“Marathon Boy” follows the unbelievable story of Budhia Singh, a boy born into the crushing poverty of an Indian slum, sold by his destitute mother, and rescued by a judo coach who runs an orphanage. The coach, Biranchi Das, soon discovers that then-three year-old Budhia has a prodigious talent for running. Jumping on what he sees as a huge opportunity both for himself and the children who ... more >
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Tribeca ’11: Dennis Farina in Last Rites of Joe May
No actor has mastered the art of muttering obscenities under his breath more expertly than Dennis Farina. In “Get Shorty,” “Snatch” and other films about low-life criminals, Farina, with his eagle-eyed glare, Charles Bronson-like mustache and clenched-teeth diction, has stolen every scene he’s in merely by spouting off an array of expletives. “The fucking airport,” he barks at a cab driver in “Get ... more >
TRIBECA ’11: GNARR
Gaukur Úlfarsson's documentary "Gnarr" follows the efforts of Jón Gnarr, an Icelandic comedian/TV show actor/perpetual goofball, to become Mayor of Reykjavik. A brief prologue provides a glimpse, as did "Inside Job," into the 2008 financial crisis in Iceland, in which the country's three largest banks collapsed and were subsequently nationalized, leading to a still ongoing recession. The ... more >
TRIBECA ’11: Mumblecore’s Treatment
"Treatment" is the funniest, most energetic film yet to come out of the mumblecore movement, which has proven to be as incestuous as it is prolific. Its star, Joshua Leonard (whose beak nose and shaggy charm resemble Owen Wilson's), and director/producer Steven Schardt were also involved with 2009's “Humpday." That movie's co-star Mark Duplass was the co-director of 2008's “Baghead”; Duplass' ... more >
TFF’11: MAKING MOVIES IN COMMUNIST-ERA YUGOSLAVIA
“Cinema Komunisto” is an exquisitely detailed, heartfelt look at the former Soviet Federal Republic of Yugoslavia’s thriving yet little-known film industry, circa post-WWII to 1980. Josip Broz Tito, the celebrated war hero, Prime Minister and eventually president-for-life during this time period, was a lover of grand-scale Hollywood films, which began to be shown in Yugoslavia after the country’s ... more >
TFF’11 – Rid of Me
Jarringly funny--with a caveat
At the beginning of James Westby's “Rid of Me,” a frowning, diminutive thirty-something woman—rendered alarmingly feline by bursts of Goth makeup—and an icy blonde princess stride past each other, in slow motion, in a supermarket. “You bitch,” the blonde mutters under her breath. Upon which, the Goth girl, without breaking a sweat, jams her hands down her skirt and smears menstrual blood all over ... more >