Maria Full of Grace and The Forgiveness of Blood director Joshua Marston returned to Sundance this year with his new drama Come Sunday. Led by Chiwetel Ejiofor as Bishop Carlton Pearson, it tells the true story of how most of his congregation turned their backs on him after he shied away from biblical rhetoric and got to the heart of Jesus’ message. Produced by Ira Glass, ahead of a Netflix release, the first trailer has now arrived.
Dan Schindel said in his Sundance review. “It’s rare that mainstream filmmakers attempt to take seriously matters of faith – a subject personal to a majority of people but which movies have historically handled clumsily. This perhaps exposes the gap in the competencies between the greats and the merely good, Ok, or less. It takes a true understanding of an art form to use it to express the ineffable, spiritual aspects of human experience.
Dan Schindel said in his Sundance review. “It’s rare that mainstream filmmakers attempt to take seriously matters of faith – a subject personal to a majority of people but which movies have historically handled clumsily. This perhaps exposes the gap in the competencies between the greats and the merely good, Ok, or less. It takes a true understanding of an art form to use it to express the ineffable, spiritual aspects of human experience.
- 3/26/2018
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
Author: Daniel Goodwin
From its bleak but stunning opening shot of an ominous evening sky, Australian director Steven Kastrissios builds an immediate, prevalent sense of foreboding for his second feature, Bloodlands. Kastrissios’ first film in nearly ten years (since 2008’s The Horseman) charts the tale of a penurious Albanian blood feud between a lowly local family and a coterie of cannibals, witches and ghosts.
For a film which so accurately depicts such raw, rundown communities, the paranormal elements meld surprisingly well with the realism, even when accentuated to be predominantly weird and gothic. Slabs of floating meat, cloaked, mystical figures and delirious nightmare scenes make Bloodlands resound like a lunatic’s fever dream instead of a slice of social commentary about Albanian culture and society. The subject of Balkan blood feuds have previously been tackled in fictional cinema in Joshua Marston’s The Forgiveness of Blood, among other more conventional Albanian features,...
From its bleak but stunning opening shot of an ominous evening sky, Australian director Steven Kastrissios builds an immediate, prevalent sense of foreboding for his second feature, Bloodlands. Kastrissios’ first film in nearly ten years (since 2008’s The Horseman) charts the tale of a penurious Albanian blood feud between a lowly local family and a coterie of cannibals, witches and ghosts.
For a film which so accurately depicts such raw, rundown communities, the paranormal elements meld surprisingly well with the realism, even when accentuated to be predominantly weird and gothic. Slabs of floating meat, cloaked, mystical figures and delirious nightmare scenes make Bloodlands resound like a lunatic’s fever dream instead of a slice of social commentary about Albanian culture and society. The subject of Balkan blood feuds have previously been tackled in fictional cinema in Joshua Marston’s The Forgiveness of Blood, among other more conventional Albanian features,...
- 3/3/2017
- by Daniel Goodwin
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Ahead of the World Premiere of his latest film Bloodlands at Horror Channel FrightFest Glasgow, Steven Kastrissios discusses the challenges of making the world’s first Albanian/Australian horror film.
So what have you been doing in the eight years since making your amazing debut with The Horseman, a FrightFest favourite?
Writing. I was just 24 when I shot The Horseman and it was only my second feature script, so I wanted to expand my horizons and I wrote many scripts in completely different genres and styles. I developed other little projects and came close to doing other features with other people’s scripts but for various reasons they fell through, usually over the script. I also stumbled into music and that bled into my film work too.
How did Bloodlands come about as the first Australian/Albanian collaboration?
Coffee with my Albanian-Australian friend, Dritan Arbana. He told me about the...
So what have you been doing in the eight years since making your amazing debut with The Horseman, a FrightFest favourite?
Writing. I was just 24 when I shot The Horseman and it was only my second feature script, so I wanted to expand my horizons and I wrote many scripts in completely different genres and styles. I developed other little projects and came close to doing other features with other people’s scripts but for various reasons they fell through, usually over the script. I also stumbled into music and that bled into my film work too.
How did Bloodlands come about as the first Australian/Albanian collaboration?
Coffee with my Albanian-Australian friend, Dritan Arbana. He told me about the...
- 2/23/2017
- by Phil Wheat
- Nerdly
His reimagining of the song "Go Tell Aunt Rhody" is currently haunting gamers playing Resident Evil 7, and in our latest Q&A, we caught up with composer Michael A. Levine to discuss his key contribution to the game. In today's Horror Highlights, we also have a Comet network contest, an excerpt from Stuart R. West's Demon with a Comb-Over, and a Q&A with Bloodlands writer/director Steven Kastrissios.
Q&A with Composer Michael A. Levine: Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Michael. How did you get involved with creating the theme song “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” for Resident Evil 7?
Michael A. Levine: The makers of the game, Capcom, were familiar with a track I produced (with Lucas Cantor) for Lorde: a dark and mysterious reimagining of the ’80s classic "Everybody Wants to Rule The World," which was used in Hunger Games: Catching Fire...
Q&A with Composer Michael A. Levine: Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions for us, Michael. How did you get involved with creating the theme song “Go Tell Aunt Rhody” for Resident Evil 7?
Michael A. Levine: The makers of the game, Capcom, were familiar with a track I produced (with Lucas Cantor) for Lorde: a dark and mysterious reimagining of the ’80s classic "Everybody Wants to Rule The World," which was used in Hunger Games: Catching Fire...
- 2/21/2017
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Danny Glover has joined the cast of Come Sunday – the upcoming Netflix film that tells the true story of evangelical minister Carlton Pearson, who built one of the largest churches in Tulsa, Oklahoma, and then lost everything as a result of his evolving faith. The tale was explored in a 2005 episode of This American Life, and it is this work that Come Sunday will largely use as source material.
Carlton Pearson became a renowned evangelical minister in Tulsa, having been mentored by televangelist Oral Roberts. At the height of its success, during the 1990s, the church that Pearson formed had a congregation estimated at over 6000 people. That congregation began to dwindle, however, when Pearson changed his teachings – asserting that hell did not exist in the traditionally taught sense.
Pearson publicly declared that, rather than being an eternity of pain and suffering, he believed that hell is created during our lifetimes,...
Carlton Pearson became a renowned evangelical minister in Tulsa, having been mentored by televangelist Oral Roberts. At the height of its success, during the 1990s, the church that Pearson formed had a congregation estimated at over 6000 people. That congregation began to dwindle, however, when Pearson changed his teachings – asserting that hell did not exist in the traditionally taught sense.
Pearson publicly declared that, rather than being an eternity of pain and suffering, he believed that hell is created during our lifetimes,...
- 9/29/2016
- by Sarah Myles
- We Got This Covered
Opening in select theaters today, August 26, We Got This Covered has an exclusive clip for Joshua Marston’s (The Forgiveness of Blood, Maria Full of Grace) Complete Unknown that features Rachel Weisz battling against something of an identity crisis.
Having assumed a host of identities throughout her life, Weisz’s Alice (Jenny?) revels in anonymity, and likely has enough passports and identity documents to put even Jason Bourne to shame. But this picture, one haling from Amazon Studios and IFC Films, looks set to be a much more intimate affair than Universal’s tentpole actioner, delving into the remarkable relationship between Tom (Michael Shannon) and Weisz’s estranged lead.
At least, once Shannon’s baffled character pushes past the formalities to find out who Alice really is – a quest that may well force Tom into, ahem, the Complete Unknown. Kathy Bates, Danny Glover, Michael Chernus and Azita Ghanizada round out the ensemble.
