The Truman Show 720p Subtitles
Eufrasia Radich
He glanced toward the far end of the adjacent table, where an old man with a white ponytail sat bent across the arm of his chair, watching horses in midrace and showing the anxious lean of body english that marks money on the line. He was otherwise motionless.
Let's cover the basics. American Arcadia is a game about a man escaping from inside a TV show, which has thus far been his whole life, a bit like The Truman Show - with one crucial difference. This is not a TV show about only his life, but everyones' lives who live in the utopia known as American Arcadia.
You begin by playing as Trevor, who's as overwhelmingly average and forgettable as a name like Trevor suggests. Sorry to any Trevors out there. He's 28 going on 40, comfortable in his unremarkable job and tank top, and seems to have a life that involves no excitement but a lot of work. Trevor is a no-one. No one notices him and, more importantly, no one watches him on the American Arcadia TV show. But one day, things begin to change. A good friend disappears - where did they go? Strange sounds start blurting out from speakers - what do they mean? Quickly, the facade of Trevor's world begins to slip.
And it's in the way the game is put together - the directorial sense of control felt throughout. The game speeds you through a series of playable but brief vignettes at the beginning, to backfill the days before you break out, and it provides a humorous snapshot at the characters and world without so much as a pause in the action. It pacey and it feels really slick. I think it shows real confidence and craft. Layer on oversized 70s disco lettering to tease the chapter ahead, and the exemplary performances from the whole cast - Cissy Jones is back from Call of the Sea and she's brilliant again - and it makes for something that's a pleasure to be around.
Philippe Lioret (France 2009) 110 min. 35MM. With Vincent Lindon, Firat Ayverdi. French, Kurdish & English with English subtitles.
A compassionate immigration drama about the hope of new beginnings and the power of true love, Welcome centers on two couples contending with issues of separation and dislocation. A 17 year-old Kurdish refugee has struggled his way through Europe for 3 months, trying to reunite with his girlfriend, who recently emigrated to England. Stopped by authorities on the French side of the Channel, he meets a swimming instructor in turmoil over his imminent divorce. Their relationship is an extraordinary account of human bonding that won the Ecumenical Jury & Europa Prize at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Jonas Carpignano (Italy/France/US/Germany 2015) 107 min. DCP. With Koudous Seihon, Alassane Sy. Multiple languages with English subtitles.
This remarkably timely, eye-opening look at an all-too-real issue charts the death-defying struggle of African migrants as they risk everything to start a new life in Europe. Ayiva (first time actor Koudous Seihon in a revelatory performance) and Abas (Sy) are close friends from Burkina Faso determined to make it to Italy in order to find work and provide for their families back home. But even after surviving the harrowing journey nothing can prepare the two men for the hostility and violence that awaits them.
Aki Kaurismäki (France/Finland 2011) 93 min. 35MM. With André Wilms, Kati Outinen, Blondin Miguel. French with English subtitles.
In this warmhearted portrait of the French harbor city that gives the film its name, fate throws young African refugee Idrissa (Miguel) into the path of Marcel Marx (Wilms), a well-spoken bohemian who works as a shoeshiner. With innate optimism and the unwavering support of his community, Marcel stands up to officials doggedly pursuing the boy for deportation. A political fairy tale that exists somewhere between the reality of contemporary France and the classic cinema of Jean-Pierre Melville and Marcel Carné, Le Havre is a charming, deadpan delight.
Starring Eduardo Noriega, Penelope Cruz. Written and directed by Alejandro Amenabar. In Spanish, with English subtitles. Running time: 110 minutes. Rating: R. At Angelika Film Center, Nova Cinemas, New Colseum Quad, others.
Motivational speaker/mom Silvana Clark, in concert with her now-teenaged daughter Sondra, confirms in this book the confusion and possible unpleasantness tween girls and their moms around the world face in these sometimes-trying years. Through surveys and interviews with some 100 mother-daughter pairs, the Clarks show us what preteen girls are thinking and wanting, how mothers can successfully help their daughters navigate these years to avoid the potential minefields, and how they can successfully guide their daughters while keeping a respectful and loving relationship intact.
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