Year: 2020

Movie of the Week: ‘Mustang’

Jeff Mitchell

AHFW’S Movie of the Week takes a trip halfway around the world.  Turkey is the setting for director/co-writer Denize Gamze Erguven’s heartbreaking, Oscar-nominated drama about the perilous fate of five sisters in “Mustang”. “Mustang” (2015) – “Time misspent in youth is sometimes all the freedom one ever has” – Anita Brookner. For five, giggling, likable sisters – raised by their grandmother and ranging in ages between (about) 9 and 16 – they misspend their time like any group of schoolgirls.  On one fateful day, Selma (Tugba Sungur), Sonay (Ilayda Akdagun),…

It’s okay to walk away from ‘You Should Have Left’

Jeff Mitchell

“You Should Have Left” – “Violent or upsetting dreams are the mind’s attempt to release the pressures of our daily thoughts and fears.” Theo Conroy (Kevin Bacon) frequently listens to self-help audiobooks these days.  You see, he has bad dreams, and the latest includes his 6-year-old daughter Ella (Avery Tiiu Essex):  a creepy man, who partially conceals his face with a baseball hat and glasses, attacks Ella in her bedroom.  This horrible visual would undoubtedly send any semi-caring father into a tizzy. Theo, however, is a full-caring father, and outside…

‘7500’: Take a number and get in line for this claustrophobic thriller

Jeff Mitchell

“7500” –  “How would an event like this go down in real life?” – director Patrick Vollrath, August 2019 at the Locarno Film Festival “Nice airplane.  Two wings and two engines.” – Capt. Michael Lutzmann (Carlo Kitzlinger) It’s 5:23 pm at the Berlin Airport, but it is unclear which one (Schönefeld or Tegel), and security cameras offer several viewpoints throughout this sprawling locale: the check-in area, various hallways, gates, and even a bathroom entrance.  During this montage, one clip focuses on five everyday men – in their 20s or 30s…