Tag: Montreal

Just because Wednesday, Movies at Home: ‘Monsieur Lazhar’

Jeff Mitchell

Every Wednesday, Art House Film Wire will feature one of our favorite films.  Why?  Just because!  With most theatres closed and home sweet home suddenly becoming our 24/7 work-living space, trips to the movies only consist of taking a left from the kitchen and finding a spot on the couch. Hopefully, you find a place on your calendar to see “Monsieur Lazhar” (2011), a film from Montréal that earned a 2012 Best Foreign Language Film Oscar nomination. In the U.S., it’s available on Netflix DVD, but if you don’t want to wait,…

‘The Fall of the American Empire’ does not have highs and lows

Jeff Mitchell

“The Fall of the American Empire” – Three numbers:  .1, 188 and 90. The richest .1 percent of Americans earn 188 times as much as the bottom 90 percent, according to a 2017 study featured on inequality.org.  The 2019 numbers surely have grown more disproportionate, but if one thinks that the U.S. is the only country with such frightening statistics, the answer is no.  Include Canada too. Set in Montreal, writer/director Denys Arcand (“The Barbarian Invasions” (2003)) disburses “The Fall of the American Empire”, an economic inequality commentary delivered by…