Having assumed a host of identities throughout her life, Weisz’s Alice (Jenny?) revels in anonymity, and likely has enough passports and identity documents to put even Jason Bourne to shame. But this picture, one haling from Amazon Studios and IFC Films, looks set to be a much more intimate affair than Universal’s tentpole actioner, delving into the remarkable relationship between Tom (Michael Shannon) and Weisz’s estranged lead.
At least, once Shannon’s baffled character pushes past the formalities to find out who Alice really is – a quest that may well force Tom into, ahem, the Complete Unknown. Kathy Bates, Danny Glover, Michael Chernus and Azita Ghanizada round out the ensemble.
- 8/26/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
People walk in and out of your life all the time, and it’s not clear what they do after they leave. Are they the same person? Did they become just like you? Did they drop off the face of the map? Or did they in fact leave their old life behind and become someone else entirely? Joshua Marston’s new romantic identity drama “Complete Unknown” centers around a woman (Rachel Weisz) who constantly leaves her identity behind and reinvents herself, and soon tries to bring an ex-lover (Michael Shannon) into her spontaneous life. Watch an exclusive clip from the film below.
Read More: Sundance Review: Joshua Marston’s ‘Complete Unknown’ Starring Rachel Weisz And Michael Shannon
The film is written and directed by Joshua Marston. He’s best known for writing and directing the films “Maria Full of Grace” and “The Forgiveness of Blood,” as well as directing episodes of “Six Feet Under,...
Read More: Sundance Review: Joshua Marston’s ‘Complete Unknown’ Starring Rachel Weisz And Michael Shannon
The film is written and directed by Joshua Marston. He’s best known for writing and directing the films “Maria Full of Grace” and “The Forgiveness of Blood,” as well as directing episodes of “Six Feet Under,...
- 8/16/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
Rachel Weisz harbors an identity crisis in today’s first trailer for Sundance hit, Complete Unknown.
Hailing from Amazon Studios and IFC Films – the two backers behind the psychological thriller – this teasing snippet introduces us to Weisz’s Alice (Jenny?), an old flame to Michael Shannon’s Tom who drifts through life one discreet identity at a time.
Joshua Marston (The Forgiveness of Blood, Maria Full of Grace) is at the helm for Complete Unknown, which has immediately piqued our attention with its two stellar leads in Shannon and Weisz. Plus, there’s something dreamy and oddly mesmerizing about the latter’s performance – who is Weisz’s character, exactly? – and we can only imagine that level of intrigue will be dramatically amplified across the full feature. Kathy Bates, Danny Glover, Michael Chernus and Azita Ghanizada also star.
Complete Unknown will open via limited release on August 26.
A mysterious woman with...
Hailing from Amazon Studios and IFC Films – the two backers behind the psychological thriller – this teasing snippet introduces us to Weisz’s Alice (Jenny?), an old flame to Michael Shannon’s Tom who drifts through life one discreet identity at a time.
Joshua Marston (The Forgiveness of Blood, Maria Full of Grace) is at the helm for Complete Unknown, which has immediately piqued our attention with its two stellar leads in Shannon and Weisz. Plus, there’s something dreamy and oddly mesmerizing about the latter’s performance – who is Weisz’s character, exactly? – and we can only imagine that level of intrigue will be dramatically amplified across the full feature. Kathy Bates, Danny Glover, Michael Chernus and Azita Ghanizada also star.
Complete Unknown will open via limited release on August 26.
A mysterious woman with...
- 8/11/2016
- by Michael Briers
- We Got This Covered
What if you just walked away from your life and completely started over? What if you walked away from that new life and started over again? What if you did that again and again and again? That’s the premise of Joshua Marston’s new romantic identity drama “Complete Unknown,” starring Rachel Weisz as a woman who constantly reinvents herself and soon brings an ex-lover Tom (Michael Shannon) into her manufactured world.
Read More: Sundance Review: Joshua Marston’s ‘Complete Unknown’ Starring Rachel Weisz And Michael Shannon
As Tom celebrates his birthday with a group of close friends, he sees a woman from his distant past at the party. At first Jenny, or Alice as she prefers to call herself, pretends to have never met Tom before, she eventually reveals that she began to create different identities for herself after she left Tom’s life 20 years earlier, taking on new names and careers every time.
Read More: Sundance Review: Joshua Marston’s ‘Complete Unknown’ Starring Rachel Weisz And Michael Shannon
As Tom celebrates his birthday with a group of close friends, he sees a woman from his distant past at the party. At first Jenny, or Alice as she prefers to call herself, pretends to have never met Tom before, she eventually reveals that she began to create different identities for herself after she left Tom’s life 20 years earlier, taking on new names and careers every time.
- 8/10/2016
- by Vikram Murthi
- Indiewire
In a more just world, Joshua Martson would be a name that makes movie fans as excited as any other cinephile approved filmmaker. Breaking out with “Maria Full Of Grace,” the filmmaker hasn’t made a lot of features, but I bet you didn’t even realize his tremendously underrated 2011 film “The Forgiveness Of Blood” is on […]
The post Rachel Weisz Reinvents Herself In Trailer For ‘Complete Unknown’ With Michael Shannon appeared first on The Playlist.
The post Rachel Weisz Reinvents Herself In Trailer For ‘Complete Unknown’ With Michael Shannon appeared first on The Playlist.
- 8/10/2016
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Following a Sundance premiere, the first trailer has arrived for Complete Unknown, a psychological thriller starring Michael Shannon and Rachel Weisz that is being released through Amazon Studios and IFC Films later this month.
Directed and co-penned by Joshua Marston (The Forgiveness of Blood, Maria Full of Grace), it follows Tom (Shannon) and his wife as they contemplate a move to a new state for a graduate program. However, when Tom runs into an old flame who constantly changes identities (Weisz) at a dinner party, their happy life begins to spirals out of control.
We said in our review, “Armed with two top-notch leads and a compelling premise, Joshua Marston‘s third feature, Complete Unknown, spends a lot of time hinting at which direction it will go, without going anywhere at all.” See the trailer below for the film which also stars Kathy Bates, Danny Glover, Michael Chernus and Azita Ghanizada.
Directed and co-penned by Joshua Marston (The Forgiveness of Blood, Maria Full of Grace), it follows Tom (Shannon) and his wife as they contemplate a move to a new state for a graduate program. However, when Tom runs into an old flame who constantly changes identities (Weisz) at a dinner party, their happy life begins to spirals out of control.
We said in our review, “Armed with two top-notch leads and a compelling premise, Joshua Marston‘s third feature, Complete Unknown, spends a lot of time hinting at which direction it will go, without going anywhere at all.” See the trailer below for the film which also stars Kathy Bates, Danny Glover, Michael Chernus and Azita Ghanizada.
- 8/10/2016
- by Mike Mazzanti
- The Film Stage
Read More: Oscilloscope Picks Up Sundance Next Drama 'The Fits' in Pre-Festival Deal Filmmaker Joshua Marston has been a fixture of the Berlin International Film Festival over the past several years thanks to "Maria Full of Grace" and "The Forgiveness of Blood," both of which picked up prestigious awards before earning further acclaim at international film festivals. For his latest film, "Complete Unknown," Marston is heading to Sundance, and it seems his efforts are already paying off. Amazon Studios acquired the picture, according to The Hollywood Reporter, and the film is slated for a fall release. Starring Michael Shannon and Rachel Weisz, the drama follows a couple whose life is thrown into disarray after a mysterious former flame reappears. Lucas Joaquin, Jay Van Hoy and Lars Knudsen produced "Complete Unknown," while Robert Halmi Jr. and Jim Reeve served as executive producers. CAA and Wme repped the filmmakers. With...
- 1/19/2016
- by Zack Sharf
- Indiewire
The Barnes & Noble sale may have ended a couple of weeks ago, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t still buy some Criterion Collection releases for 50% off. Best Buy is currently having a 50% off sale on a number of Criterion releases, and Amazon has begun to match their prices.
Thanks to everyone for supporting our site by buying through our affiliate links.
A note on Amazon deals, for those curious: sometimes third party sellers will suddenly appear as the main purchasing option on a product page, even though Amazon will sell it directly from themselves for the sale price that we have listed. If the sale price doesn’t show up, click on the “new” options, and look for Amazon’s listing.
I’ll keep this list updated throughout the week, as new deals are found, and others expire. If you find something that’s wrong, a broken link or price difference,...
Thanks to everyone for supporting our site by buying through our affiliate links.
A note on Amazon deals, for those curious: sometimes third party sellers will suddenly appear as the main purchasing option on a product page, even though Amazon will sell it directly from themselves for the sale price that we have listed. If the sale price doesn’t show up, click on the “new” options, and look for Amazon’s listing.
I’ll keep this list updated throughout the week, as new deals are found, and others expire. If you find something that’s wrong, a broken link or price difference,...
- 12/17/2015
- by Ryan Gallagher
- CriterionCast
Remarkably in a career spanning more than a decade, this formerly untitled project counts as Joshua Marston‘s first feature in the English language and only third feature film. He debut film was workshopped at the 2002 January Screenwriters Lab and was presented at the 2004 edition of the fest and not only would the tense drama play extremely well theatrically, it nabbed it’s star Catalina Sandino Moreno an Oscar nomination. Marston, who takes on a lot of projects namely television gigs between his feature films (Maria Full of Grace was followed by 2011’s The Forgiveness of Blood) he nonetheless been part of the fabric of Sundance working as an advisor at the Institute’s Labs since 2011. Starring Rachel Weisz, Michael Shannon, Kathy Bates and Danny Glover, lensing on his third feature commenced late last year and frankly this could shore up just about anywhere on the film festival circuit. Now titled Complete Unknown,...
- 11/26/2015
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Family Matters: Wolfe’s Unsettling Debut a Thriller with a Mean Streak
Premiering in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, director Daniel Wolfe’s directorial debut, Catch Me Daddy, is most likely to inspire awe or ire as a denuded genre thriller, pared down to the barest essentials of abject miserabilism. There’s no one to innately empathize with, beyond being exposed to a central victim whom we must logically root for given her ambitious rebellion against the patriarchal straightjacket she was weaned from. Unfolding with methodical calm, the first time filmmaker manages to instill a mounting dread thanks to surprising, even shocking moments of gruesome violence, and that’s despite its lack of emotional posturing. Down and out working class folks thrust into dire straits is the name of the game here, and though a bit of additional context would’ve enhanced the basic premise,...
Premiering in the Directors’ Fortnight sidebar at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival, director Daniel Wolfe’s directorial debut, Catch Me Daddy, is most likely to inspire awe or ire as a denuded genre thriller, pared down to the barest essentials of abject miserabilism. There’s no one to innately empathize with, beyond being exposed to a central victim whom we must logically root for given her ambitious rebellion against the patriarchal straightjacket she was weaned from. Unfolding with methodical calm, the first time filmmaker manages to instill a mounting dread thanks to surprising, even shocking moments of gruesome violence, and that’s despite its lack of emotional posturing. Down and out working class folks thrust into dire straits is the name of the game here, and though a bit of additional context would’ve enhanced the basic premise,...
- 8/7/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Now I Lay Me Down to Kill: Munzi’s Enjoyably Reserved Mafia Film
Premiering last fall at the 2014 Venice Film Festival, where it picked up a handful of prizes, Francesco Munzi’s third film, Black Souls, is a deliberately paced examination of familiar mafia standards. Based on a novel by Giacchino Criaco, it’s bound to be compared (and perhaps exist within the shadow of) Matteo Garrone’s highly celebrated 2008 feature, Gomorrah. But Munzi’s film is equally convincing, lending an austere sense of realism to what otherwise plays like a classic theatrical tragedy of three brothers at odds, locked in opposition and contention with the heavy baggage of their lineage. Light on dialogue and heavy on brooding characters marinating in their own mistrust or disdain of one another, it’s a successfully engaging film, but despite an enjoyably dire finale, isn’t as memorable as some modern comparative material.
Premiering last fall at the 2014 Venice Film Festival, where it picked up a handful of prizes, Francesco Munzi’s third film, Black Souls, is a deliberately paced examination of familiar mafia standards. Based on a novel by Giacchino Criaco, it’s bound to be compared (and perhaps exist within the shadow of) Matteo Garrone’s highly celebrated 2008 feature, Gomorrah. But Munzi’s film is equally convincing, lending an austere sense of realism to what otherwise plays like a classic theatrical tragedy of three brothers at odds, locked in opposition and contention with the heavy baggage of their lineage. Light on dialogue and heavy on brooding characters marinating in their own mistrust or disdain of one another, it’s a successfully engaging film, but despite an enjoyably dire finale, isn’t as memorable as some modern comparative material.
- 4/9/2015
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
A Joshua Marston film sans subtitles? After film fest favorites Maria Full Of Grace (2004 Sundance hit) and The Forgiveness Of Blood (read our Criterion review), Marston (who in the past decade was attached to direct The Fortress of Solitude, The Iraqi Convoy Project and an untitled supernatural thriller) Screen Daily reports that the filmmaker will have a dream pairing at his disposal in Michael Shannon and Rachel Weisz, who is set to have a Jessica Chastain type year (having worked with prominent auteur filmmakers in 2014 in Lanthimos, Cianfrance and Sorrentino means an embarrassing set of riches for cinephiles in 2015). The untitled project is shooting in early 2015, with indie stalwarts Parts & Labor’s Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy (they’ve also got Andrea Arnold’s American Honey on tap) producing alongside (our ’14 Sundance Trading Card profiled producer) Lucas Joaquin (Ira Sach’s Love is Strange) and Protagonist’s Eddie Vaisman...
- 11/5/2014
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Exclusive: Parts & Labor-produced English-language drama sold by Protagonist.
Rachel Weisz and Michael Shannon are to star in Maria Full of Grace director Joshua Marston’s first English-language feature, which has come together ahead of the Afm where it is likely to be among the hottest indie packages.
New York production outfit Parts & Labor (Beginners, Love is Strange) will produce the as-yet untitled feature, also written by Marston, with Protagonist handling international sales.
Weisz will play Alice, the intriguing guest introduced at a dinner party hosted by Tom (Shannon) and his wife, celebrating his birthday.
Tom increasingly believes he knows Alice but by a different name and a different biography, and suspects that she’s not there entirely by coincidence.
The evening spins into a highly-charged reunion between a man in need of making a change in his life and a woman who desperately wants to stop changing.
Parts & Labor’s Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy are producing...
Rachel Weisz and Michael Shannon are to star in Maria Full of Grace director Joshua Marston’s first English-language feature, which has come together ahead of the Afm where it is likely to be among the hottest indie packages.
New York production outfit Parts & Labor (Beginners, Love is Strange) will produce the as-yet untitled feature, also written by Marston, with Protagonist handling international sales.
