Author: Jeff Mitchell

‘The Insult’ offers more than words

Jeff Mitchell

“The Insult” – “Lebanon is a peculiar place, so bicultural, it goes along with you.  There is a Western influence, an Eastern influence.  Most people are fluctuating between those identities.” – Director Ziad Doueiri Tony (Adel Karam) and Yasser (Kamel El Basha) productively work and fruitfully live within the vibrant heartbeats of Beruit, Lebanon.   Tony owns a busy auto repair shop and enjoys his happy marriage with Shirine (Rita Hayek), who is pregnant with their first child.  Yasser is a hardworking construction company foreman and meticulously hones his chosen profession…

‘The Final Year’ fills the screen with grace and a ticking clock

Jeff Mitchell

“The Final Year” – If a doctor said that you had one year left to live, what would you do?    Just before that moment, you might believe that time is a forever-companion, and after it, realize that it is an extraordinarily precious commodity.  Whether attempting to experience previously-evasive fruits of life, tether distant relationships or write the next great American novel, the clock is ticking.  It is counting down, impossible to ignore. Conversely, a high school student enters a scholastic institution with a clearly-defined, four-year construct, and even though an…

Haneke’s ‘Happy End’ illustrates that money can’t buy happiness

Jeff Mitchell

“Happy End” – Money can’t buy happiness. After watching writer/director Michael Haneke’s new movie, one could easily picture the aforementioned, famous saying as the film’s title, because the wealthy family featured – the Laurents – lumber in a constant state of dysfunction.   Most Haneke fans – who appreciate this filmmaker’s frequent and wholehearted dives into cynical, offputting material – will embrace “Happy End” and leave the theatre satisfied, but not necessarily happy. With Haneke, that’s generally the point. Rather than driving home his points through a specific, sweeping story arc,…