The Comic Critic Reviews "Innocence" (2000)

Innocence is an Australian film. I was intrigued by the premise of a widower taking it into his head to call his first love. Social media has made reconnecting with old friends extremely easy and commonplace. But at the time this movie was made, MySpace had yet to start. The way you got in touch with people was by tracking them down with a phone book, and by reaching out to mutual friends to see if they had a valid phone number. Perhaps Innocence caught my attention because I would do this quite a bit. Most of the time, I had no success. I empathized with the desire to reconnect with people who meant something to me. I wanted to reassure myself that they went on to lead happy lives. There was always that hope that a rekindled friendship would bring more into my life than melancholy remembrances. Innocence takes that silent hope and explores how invigorating the world can be when old love is renewed and set ablaze. The first time around, you have no idea of what you are doing, what commitment means, or what changes will take place within your life as a result. The second time around, you have no idea of what you are doing because you do know what commitment means, and you do know what will take place in your life. The measurement of how to live is seen from a different perspective as a future might consist of only a few good years, if that. And that is only the start as there is a ripple effect that travels through the very foundations of not only yourself, but your family members as well. I found Innocence extremely engrossing, its explorations of these concerns touching, and its writing superior. It’s not the last grasp at romance movie you would expect.

The Comic Critic Reviews "The Comedians"

François Duvalier, also known as Papa Doc, was the president of Haiti when this movie came out. His was an extremely oppressive totalitarian regime. The Comedians had to be filmed in The Republic of Benin, then known as Dahomey, because filming it on Haiti would have been impossible. The Comedians is a political drama meant to illuminate the ever-increasing desperate conditions imposed upon the Haitian people. It was also meant to poke at the inadequacies of embassy relationships with a dictatorship. And it also has a rocky love story woven into its tapestry. The movie was filled out with an all-star cast, including the legendary Lillian Gish. Amongst the cast were several African-American actors whose careers would only get larger. The title The Comedians comes from the concept that everybody is on a world stage where lines are being crossed not so much for the humor of those involved but for the gods. The theme of everybody’s life as a dark and ridiculous joke is a harsh sentiment that makes for a great novel, but it might have made it a challenge for a wider film audience. Critics might have found mild grievances with the story, but nearly everyone agrees the performances were superb. A short documentary titled The Comedians in Africa, chronicles the difficulties the cast and crew faced shooting a politically charged film in an alternative location. Watching both the movie and the documentary on DVD made up for my original experience, years before, of watching a heavily edited television version.

The Comic Critic Reviews Siam Sunset

I was fortunate enough to vacation in Australia for three weeks. It was a wonderful, memorable experience filled with unexpected surprises, adventure, and enchanted evenings. Even before the trip, I enjoyed watching films from Down-Under. Australian films don’t try to copy Hollywood. (If anything, Hollywood tries to capture some of the magic that gets produced from the Land of Kangaroos. Too often Hollywood over-applies its well-known techniques in pursuit of a larger audience.) The reason I find Australian films so enjoyable is that they don’t worry about capturing a massive audience; they’re more concerned about the right audience finding them. Even though my wife and I stayed in Australia for nearly a month, it wasn’t long enough. We’re thankful when we can recapture some of our experiences through the movies they produce. And Siam Sunset is one of the best we’ve seen.