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A Crime on the Bayou
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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A stunning tale of a Jewish lawyer from the North and a 19-year old Black facing 2 years in prison for placing his hand on a white teen's arm.
Posted Jun 20, 2021
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Crisis
(2021)
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Louis Proyect
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The first narrative film on the opioid crisis and will surely be the best for years to come.
Posted May 21, 2021
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There Is No Evil
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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As rancid as Hollywood films have been in 2021, it is gratifying to see the work of a director who wants to make films that change his country and the world rather than make money.
Posted May 19, 2021
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Paris Calligrammes
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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A luminous homage to Paris by a German filmmaker who made it her home and was shaped by the profound cultural and political environment it provided.
Posted May 11, 2021
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8 Billion Angels
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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After seeing this film, you'll rethink the whole question of prosperity. If economic growth and population impingement lead to the extinction of wolves and the proliferation of rats and pigeons, it is time we get our priorities straight. This film helps.
Posted Apr 27, 2021
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Bill Traylor: Chasing Ghosts
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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A film that is part of Black America's cultural renaissance that goes hand in hand with the Black Lives Matter revolution against white supremacy.
Posted Apr 17, 2021
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The People vs. Agent Orange
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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A film that leaves you with the inescapable conclusion that the corporations behind Agent Orange and their allies in government and academia that aided and abetted them belong in prison for murder.
Posted Mar 09, 2021
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1942: Unknown Battle
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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Unlike most American war movies, especially "Saving Private Ryan", this is about men fully aware that they will lose a battle. Frankly, it is a far more inspiring film than Spielberg's since it celebrates the Russians, who truly destroyed Nazism, not us.
Posted Mar 07, 2021
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Judas and the Black Messiah
(2021)
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Louis Proyect
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The film does not really capture the mistakes made by the Black Panthers, who need less hagiography and more political scrutiny. Messiah hardly applies to a 21-year old let alone one who allowed someone like O'Neal to provide security.
Posted Mar 07, 2021
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Sacred Cow
(2021)
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Louis Proyect
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A remarkable case made for meat-eating as a way to achieve ecological balance
Posted Mar 07, 2021
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First Cow
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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The latest historically questionable, precious and obscure film by a director whose "indie" cred is hardly deserved.
Posted Jan 30, 2021
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Minari
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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Basically, a home movie with superb production values and fine acting. Unfortunately, its focus is too narrow to be of much interest.
Posted Jan 30, 2021
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The White Tiger
(2021)
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Louis Proyect
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About as "anti-capitalist" as "Parasite", another overrated film. It is a world according to Hobbes, not Karl Marx.
Posted Jan 30, 2021
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'Til Kingdom Come
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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Hones in on one of the three legs of the stool that Trump sat on. (The other two are white supremacy and nativism.)
Posted Jan 30, 2021
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Nomadland
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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Don't look for anything like "Grapes of Wrath". This takes old people in RV's roaming the country in search of low-paying jobs and makes it seem as cool as "Easy Rider". A total fraud.
Posted Jan 30, 2021
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Marighella
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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A throwback to the great political films of the 1960s, from Pontecorvo's "The Battle of Algiers" to Costa-Gavras's "State of Siege".
Posted Jan 08, 2021
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Mank
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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A stylish but empty homage to TCM type films completely undone by trying to turn Mank into an Upton Sinclair supporter. Fincher just made that up to explain why he wrote "Citizen Kane" despite being Hearst's court jester.
Posted Dec 16, 2020
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Soros
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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A fawning tribute to a billionaire who thought that political democracy could prevent a repeat of the 1930s when in fact his speculation helped bring it on.
Posted Nov 22, 2020
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Born to Be
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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A powerful statement on behalf of transgender rights featuring a saintly doctor who is reminder of why people once dedicated themselves to the profession.
Posted Nov 18, 2020
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The Last Vermeer
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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A film about the greatest art forger in history primarily but also about the thorny question of how to value art.
Posted Nov 18, 2020
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Nationtime
(1972)
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Louis Proyect
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An essential slice of American history when revolution was on people's lips, including mine.
Posted Oct 25, 2020
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Radium Girls
(2018)
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Louis Proyect
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Marred somewhat by a Merchant-Ivory aesthetic, it is still an earnest historical drama about how innocent young woman were pressured into exposing themselves to radium poisoning.
Posted Oct 25, 2020
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Totally Under Control
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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Made in record time and under super-difficult conditions, Gibney and co-directors have made the essential film for the current crisis. Inside track for best documentary of 2020.
Posted Oct 10, 2020
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The Great American Lie
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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A worthwhile film even if its stress on values does not get to the heart of class inequality: the capitalist system.
