Lately there are movies playing in theatres that are worth leaving the house for. These two, one a documentary and the other based on actual events, are engrossing and moving. They add context and nuance to the nightly news and our daily lives.

In Rosewater, Gael García Bernal’s ecstatic, sinuous jail-cell dance to a Leonard Cohen song is unforgettable. All the acting is outstanding in this richly textured story.

CitizenFour, a documentary about Edward Snowden, unfolds in real time as the NSA data that he revealed was first published. We see him watching news coverage, responding and making decisions determined by the reaction to his bombshell. There is visible thinking on screen; it is riveting and suspenseful even though we already know the outcome.

I am engaged by these stories and relieved to be respected by the filmmakers as part of an intelligent audience who needs to know about and think about these issues. The question now, after seeing them, is what to do? No escapism here.

– Schuster Gindin

This  article can be found in GOING OUT, in the section What We’re Seeing.

Comment:

Very good question that you end with…after seeing them what to do? Thanks for this though since even with that question hanging in the air they sound like ‘must see’ films.
Carol Phillips, Richmond Hill