Hotel Rwanda (2004)

But Schindler's List was an artistic rendering of a tragedy, while writer/director Terry George goes for dramatic realism much closer to Roland Joffe's The Killing Fields or Oliver Stone's Salvador. He's so successful that even the little dramatic tricks used to tie together disparate events glide smoothly and unobtrusively with the journalistic flow. George depicts Rusesabagina as a charmer and a wheeler-dealer with a passive side; he can't bring himself to believe that help is not on the way. read more...

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• Tear Jerker ▶ Yes please
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• Rules ▶ Rigid or strongly constrained
• How Things Happen ▶ By cause and effect, mechanics, rules or facts
• Overall Depth ▶ Deep or penetrating
• Takes itself Seriously ▶ Yes please

Dead Man Walking (1995)

Sean Penn's Matthew Poncelet has a high Elvis-style hairdo and talks in a mumbled accent; some of his words slip away from you. He is a convicted murderer. Hollywood dictates that this either be a "likable" character or an over the top "villain" who chomps up the scenery. Penn plays him as an angry man, an honest man, whom we can see as a real person. As we grow to see him like this, we see that we don't want him to die. read more...

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• Tear Jerker ▶ Yes please
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• Sympathetic ▶ I want to know or care about the characters
• Moralistic ▶ Yes please
• Rules ▶ Rigid or strongly constrained
• Innocence ▶ Seasoned, Savvy, Streetwise
• Realism ▶ Magical, Futuristic, Fantastic
• How Things Happen ▶ By cause and effect, mechanics, rules or facts
• Overall Depth ▶ Deep or penetrating
• Takes itself Seriously ▶ Yes please

Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Isao Takahata's classic anime Grave of the Fireflies is very simply the gentlest and most touching war-related film I've ever seen. A young man and his little sister attempt to survive after air raid kills their family. The disc contains a commentary track, an interview with Roger Ebert, and other stuff. read more...

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• Tear Jerker ▶ Yes please
• Sympathetic ▶ I want to know or care about the characters
• Moralistic ▶ Yes please
• Rules ▶ Rigid or strongly constrained
• Production Level ▶ Polished
• Overall Depth ▶ Deep or penetrating
• Originality ▶ Stories I know and love

How Green Was My Valley (1941)

The tough, but highly sentimental John Ford was one of the few great cinema artists who was appreciated in his time. He even won the third of his four Best Director Oscars for this great, corny look at a Welsh mining town and the family who tries to endure hard times. Young Roddy McDowall plays the youngest family member (who narrates the tale) and he gives an amazingly intuitive performance. Walter Pidgeon, Donald Crisp and Maureen O'Hara round out the cast. The DVD includes a fine featurette from "AMC Backstory," a full-length commentary track by Ford biographer Joseph McBride and Actress Anna Lee Nathan, a still gallery and trailers. read more...

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• Tear Jerker ▶ Yes please
• Sympathetic ▶ I want to know or care about the characters
• Production Level ▶ Polished
• Overall Depth ▶ Deep or penetrating
• Takes itself Seriously ▶ Yes please
• Originality ▶ Stories I know and love

The Last Days (1999)

Steven Spielberg produced and James Moll directed this powerful Academy Award-winning documentary about five Hungarian Jews who survived the Holocaust in 1945. By the time Hitler invaded Hungary, he was more bent on destroying Jews than winning the war. Eschewing old newsreel footage and utilizing only either new or recently uncovered footage, the survivors' tales are beautifully, vividly told. One survivor, Tom Lantos, is a current Congressman in Northern California. The Last Days is a life-affirming and moving experience that should not be missed. read more...

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• Realism ▶ Magical, Futuristic, Fantastic
• How Things Happen ▶ By cause and effect, mechanics, rules or facts
• Comfort Level ▶ Distressed, disturbed, unsettled or unresolved
• Overall Depth ▶ Deep or penetrating
• Takes itself Seriously ▶ Yes please