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DISTANT THUNDER is a very hard to find film (at least it was for me), so, if you see at your local library or film rental, don't pass up the chance to see it. It tells the story of the famine of 1943, in India, where a young Brahmin doctor (Soumitra Chatterji) and his beautiful wife (Babita) must search for rice, as the price continues to climb. The doctor is humbled by the experience and is forever changed (for the better) through experiencing, firsthand, what it feels like to be hungry. This is a beautiful masterpiece by the incomparable Satyajit Ray. If you haven't seen his films already, this is a great introduction. I also highly recommend THE APU TRILOGY, TWO DAUGHTERS, DEVI and THE STRANGER.

This is a short film that was made and conceptualized in just three days time, for the Seattle International Film Festival. 49? takes a look at the origins of the Native American chant style called the 49--a cross between Native chant and Country Western music. For those of you unfamiliar with Sherman Alexie, this is a great introduction to him as a filmmaker and writer. It is, both, entertaining and poignant. For those of you who are familiar with Sherman, on the other end, his combination of biting humor and insight doesn't fall short here in the slightest way. If you have seen The Business of FancyDancing, you will recognize Gene Tagaban, one of the actors featured there, in this movie as well.

Lovey is a social outcast, speaks pidgin English, has an unruly Afro, wears coke bottle glasses and is too shy to speak out against bullies who ostracize her. This film is part fantasy/part stark reality. I loved this movie, mostly, due to the fact that I (and I am sure MANY of us) was once Lovey in my formative years. The brutal pains of teen angst, the sense that you belong nowhere and the inability to articulate that pain are all universal feelings that transcend race, culture, and class. This is another film that is very difficult to find on the shelves at the video store (most likely, you won't!). If they ever air this on PBS again, I recommend you time your VCR (or TiVo) and videotape it. This is truly an example of beautiful film-making.

A Sikh family is stranded in the desert, in the South West, and no one will pull over and give them a jump. The patriarch's youngest son attributes it to the fact that they are of color and that their father is being perceived as a terrorist, due to his turban, dark complexion and the fact that the family clearly isn't blonde haired and blue eyed.

This film is intelligent, beautifully executed and even humorous. No doubt, this film is hard to find, but if you DO find it, please watch it. It will clue you into how our United States culture views foreigners (in this time of great social unrest), and the struggle for minorities to rise above common social and racial stereotypes.

"Cosmopolitan" is a charming film about starting over, when life throws you some serious curve balls. Our hero, Gopal, whose wife has left him for a life of solitude and meditation in the ashram, back home in India, and whose daughter is traveling to Mongolia with her boyfriend, must look within (and without) to start life anew. For starters, he decides to tune into what women want, through reading Cosmopolitan magazine (a magazine he formerly shunned and discouraged his daughter from reading). He also seeks refuge in Bollywood films. The flashy dance numbers bring his spirits up, as he embarks on a new relationship with the cute American neighbor next door (the irrepressible Mrs. Shaw).

This film was written by the beloved writer and director, Mira Nair, whose previous works (Monsoon Wedding, Mississippi Masala, Salaam Bombay!) covered very compelling and thought-provoking topics. This film is no different. It examines how we reinvent ourselves, after life has been anything but kind. The protagonist grows, as he comes to terms with his own shadows, and must rise above his own selfishness and learns to love again. This film has it all...romance, drama, great dance numbers (done in the Bollywood style). You will love it.....

This is, definitely, one of the most beautiful and poignant interpretations/performances of this classic opera. The director, Baz Luhrmann (best known for Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge!), revamped it and set it in the 1950s French Latin Quarter. Not only is the acting strong, but the singing is superb. The leads, David Hobson (as the poet, Rudolfo) and Mimi (the ailing Mimi) are absolutely mesmerizing.

Even watching it, back in 1994, I could tell it was going to go on to be legendary. The artistic direction is vibrant, the music is beautifully performed and there are even warm, humorous moments, sprinkled between the seams of tragedy and mournfulness. You feel a connection to the actors, and it ultimately tugs at your heartstrings........Note: Watch this with a box of tissues and someone you love........

I wasn't familiar with the brilliant comedy duo of Mike Nichols and Elaine May, until I saw this program (originally broadcast in 1996 on PBS). Their combination of great comic timing and natural improvisational ability is showcased, here, in rare clips of their comedy sketchs. Whether they take on contemporary political issues, teenage dating rituals or the divisions of social class, this couple was simply amazing! They came up with funnier material on their feet, than some of the so-called "comedy" developed for the sit-coms of today, written weeks in advance! Check it out, if you can find this video. You will love it.

This is a concert I think everyone should see! Young, old and in between. Roy Orbison is always close to my heart as one of the most prolific, sensitive and talented vocalists that graced us with his presence in the music business and was taken from us far too soon.

