,...
While some high-profile December theatrical releases will make their digital debuts, such as Promising Young Woman, News of the World, One Night in Miami…, Pieces of a Woman, and more, this month also brings notable festival favorites finally arriving. Check out our roundup below.
11. Identifying Features (Fernanda Valadez; Jan. 22)
The winner of the Audience Award and Best Screenplay in the World Cinema (Dramatic) section at Sundance Film Festival last year, we recently caught up with Identifying Features at New Directors/New Films last month. Mark Asch said in our review,...
- 1/4/2021
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
"They had plans... I had plans, too... I would have to become the creature that gets born only once every generation." Netflix has revealed the full-length official trailer for The White Tiger, the new film made by Ramin Bahrani. The film tells the epic and empowering journey of a poor Indian driver (Adarsh Gourav) who uses his wit and cunning to break free from servitude to his rich masters (Rajkummar Rao and Priyanka Chopra Jonas) and rise to the top of the heap - in his own way. The White Tiger is based on the New York Times bestseller and 2008 Man Booker Prize-winning novel of the same name. The book is praised for having: "this is the authentic voice of the Third World, like you've never heard it before." I almost got the chills when Queen's "I Want to Break Free" comes in to make the trailer ...
- 12/21/2020
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Terry Gilliam’s “The Man Who Killed Don Quixote” is confirmed to world premiere at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival, nearly two decades after after the director first started developing the passion project. The fantasy movie, starring Jonathan Pryce and Adam Driver, will close the festival on May 19 after the awards ceremony. “Don Quixote” is being released theatrically in France the same day.
“Don Quixote” stars Pryce as a delusional older man who is convinced he is the real Don Quixote. After he confuses an advertising executive named Toby (Driver) for his squire, Sancho Panza, the two men set out on a journey that seduces Toby into Don Quixote’s illusionary world.
Gilliam first started work on “Don Quixote” back in 1998. The film was considered a question mark for Cannes as it was still facing a potential legal battle earlier this month. Producer Paulo Branco, who was attached to the film...
“Don Quixote” stars Pryce as a delusional older man who is convinced he is the real Don Quixote. After he confuses an advertising executive named Toby (Driver) for his squire, Sancho Panza, the two men set out on a journey that seduces Toby into Don Quixote’s illusionary world.
Gilliam first started work on “Don Quixote” back in 1998. The film was considered a question mark for Cannes as it was still facing a potential legal battle earlier this month. Producer Paulo Branco, who was attached to the film...
- 4/19/2018
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Ramin Bahrani has become an indie staple after acclaimed efforts such as “Chop Shop,” “Man Push Cart,” and “99 Homes,” but his most high profile release might just be the upcoming HBO film adaptation of Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451.”
Read More: Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler Reuniting (Again) For Cheating Scandal Drama ‘Wrong Answer’
The television film marks the second collaboration between the director and Michael Shannon. The actor earned rave reviews for his supporting turn in “99 Homes” and was even a dark horse for a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Michael B. Jordan plays the lead Montag, a young fireman in a dystopian future where media is an opiate and books are banned and burned. Montag battles his mentor Beatty (Shannon) in a fight to regain his humanity. Laura Harrier, Sophia Boutella and Lilly Singh co-star.
“Fahrenheit 451” was first published in 1953. Previous adaptations include François Truffaut’s 1966 film adaptation.
Read More: Michael B. Jordan and Ryan Coogler Reuniting (Again) For Cheating Scandal Drama ‘Wrong Answer’
The television film marks the second collaboration between the director and Michael Shannon. The actor earned rave reviews for his supporting turn in “99 Homes” and was even a dark horse for a Best Supporting Actor nomination. Michael B. Jordan plays the lead Montag, a young fireman in a dystopian future where media is an opiate and books are banned and burned. Montag battles his mentor Beatty (Shannon) in a fight to regain his humanity. Laura Harrier, Sophia Boutella and Lilly Singh co-star.
“Fahrenheit 451” was first published in 1953. Previous adaptations include François Truffaut’s 1966 film adaptation.
- 7/20/2017
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
Yesterday, cinema lost one of the true greats: Abbas Kiarostami, the Iranian director of Certified Copy, Taste of Cherry, and more landmark films, passed away at the age of 76. Now, other staples have shared their remembrances of the Palme d’Or winner.
Martin Scorsese, who once said the director “represents the highest level of artistry in the cinema,” tells THR, “I was deeply shocked and saddened when I heard the news of Abbas Kiarostami’s death. He was one of those rare artists with a special knowledge of the world, put into words by the great Jean Renoir: ‘Reality is always magic.’ For me, that statement sums up Kiarostami’s extraordinary body of work. Some refer to his pictures as ‘minimal’ or ‘minimalist,’ but it’s actually the opposite: every scene in Taste of Cherry or Where Is the Friend’s House? is overflowing with beauty and surprise, patiently and exquisitely captured.
Martin Scorsese, who once said the director “represents the highest level of artistry in the cinema,” tells THR, “I was deeply shocked and saddened when I heard the news of Abbas Kiarostami’s death. He was one of those rare artists with a special knowledge of the world, put into words by the great Jean Renoir: ‘Reality is always magic.’ For me, that statement sums up Kiarostami’s extraordinary body of work. Some refer to his pictures as ‘minimal’ or ‘minimalist,’ but it’s actually the opposite: every scene in Taste of Cherry or Where Is the Friend’s House? is overflowing with beauty and surprise, patiently and exquisitely captured.
- 7/5/2016
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
Editor’s note: Filmmaker Ramin Bahrani has been a major presence in American independent film since his 2005 debut, “Man Push Cart.” His most recent film, “99 Homes,” was released last year. The filmmaker’s style in his early work is heavily influenced by the late Abbas Kiarostami, with whom Bahrani formed a relationship over the course of his career. With the news of Kiarostami’s death at the age of 76, Bahrani shared the following tribute to his longtime mentor.
