City of Hope

Movies to See Right Now

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PARASITE

Well, the Oscars were, for once, a happy surprise. As I wrote last week, I knew Parasite would win the Best International Oscar and I was rooting for Bong Joon Ho to win either for screenplay or directing, but I never dreamed that Parasite would sweep four major awards. As a bonus, the lovable Bong made the most classy and generous acceptance speech. Parasite is now streaming widely (and only $3.99 on Amazon Prime right now).

I do have two friends with good movie taste who, surprisingly, did not like Parasite. The film’s ending is shattering and not for everyone, I very much admired and enjoyed it. As I’ve been saying since I saw it on October 24, it’s a masterpiece.

Chaos caused by a family medical emergency kept The Wife and I from our traditional Oscar Dinner. But if we had, we would have taken advantage of our friend Keifer’s wicked suggestion of featuring shaved peach fuzz from Parasite. Since it’s February and I’m in North America, the challenge would have been to source a fresh fuzzy peach.

OUT NOW

  • The masterpiece Parasite explores social inequity, first with hilarious comedy, then evolving into suspense and finally a shocking statement of the real societal stakes. This is one of the decade’s best films.
  • Adam Driver and Scarlett Johannson are brilliant in Noah Baumbach’s career-topping Marriage Story. A superb screenplay, superbly acted, Marriage Story balances tragedy and comedy with uncommon success. Marriage Story is streaming on Netflix.
  • Martin Scorsese’s gangster epic The Irishman is tremendous, and features performances by Al Pacino and Joe Pesci that are epic, too. It’s streaming on Netflix.
  • Rian Johnson’s Knives Out turns a drawing room murder mystery into a wickedly funny send-up of totally unjustified entitlement. Knives Out is streaming.
  • Refusing to play it safe, director Francisco Meirelles elevates The Two Popes from would have been a satisfying acting showcase into a thought-provoker. It’s streaming on Netflix.
  • 1917 is technically groundbreaking, but the screenplay neither thrilled me nor moved me.

ON VIDEO

My video pick, John Sayles’ City of Hope, is almost thirty years old, still searingly relevant on race in America and still one of the most incisive films on American politics.  Life is complicated, so is America and so are politics.  Most political films are NOT complicated, but Sayles respects the audience enough to give us a realistic story in a realistic community setting. City of Hope may be streamed from iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

ON TV

Turner Classic Movies’ 31 Days of Oscar continues on February 15 with the John Sturges masterpiece Bad Day at Black Rock. Spencer Tracy investigates a disappearance in an especially hostile, racist and sinister town. Besides having Tracy at his best and being a great looking movie, Bad Day at Black Rock is notable for its menacing crew of Bad Guys – Robert Ryan, Ernest Borgnine and Lee Marvin.

Spencer Tracy and Robert Ryan in BAD DAY AT BLACK ROCK

Stream of the Week: CITY OF HOPE – life is complicated, so are American cities

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Joe Morton and Angela Bassett in CITY OF HOPE

John Sayles’ City of Hope, almost thirty years old, is still searingly relevant on race in America and is still one of the most incisive films on American politics.  Life is complicated, so is America and so are politics.  Most political films are NOT complicated, but Sayles respects the audience enough to give us a realistic story in a realistic community setting.

City of Hope features over twenty characters braided together in interlocking story threads.  It’s set in an Eastern US City very much like Newark, New Jersey.  An Italian-American business and political establishment is still clinging to the levers of power, as an emerging black and brown majority pushes for inclusion.  There is racial tension and everyday political corruption – and people must get on with their lives. 

Tony Lobianco and Vincent Spano in CITY OF HOPE

A self-made contractor (Tony Lo Bianco) is trying to finish a big project but the driving forces of race and politics intervene, just as his troubled and immature son (Vincent Spano) is flaming out.  An African-American professor-turned elected official (Joe Morton) is trying to keep his integrity, maintain credibility with the black community and be effective – which is hard to do at the same time.  And that really just kicks things off.

City of Hope has an extraordinary cast that includes many stars early in their careers:  Angela Bassett, Chris Cooper, Gina Gershon, Frankie Faison, Miriam Colon.  Kevin Tighe is absolutely brilliant as a police union official whose every personal interaction is designed to increase his political leverage (this is a guy that I’ve met many times on my day job).  Tom Wright is compelling as Malik, a distrustful activist.  The great David Strathairn, who has appeared in six of Sayles’ films, is unforgettable as Asteroid, a schizophrenic street dweller.

Sayles and Sayles’ life partner Maggi Renzi, who has produced all his films, carved out juicy – and the least sympathetic roles – for themselves. In a hilarious turn, Renzi plays a Greek Chorus in the form of an Italian homemaker (They don’t LISTEN!).  Sayles himself plays Carl, a treacherous and reptilian scumbag of a local crime lord.

City of Hope was released in 1991, right on the heels of 1989’s Do the Right Thing – both remain as insightful on America’s race issues as they were thirty years ago.   City of Hope is said to have influenced The Wire.  City of Hope may be streamed from iTunes, Vudu, YouTube and Google Play.

Tony Lobianco and John Sayles in CITY OF HOPE