The Long Way Home (1997)

Academy Awards, USA 1998

Won Oscar

Best Documentary, Features Marvin Hier Richard Trank

Seventh Art Releasing
Directed by Mark Jonathan Harris
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

Starting at the end of WWII and the Holocaust, the plight of those survivors in the first few years after the war is chronicled. It turns out the defeat of Hitler was not the end of the misery, as the released prisoners had no home, no families to return to, but instead became refugees shuffled from one country to another. Many, ironically, headed toward Germany and the relative safety of the American Zone, but  their ultimate destination was British controlled Palestine. However, the British wanted nothing to do with them and put up obstacles at every opportunity. The refugees tried to enter the country as illegal immigrants, by the thousands on ships at night. Eventually the problem became so desperate that the British pulled out and left it to the United Nations to untangle. This led to the controversial formation of the state of Israel, with President Harry S. Truman playing a pivotal role. Essential viewing to understand the historical background of Israel, with more than a few parallels to contemporary immigration issues.

Seeing Red (1983)

Academy Awards, USA 1984

Nominated Oscar

Best Documentary, Features Jim Klein Julia Reichert

Heartland Productions
Directed by James Klein and Julia Reichert
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

Filmmaker Julia Reichert interviews surviving members of the American Communist Party when it was a viable third party in the 1930s and 1940s. Most are still proud of their accomplishments and dedication, with some great stories to go along with those memories. Pete Seeger gives his perspective and sings some songs. A very revealing look at what was then, and still is, an American taboo, laying the groundwork for today's leftist movement, and never more relevant than in the age of Trump.

Operation Thunderbolt (1977)

Academy Awards, USA 1978

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film Israel

Warner Bros.
Directed by Menahem Golan
My rating: 2.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

Dramatic reenactment of the hijacking of an Israeli airliner by German and Palestinian terrorists, who force it to land in Uganda where they get help from Idi Amin and his army. Jewish passengers are separated from the others and threatened to be killed unless there demands are met. The Israeli government approves a rescue mission by an elite squad, leading to a final shootout at the airport in Uganda. Klaus Kinski is appropriately over-the-top as the main hijacker, while the actor playing Idi Amin is hilarious.

To Forget Venice (1979)

Academy Awards, USA 1980

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film Italy

Cineriz (Italy)
Directed by Franco Brusati
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

An older man and his young male lover travel to the country house of his sister. They mingle with the sister's caretaker and farm hand, lesbian lovers, and have a memorable meal at an outdoor restaurant with a wedding party. They plan a day trip to Venice one day, but the sister is struck with a sudden illness and sent to her death bed. These present day events are intermingled with dreamlike remembrances of the past. It lingers a little too much on the naked bodies and sexuality of the various characters, but that is more than made up for by wonderful cinematography and music.

Bizalom (1980)

Academy Awards, USA 1981

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film Hungary

New Yorker Films
Directed by István Szabó
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

A woman is given a new identity and sent into hiding as a member of the Nazi resistance in WWII Hungary. Separated from her husband and young daughter, she struggles to adapt to her new living situation posing as the wife of another member of the resistance also in hiding. However, as time passes, and the war creeps into their daily life, they begin a sexual relationship. