Review: Becoming Astrid
This lovely Swedish biopic tells the story of the challenging early life of Astrid Ericsson (Lindgren) who would go on to write the children's classic Pippi Longstocking and a slew…
Review: Shoplifters
This film from Japanese director Hiorkazu Kore-eda (Nobody Knows) is a beautiful drama about what family means. I saw it at Middleburg, and it's stayed with me. The story is…
Review: El Ángel
Set in Buenos Aires in 1971, El Ángel is a true crime drama about a baby-faced teenage sociopath named Carlitos (Lorenzo Ferro) whose love for thievery blossomed into a passion…
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Arty Chick’s Middleburg Film Festival Download 2018
Another year at a fabulous festival! I wonder how long this little Virginia horse country festival can keep it up. It's sure to burst its seams soon. This year's slate…
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Award Winning
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Mainstream Chick’s Middleburg Film Festival Download (2018)
Despite a few (hotel reservation and RSVP) potholes on the road to this year’s Middleburg Film Festival, all’s well that ends well! And what an ending it was. The closing…
Review: The Guilty
This Danish thriller aka Den skyldige is simply amazing. There is just one man on camera through almost all the film's 85 minutes, and you can't look away for a…
Review: Kusama: Infinity
This documentary was full of surprises for me. I've been an art lover for as long as I can remember, but somehow missed knowing one of the most critically acclaimed…
Review: Custody (Jusqu’à la garde)
Custody begins as a separated couple, Antoine (Denis Ménochet) and Miriam (Léa Drucker), sit before a magistrate who will decide the fate of their children. Their daughter Joséphine (Mathilde Auneveux)…
Review: The Captain (Der Hauptmann)
The Captain is not for the faint of heart. It's the true story (or some version of it) of a German deserter in World War II, who finds a suitcase…
Review: Gauguin: Voyage to Tahiti
If you are a lover of modern art in the least, you're most likely familiar with Paul Gauguin's work, particularly the bold colorful paintings he did while living in French…
Review: Under the Tree (Undir trénu)
There are actually two storylines running concurrently in this very dark dramedy from Iceland. In one, everyman Atli is caught by his wife watching a sex tape in which she…
Review: Bye Bye Germany (Es war einmal in Deutschland)
This "based on a true story" movie takes place in 1946, in a displaced persons camp, where those who survived the Nazi death camps are being held until they can…
Review: Foxtrot
This moving Israeli drama begins with a scene every parent with a child in the army fears -- the knock at the door and the soldiers with solemn faces. They…
Review: The Guardians (Les gardiennes)
Most World War One movies are set in the battles and the trenches, but The Guardians takes place at home on a farm in rural of France. There the women…
Review: Back to Burgundy
Set in the beautiful wine region of Burgundy where so many of the great wines are born, Back to Burgundy is a thoughtful story of three adult siblings grappling with…