When I saw “Where is the Friend’s House?” as a teenager, my path as a burgeoning filmmaker was irrevocably altered. I immediately tracked down VHS copies (badly dubbed, pirated) of “Close Up” and “Life and Nothing Else…” and watched them in my hometown of Winston-Salem, Nc, wondering how the prosaic can be revealed with such a profound depth of poetry. Can cinema be like this?
See MoreAbbas Kiarostami Remembered: Why He...
When I saw “Where is the Friend’s House?” as a teenager, my path as a burgeoning filmmaker was irrevocably altered. I immediately tracked down VHS copies (badly dubbed, pirated) of “Close Up” and “Life and Nothing Else…” and watched them in my hometown of Winston-Salem, Nc, wondering how the prosaic can be revealed with such a profound depth of poetry. Can cinema be like this?
See MoreAbbas Kiarostami Remembered: Why He...
- 7/5/2016
- by Indiewire Staff
- Indiewire
This month, Brooklyn plays home to the annual BAMCinemaFest, featuring both some tried and true festival favorites (imagine if Sundance just happened to take place in New York City in the summer) and some brand-new standouts. Here’s the best of what’s on offer, as curated and culled by the IndieWire film team.
“Little Men” New York City-centric filmmaker Ira Sachs has long used his keen observational eye to track the worlds of the city’s adult denizens with features like “Love is Strange” and “Keep the Lights On,” but he’s going for a younger set of stars (and troubles) in his moving new feature, “Little Men.” The new film debuted at Sundance earlier this year, where it pulled plenty of heartstrings (including mine) with its gentle, deeply human story of two seemingly different young teens (Theo Taplitz as the worldly Jake, Michael Barbieri as the more rough and tumble Tony) who quickly bond when one of them moves into the other’s Brooklyn neighborhood. Jake and Tony become fast friends, but their relationship is threatened by drama brewing between their parents, as Jake’s parents own the small store that Tony’s mom operates below the family’s apartment.When Jake’s parents (Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Ehle) are bothered by looming money troubles, they turn to Tony’s mom (Paulina García) and ask her to pay a higher rent, a seemingly reasonable query that has heart-breaking consequences for both families and both boys. It’s a small story that hits hard, thanks to wonderful performances and the kind of emotion that’s hard to fake. – Kate Erbland “Kate Plays Christine”
It’s usually easy enough to find common themes cropping up at various film festivals, but few people could have anticipated that this year’s Sundance would play home to two stories about Christine Chubbuck, a tragic tale that had been previously unknown by most of the population (the other Chubbuck story to crop up at Sundance was Antonio Campos’ closely observed narrative “Christine,” a winner in its own right). In 1974, Chubbuck — a television reporter for a local Sarasota, Florida TV station — killed herself live on air after a series of disappointing events and a lifetime of mental unhappiness. Robert Greene’s “Kate Plays Christine” takes an ambitious angle on Chubbuck’s story, mixing fact and fiction to present a story of an actress (Kate Lyn Sheil) grappling with her preparations to play Chubbuck in a narrative feature that doesn’t exist. Sheil is tasked with playing a mostly real version of herself, a heightened version of herself as the story winds on and even Chubbuck in a series of re-enactments. The concept is complex, but it pays off, and “Kate Plays Christine” is easily one of the year’s most ambitious and fascinating documentaries. – Ke
“Suited”
This eye-opening documentary focuses on Brooklyn-based tailoring company Bindle & Keep, which designs clothes for transgender and gender fluid clients. Produced by Lena Dunham and her “Girls” producer Jenni Konner, the HBO Documentary looks at fashion through the eyes of several people across the gender identity spectrum, including a transitioning teen in need of a suit for his Bar Mitzvah and a transgender man buying a tuxedo for his wedding. The film has a deep personal connection to Dunham, whose gender nonconforming sister Grace has been a vocal activist within the transgender community. “Suited” is the first solo-directing effort from Jason Benjamin, who previously co-directed the 2002 documentary “Carnival Roots,” about Trinidad & Tobago’s annual music festival. – Graham Winfrey
“Wiener-Dog”
Todd Solondz’s first directorial effort since 2011’s “Dark Horse” is literally about an animal this time. “Wiener-Dog” follows a dachshund that goes from one strange owner to the next, serving as a central character in four stories that bring out the pointlessness of human existence. The offbeat comedy’s stellar cast includes Greta Gerwig, Danny DeVito, Julie Delpy and “Girls’” Zosia Mamet. Amazon nabbed all domestic media rights to the film at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, while IFC Films is handling the theatrical release. Financed by Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures and produced by Christine Vachon’s Killer Films, the film marked Solondz’s first movie to play at Sundance since 1995’s “Welcome to the Dollhouse.” – Gw
“Last Night at the Alamo”
Eagle Pennell has become lost to film history, despite making two of the most important films of the modern indie era. His 1978 film “The Whole Shootin’ Match” inspired Robert Redford to start Sundance and his 1984 classic “Last Night at the Alamo” has been championed by Tarantino and Linklater, who along with IFC Films and SXSW founder Louis Black is responsible for the restoration that will be playing at Bam. “Alamo,” which tells the story of a cowboy’s last ditch effort to save a local watering hole, is credited for having given birth to the Austin film scene and for laying the groundwork for the rebirth of the American indie that came later in the decade. Pennell’s career was cut short by alcoholism, but “Alamo” stands tribute to his incredible talent, pioneering spirit and the influence he’s had on so many great filmmakers. – Chris O’Falt
Read More: Indie Legend Who Inspired Sundance, ‘Reservoir Dogs’ And More Will Have Classic Films Restored
“Author: The J.T. LeRoy Story”
J.T. Leroy was an literary and pop culture sensation, until it was revealed that the HIV-positive, ex-male-prostitute teenage author was actually the creation of a 40 year old mother by the name Laura Albert. Jeff Feuerzeig’s documentary, starring Albert and featuring her recorded phone calls from the hoax, is the best yarn of 2016. You will not believe the twist-and-turns of the behind the scenes story of how Albert pulled off the hoax and cultivated close relationships (with her sister-in-law posing at Jt) with celebrities like filmmaker Gus Van Sant and Smashing Pumpkins’ Bill Corgan, both of whom play key supporting roles in this stranger-than-fiction film. Trust us, “Author” will be one of the most entertaining films you see this summer. – Co
“Dark Night”
Loosely based on the 2012 shooting in Aurora, Colorado during a multiplex screening of “The Dark Knight,” Tim Sutton’s elegantly designed “Dark Night” contains a fascinating, enigmatic agenda. In its opening moments, Maica Armata’s mournful score plays out as we watch a traumatized face lit up by the red-blue glow of a nearby police car. Mirroring the media image of tragedy divorced from the lives affected by it, the ensuing movie fills in those details. Like Gus Van Sant’s “Elephant,” Sutton’s ambitious project dissects the moments surrounding the infamous event with a perceptive eye that avoids passing judgement. While some viewers may find this disaffected approach infuriating — the divisive Sundance reaction suggested as much — there’s no doubting the topicality of Sutton’s technique, which delves into the malaise of daily lives that surrounds every horrific event of this type with a keen eye. It may not change the gun control debate, but it adds a gorgeous and provocative footnote to the conversation. – Eric Kohn
“A Stray”
Musa Syeed’s tender look at a Somali refugee community in Minneapolis puts a human face on the immigration crisis through the exploits of Adan (Barkhad Abdirahman), a young man adrift in his solitary world. Kicked out by his mother and unwelcome at the local mosque where he tries to crash, Adan meets his only source of companionship in a stray dog he finds wandering the streets. Alternating between social outings and job prospects, Adan’s struggles never strain credibility, even when an FBI agent tries to wrestle control of his situation to turn him into a spy. Shot with near-documentary realism, Syed’s insightful portrait of his forlorn character’s life recalls the earlier films of Ramin Bahrani (“Man Push Cart,” “Chop Shop”), which also capture an oft-ignored side of modern America. With immigration stories all too frequently coopted for political fuel, “A Stray” provides a refreshingly intimate alternative, which should appeal to audiences curious about the bigger picture — or those who can relate to it. – Ek
“Goat”
After making a blistering impression at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, Andrew Neel’s fraternity psychodrama “Goat” comes to Bam with great acclaim and sky high anticipation. Starring breakout Ben Schnetzer and Nick Jonas, the film centers around a 19-year-old college student who pledges the same fraternity as his older brother, only to realize the world of hazing and endless parties is darker than he could ever imagine. In lesser hands, “Goat” would be a one-note takedown of hedonistic bro culture, but Neel’s slick direction brings you to the core of animalistic behavior and forces you to weigh the clashing egos of masculinity. By cutting underneath the layers of machismo, Neel creates a drama of insecurities buried beneath the war between predator and prey. It’s an intense and intelligent study of a world the movies have always been obsessed with. – Zack Sharf
Read More: Sundance: How Robert Greene and Kate Lyn Sheil Made the Festival’s Most Fascinating Documentary
“The Childhood of a Leader”
Brady Corbet has been one of the most reliable supporting actors in films like “Funny Games,” “Force Majeure,” “Clouds of Sils Maria” and more, and he even broke through as a lead in the great indie “Simon Killer,” but it turns out Corbet’s real skills are behind the camera. In his directorial debut, “The Childhood of a Leader,” the actor creates an unnerving period psychodrama that evokes shades of “The Omen” by way of Hitchcock. Set in Europe after Wwi, the movie follows a young boy as he develops a terrifying ego after witnessing the creation of the Treaty of Versailles. Cast members Robert Pattinson and Berenice Bejo deliver reliably strong turns, but it’s Corbet’s impressive control that makes the film a tightly-wound skin-crawler. His ambition is alive in every frame and detail, resulting in a commanding debut that announces him as a major filmmaker to watch. – Zs
“The Love Witch”
Meet your new obsession: A spellbinding homage to old pulp paperbacks and the Technicolor melodramas of the 1960s, Anna Biller’s “The Love Witch” is a throwback that’s told with the kind of perverse conviction and studied expertise that would make Quentin Tarantino blush. Shot in velvety 35mm, the film follows a beautiful, sociopathic, love-starved young witch named Elaine (Samantha Robinson, absolutely unforgettable in a demented breakthrough performance) as she blows into a coastal Californian town in desperate search of a replacement for her dead husband. Sex, death, Satanic rituals, God-level costume design, and cinema’s greatest tampon joke ensue, as Biller spins an arch but hyper-sincere story about the true price of patriarchy. – David Ehrlich
“Morris From America”
Coming-of-age movies are a dime a dozen (and the going rate is even cheaper at Sundance), but Chad Hartigan’s absurdly charming follow-up to “This Is Martin Bonner” puts a fresh spin on a tired genre. Played by lovable newcomer Markees Christmas, Morris is a 13-year-old New Yorker who’s forced to move to the suburbs of Germany when his widower dad (a note-perfect Craig Robinson) accepts a job as the coach of a Heidelberg soccer team. It’s tough being a teen, but Morris — as the only black kid in a foreign town that still has one foot stuck in the old world — has it way harder than most. But there’s a whole lot of joy here, as Hartigan’s sweet and sensitive fish out of water story leverages a handful of killer performances into a great little movie about becoming your own man. – De
BAMCinemaFest 2016 runs from June 15 – 26.
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Related storiesChristine Chubbuck: Video Exists of Reporter's On-Air Suicide That Inspired Two Sundance Films'Wiener-Dog' Trailer: Greta Gerwig Befriends a Dachshund in Todd Solondz's Dark Sundance Comedy'Little Men,' 'Wiener-Dog' and More Set for BAMcinemaFest 2016 -- Indiewire's Tuesday Rundown...
“Little Men” New York City-centric filmmaker Ira Sachs has long used his keen observational eye to track the worlds of the city’s adult denizens with features like “Love is Strange” and “Keep the Lights On,” but he’s going for a younger set of stars (and troubles) in his moving new feature, “Little Men.” The new film debuted at Sundance earlier this year, where it pulled plenty of heartstrings (including mine) with its gentle, deeply human story of two seemingly different young teens (Theo Taplitz as the worldly Jake, Michael Barbieri as the more rough and tumble Tony) who quickly bond when one of them moves into the other’s Brooklyn neighborhood. Jake and Tony become fast friends, but their relationship is threatened by drama brewing between their parents, as Jake’s parents own the small store that Tony’s mom operates below the family’s apartment.When Jake’s parents (Greg Kinnear and Jennifer Ehle) are bothered by looming money troubles, they turn to Tony’s mom (Paulina García) and ask her to pay a higher rent, a seemingly reasonable query that has heart-breaking consequences for both families and both boys. It’s a small story that hits hard, thanks to wonderful performances and the kind of emotion that’s hard to fake. – Kate Erbland “Kate Plays Christine”
It’s usually easy enough to find common themes cropping up at various film festivals, but few people could have anticipated that this year’s Sundance would play home to two stories about Christine Chubbuck, a tragic tale that had been previously unknown by most of the population (the other Chubbuck story to crop up at Sundance was Antonio Campos’ closely observed narrative “Christine,” a winner in its own right). In 1974, Chubbuck — a television reporter for a local Sarasota, Florida TV station — killed herself live on air after a series of disappointing events and a lifetime of mental unhappiness. Robert Greene’s “Kate Plays Christine” takes an ambitious angle on Chubbuck’s story, mixing fact and fiction to present a story of an actress (Kate Lyn Sheil) grappling with her preparations to play Chubbuck in a narrative feature that doesn’t exist. Sheil is tasked with playing a mostly real version of herself, a heightened version of herself as the story winds on and even Chubbuck in a series of re-enactments. The concept is complex, but it pays off, and “Kate Plays Christine” is easily one of the year’s most ambitious and fascinating documentaries. – Ke
“Suited”
This eye-opening documentary focuses on Brooklyn-based tailoring company Bindle & Keep, which designs clothes for transgender and gender fluid clients. Produced by Lena Dunham and her “Girls” producer Jenni Konner, the HBO Documentary looks at fashion through the eyes of several people across the gender identity spectrum, including a transitioning teen in need of a suit for his Bar Mitzvah and a transgender man buying a tuxedo for his wedding. The film has a deep personal connection to Dunham, whose gender nonconforming sister Grace has been a vocal activist within the transgender community. “Suited” is the first solo-directing effort from Jason Benjamin, who previously co-directed the 2002 documentary “Carnival Roots,” about Trinidad & Tobago’s annual music festival. – Graham Winfrey
“Wiener-Dog”
Todd Solondz’s first directorial effort since 2011’s “Dark Horse” is literally about an animal this time. “Wiener-Dog” follows a dachshund that goes from one strange owner to the next, serving as a central character in four stories that bring out the pointlessness of human existence. The offbeat comedy’s stellar cast includes Greta Gerwig, Danny DeVito, Julie Delpy and “Girls’” Zosia Mamet. Amazon nabbed all domestic media rights to the film at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, while IFC Films is handling the theatrical release. Financed by Megan Ellison’s Annapurna Pictures and produced by Christine Vachon’s Killer Films, the film marked Solondz’s first movie to play at Sundance since 1995’s “Welcome to the Dollhouse.” – Gw
“Last Night at the Alamo”
Eagle Pennell has become lost to film history, despite making two of the most important films of the modern indie era. His 1978 film “The Whole Shootin’ Match” inspired Robert Redford to start Sundance and his 1984 classic “Last Night at the Alamo” has been championed by Tarantino and Linklater, who along with IFC Films and SXSW founder Louis Black is responsible for the restoration that will be playing at Bam. “Alamo,” which tells the story of a cowboy’s last ditch effort to save a local watering hole, is credited for having given birth to the Austin film scene and for laying the groundwork for the rebirth of the American indie that came later in the decade. Pennell’s career was cut short by alcoholism, but “Alamo” stands tribute to his incredible talent, pioneering spirit and the influence he’s had on so many great filmmakers. – Chris O’Falt
Read More: Indie Legend Who Inspired Sundance, ‘Reservoir Dogs’ And More Will Have Classic Films Restored
“Author: The J.T. LeRoy Story”
J.T. Leroy was an literary and pop culture sensation, until it was revealed that the HIV-positive, ex-male-prostitute teenage author was actually the creation of a 40 year old mother by the name Laura Albert. Jeff Feuerzeig’s documentary, starring Albert and featuring her recorded phone calls from the hoax, is the best yarn of 2016. You will not believe the twist-and-turns of the behind the scenes story of how Albert pulled off the hoax and cultivated close relationships (with her sister-in-law posing at Jt) with celebrities like filmmaker Gus Van Sant and Smashing Pumpkins’ Bill Corgan, both of whom play key supporting roles in this stranger-than-fiction film. Trust us, “Author” will be one of the most entertaining films you see this summer. – Co
“Dark Night”
Loosely based on the 2012 shooting in Aurora, Colorado during a multiplex screening of “The Dark Knight,” Tim Sutton’s elegantly designed “Dark Night” contains a fascinating, enigmatic agenda. In its opening moments, Maica Armata’s mournful score plays out as we watch a traumatized face lit up by the red-blue glow of a nearby police car. Mirroring the media image of tragedy divorced from the lives affected by it, the ensuing movie fills in those details. Like Gus Van Sant’s “Elephant,” Sutton’s ambitious project dissects the moments surrounding the infamous event with a perceptive eye that avoids passing judgement. While some viewers may find this disaffected approach infuriating — the divisive Sundance reaction suggested as much — there’s no doubting the topicality of Sutton’s technique, which delves into the malaise of daily lives that surrounds every horrific event of this type with a keen eye. It may not change the gun control debate, but it adds a gorgeous and provocative footnote to the conversation. – Eric Kohn
“A Stray”
Musa Syeed’s tender look at a Somali refugee community in Minneapolis puts a human face on the immigration crisis through the exploits of Adan (Barkhad Abdirahman), a young man adrift in his solitary world. Kicked out by his mother and unwelcome at the local mosque where he tries to crash, Adan meets his only source of companionship in a stray dog he finds wandering the streets. Alternating between social outings and job prospects, Adan’s struggles never strain credibility, even when an FBI agent tries to wrestle control of his situation to turn him into a spy. Shot with near-documentary realism, Syed’s insightful portrait of his forlorn character’s life recalls the earlier films of Ramin Bahrani (“Man Push Cart,” “Chop Shop”), which also capture an oft-ignored side of modern America. With immigration stories all too frequently coopted for political fuel, “A Stray” provides a refreshingly intimate alternative, which should appeal to audiences curious about the bigger picture — or those who can relate to it. – Ek
“Goat”
After making a blistering impression at the Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, Andrew Neel’s fraternity psychodrama “Goat” comes to Bam with great acclaim and sky high anticipation. Starring breakout Ben Schnetzer and Nick Jonas, the film centers around a 19-year-old college student who pledges the same fraternity as his older brother, only to realize the world of hazing and endless parties is darker than he could ever imagine. In lesser hands, “Goat” would be a one-note takedown of hedonistic bro culture, but Neel’s slick direction brings you to the core of animalistic behavior and forces you to weigh the clashing egos of masculinity. By cutting underneath the layers of machismo, Neel creates a drama of insecurities buried beneath the war between predator and prey. It’s an intense and intelligent study of a world the movies have always been obsessed with. – Zack Sharf
Read More: Sundance: How Robert Greene and Kate Lyn Sheil Made the Festival’s Most Fascinating Documentary
“The Childhood of a Leader”
Brady Corbet has been one of the most reliable supporting actors in films like “Funny Games,” “Force Majeure,” “Clouds of Sils Maria” and more, and he even broke through as a lead in the great indie “Simon Killer,” but it turns out Corbet’s real skills are behind the camera. In his directorial debut, “The Childhood of a Leader,” the actor creates an unnerving period psychodrama that evokes shades of “The Omen” by way of Hitchcock. Set in Europe after Wwi, the movie follows a young boy as he develops a terrifying ego after witnessing the creation of the Treaty of Versailles. Cast members Robert Pattinson and Berenice Bejo deliver reliably strong turns, but it’s Corbet’s impressive control that makes the film a tightly-wound skin-crawler. His ambition is alive in every frame and detail, resulting in a commanding debut that announces him as a major filmmaker to watch. – Zs
“The Love Witch”
Meet your new obsession: A spellbinding homage to old pulp paperbacks and the Technicolor melodramas of the 1960s, Anna Biller’s “The Love Witch” is a throwback that’s told with the kind of perverse conviction and studied expertise that would make Quentin Tarantino blush. Shot in velvety 35mm, the film follows a beautiful, sociopathic, love-starved young witch named Elaine (Samantha Robinson, absolutely unforgettable in a demented breakthrough performance) as she blows into a coastal Californian town in desperate search of a replacement for her dead husband. Sex, death, Satanic rituals, God-level costume design, and cinema’s greatest tampon joke ensue, as Biller spins an arch but hyper-sincere story about the true price of patriarchy. – David Ehrlich
“Morris From America”
Coming-of-age movies are a dime a dozen (and the going rate is even cheaper at Sundance), but Chad Hartigan’s absurdly charming follow-up to “This Is Martin Bonner” puts a fresh spin on a tired genre. Played by lovable newcomer Markees Christmas, Morris is a 13-year-old New Yorker who’s forced to move to the suburbs of Germany when his widower dad (a note-perfect Craig Robinson) accepts a job as the coach of a Heidelberg soccer team. It’s tough being a teen, but Morris — as the only black kid in a foreign town that still has one foot stuck in the old world — has it way harder than most. But there’s a whole lot of joy here, as Hartigan’s sweet and sensitive fish out of water story leverages a handful of killer performances into a great little movie about becoming your own man. – De
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- 6/13/2016
- by Kate Erbland, Eric Kohn, David Ehrlich, Zack Sharf, Chris O'Falt and Graham Winfrey
- Indiewire
The last few days of 2015 are spent in reflection about the year that's just wrapping up and in anticipation of the year just ahead, at least for me, and since we had our ten best list last week, this week it's time for the runners-up, the fifteen films that also filled out our year. As always, I look at this list and I think it would make a perfectly spiffy top ten if that's how things had shaken out, which is to say that the only real purpose of any of these lists is to remind you of more of the experiences that were worth having in a theater. There are plenty of good films that aren't on either of my lists this year. That doesn't mean I didn't like them or they're not good. It just means that these films meant more to me for some reason. For now,...
- 12/31/2015
- by Drew McWeeny
- Hitfix
A horror story of today’s economy, of America’s heartless culture in which maximizing profit is all. Michael Shannon brings his usual terrifying intensity. I’m “biast” (pro): really like the cast and the filmmaker
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart, Goodbye Solo) is the best American filmmaker working today whom you’ve never heard of, but perhaps that will change with 99 Homes, his most mainstream — and most insistently pertinent — movie yet. Andrew Garfield (happily getting back to his social-realist indie roots; Spider-Man does not suit him) is Dennis Nash, an out-of-work Orlando construction worker whose home is repossessed via realtor Rick Carver (Michael Shannon [They Came Together], bringing his usual terrifying intensity)… and while the scene of a stunned, scared Nash family forcibly removed from their home is gut-wrenching, it’s nothing to what comes next,...
I’m “biast” (con): nothing
(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)
Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart, Goodbye Solo) is the best American filmmaker working today whom you’ve never heard of, but perhaps that will change with 99 Homes, his most mainstream — and most insistently pertinent — movie yet. Andrew Garfield (happily getting back to his social-realist indie roots; Spider-Man does not suit him) is Dennis Nash, an out-of-work Orlando construction worker whose home is repossessed via realtor Rick Carver (Michael Shannon [They Came Together], bringing his usual terrifying intensity)… and while the scene of a stunned, scared Nash family forcibly removed from their home is gut-wrenching, it’s nothing to what comes next,...
- 10/8/2015
- by MaryAnn Johanson
- www.flickfilosopher.com
“America doesn’t bail out losers,” real-estate-loophole master practitioner Rick Carver (Michael Shannon) tells victim-turned-protégé Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield). “This nation is rigged for winners.” He proceeds to milk Noah’s ark for a metaphor. “I’m not going to drown.” With rapid visuals, pounding music, characters constantly in motion, montages of exploiters in action, and his usual astute observations of processes that enable the marring of innocents, Ramin Bahrani (Goodbye Solo, Chop Shop, Man Push Cart) impeccably dramatizes the reality behind this cynical point of view. One that, as the the chasm between the 99% and the 1% widens, is especially valid […]...
- 9/25/2015
- by Howard Feinstein
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
“America doesn’t bail out losers,” real-estate-loophole master practitioner Rick Carver (Michael Shannon) tells victim-turned-protégé Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield). “This nation is rigged for winners.” He proceeds to milk Noah’s ark for a metaphor. “I’m not going to drown.” With rapid visuals, pounding music, characters constantly in motion, montages of exploiters in action, and his usual astute observations of processes that enable the marring of innocents, Ramin Bahrani (Goodbye Solo, Chop Shop, Man Push Cart) impeccably dramatizes the reality behind this cynical point of view. One that, as the the chasm between the 99% and the 1% widens, is especially valid […]...
- 9/25/2015
- by Howard Feinstein
- Filmmaker Magazine - Blog
Michael Shannon is lip-smackingly good as a reptilian real-estate broker forcing hard-up homeowners on to the street
It so happens that this film gets its release here just as high-risk, high-yield mortgage bonds are making a cheeky comeback in the Us. The name has been changed from “sub-prime” to “non-prime”. There are higher safeguards, reportedly, although that new prefix weirdly makes it sound like fewer. So 99 Homes coincides with the financial world’s Windscale/Sellafield moment.
It first appeared at last year’s Venice film festival but it gripped me just as much on a second viewing – a piercing comment on the toxic-loan slump and the bailout bonanza that appears to underline Milton Friedman’s immortal words: socialism for the rich, free enterprise for the rest. Ramin Bahrani – who directed Goodbye Solo (2008) and Man Push Cart (2005) – has created a middle-class nightmare driven by the powerful engine of shame: the shame...
It so happens that this film gets its release here just as high-risk, high-yield mortgage bonds are making a cheeky comeback in the Us. The name has been changed from “sub-prime” to “non-prime”. There are higher safeguards, reportedly, although that new prefix weirdly makes it sound like fewer. So 99 Homes coincides with the financial world’s Windscale/Sellafield moment.
It first appeared at last year’s Venice film festival but it gripped me just as much on a second viewing – a piercing comment on the toxic-loan slump and the bailout bonanza that appears to underline Milton Friedman’s immortal words: socialism for the rich, free enterprise for the rest. Ramin Bahrani – who directed Goodbye Solo (2008) and Man Push Cart (2005) – has created a middle-class nightmare driven by the powerful engine of shame: the shame...
- 9/24/2015
- by Peter Bradshaw
- The Guardian - Film News
Writer-director Ramin Bahani in Deauville: "This is a global situation and something that everyone can understand:” Photo: Richard Mowe
Writer-director Ramin Bahani has crafted 99 Homes as a thriller (rather than a social drama) about the housing crisis in which families literally are thrown out on the streets and their homes repossessed. Michael Shannon incarnates a charismatic real estate agent getting rich on the proceeds with recent victim Andrew Garfield becoming his sidekick locked in a Faustian pact. Laura Dern plays Garfield’s mother, trying to hold the family together as well as claiming the moral high ground. Already the film is attracting awards attention and looks set to make the biggest impact of the director’s five films so far. With a Competition slot at the Deauville American Film Festival which continues until Sunday, Bahani (best known for Goodbye Solo in 2008, and Man Push Cart in 2005) gives the lowdown.
Richard...
Writer-director Ramin Bahani has crafted 99 Homes as a thriller (rather than a social drama) about the housing crisis in which families literally are thrown out on the streets and their homes repossessed. Michael Shannon incarnates a charismatic real estate agent getting rich on the proceeds with recent victim Andrew Garfield becoming his sidekick locked in a Faustian pact. Laura Dern plays Garfield’s mother, trying to hold the family together as well as claiming the moral high ground. Already the film is attracting awards attention and looks set to make the biggest impact of the director’s five films so far. With a Competition slot at the Deauville American Film Festival which continues until Sunday, Bahani (best known for Goodbye Solo in 2008, and Man Push Cart in 2005) gives the lowdown.
Richard...
- 9/7/2015
- by Richard Mowe
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Premiering a year ago at the Venice Film Festival, Ramin Bahrani's ("Man Push Cart," "Goodbye Solo") latest "99 Homes" has taken a little while to arrive in cinemas. But it's finally on the way, and a powerful new clip is here for the drama set against the backdrop of the worldwide economic crisis and foreclosure fallout of the past seven years. Read More: Venice Review: Ramin Bahrani's 'At Any Price,' A Patchy But Powerful Performance Melodrama With A Fantastic Performance From Dennis Quaid Starring Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon and Laura Dern, the story follows a young man recently evicted from his home who decides to get into the repo business himself and comes under the wing of a ruthless businessman. Here's the official synopsis: In this timely thriller, charismatic and ruthless businessman, Rick Carver (Academy nominee Michael Shannon), is making a killing by repossessing homes - gaming the real estate.
