Sometimes all talk and no action can be for the best. Such is the case with Denial, the star-studded British/American drama based on historian Deborah E. Lipstadt’s memoir History on Trial: My Day in Court with a Holocaust Denier (2005) that recounts her experiences with the British legal system following a libel suit that was raised against her and the publishers of her first book, Denying the Holocaust (1993), by David Irving.
By: Mark Barber Chaitanya Tamhane’s courtroom drama, aptly titled Court, has received broad international acclaim for its compelling minimalism and intelligent use of realism, but also deserves praise for its insightful analysis on the lingering effects of colonialism on India’s legal system. Understated and distanced, Court eschews the familiar Hollywood-style intensity of John Grisham adaptations. A procedural take on the Indian legal systems and the personal lives related to one case, Court examines its postcolonial…
By: Addison Wylie The Case Against 8 takes you right to the very beginning of the scandalous, distressing times involving California’s passing of Proposition 8. Watching clips of Prop 8 propaganda and observing professionals talking in all seriousness about the benefits of the amendment is like falling through the looking glass. It’s hard to believe that this period existed and that 18,000 couples with different sexual orientations were told their marriages were voided. Shooting and…
Crime often features some prime subjects for documentarians. The stories sometimes serve up a ruthless criminal, unbelievable twisty pasts, and layers upon layers of aggressive activity with hopes that justice will prevail. The docs are even more riveting because none of this is fiction. This year’s festival isn’t without a few crime docs. Let’s take a look at a couple of them. Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger (DIR. Joe Berlinger) By: Addison Wylie…