Another great movie with Ulrich Thomsen (The Inheritance, 2003) and also HEAVY…about a husband who’s declared dead after a mission in Afganistan and whose brother basically takes his place as husband/father, a very intense melding of rage, relationships and recovery.  really makes you think about relationships, what is acceptable and how much energy it requires to exist.

The Wounds (1998)

KICK ASS movie, not only does it give a great look into the life/society of Bosnia especially during the upheaval of the early-mid 90’s, but it does so in a dark/funny way.  Serbian life is presented to you through the lens of people who lived through it, who see it through their eyes…a commentary, an insight, a damnation, a mocking, a sort of documentary…..it’s one of the best movies I’ve seen for some time.

Director:  Srdjan Dragojevic
Language:  Serbo-Croatian (English subtitles) – 1999

New York Times review

An important film that gives a real look into how globalization and the unyielding power of international institutions such as the IMF and the World Bank adversely affect Jamaica’s economy and shows the devastating impact that the “white collars” have on its people, farms and ability to live freely.

watch the trailer

Selected as Iran’s submission in the Best Foreign Film category for the 2000 Oscars, The Color of Paradise (Rang-e khoda) is about Mohammed, a blind boy who sees with clarity and his sighted father who is blind to the beauty in his own family. It is a film made from a deeply spiritual point of view, but it never proselytizes, it never preaches. It tells with sophisticated simplicity a not so simple story of faith and unconditional love and the sadness that comes to one who falls short in both.
Storyline

My thoughts: I totally connected with Mohammed and his independent connection to the world around him, his fascination with sounds, smells and the touch of everything, yet there exists his fragile dependence on others. I was blown away by his presence on the screen, just being himself in front of a camera…just a powerful film.