Louis Proyect

Louis Proyect
Tomatometer-approved critic
Biography:
I am a long-time socialist with a an interest in the problems of developing countries. Therefore, films made in Latin America, Africa and Asia are of great interest to me. I am also the moderator of a Marxism mailing list at www.marxmail.org.
Favorites:
1. Burn2. Strawberry and Chocolate3. Battle of Algiers4. Moolaade5. Sargeant Shakespeare
Publications: rec.arts.movies.reviews, Counterpunch.org
Critics' Group: New York Film Critics Online
Location: NYC

Movie Reviews Only

T-Meter Title | Year
86% Ever After (Endzeit) (2019) A post-apocalyptic film, although fictional alludes to the reality we face today as nature begins to wreak its revenge on an out-of-control civilization. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 21, 2019
100% Blue Note Records: Beyond the Notes (2018) Great interviews; great music; great Black history. Enough said. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 13, 2019
79% Leto (2019) A joyous celebration of the underground rock and roll scene in the early 80s that suggests the kind of love and solidarity that might break out once the Russian version of Trumpism is overthrown. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Jun 7, 2019
100% Barbara Rubin & the Exploding NY Underground (2019) A story about a unique personality who personified the toll that living in the avant-garde took. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted May 24, 2019
86% The Third Wife (2019) If you liked "Roma" (I didn't), you will like "The Third Wife". It is practically a silent film and could have been one given the director's aesthetic preferences. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted May 14, 2019
67% Yomeddine (2019) Pay no attention to the "rottens". This is a film that is humanitarian in a way that is utterly absent in almost every Hollywood film. As a first-time effort, the director has shown great talent and a big heart. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted May 14, 2019
100% The Serengeti Rules (2019) An absolutely riveting documentary about biodiversity and the need for humanity--its gravest threat--to reverse its course and preserve it. Difficult under the likes of Trump and the Koch's but necessary. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted May 10, 2019
100% Decade of Fire (2019) Both a family story and the story of a once-proud New York City neighborhood that was thrown overboard by the government and the banks as part of a triage operation benefiting the rich. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted May 3, 2019
91% The Biggest Little Farm (2019) Dramatically compelling and transcendentally beautiful tale of the struggle to reconcile humanity and nature. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 26, 2019
94% Be Natural: The Untold Story of Alice Guy-Blaché (2019) A woman way ahead of her time and a reminder that Hollywood lessens itself by not allowing women to be judged on their talents rather than their willingness to be abused. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 19, 2019
71% Instant Dreams (2019) A reminder that the Polaroid camera has qualities that will never grow old despite the company's collapse. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Apr 19, 2019
90% Tigerland (2019) Ultimately, the struggle to save the tiger is tied to the struggle to save humanity. A valuable, beautiful and troubling film. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 22, 2019
100% American Relapse (2019) How the revolving door of drug rehabilitation became big business. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 18, 2019
98% 3 Faces (2019) The greatest film made by the world's greatest living filmmaker. Not to be missed. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 7, 2019
75% Joseph Pulitzer: Voice of the People (2019) Newspapers have been going downhill ever since the days of "yellow journalism" but this film about one of its masters demonstrates that documentaries are better than ever. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Mar 1, 2019
94% Styx (2019) An unnervingly grim drama that strips the refugee crisis down to its bare essentials. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 27, 2019
No Score Yet Rocking the Couch (2019) How the "casting couch" victimized women long before Harvey Weinstein. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 23, 2019
100% Prosecuting Evil: The Extraordinary World of Ben Ferencz (2018) Although the idea of preventing war crimes through international law seems Quixotic, especially under Trump, the film properly hails Ben Ferencz for his 70-year efforts. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 23, 2019
60% Cuban Food Stories (2018) Don't pay attention to the "rottens". This a glorious film that is in the spirit of Anthony Bourdain but much more centered on the lived experience of ordinary Cubans. A true delight. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 18, 2019
100% A Tuba to Cuba (2019) In a period when gunboat diplomacy is being threatened by Trump and Bolton, this is a timely film that challenges anti-Communist stereotypes as well as being a thing of beauty. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 18, 2019
100% Among Wolves (2019) A film that defies stereotypes and in a timely manner given the nativist wall Trump intends to build. The wild horses that the Wolves support have much in common with the animals that are threatened by the wall--as well as people fleeing drug gangs. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 11, 2019
97% Woman at War (Kona fer í stríð) (2019) A great film that addresses the crisis of our age, whether life on earth has a future, including homo sapiens. Done with wit, elegance and powerful story-telling. NOT TO BE MISSED. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Feb 7, 2019
No Score Yet Drugs as Weapons Against Us: The CIA War on Musicians and Activists (2019) Despite its susceptibility to conspiracy theory, this is a fascinating study of how the CIA promoted the use of LSD as a way of weakening the left. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 31, 2019
76% The Standoff at Sparrow Creek (2019) Despite what sounds like a plot geared to gun battles, this has much more in common with the teleplays of the golden age of television. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 31, 2019
