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‘Summer of Soul’: Celebrate a 20th-century landmark event with this 21st-century cinematic treasure

Jeff Mitchell

“Summer of Soul” – The Summer of 1969.  What’s the first image that comes to mind?  The Apollo 11 Moon landing or Woodstock (or the Woodstock Rock Festival) might be # 1 for most Americans.    For the Gen X crowd, Bryan Adams’ 1985 single “Summer of ‘69” could round out the Top 3. After watching director Questlove’s enormously entertaining and informative documentary “Summer of Soul (…Or, When the Revolution Could Not Be Televised)” – the best film I’ve seen this year and the best doc since “Searching for Sugar…

‘I Carry You with Me’ thoughtfully and uniquely conveys a personal immigrant story

Jeff Mitchell

“I Carry You with Me” – “I had that dream again.  I have it all the time.  It’s so real.  I’m in Mexico, my home.  I’ve returned.” – Ivan For Ivan, traveling back to Mexico can only be a far-out wish that will never – foreseeably – come to fruition.  It’s present-day, and this 40-something is riding the New York City subway, staring out a window, and thinking about his journey that brought him to The Big Apple.  Director/co-writer Heidi Ewing immerses her beautifully crafted and acted “I Carry You…

Movie of the Week: ‘Blue is the Warmest Color’

Jeff Mitchell

“Blue is the Warmest Color” (2013) – Adèle Exarchopoulos gives one of the very best performances of 2013 as a French high school student discovering her sexuality and graduating into womanhood through a passionate love affair with an early 20-something collegiate co-ed with blue hair (Lea Seydoux). Director/co-writer Abdellatif Kechiche winds through Adèle (Exarchopoulos) and Emma’s (Seydoux) relationship for three hours of runtime, and intricately captures subtle – and not so fine – nuances which show love as extraordinary and also traumatic.  Whether Adèle eats pasta at the table or…