BLACK AND WHITE NIGHT has been shown multiple times on PBS and I never get tired of it. Every time I hear Roy, it's like hearing him for the first time. He has a wonderful tone and totally breaks your heart. Of course, the world knows him most famously for "Pretty Woman," but he is so much more than that song! How wonderful it was that musicians like Bruce Springstein, Tom Waits, Jennifer Warren, KD Lang and Bonnie Raitt joined him in this, his final televised concert before he died of a heart condition in 1988. Watch this, everyone!!!!

This is the Japanese answer to AMELIE. It looks at how one woman can effect the lives of those around her, just by taking notice of those who wait at the bus stop with her everyday.

DOKI DOKI is witty, beautifully filmed and full of warmth and introspective content. The young woman in this film is in love with a man she sees, day in and day out, during the mundane commute. He is handsome and she remembers him from pre-school. As the young woman contemplates how to approach him, her life intersects with those around her..... I don't know if this available anywhere (I saw it on PBS a couple of months ago), but it is DEFINITELY worth watchng!!!!!

This teleplay version of the beautiful play by Ruby Dee is just wonderful. Ruby Dee stars as Zora Neale Hurston, the magnificent playwright from the Harlem Renaissance. This play is really a collection of all of the stories Zora Neale Hurston compiled in Eatonville, Florida straight from the mouths of the predominantly African-American community there. This film has humor, folklore and intelligent insight. It truly gives a glimpse into the vision of an intelligent, eloquent woman with a vision. This will definitely make you want to go out and read "Of Mules and Men" and "Their Eyes Were Watching God." (Truly great books!!!)

This is truly one of the best films of the year. Jamie Foxx is

amazing as Ray Charles Robinson, the legendary singer/songwriter/performer. This man boxed with a great many

shadows from his past as he paved his way toward an extraordinary present. "Brother Ray" had to overcome is feelings of

misery and guilt, following the death of his younger brother, and

his blndness that began as a child. The other actors in this film

are equally marvelous (including Kerry Washington as his wife,

Bea). The great combination of masterful direction, excellent

cinematography and a real authentic flavor that makes us feel we

have been transported back to the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s.

If Jamie Foxx and the ensemble are not honored with Academy

Awards, around Oscar time next year, I will be greatly

disappointed. This is a greatly important film for all of us to watch.

You will learn about the great, historic significance Ray Charles

had in the United States (and abroad) along with being a true

superstar.

This was the first Norwegian film I have ever seen. It was fabulous! The cast was great and the main character, Petra, a free spirit with a past, was absolutely stirring and inspiring. She is, as a French friend of mine says, "like Pippi Longstocking." She weaves amazing stories, but the real Petra behind those stories is just as intriguing. She is a young woman who has run from her past to start anew with a preacher and his daughter.

I don't want to ruin this for you. Unfortunately, it is not available in this country and I wish more people here could see it, like I did.

Hopefully, it will be released here one day. The cinematography alone is stunning!

I went to see "Shall We Dance?" purely because I needed a diversion from the stress and burdens of daily life. Gladly, I can say that it was worth the price of admission. Jennifer Lopez was glowing and striking as Paulina, a sad and broken dancer who hides out, teaching dance lessons at Miss Mitzi's, a failing ballroom dancing school. Paulina catches the eye of John Clark (Richard Gere), a man caught in a mundane but successful lifestyle as a successful accountant with a loving wife and children.

What sets "Shall We Dance?" apart from the majority of films, today, is its lack of cynicism and its warm sense of humor. This is a throwback to another era of movie making where romance and integrity prevail. It was great to see Richard Gere and Jennifer Lopez dance together. Jennifer definitely displayed her years of dance training, here, and it was a great vehicle for her many talents as both actress and dancer. I was so happy to see a film where a man doesn't have to engage in an extramarital affair or run away from his responsibilities to open his eyes to a new way of life filled with dance and self expression.

Take someone you love to this movie!

I previously saw Hannah Weyer's documentary, La Boda, that featured Elizabeth Ruiz. She was a young, intelligent and ambitious young Mexican-American woman who comes from a family of migrant workers on the eve of her wedding. This film continues the journey with the Ruiz family through the eyes of Elizabeth's younger sister, Liliana.

Liliana is fourteen years old and must continue to adapt to her family's constant migration between California and Texas, so her mother can continue to bring in an income for the family household through grape picking. This is a challenge that many young children of Mexican migrants face on a daily basis. Not only is it a social challenge for them to maintain friendships as they move, it also presents an additional obstacle when transferring credits in high school so they have the opportunity to graduate.

This is a really educational look at a common social epidemic that people need to come to terms with.

This film is, by far, one of the most thoughtful, authentic and

entertaining films related to the Native American experience and

storytelling that I have ever seen. Few people know that there are

over 500 different Native tribes in North America alone. This film is

a great, educational experience. It combines stories from ten

different tribes related to love, courage and redemption.

