Author: Jeff Mitchell

‘Detroit’ is a powerful film that presents an unfiltered abuse of power

Jeff Mitchell

“Detroit” – The definition of power:  possession of control, authority or influence over others; a controlling group. On July 23, 1967, a group of Detroit policemen raided a private gathering at the Economy Printing Company Building.  In a very public display, white police officers forced their way into the facility and grabbed, mishandled and arrested several black patrons, because party organizers served alcohol without a license.  With decades of racial tension already woven into the collective fabric of a frequently aggressive white police force and overcrowded black neighborhoods, the incident…

Watch ’71, an excellent British war film, on Netflix or Amazon

Jeff Mitchell

Every Monday, Art House Film Wire looks for great movies that you can watch from home, and with Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” storming into theatres on July 21, let’s look at another excellent British war film, “’71” (2015).   “’71” (2015) – Tensions between Ireland and Great Britain, of course, have been well-documented for hundreds of years, but director Yann Demange focuses his time on a conflict just 46 years into the past. A ground-level street war in the battered and beaten down brick of Belfast brings violence and anger between Catholics and…

‘A Ghost Story’ does not scare, but it deeply haunts

Jeff Mitchell

“A Ghost Story” – “Enjoy life.  There’s plenty of time to be dead.” – Hans Christian Anderson Although writer/director David Lowery’s new film contains one arguably scary moment – in which several dishes fly around an ordinary kitchen – ironically, “A Ghost Story” is not a horror film.  Not at all. Instead, it best resembles a 1-hour 32-minute lesson:  to embrace, savor and enjoy the time that we have on this planet…while we are alive.  Heaven forbid if one carries significant, unfinished business at the time of death, because the…