Adios Nonino
We'll miss you! (fans of high-altitude cinema, page down...)
The 35,000 Foot Critic: Intense Lives Captured
Heavy snow caused a 5 hour delay of my return trip from Santo Domingo; thank heavens I had a pair of long, memorable movies on DVD. These were "The Apostle" and "The People vs Larry Flynt." Both films are driven by intense acting and unusual but uniquely American subjects. Here are my mini-reviews.
"The Apostle (1997)"
Four Words That Encapsule: "Rooftop Raiser Seeks Redemption"
Haiku (5/7/5):
"Holy roller lost
burns to help folks, heal himself,
'til the net descends"
Again, a truly great film transcends its subject, and gets you over your gut feeling of 'I don't want to see a film about (boxing, nazis, the mafia, country singers, fill in the blank). I've always found evangelism strange and somewhat scary - the world view being reduced to seeing Jesus as one's own personal savior.
'The Apostle' is about such people, but it's thankfully not a biopic or anything predictable - it's about a man on the run, racing against time, trying to find his bearings again in the only universe that's ever made him feel alive.
The faces and voices of these people burn their reality into your consciousness.
And yet it's in some ways a very subtle, small film.
Robert Duvall is a wonder, doing some of the finest work of his career. And yes, that's Farrah Fawcett in a small role as his ex-wife....
And here's a clip from "The Apostle:
"The Apostle (1997)"
Again, a truly great film transcends its subject, and gets you over your gut feeling of 'I don't want to see a film about (boxing, nazis, the mafia, country singers, fill in the blank). I've always found evangelism strange and somewhat scary - the world view being reduced to seeing Jesus as one's own personal savior.