- 8/31/2015
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
The first trailer for director Ramin Bahrani’s (Man Push Cart) dramatic thriller 99 Homes has arrived and it’s nothing if not timely and effective. It’s of course inspired by true events, and stars one of my favorite actors, Michael Shannon, as a businessman who makes a living serving eviction notices. Andrew Garfield comes along and after being evicted himself, is then given the opportunity to try and get his house back by working for the man.
This looks like Garfield’s best work since The Social Network and any chance to see Shannon chew the scenery is a chance worth taking (see Revolutionary Road or Take Shelter). The movie opens in theaters on September 25th, 2015.
This looks like Garfield’s best work since The Social Network and any chance to see Shannon chew the scenery is a chance worth taking (see Revolutionary Road or Take Shelter). The movie opens in theaters on September 25th, 2015.
- 6/3/2015
- by Graham McMorrow
- City of Films
Andrew Garfield gets sucked into a dangerous real estate business in a new trailer for “99 Homes.” Directed by Ramin Bahrani (“Man Push Cart”), the drama stars Garfield as Dennis Nash, a construction worker whose life spirals out of control after being evicted by real-estate broker Mike Carver (Michael Shannon). In order to provide for his family, he’s forced to go to work for Carver, where he makes big money evicting innocent families much like his own. “America doesn’t bail out the losers,” Shannon’s character says in the trailer as shots of families losing their homes are juxtaposed with his own extravagant.
- 6/3/2015
- by Reid Nakamura
- The Wrap
[Editor's Note: Broad Green Pictures is launching the official trailer on June 3, 2015. What was previously published was illegally posted to YouTube.] Read More: 'The Dark Horse' Joins '99 Homes,' 'Eden' and More in Broad Green Pictures' Impressive Inaugural Slate Ramin Bahrani has become one of the most astute observers of American identity thanks to dramas such as "Man Push Cart," "Chop Shop" and "At Any Price," and his latest film, "99 Homes," should be his most timely effort yet as it tackles the individual and economic effects of the recent housing crisis. The drama premiered to critical acclaim at the Venice International Film Festival last August and stars Andrew Garfield, Michael Shannon and Laura Dern. Garfield stars as Dennis Nash, a father and construction worker who is forced to move in with his mother (Dern) after he is evicted from his home by an intimidating real-estate broker (Shannon). Unable to find work and hungry to...
- 6/1/2015
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
"Fifty dollars shouldn't be a joke to you, son!" Broad Green Pictures has finally debuted an official trailer for 99 Homes, the latest film from Ramin Bahrani, a very talented American filmmaker who has worked in the indie scene for years. A few years ago we were big supporters of At Any Price, but recommend any of Bahrani's previous films: Man Push Cart, Chop Shop, Goodbye Solo, etc. Also - see this one. 99 Homes stars Andrew Garfield as a young father, who decides to join the real estate business and work for the man that took his house from him. Michael Shannon co-stars, along with Laura Dern. The film is very powerful, and emotionally draining, but a very important film for these times. It's tough to watch, but so well made. Here's the official Us trailer for Ramin Bahrani's 99 Homes, found originally on YouTube: 99 Homes is directed by Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart,...
- 6/1/2015
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Michael Shannon and Andrew Garfield in “99 Homes”
99 Homes
Written by Ramin Bahrani and Amir Naderi
Directed by Ramin Bahrani
USA, 2014
Director Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart, Goodbye Solo) constructs 99 Homes as a dismal assessment of desperation in hard economic times. Michael Shannon stars as ruthless, e-cigarette sucking realtor Rick Carver, who has used the carnage of the 2008 housing crisis to his advantage, helping the banks toss out homeowners who have defaulted on their bad mortgages. He carries a gun because of how personal and dangerous it can become. He is unabashedly invested in personal gain and his interests are always of the utmost importance. When he evicts Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield) and his family, Nash comes after him, only to find that Carver sees potential in him to be as hard-working and ferocious as himself. With a pulsating score by Antony Partos and Matteo Zingales, 99 Homes frames an outstanding and...
99 Homes
Written by Ramin Bahrani and Amir Naderi
Directed by Ramin Bahrani
USA, 2014
Director Ramin Bahrani (Man Push Cart, Goodbye Solo) constructs 99 Homes as a dismal assessment of desperation in hard economic times. Michael Shannon stars as ruthless, e-cigarette sucking realtor Rick Carver, who has used the carnage of the 2008 housing crisis to his advantage, helping the banks toss out homeowners who have defaulted on their bad mortgages. He carries a gun because of how personal and dangerous it can become. He is unabashedly invested in personal gain and his interests are always of the utmost importance. When he evicts Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield) and his family, Nash comes after him, only to find that Carver sees potential in him to be as hard-working and ferocious as himself. With a pulsating score by Antony Partos and Matteo Zingales, 99 Homes frames an outstanding and...
- 2/9/2015
- by Lane Scarberry
- SoundOnSight
Criterion has revealed their latest New Year's teaser art, hinting at what's to come in 2015 and the boys at the CriterionCast have offered up several ideas as to what each clue is hinting at, but for me the most interesting is at the very top. We have two suns and a moon... Could this actually be a hint that Richard Linklater's Before Sunrise, Before Sunset and Before Midnight are coming to the collection in 2015c The CriterionCast guesses do believe the two suns hint at the first two Before films, but they speculate the moon rising tease hints at Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom... Hmmmmmmmmm. Other possibilities the CriterionCast gang speculates includes Edward Yang's A Brighter Summer Day, Two Days, One Night, Terrence Malick's The New World, David Cronenberg's The Brood, Speedy, Stanley Kubrick's Barry Lyndon, Abel Gance's Napoleon, Inside Llewyn Davis, A Master Builder,...
