The House I Live In: 2012 Sundance Film Festival

Written by Natalia Lusinski Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 10:11 AM

Eugene Jarecki’s The House I Live In portrays today’s “War on Drugs” in America, which, apparently, we are still desperately losing. With research validated by first-hand accounts - everyone from dealers to those who lock them up to The Wire's David Simon (an ex-police reporter who often covered the crime beat and proves to be an extremely resourceful part of this documentary) - we see that millions of people, users and sellers, are getting put behind bars, the crime often not befitting of the punishment.

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Gypsy Davy: 2012 Sundance Film Festival

Written by Natalia Lusinski Tuesday, February 14, 2012, 10:07 AM

Rachel Leah Jones’ Gypsy Davy is a documentary about finding her father, David Serva, who left her and her mother to pursue flamenco guitar in Spain decades earlier.

The day I was to see this film, only an early morning screening was available. With the flu, I did not want to get up and go (in twenty-something weather, no less). However, once the movie began, I was very glad I had left my bed. That said, Gypsy Davy does a very good job at luring the viewer into the narrative.

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Mosquita Y Mari: 2012 Sundance Film Festival

Written by Natalia Lusinski Thursday, February 09, 2012, 9:31 AM

Chances are, we all remember our first love – whether or not it was reciprocated.

Such is the story in Mosquita Y Mari. In the Q&A after the movie, Screenwriter/Director Aurora Guerrero said the movie is about her first love, even though the girl never knew it.

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Keep the Lights On: 2012 Sundance Film Festival

Written by Natalia Lusinski Thursday, February 09, 2012, 9:28 AM

Keep the Lights On is a haunting, realistic account of a ten-year relationship splintered by drugs. Semi-autobiographical, Director and Co-Writer Ira Sachs (who penned the screenplay with Mauricio Zacharias) did an excellent job portraying addiction – emotional and physical – in this love story.

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Elena: 2012 Sundance Film Festival

Written by Natalia Lusinski Thursday, February 09, 2012, 9:21 AM

Elena is one of those movies that reminds us that every action will have a reaction. Eventually. And those reactions often have a way of catching up to us.

Beautifully directed by Andrei Zvyagintsev from a succinct script by Zvyagintsev and Oleg Negin, the Russian movie tells a story about middle-aged Elena (Nadezhda Markina), who is at an impasse having to decide between being the caretaker to her husband or helping out her son financially. The acting is stellar as is Philip Glass’s music score, which could be a character in and of itself, often setting the mood beautifully.

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