94% Communion (Komunia) (2019) In an epoch when billionaires like those in "Crazy Rich Asians" get fannies in the theater seats, thank god for a film like "Communion". - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Jan 3, 2019
77% Genesis 2.0 (2019) Like Moby Dick, film is not just about marketable commodities though mammoth tusks are the whale oil of our epoch. Director Frei questions our epoch just like Melville did his. A documentary masterpiece. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 30, 2018
No Score Yet That Way Madness Lies... (2018) A courageous and compelling documentary about how American society casts the mentally ill and their families adrift. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 14, 2018
84% The Quake (Skjelvet) (2018) Costing fifteen times less to make than Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson's "San Andreas", it is a hundred times more thrilling. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 12, 2018
87% The Miseducation of Cameron Post (2018) A film that graphically describes the damage done to the psyches of gay people by a barbaric "therapy" endorsed by Vice President Mike Pence. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 7, 2018
81% Boy Erased (2018) A film that graphically describes the damage done to the psyches of gay people by a barbaric "therapy" endorsed by Vice President Mike Pence. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Dec 7, 2018
No Score Yet Piripkura (2018) Given the genocidal disposition toward indigenous peoples by Brazil's Donald Trump, this film is both timely and breathtaking. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 28, 2018
No Score Yet Kinshasa Makambo (2018) A courageous documentary showing the difficulties faced by activists in what amounted to the Congo Spring. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 28, 2018
100% The Panama Papers (2018) A close and inspiring look at the network of investigative reporters who made the Panama Papers a historic breakthrough against the plutocrats who rule the world. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 27, 2018
95% Dark Money (2018) A refreshing reminder that Montana has never lost the anti-corporate ethos that enabled it to pass a law in 1912 banning Koch brothers type campaign funding. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 27, 2018
97% Free Solo (2018) A breathtaking portrait of a man engaged in arguably the most dangerous sport in the world. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 20, 2018
100% The Dawn Wall (2018) Spectacular cinematography married to a compelling personality with an amazing life story makes this one of the best documentaries of 2018. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 20, 2018
No Score Yet Resistance at Tule Lake (2018) Outstanding documentary on American nativist hysteria that makes Donald Trump look benign by comparison - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 7, 2018
86% Under the Wire (2018) A perfect companion piece to "A Private War", the biopic of Marie Colvin opening this month as well. She and her photographer Paul Conroy were two of the most important journalists of the 21st century. This film shows why. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 2, 2018
89% A Private War (2018) An inspiring tale marked by brilliant acting and close attention to the details of the hellish places Colvin reported on. Painful in places but essential. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Nov 2, 2018
84% Monrovia, Indiana (2018) A close look at Red State people but with a compassion at odds with the conventional liberal take on churchgoing, gun-owning people. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 26, 2018
100% A Bread Factory, Part Two: Walk with Me a While (2018) A film that defies conventional expectations with the same dedication to artistic integrity as the two women in featured roles. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 26, 2018
100% A Bread Factory, Part One: For the Sake of Gold (2018) A film that defies conventional expectations with the same dedication to artistic integrity as the two women in featured roles. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 26, 2018
92% Life and Nothing More (La Vida y Nada Más) (2018) A neo-realist treatment of Black life that suggests how Africans endure conditions not unlike the postwar Italy that inspired De Sica et al. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 24, 2018
83% Fail State (2018) A powerful investigative report on for-profit schools that are exploiting working people while enriching Wall Street investors in the same way as bundled mortgages in 2007 and likely leading to the same kind of financial crash. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 19, 2018
No Score Yet The Lost Village (2018) Ignore the "rotten" reviews on this double-barreled attack on how NYU and NYC real estate potentates are turning the Village into CVS-land. An important documentary on the Trumping of NYC from Democrats and Republicans alike. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 19, 2018
92% The Price of Everything (2018) A wise and witty examination of the commodification of art. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 10, 2018
92% The Great Buster: A Celebration (2018) A well-deserved tribute to a star of the silent era whose films will be enjoyed centuries from now while today's Cineplex comedies will be forgotten months after they have been shown. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Oct 5, 2018
80% 22 July (2018) An understated, documentary-like treatment of a theme that easily could have lent itself to purple melodrama. Paul Greengrass's aesthetic works most effectively in confronting the biggest question of our age: how to resist fascism. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 26, 2018
82% Fahrenheit 11/9 (2018) Entertaining film, crappy politics. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 21, 2018
91% Antonio Lopez 1970: Sex Fashion & Disco (2018) A loving and accomplished tribute to a neglected icon of the 60s and 70s fashion scene whose drawings of models were as rebellious in their own way as campus sit-ins. - Counterpunch.org EDIT
Read More | Posted Sep 17, 2018