- 1/1/2015
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
“It’s not your home anymore.” Director Ramin Bahrani has long been preoccupied with portraying the price of the American dream on the big screen – the theme is obvious in both At Any Price and Man Push Cart – but his 99 Homes finally fully capitalizes on that obsession to great effect. This time around, Bahrani is concerned with the bursting of the mortgage bubble, turning his attention to the swamplands of Florida, where regular people (oh, hey, just like Andrew Garfield‘s Dennis Nash) are desperately trying to hold on to their family homes, even as opportunists like Rick Carver (Michael Shannon) use their misfortune to fuel their own businesses. Dennis is already desperate when the film opens, mere days away from losing the Nash family home, effectively sealing that his inability to pay the bills has ruined his life, his young son Connor’s (Noah Lomax) life and even his mother Lynn’s (Laura Dern) life. Three...
- 9/11/2014
- by Kate Erbland
- FilmSchoolRejects.com
New film company Broad Green Pictures has acquired all U.S. rights to 99 Homes, the real estate drama starring Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon. Broad Green, which is paying in the $3 million range for the film, is planning to release 99 Homes in spring 2015 with an accompanying awards run. 99 Homes, also starring Laura Dern, made its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival before playing in both Telluride and Toronto. Ramin Bahrani, the award-winning filmmaker behind Man Push Cart, directed and wrote the film, a hard-hitting look at America's economic woes (often referred to
read more...
read more...
- 9/8/2014
- by Pamela McClintock, Borys Kit
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
After its smash international World Premiere in Venice, director Ramin Bahrani’s 99 Homes — an absolutely riveting drama about the 2008 home foreclosure crisis — had its North American premiere here at the Telluride Film Festival, and it has set this place ablaze. Despite lots of interest, as there should be, from domestic distributors, Bahrani told me immediately after this morning’s screening that the financiers behind the film are waiting until its Toronto debut next week to finalize anything. Starring Andrew Garfield and Michael Shannon in career-best performances, this movie is not only a no-brainer for a quick distribution deal, it could be the rare — here comes that five letter word you hate so much, studios — drama that also could be a commercial powerhouse. Few films I have seen in recent years have cut so close to the bone as this one does. Americans, in particular, will respond strongly, and if ever there was a word-of-mouth movie,...
- 9/1/2014
- by Pete Hammond
- Deadline
Prepping his Venice Competition title 99 Homes, helmer Ramin Bahrani says he was made “dizzy by the corruption” in the Florida foreclosure system. The film is set in 2010 Orlando and follows Andrew Garfield as an unemployed construction worker and single father whose family loses its home. Michael Shannon, who was warmly welcomed here in 2012’s The Iceman, plays the real estate broker who evicts him. The pair ultimately make a kind of Faustian pact that sees Garfield morph to the dark side. The visceral film is a response to the corrupt system that’s “been rigged for those who win,” Bahrani said. Reactions here have been widely positive, and while the movie is talked about as Man Push Cart and At Any Price helmer Bahrani’s best chance so far to cross over, it might be a tough sell to U.S. audiences reticent to revisit the period. However, the film...
- 8/30/2014
- by Nancy Tartaglione
- Deadline
Ramin Bahrani returns to Venice in fine form with his scathing indictment of the mistreated and dispossessed in contemporary USA. Unlike Man Push Cart, these characters are not the marginalised of the country, but the everyman and woman trying to make ends meet and pay the mortgage during a financial crisis.
The film opens in classic police noir style, with a body in the bathroom, a gun on the floor and a flickering clock giving us time of death. Instead of a detective, in walks Rick Carver (Michael Shannon), a real estate broker whose speciality is repossessions. The year is 2010 and Fanny Mae is taking away people’s property by the thousand. The body in the bathroom is one of Rick’s victims: he’s no killer, but he is complicit in stripping away people’s lives.
Next on Ric’s list is Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield), a hardworking blue-collar worker,...
The film opens in classic police noir style, with a body in the bathroom, a gun on the floor and a flickering clock giving us time of death. Instead of a detective, in walks Rick Carver (Michael Shannon), a real estate broker whose speciality is repossessions. The year is 2010 and Fanny Mae is taking away people’s property by the thousand. The body in the bathroom is one of Rick’s victims: he’s no killer, but he is complicit in stripping away people’s lives.
Next on Ric’s list is Dennis Nash (Andrew Garfield), a hardworking blue-collar worker,...
- 8/29/2014
- by Jo-Ann Titmarsh
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
"Ramin Bahrani has established himself as a filmmaker with a flair for dramatizing the experiences of new immigrant communities in the United States with excellent pictures like Man Push Cart and Goodbye Solo," writes the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw. Bahrani's 99 Homes, starring Andrew Garfield, Laura Dern and Michael Shannon, has premiered in Venice and will screen at Telluride and in Toronto. Bradshaw calls it "an exciting and emotionally grandstanding drama about temptation, shame, humiliation and greed—and it’s got something to say about America’s toxic-loan slump and how the taxpayer-funded bailout created a bonanza for big businesses who could make money out of the recession." We've got more reviews and a clip. » - David Hudson...
- 8/29/2014
- Fandor: Keyframe
"Ramin Bahrani has established himself as a filmmaker with a flair for dramatizing the experiences of new immigrant communities in the United States with excellent pictures like Man Push Cart and Goodbye Solo," writes the Guardian's Peter Bradshaw. Bahrani's 99 Homes, starring Andrew Garfield, Laura Dern and Michael Shannon, has premiered in Venice and will screen at Telluride and in Toronto. Bradshaw calls it "an exciting and emotionally grandstanding drama about temptation, shame, humiliation and greed—and it’s got something to say about America’s toxic-loan slump and how the taxpayer-funded bailout created a bonanza for big businesses who could make money out of the recession." We've got more reviews and a clip. » - David Hudson...
- 8/29/2014
- Keyframe
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