Weisz will play Alice, the intriguing guest introduced at a dinner party hosted by Tom (Shannon) and his wife, celebrating his birthday.
Tom increasingly believes he knows Alice but by a different name and a different biography, and suspects that she’s not there entirely by coincidence.
The evening spins into a highly-charged reunion between a man in need of making a change in his life and a woman who desperately wants to stop changing.
Parts & Labor’s Lars Knudsen and Jay Van Hoy are producing...
- 11/5/2014
- by andreas.wiseman@screendaily.com (Andreas Wiseman)
- ScreenDaily
Once programming announcements were complete for Tiff, my thinking was that all arrows pointed to Sundance programmers gobbling up Amy Berg’s new direction in filmmaking. A crime film based on the screenplay by another Park City regular in Nicole Holofcener and shot late March in NYC, this is a departure for the filmmaker/producer of Sundance preemed doc films such as Deliver Us from Evil, Bhutto and West of Memphis. Lensed by Rob Hardy (The Forgiveness of Blood), Every Secret Thing will be a sought after acquisitions title with a new newcomer Danielle Macdonald being supported by Dakota Fanning, Diane Lane and Elizabeth Banks.
Gist: Based on Laura Lippman’s 2003 novel, when a young girl in a small town goes missing, the crime resembles a similar disappearance from seven years prior that ended in tragedy. Police officer Nancy Gates (Banks), still haunted by the outcome of that case, believes...
Gist: Based on Laura Lippman’s 2003 novel, when a young girl in a small town goes missing, the crime resembles a similar disappearance from seven years prior that ended in tragedy. Police officer Nancy Gates (Banks), still haunted by the outcome of that case, believes...
- 11/19/2013
- by Eric Lavallee
- IONCINEMA.com
Amazon is having a massive sale on Criterion Collection titles, virtually all of them listed at 50% off and I have included more than 115 of the available titles directly below along with a selection of ten I consider must owns. Titles beyond my top ten include Amarcord, Christopher Nolan's Following, David Fincher's The Game, Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory and The Killing, Roman Polansk's Rosemary's Baby, Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore and The Darjeeling Limited and plenty of Terrence Malick. All the links lead directly to the Amazon website, so click on through with confidence. Small Note: By buying through the links below you help support RopeofSilicon.com as I get a small commission for the sales made through using these links. Thanks for reading and I appreciate your support. Top Ten Must Owns 8 1/2 (dir. Federico Fellini) 12 Angry Men (dir. Sidney Lumet) The 400 Blows (dir.
- 6/6/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Amazon is having a massive sale on Criterion Collection titles, virtually all of them listed at 50% off and I have included more than 115 of the available titles directly below along with a selection of ten I consider must owns. Titles beyond my top ten include Amarcord, Christopher Nolan's Following, David Fincher's The Game, Stanley Kubrick's Paths of Glory and The Killing, Roman Polansk's Rosemary's Baby, Wes Anderson's The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore and The Darjeeling Limited and plenty of Terrence Malick. All the links lead directly to the Amazon website, so click on through with confidence. Small Note: By buying through the links below you help support RopeofSilicon.com as I get a small commission for the sales made through using these links. Thanks for reading and I appreciate your support. Top Ten Must Owns 8 1/2 (dir. Federico Fellini) 12 Angry Men (dir. Sidney Lumet) The 400 Blows (dir.
- 6/6/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Mumbai Mantra|Sundance Institute Screenwriters’ Lab 2013 announced the eight fellows of the second edition of the lab on Sunday.
The creative advisers of the Lab are: Screenwriters Bill Wheeler (The Hoax, The Reluctant Fundamentalist), Anjum Rajabali (Ghulam, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Raajneeti), Malia Scotch Marmo (Hook, Jurrasic Park), Sabrina Dhawan (Monsoon Wedding, Kaminey, Ishqiya); BAFTA award winning filmmaker Asif Kapadia (The Warrior, Senna); Mexican screenwriter, director and film producer Carlos Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Solo Con Tu Pareja); Indian screenwriter and director Habib Faisal (Do Dooni Chaar, Ishaqzaade); writer-director Joshua Marston (The Forgiveness of Blood, Maria Full of Grace) and writer-producer Marti Noxon ( I Am Number Four, Fright Night).
Selected projects:
Betamax by Terrie Samundra
Betamax is set in the summer of 1976 in London on the brink of a youth uprising. The South Asian ghetto of Southall pulses with the sounds of dancehall, punk and bhangra. Gurmel, a Sikh cornershop owner,...
The creative advisers of the Lab are: Screenwriters Bill Wheeler (The Hoax, The Reluctant Fundamentalist), Anjum Rajabali (Ghulam, The Legend of Bhagat Singh, Raajneeti), Malia Scotch Marmo (Hook, Jurrasic Park), Sabrina Dhawan (Monsoon Wedding, Kaminey, Ishqiya); BAFTA award winning filmmaker Asif Kapadia (The Warrior, Senna); Mexican screenwriter, director and film producer Carlos Cuaron (Y Tu Mama Tambien, Solo Con Tu Pareja); Indian screenwriter and director Habib Faisal (Do Dooni Chaar, Ishaqzaade); writer-director Joshua Marston (The Forgiveness of Blood, Maria Full of Grace) and writer-producer Marti Noxon ( I Am Number Four, Fright Night).
Selected projects:
Betamax by Terrie Samundra
Betamax is set in the summer of 1976 in London on the brink of a youth uprising. The South Asian ghetto of Southall pulses with the sounds of dancehall, punk and bhangra. Gurmel, a Sikh cornershop owner,...
- 3/11/2013
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
Cinereach is an innovative new force for good works in the independent film community. This not-for-profit film production company and foundation that champions vital stories, artfully told, was created and led by young philanthropists, entrepreneurs and filmmakers, Cinereach supports fiction and nonfiction filmmakers from all over the world through its Productions, Grants & Awards and Fellowships initiatives, and through partnerships with Sundance Institute’s programs. Cinereach has supported over 100 films in the Us and internationally, including Circumstance, Pariah, The World Before Her, Planet of Snail, Girl Model, Code of the West and many more. Cinereach Production Beasts of the Southern Wild was released in the Us in 2012 by Fox Searchlight Pictures, and is nominated for four Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
After collaborating with Cinereach for many years on films including Benh Zeitlin’s four time Academy Award nominated film, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Joshua Marston’s The Forgiveness of Blood, and Tom Gilroy’s The Cold Lands (premiering at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival), Paul Mezey has signed on as Producer in Residence at the not-for-profit production company and foundation. Mezey will support development, production and distribution of Cinereach’s productions, as well as being involved in the organization’s grant-making activities and other key initiatives.
Mezey is the founder of Journeyman Pictures, through which he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and award winning films including Maria Full of Grace (2005 Academy Award Nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role) and Half Nelson (2007 Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role).
Cinereach offers each of its productions a custom support framework adapted to its unique needs. This flexible continuum of financing, guidance and infrastructure encourages filmmakers like Beasts of the Southern Wild’s Benh Zeitlin to take essential creative risks. Mezey has been a key architect of this producing approach and, as Producer in Residence, will guide the organization as it continues to evolve.
“Paul has influenced so much of how we approach our work at Cinereach already,” said Cinereach’s founder and Executive Director Philipp Engelhorn. “We look forward to a more holistic collaboration with Paul, and further benefiting from his tremendous experience and courageous independent spirit.”