The acting is strong and the storyline works well as it drifts

between the contemporary story of a young teen driving his

grandfather across country to the First Nations pow wow, and the

timeless stories. Please watch this film.

This film is one of the funniest I have ever seen! If you like classic

Woody Allen, you will thoroughly enjoy Luis Cabellero's funny, off

the cuff, tongue in cheek, deadpan, brilliant narration as we get to

know him as a "little brown man." This politically incorrect film

knocks every stereotype out there about Latinos (specifically

Puerto Ricans). John Leguizamo is also fabulous in the many

sketches in the movie. (He is billed as Johnny Leggs.)

We all should watch this film in this day and age. It really reminds

us of the crazinees and futility of stereotypes in contemporary

society.

I was introduced to this film by a friend of mine. What drew me to

the story, more than anything, was the theme of fatherless young

women. I, too, was a fatherless young woman up until last

November when I finally met my biological father--a physics

professor from Venezuela.

Fabiola, the beautiful Mexican model, and Yuliet, the beautiful,

sassy and broken sixteen year old prostitute from Cuba are

amazing to watch. Both young women grew up without knowing

their biological fathers and carry emotional baggage and pain

locked up in their hearts. Although, the subject matter of child

prostitution, despair and intense identity crisis seem heavy, the

film is funny and uplifting. It also is emotionally rich and may very

well make you cry. I found myself wishing the best for both young

women. Their beauty and strength of character really struck a

chord in my heart. Thank you to the director and the young women

who brought so much to this story.

I am so glad I had the opportunity to see THE DOUBLE LIFE OF ERNESTO GOMEZ GOMEZ on PBS several years back. I had little knowledge of those who took place in the rebel movements to liberate Puerto Rico from U.S. control. This documentary film showcased a family closely connected and involved in these movements. The film focuses on the daughter of Guillermo and Dylcia Pagan. He was adopted by a Mexican couple following the aftermath of his mother's and father's involvement in the explosion of a major business office in the United. His father was in exile and his mother was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole. Their young son was given the name "Ernesto" and grew up believing his was a young Mexican boy, not the Puerto Rican son of revolutionaries. It wasn't until his 10th birthday that his adoptive parents told him the truth, and that he had the possibility of seeing his mother after all these years if he was willing to migrate to California and enroll in school there.

This powerful and sensitive film examines the deconstruction of a young man's identity as he attempts to bridge the gap between his two sets of his parents, two very different countries and cultures and his own identity as a young, Latino man struggling to come to terms with the reason his parents chose such risky and inevitably dismal work in the hopes of liberating their motherland from U.S. occupation.

I was really interested to see this film because my roots are in Venezuela. My father is from the capital city of Caracas, and though I was raised with my mom I have never forgotten for a moment that that was an important part of my heritage worth exploring. It is very difficult in the United States to get an honest idea at what is truly going on in other countries--let alone, our own. All the reports I read about President Hugo Chavez and the situation in Venezuela talked about corruption, proceeded to make a villain of all sides, to paint it as a big, bad Latin American country that wasn't doing as the United States had wanted them to do. For the life of me, I couldn't get the stories straight enough to learn even basic information about the coups taking place, and what started the intense hostility, dividing cultural, social and racial groups in the country.

I am happy to say that THE REVOLUTION WILL NOT BE TELEVISED was a terrific and very educational look at Chavez, his progressive approach to politics--actually listening to the poor, and the more indigenous people in the community, instead of just catering to the needs of the upper class who basically rule the country, their money coming from oil and other exports. I take my hat off to the Irish filmmakers who bravely visited Venezuela to make this film, and that it was released in the United States for limited release in such a timely manner. The truth will set us free...

I have been a fan of Sherman Alexie's for many years, and really wanted to see his directorial debut. FANCYDANCING did not fail to disappoint. The acting was powerful, the writing was strong and the images were beautiful and haunted me for days following my first viewing of the film. Specifically, the character of Mouse from the Spokane reservation of Polatkin's birth, with his beautiful and painful renditions of TEN LITTLE INDIANS and THE STARSPANGLED BANNER chilled me to the bone. Also, the subtle references to culture, literature and humor commonly found in Alexie's writing were done in a way unique to any film I have ever seen. I am so happy to be taking his class at the University of Washington in the Winter. Hope other people have a chance to view this beautiful and unforgettable film.

This is a truly beautiful, thoughtful, humorous and wonderful film about the human spirit, the importance of family and the healing power of unconditonal love. The acting was strong, the script was great, and the men were FOYNE! I loved especially Parvin Dabas who played Hemit (the romantic interest/fiancee of Aditi).

This is Mira Nair's strongest work to date. I am glad to see other people enjoyed it, too.