Documentary

The Voices of the Silenced (2023)

Documentary film “The Voices of the Silences”, which won the Mecenat Award for Best Documentary when it was shown at the Busan International Film Festival in last year, is about one defiant old Korean Japanese woman and her old but valuable chronicles of her fellow Korean people in Japan. As her several old documentary films […]

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Biography

To miss a documentary about 7 time Formula One world champion Michael Schumacher would be the equivalent of skipping a Martin Scorsese film. It might not be as compelling as 2011’s “Senna”, but it’s still a phenomenal look at Schumi’s career, from his time with Benetton in the early 90’s, to his unforgettable years at […]

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Documentary

Anyone who has spent time around me knows that I am fascinated by what is known as the ‘Heroic Age of Polar Exploration.’ Ever since I saw the Fram, the ship that took Roald Amundsen to the South Pole, I have been fascinated by this period of history, events like the race between Amundsen and […]

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Documentary

Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul – Uniting Modernity and Tradition in Turkish Music

MUHAMMED NOUSHAD reviews Fatih Akin’s documentary Crossing the Bridge: The Sound of Istanbul.  Turkish music is irresistibly intoxicating. The more you listen to it, the more it binds you inside. Once you begin to indulge in its soothing pleasure, it engages you to endless entrapment. Here, modernity cohabits with tradition as in the historic city…

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Documentary

Maestro (2023)

Maestro (2023) is a biographical drama film from sophomore writer-director Bradley Cooper. Cooper also stars in the film as Leonard Bernstein, renowned Broadway composer, following his life and relationships, particularly with his wife Felicia (Carey Mulligan). The film debuted at the Venice Film Festival to strong reviews, and releases in theaters and on Netflix this December.…

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Documentary

“Navalny” Is A Must See

Remember when Putin’s nemesis Alexei Navalny was recovering in Germany following his August 2020 poisoning? Director Daniel Roher was with Navalny and his core circle during that period and he made a documentary about it that you’ve got to see to believe. It’s fascinating, terrifying, and heartening all at the same time. Have you ever…

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Documentary

Navalny: An Ongoing Thriller

By C.J. Hirschfield (January 17, 2023) Two years ago, an extraordinary documentary on Russian opposition party leader Alexei Navalny was recorded. The film has just been released; he has not. Having been charged with everything from fraud to having created an extremist group “with the purpose of inciting hatred toward officials and oligarchs,” he currently […]

Navalny: An Ongoing Thriller

Crime

The Forever Prisoner (2021): It was torture indeed

HBO documentary “The Forever Prisoner” is often sobering and chilling in its calm but blistering presentation on what the US government allowed to happen in the name of War on Terror. While it did not surprise or shock you much if you are familiar with its main subjects, the documentary is still captivating as providing […]

The Forever Prisoner (2021) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): It was torture indeed

Biography

The Big Mouth

I was curious about Errol Morris’ AMERICAN DHARMA, about Trump advisor and Breitbart exec Steve Bannon, but not apparently curious enough to see it when it was new. I finally checked it out. Essentially, it conforms to the conclusions I’ve already drawn about Morris’s filmmaking. When he was making documentaries about ordinary people, he had […]

The Big Mouth