“Working with Cinereach has been a transformative experience,“ states Mezey. “There is pure dedication to creating the conditions under which filmmakers can flourish and fulfill the full ambition of their work. As a creative producer, I know that our interests are aligned at every step and I am excited to continue to help build a model that can bring surprising and unexpected films to the screen.”...
After collaborating with Cinereach for many years on films including Benh Zeitlin’s four time Academy Award nominated film, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Joshua Marston’s The Forgiveness of Blood, and Tom Gilroy’s The Cold Lands (premiering at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival), Paul Mezey has signed on as Producer in Residence at the not-for-profit production company and foundation. Mezey will support development, production and distribution of Cinereach’s productions, as well as being involved in the organization’s grant-making activities and other key initiatives.
Mezey is the founder of Journeyman Pictures, through which he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and award winning films including Maria Full of Grace (2005 Academy Award Nomination for Best Actress in a Leading Role) and Half Nelson (2007 Academy Award Nomination for Best Actor in a Leading Role).
Cinereach offers each of its productions a custom support framework adapted to its unique needs. This flexible continuum of financing, guidance and infrastructure encourages filmmakers like Beasts of the Southern Wild’s Benh Zeitlin to take essential creative risks. Mezey has been a key architect of this producing approach and, as Producer in Residence, will guide the organization as it continues to evolve.
“Paul has influenced so much of how we approach our work at Cinereach already,” said Cinereach’s founder and Executive Director Philipp Engelhorn. “We look forward to a more holistic collaboration with Paul, and further benefiting from his tremendous experience and courageous independent spirit.”
“Working with Cinereach has been a transformative experience,“ states Mezey. “There is pure dedication to creating the conditions under which filmmakers can flourish and fulfill the full ambition of their work. As a creative producer, I know that our interests are aligned at every step and I am excited to continue to help build a model that can bring surprising and unexpected films to the screen.”...
- 1/25/2013
- by Sydney Levine
- Sydney's Buzz
After collaborating with Cinereach for many years on films including Benh Zeitlin’s four time Academy Award-nominated film, Beasts of the Southern Wild, Joshua Marston’s The Forgiveness of Blood, and Tom Gilroy’s The Cold Lands (premiering at the 2013 Berlin Film Festival), Paul Mezey has signed on as Producer in Residence at the not-for-profit production company and foundation. Mezey will support development, production and distribution of Cinereach’s films, as well as being involved in the organization’s grant-making activities and other key initiatives. Mezey is the founder of Journeyman Pictures, through which he has produced a number of critically acclaimed and award-winning …...
- 1/17/2013
- by Filmmaker Staff
- Filmmaker Magazine-Director Interviews
Three-time Oscar-nominated actress Michelle Williams is currently in talks to play the lead role in a remake of the award-winning 2009 Italian film The Double Hour. The original film went on to pick up several major awards at the Venice Film Festival, including best actor and actress as well as a nomination for the Golden Lion. Centered on a chambermaid and an ex-cop who meet at a speed dating event, the film focuses on a romantic getaway with the couple that takes a dark turn. Williams is up for the chambermaid role and the tremendously underrated Joshua Marston (Maria Full of Grace, The Forgiveness of Blood) is set to direct. Marston also wrote the script for the remake and Fox Searchlight is backing the project. Even if Williams signs on, it may be a while before the...
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- 12/14/2012
- by affiliates@fandango.com
- Fandango
La Doppia Ora is getting a remake! And what definitely sounds great at this moment is that Michelle Williams is reportedly in some serious talks to star as the female lead! So, what can I tell you guys, you better get ready for The Double Hour movie, ’cause Fox Searchlight is apparently quite serious about the whole thing & The Forgiveness of Blood helmer Joshua Marston is already on board to direct the remake!
Marston will direct The Double Hour from his own script, which will, according to the latest reports, center on an ex-cop and a hotel maid who fall in love after meeting at a speed-dating event. After they retreat to the ex-cop’s employer’s house for a romantic evening, they are ambushed by a gang that the maid later appears to be involved with.
At least that’s what the original movie was all about. In case...
Marston will direct The Double Hour from his own script, which will, according to the latest reports, center on an ex-cop and a hotel maid who fall in love after meeting at a speed-dating event. After they retreat to the ex-cop’s employer’s house for a romantic evening, they are ambushed by a gang that the maid later appears to be involved with.
At least that’s what the original movie was all about. In case...
- 12/12/2012
- by Jeanne Standal
- Filmofilia
Normally this time of the year, we.re discussing where Michelle Williams can position herself in the developing Oscar race. The immensely gifted actress has found herself campaigning on behalf of films like Blue Valentine and My Week with Marilyn in years past. But because she largely took a year off (if you don.t count Sarah Polley.s Take This Waltz), Williams has her fans looking forward to next year, and future projects. We.re hearing of another one. The Wrap says that the Oscar nominee is the frontrunner for the lead role in a planned English-language remake of the Italian hit La Doppia Ora. Titled The Double Hour, the new film will be directed by Joshua Marston, who helmed and The Forgiveness of Blood. The word on the film after it premiered at the Venice Film Festival were strong. The story involves a maid and an ex-cop who...
- 12/12/2012
- cinemablend.com
So, this is why we love Michelle Williams. While the three-time Oscar nominated actress could easily sit back and ride the studio driven tentpole gravy train (and yes, she's starring in next year's "Oz The Great And Powerful," but girl's gotta eat), more than often than not, she chooses interesting stories and filmmakers, with characters that are often compelling and complex. And this is true for what may be on one of her upcoming efforts. The Wrap is reporting that Williams is in talks and/or the frontrunner (which is it, guys?) to lead "The Double Hour," which will be directed by the tremendously talented and underrated Joshua Marston ("Maria Full Of Grace" and "The Forgiveness Of Blood" -- probably the most slept on movie of the year, see it). The film will be a remake of "La Doppia Ora," the 2009 Italian film from Giuseppe Capotondi, which won some major...
- 12/11/2012
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Does the name Joshua Marston ring a bell? If not, don't fell too bad, but I'm sure most of you know him as the director of Maria Full of Grace or, perhaps, more recently as the director of The Forgiveness of Blood. Forgiveness of Blood was recently released by the Criterion Collection and was Albania's official Foreign Language Oscar submission last year. Maria Full of Grace briefly turned Catalina Sandino Moreno into a household name as she was nominated for an Oscar and would later find roles in Steven Soderbergh's Che and then a throwaway part in The Twilight Saga: Eclipse. As for Marston, the success of Maria also garnered him some attention. In August 2007 I wrote a brief article announcing a secret project J.J. Abrams and Paramount were devloping, a supernatural thriller to be written and directed by Marston. Five years later we have no movie, but we...
- 11/15/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
Blood feuds between families have their place in American history, but they’re largely relegated to the past and the fierce disputes of the Hatfields and McCoys, the Earps and Clantons, and the Reese and Townsends. It’s been a full century since the last epic American feud erupted, but elsewhere in the world it’s a far more common occurrence, such as in the turbulent communities of Albania where conflicts can keep some families sequestered for days, months, or even years. Joshua Marston’s excellent The Forgiveness of Blood covers just such a happening, and tells it through the eyes of the children of a man forced into hiding after an argument escalates and reopens old wounds.
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- 11/12/2012
- by Lex Walker
- JustPressPlay.net
Joshua Marston, the director of the 2004 Oscar nominated Maria Full of Grace finally returns with his next feature length narrative, the Silver Berlin Bear for Best Screenplay winning (2011 Berlin International Film Festival) The Forgiveness of Blood, a blood feud tale set in modern day Albania. The Los Angeles native once again proves he has considerable talents for focusing on subjects not often depicted by American filmmakers, with tense, enthralling narratives. With this latest feature, Marston sets his sights on a country not often documented in the annals of cinema.
The film opens with a brief characterization of main protagonists Nik (Tristan Halilaj) and his sister, Rudina (Sindi Lacej). Both are currently students, and Nik is close to graduating from high school, discussing plans to open an internet café, and courting a female peer in his class. However, the film succumbs to its predicament rather quickly. Two patriarchs are sparring over...
The film opens with a brief characterization of main protagonists Nik (Tristan Halilaj) and his sister, Rudina (Sindi Lacej). Both are currently students, and Nik is close to graduating from high school, discussing plans to open an internet café, and courting a female peer in his class. However, the film succumbs to its predicament rather quickly. Two patriarchs are sparring over...
- 10/16/2012
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
I have mentioned it a couple times before, but in case you missed it and haven't looked yet, I spiffed up the DVD and Blu-ray release date calendar, so DVDs and Blu-rays are listed separately along with their Amazon purchasing links. To that end, I don't believe I have ever mentioned it, but buying product through the Amazon links here on the site helps support the site as Amazon tosses a little money toward RopeofSilicon. It's not a lot, but every little bit helps, so if you can, consider it next time. With that, let's see what's out this week... Moonrise Kingdom Moonrise Kingdom is undoubtedly one of my favorite movies this year and oddly enough I haven't taken time to watch the Blu-ray yet. "What gives Brad?" "Yeah, what gives?" I don't know, just haven't had a chance to watch it, perhaps it's this inner-dialogue I've been dealing with...
- 10/16/2012
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
By Allen Gardner
Prometheus (20th Century Fox) Ridley Scott’s quasi-prequel to his 1979 classic “Alien” has an intergalactic exploratory team (Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba) arriving on a uncharted planet, where they discover what appears to be a dormant alien spacecraft and what might be the first discovery of intelligent life outside of Earth. Of course, everything goes straight to hell before you can scream “Don’t touch that egg!” Sumptuous visuals and strong performances from the cast (not to mention a nearly-perfect first half) can’t compensate for gaping plot and logic holes that nearly sink the proceedings in the film’s protracted second half. It feels as though some very crucial footage wound up on the cutting room floor. Perhaps, as with “Alien” and “Aliens” we’ll see a “Director’s Cut” of “Prometheus” arriving on DVD within the next year. In the meantime,...
Prometheus (20th Century Fox) Ridley Scott’s quasi-prequel to his 1979 classic “Alien” has an intergalactic exploratory team (Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Guy Pearce, Charlize Theron, Idris Elba) arriving on a uncharted planet, where they discover what appears to be a dormant alien spacecraft and what might be the first discovery of intelligent life outside of Earth. Of course, everything goes straight to hell before you can scream “Don’t touch that egg!” Sumptuous visuals and strong performances from the cast (not to mention a nearly-perfect first half) can’t compensate for gaping plot and logic holes that nearly sink the proceedings in the film’s protracted second half. It feels as though some very crucial footage wound up on the cutting room floor. Perhaps, as with “Alien” and “Aliens” we’ll see a “Director’s Cut” of “Prometheus” arriving on DVD within the next year. In the meantime,...
- 10/8/2012
- by The Hollywood Interview.com
- The Hollywood Interview
Every month cinephiles around the world rejoice with the release of a new set of classic and artistically important films on both DVD and Blu-ray by the Criterion Collection. Their limited editions often feature interviews with filmmakers, hard-to-find archival footage, and insight into the film's creation not found anywhere else. This month Criterion Collection has Roman Polanski's beloved Rosemary's Baby, Wong Kar-Wai's In the Mood for Love, Joshua Marston's tale of feuding families in The Forgiveness of Blood, John Schlesinger's follow-up to Midnight Cowboy, the bi-sexual love triangle of Sunday Bloody Sunday, and the next installment of the Eclipse Series featuring three films by Gainsborough Pictures.
For the full details on extras, aspect ratios, and more, read on.
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For the full details on extras, aspect ratios, and more, read on.
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- 10/2/2012
- by Lex Walker
- JustPressPlay.net
It's generally an assured equation: Oscars + Foreign Language Film Category = Outrage. Sometimes, the fault lies with Academy voters (as it did when "Departures" won the Oscar in 2008 over what most viewed as two greatly superior nominees - "Waltz With Bashir" and "The Class;" or when "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days," "Persepolis" and "Volver" were all left off the ballot in 2007). And sometimes, the national submission committees are at fault (like in 2010 when Italy submitted "La Prima Cosa Bella" over "I Am Love"). Last year, there were quite a few controversies from both sides of the equation. Albania originally submitted "The Forgiveness of Blood," but it was rejected due to protest of Bujar Alimani, the director of another Albanian film, "Amnesty." He made the case that "Blood" shouldn't be eligible to represent Albania because its director, Joshua Marston,...
- 9/25/2012
- by Peter Knegt
- Indiewire
Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry (15)
(Alison Klayman, 2012, Us) Ai Weiwei, Danqing Chen, Ying Gao. 91 mins
Art and activism merge in this fascinating inside portrait of China's best known artist, which conveys both the roots of Ai's provocations and the authorities' paranoid responses to them. He comes across as a fearless creator, a reluctant hero, a committed campaigner and a fallible human being, treading a perilous line between the adoring global art market and China's Kafkaesque state apparatus.
360 (15)
(Fernando Meirelles, 2011, UK/Aus/Fra/Bra) Rachel Weisz, Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law. 110 mins
Suffering from a surfeit of international stars and locations, this join-the-dots drama zips between a series of emotional episodes without ever gaining much momentum.
The Dinosaur Project (12A)
(Sid Bennett, 2012, UK) Natasha Loring, Matt Kane, Peter Brooke. 83 mins
Chatty Brit explorers regret discovering a modern-day Lost World in the Congo in this low-budget cross between Monsters and Jurassic Park.
The Forgiveness Of Blood (12A)
(Joshua Marston,...
(Alison Klayman, 2012, Us) Ai Weiwei, Danqing Chen, Ying Gao. 91 mins
Art and activism merge in this fascinating inside portrait of China's best known artist, which conveys both the roots of Ai's provocations and the authorities' paranoid responses to them. He comes across as a fearless creator, a reluctant hero, a committed campaigner and a fallible human being, treading a perilous line between the adoring global art market and China's Kafkaesque state apparatus.
360 (15)
(Fernando Meirelles, 2011, UK/Aus/Fra/Bra) Rachel Weisz, Anthony Hopkins, Jude Law. 110 mins
Suffering from a surfeit of international stars and locations, this join-the-dots drama zips between a series of emotional episodes without ever gaining much momentum.
The Dinosaur Project (12A)
(Sid Bennett, 2012, UK) Natasha Loring, Matt Kane, Peter Brooke. 83 mins
Chatty Brit explorers regret discovering a modern-day Lost World in the Congo in this low-budget cross between Monsters and Jurassic Park.
The Forgiveness Of Blood (12A)
(Joshua Marston,...
- 8/10/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
It’s Friday, so you know what that means – another round-up of what films are hitting cinemas this weekend; and this week it’s all about Step Up 4 and Offender – the only two films released this week that will be hitting the majority of multiplexes across the UK. However two of this weeks limited releases, Jackpot and I Against I, are well worth tracking down…
Nationwide Releases Step Up 4: Miami Heat
Emily, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, arrives in Miami with aspirations of becoming a professional dancer, but soon falls in love with Sean, a young man who leads a dance crew in elaborate, cutting-edge flash mobs. The crew, called the Mob, strives to win a contest for a major sponsorship opportunity, but soon Emily’s father threatens to develop the Mob’s historic neighborhood and displace thousands of people. Emily must band together with Sean and the...
Nationwide Releases Step Up 4: Miami Heat
Emily, the daughter of a wealthy businessman, arrives in Miami with aspirations of becoming a professional dancer, but soon falls in love with Sean, a young man who leads a dance crew in elaborate, cutting-edge flash mobs. The crew, called the Mob, strives to win a contest for a major sponsorship opportunity, but soon Emily’s father threatens to develop the Mob’s historic neighborhood and displace thousands of people. Emily must band together with Sean and the...
- 8/10/2012
- by Phil
- Nerdly
The Criterion Collection October 2012 Releases. The Criterion Collection releases for October 2012 are Rosemary’s Baby (1968), In the Mood for Love (2000), Eclipse Series 36: Three Wicked Melodramas from Gainsborough Pictures, The Forgiveness of Blood (2011), and Sunday Bloody Sunday (1971). Each of these Criterion Collection films “will be available on both DVD and Blu-ray, except for the Eclipse Series [...]
The post The Criterion Collection: October 2012 Releases: Rosemary’S Baby (1968) appeared first on Film-Book.com.
Continue reading: The Criterion Collection: October 2012 Releases: Rosemary’S Baby (1968)...
The post The Criterion Collection: October 2012 Releases: Rosemary’S Baby (1968) appeared first on Film-Book.com.
Continue reading: The Criterion Collection: October 2012 Releases: Rosemary’S Baby (1968)...
- 8/5/2012
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
Ted (15)
(Seth MacFarlane, 2012, Us) Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Joe McHale, Giovanni Ribisi. 106 mins
Those unconvinced by MacFarlane's Family Guy cartoon series will be even less convinced by his first feature – basically a routine manchild/bromance story with one novel idea: Wahlberg has a magic talking teddy, which has grown up into an obnoxious party animal – thus creating relationship issues with shrewish girlfriend Kunis. It's all gags and no comedy. And if you're anything other than white, male and pop culture-literate, you'll find the humour at best patchy, at worst, downright nasty.
Sound Of My Voice (15)
(Zal Batmanglij, 2011, Us) Christopher Denham, Nicole Vicius, Brit Marling. 85 mins
As with Another Earth, co-writer Marling takes an unorthodox line through a familiar genre here. This time she's a spacey/scary cult leader who claims to be from the year 2054. A couple of investigative journalists get out of their depth taking her on.
(Seth MacFarlane, 2012, Us) Mark Wahlberg, Mila Kunis, Seth MacFarlane, Joe McHale, Giovanni Ribisi. 106 mins
Those unconvinced by MacFarlane's Family Guy cartoon series will be even less convinced by his first feature – basically a routine manchild/bromance story with one novel idea: Wahlberg has a magic talking teddy, which has grown up into an obnoxious party animal – thus creating relationship issues with shrewish girlfriend Kunis. It's all gags and no comedy. And if you're anything other than white, male and pop culture-literate, you'll find the humour at best patchy, at worst, downright nasty.
Sound Of My Voice (15)
(Zal Batmanglij, 2011, Us) Christopher Denham, Nicole Vicius, Brit Marling. 85 mins
As with Another Earth, co-writer Marling takes an unorthodox line through a familiar genre here. This time she's a spacey/scary cult leader who claims to be from the year 2054. A couple of investigative journalists get out of their depth taking her on.
- 8/3/2012
- by Steve Rose
- The Guardian - Film News
Blu-ray & DVD Release Date: Oct. 16, 2012
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Tristan Halilaj and Sindi Lacej are forced to grow up quickly in The Forgiveness of Blood.
A tough coming-of-age drama, 2011’s The Forgiveness of Blood is the second feature by writer-director Joshua Marston, who broke out in 2004 with his Oscar-nominated movie Maria Full of Grace, about a young Colombian woman working as a drug mule
In his follow-up to Maria, Marston turns his camera on another corner of the world: contemporary northern Albania, a place still troubled by the ancient custom of inter-familial blood feuds. From this reality, Marston sculpts a fictional narrative about a teenage brother (Tristan Halilaj) and sister (Sindi Lacej) who are physically and emotionally trapped in a cycle of violence, a result of their father’s entanglement with a rival clan over a piece of land.
The Forgiveness of Blood received a limited release to theaters in the U.
Price: DVD $29.95, Blu-ray $39.95
Studio: Criterion
Tristan Halilaj and Sindi Lacej are forced to grow up quickly in The Forgiveness of Blood.
A tough coming-of-age drama, 2011’s The Forgiveness of Blood is the second feature by writer-director Joshua Marston, who broke out in 2004 with his Oscar-nominated movie Maria Full of Grace, about a young Colombian woman working as a drug mule
In his follow-up to Maria, Marston turns his camera on another corner of the world: contemporary northern Albania, a place still troubled by the ancient custom of inter-familial blood feuds. From this reality, Marston sculpts a fictional narrative about a teenage brother (Tristan Halilaj) and sister (Sindi Lacej) who are physically and emotionally trapped in a cycle of violence, a result of their father’s entanglement with a rival clan over a piece of land.
The Forgiveness of Blood received a limited release to theaters in the U.
- 7/30/2012
- by Laurence
- Disc Dish
It feels like only yesterday that we were talking about the best films of 2011, and yet here we are, nearly at the end of June, and we've seen pretty much everything that the first half of the year has to offer. So with the mid-point of 2012 nearly upon us, we thought we'd look over the best films we've seen in theaters over the last six months.
And it's not been a terrible year so far. There have been a few real stinkers and some disappointments, but there's also been some decent blockbuster fare and a bevy of foreign language and independent films that have been serious treats for filmgoers. How many of these will still be on our year-end lists come December remains to be seen; there's some tough competition on the way. But all in all, the first part of this year at the movies could have been a lot worse.
And it's not been a terrible year so far. There have been a few real stinkers and some disappointments, but there's also been some decent blockbuster fare and a bevy of foreign language and independent films that have been serious treats for filmgoers. How many of these will still be on our year-end lists come December remains to be seen; there's some tough competition on the way. But all in all, the first part of this year at the movies could have been a lot worse.
- 6/21/2012
- by The Playlist Staff
- The Playlist
What is the essence of debt, and what is debt that doesn't have a monetary solution? Canadian essayist, novelist, activist, and general "ist" Margaret Atwood pontificates on the complex nature of this kind of liability in "Payback: Debt and the Shadow Side of Wealth," a non-fiction book and the springboard for Jennifer Baichwal's concisely titled"Payback." Atwood's deconstruction of the idea is incredibly deep, at times both frightening and amusing; Baichwal attempts to translate her lecture into a documentary/video essay and succeeds in creating something original that still retains the strength of the author's voice. The director manages to look at what various people owe to each other, from small-scale (what convicts owe to both their victims and society) to all-encompassing (how we, as humans, are beholden to our planet) debt.
Those who have seen "The Forgiveness Of Blood" (and not to digress, but if you haven't,...
Those who have seen "The Forgiveness Of Blood" (and not to digress, but if you haven't,...
- 4/27/2012
- by Christopher Bell
- The Playlist
Honoring one's father can be an intensely frustrating thing, particularly when his actions have posed a true danger for his family. So goes the tragic inter-relational deterioration as depicted in writer/director Joshua Marston's (Maria Full Of Grace) second feature, The Forgiveness Of Blood - a film with a curious shortage of either forgiveness or blood. But what it may lack in terms of its titular elements it makes up for in sustained tension and even dread....
- 3/30/2012
- Screen Anarchy
American director Joshua Marston’s powerful debut Maria Full Of Grace (2004) was about a teenage Mexican girl working as a drug mule who’s forced to come of age under difficult circumstances. After working in television for the past several years Marston has now returned to the big screen with The Forgiveness Of Blood, another bleak story, this time about a young man who’s the victim of a barbaric ancient culture that exists in modern Albania. Like his first film, it’s grim and suspenseful; more evidence of a director skilled at telling an urgent, intense story that keeps you locked to the screen. Forgiveness Of Blood is a well-made if difficult tale of old customs and older conflicts and much credit should be given director Marston. I’m sure after the success of the Oscar-nominated Maria Full Of Grace, he could have gone the mainstream Hollywood route, but...
- 3/30/2012
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Winner of the Silver Bear for Best Screenplay at the Berlin Film Festival, the powerful and richly textured second feature from Joshua Marston, The Forgiveness Of Blood focuses on an Albanian family caught up in a blood feud. Nik (Tristan Halilaj) is a carefree teenager in a small town with a crush on the school beauty and ambitions to start his own internet café. His world is suddenly up-ended when his father and uncle become entangled in a land dispute that leaves a fellow villager murdered. According to a centuries-old code of law, this entitles the dead man’s family to take the life of a male from Nik’s family as retribution. His uncle in jail and his father in hiding, Nik is the prime target and confined to the home while his younger sister Rudina (Sindi Laçej) is forced to leave school and take over their father’s business.
- 3/16/2012
- by Movie Geeks
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Film: The Forgiveness of Blood (2011) Cast includes: Refet Abazi, Tristan Halilaj, Sindi Lacej, Ilire Vinca Celaj Director: Joshua Marston (Maria Full of Grace) Genre: Drama, Albanian with subtitles (109 minutes) Northern Albania is a picturesque region caught between the old world and the new. Bread deliveries are made daily by primitive horse-drawn carts, while cell phones have become a necessity of life for teenagers. On his bread delivery route, the shortcut Mark takes across Sokol's land was negotiated decades ago by Mark's grandfather. Now Sokol wants to block the right of way. When Mark's teenaged son Nik helps out, they move the rocks and go through. At the local café, the men from Sokol's family sit across from Mark, Nik and Uncle Zev. The friendly jousting about the rocks has a decidedly nasty edge. Mark tells a customer, "With all due respect, Sokol is an idiot." "You're both idiots," she replies.
- 3/6/2012
- by Leslie Sisman
- Moviefone
With The Raven heading to cinemas, we met its director, James McTeigue, to talk films, R-ratings, V For Vendetta Masks, pet raccoons, and much more…
Director James McTeigue was responsible for adapting the shadowy world of Alan Moore’s V For Vendetta in 2006, and painted the big screen crimson in the violent Ninja Assassin three years later. Now, McTeigue has brought shadows and gore together for the period serial killer thriller The Raven, which sees Edgar Allan Poe on the trail of a murderer whose crimes are inspired by the author’s tales of the macabre.
Ahead of The Raven’s UK release this Friday, it was a pleasure to sit with McTeigue and talk about Poe, the iconic status of V For Vendetta’s Fawkes mask, R-rated movies, and best of all, pet raccoons…
I wanted to start off, if I may, by talking about raccoons. Was the idea...
Director James McTeigue was responsible for adapting the shadowy world of Alan Moore’s V For Vendetta in 2006, and painted the big screen crimson in the violent Ninja Assassin three years later. Now, McTeigue has brought shadows and gore together for the period serial killer thriller The Raven, which sees Edgar Allan Poe on the trail of a murderer whose crimes are inspired by the author’s tales of the macabre.
Ahead of The Raven’s UK release this Friday, it was a pleasure to sit with McTeigue and talk about Poe, the iconic status of V For Vendetta’s Fawkes mask, R-rated movies, and best of all, pet raccoons…
I wanted to start off, if I may, by talking about raccoons. Was the idea...
- 3/2/2012
- Den of Geek
It’s been a red meat kinda year at the box office. The number one slot at the box office has been taken over by an R-rated action movie five times thus far, the latest example being hoo-rah Navy SEALs film “Act of Valor”. With constant studio waffling over ratings, mid-budgeted fare like “Contraband” and “Safe House” have still handily trumped PG-13 four-quadrant "alleged" blockbusters like “This Means War” and “Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance” all year long despite the supposed ratings handicap. And those films all had noted stars, familiar leading men and women, while “Act of Valor” is populated entirely by real armed forces.
There’s no questioning a hearty opening number like this, though Relativity did strong-arm this picture in front of audiences with a massive 3,000 screen release and a heavy-duty marketing campaign. Produced independently, the film was purchased for $13 million with the promise of an aggressive...
There’s no questioning a hearty opening number like this, though Relativity did strong-arm this picture in front of audiences with a massive 3,000 screen release and a heavy-duty marketing campaign. Produced independently, the film was purchased for $13 million with the promise of an aggressive...
- 2/26/2012
- by Gabe Toro
- The Playlist
Title: The Forgiveness of Blood Director: Joshua Marston Starring: Tristan Halilaj, Sindi Lacej, Refet Abazi, Zana Hasaj, Veton Osmani, Ilire Vinca Celaj, Cun Lajci Winner of the Silver Bear Award for Best Screenplay at last year’s Berlin Film Festival, “The Forgiveness of Blood,” from writer-director Joshua Marston (“Maria Full of Grace”), details a simmering contempt between two present day Albanian clans — think the Montagues and Capulets, minus any love story – that boils over into a blood feud that slowly rips a family apart when a land dispute leaves one man dead. Like 2009′s “The Stoning of Soraya M” and “Ajami,” as well as a small handful of other foreign films, Marston’s movie...
- 2/25/2012
- by bsimon
- ShockYa
American indie director Joshua Marston took a long time (eight years!) to follow up his award-winning "Maria Full of Grace," so pressure is riding high on his latest, "The Forgiveness of Blood," to deliver.
His fans need not to worry. Although a good deal quieter, "The Forgiveness of Blood" is equally as harrowing and discomforting as "Maria Full of Grace," and finds the director once again eliciting stellar performances from a young cast.
In "Maria Full of Grace," the Caliornia-born writer-director ventured to Colombia to depict the terrifying journey of a young woman (Academy Award nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno) who becomes a drug mule to support her family. "The Forgiveness of Blood" finds Marston traveling to Northern Albania to depict a modern-day blood feud in a rural village.
The drama centers on Nik (Tristan Halilaj), a high schooler confined to what amounts to house arrest after his father kills a...
His fans need not to worry. Although a good deal quieter, "The Forgiveness of Blood" is equally as harrowing and discomforting as "Maria Full of Grace," and finds the director once again eliciting stellar performances from a young cast.
In "Maria Full of Grace," the Caliornia-born writer-director ventured to Colombia to depict the terrifying journey of a young woman (Academy Award nominee Catalina Sandino Moreno) who becomes a drug mule to support her family. "The Forgiveness of Blood" finds Marston traveling to Northern Albania to depict a modern-day blood feud in a rural village.
The drama centers on Nik (Tristan Halilaj), a high schooler confined to what amounts to house arrest after his father kills a...
- 2/24/2012
- by Nigel Smith
- NextMovie
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