Posted Oct 02, 2020
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Ursula von Rydingsvard: Into Her Own
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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Even if abstract monumental sculpture is not your cup of tea, this is an inspirational tale of a determined and gifted woman rising to the top.
Posted Sep 29, 2020
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Public Trust
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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If Donald Trump ever stands trial for crimes against the public interest, this film should be entered as evidence.
Posted Sep 27, 2020
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We Are Many
(2014)
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Louis Proyect
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An inspiring film about the massive protests of February 15, 2003 that is also dispiriting in its depiction of how they did not accomplish their goal.
Posted Sep 21, 2020
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The Swerve
(2018)
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Louis Proyect
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A debut film that will likely get my vote for best film of 2020. Period.
Posted Sep 21, 2020
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For They Know Not What They Do
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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They say a documentary succeeds when the subjects are compelling. On this basis, Daniel Karslake is a pure genius.
Posted Sep 16, 2020
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Watch List
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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A strikingly realistic film about the hell that President Duterte is visiting on his people with a best actress of the year performance by Alessandra De Rossi.
Posted Sep 05, 2020
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Robin's Wish
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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A poignant documentary about the rise and fall of a great talent. Given the horrors of Lewy Body Dementia, it is a miracle that he didn't take his life sooner than he did.
Posted Sep 01, 2020
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Made in Bangladesh
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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A gritty, neo-realist story about women fighting patriarchy in the factory and at home. The film is truly inspiring and welcome in a period when things couldn't seem worse.
Posted Aug 29, 2020
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Epicentro
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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Alongside the 1964 classic "I am Cuba", this stands as one of the greatest documentaries ever made about Cuba and reinforces the need to end end the embargo.
Posted Aug 28, 2020
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Enter the Forbidden City
(2018)
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Louis Proyect
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A touching film about the characters in 17th century who helped create one of the world's great art forms.
Posted Aug 28, 2020
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Dark Circle
(1982)
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Louis Proyect
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The best case for abolishing nuclear power plants is made: without the plutonium waste, there can be no nuclear weapons.
Posted Aug 21, 2020
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Route One/USA
(1989)
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Louis Proyect
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A look inside the soul of America by one of the great Marxist filmmakers.
Posted Aug 21, 2020
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The Prey
(2018)
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Louis Proyect
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A throwback to the golden age of Hong Kong action films, made by an Italian no less.
Posted Aug 21, 2020
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The 24th
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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Worth seeing for its attempt to tell the story of how Black GI's exploded in rage after years of Jim Crow in the military but aren't there better examples of Black militancy that need a film treatment?
Posted Aug 21, 2020
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Random Acts of Violence
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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A slasher movie made more for philosophizing than fright.
Posted Aug 21, 2020
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African Violet
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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A warm and intimate character study showing another side of Iranian film.
Posted Aug 21, 2020
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Hitchhiking to the Edge of Sanity
(2016)
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Louis Proyect
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A relatively static documentary becomes compelling by the nature of the story being told. Captures the manic energy and risk-taking of the 60s.
Posted Aug 20, 2020
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Ruth Weiss: The Beat Goddess
(2020)
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Louis Proyect
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A relatively obscure figure from the beat generation gets a loving and eye-opening documentary.
Posted Aug 20, 2020
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You Never Had It: An Evening With Bukowski
(2016)
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Louis Proyect
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Bukowski is brilliant at mythologizing himself in his fiction and demythologizing himself in this brief but wonderful documentary.
Posted Aug 07, 2020
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Song Without a Name
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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Austere, minimalist art film that does justice to the subject matter, Peru's dark days in the 1980s when newborns were stolen from their mom. Not much has changed, I'm afraid.
Posted Aug 07, 2020
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Shanghai Triad
(1995)
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Louis Proyect
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A film that would persuade you to support Mao's revolution if only for wiping out the feudal-like criminal gangs.
Posted Aug 03, 2020
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The Shadow of Violence
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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An enforcer for a rural Irish drug gang is forced to make moral decisions that can cost him his life.
Posted Jul 30, 2020
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Days of the Whale
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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Superlative take on Medellin's mean streets redeemed by idealistic graffiti artists.
Posted Jul 25, 2020
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Eating Up Easter
(2018)
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Louis Proyect
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Despite its tiny population (under 8000), this island has lessons that the rest of the world needs to take in. It is a laboratory in environmental sustainability that this film portrays vividly.
Posted Jun 30, 2020
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The Last Tree
(2019)
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Louis Proyect
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A stunning portrait of a young African immigrant cast adrift in a ruthless British society, where even blacks reproduce racial discrimination.
Posted Jun 26, 2020
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Madagasikara
(2018)
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Louis Proyect
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A law professor begins a new career as a documentary filmmaker. His subject: how Western imperialism helped plunge Madagascar into abject poverty. An auspicious first film.
Posted Jun 26, 2020
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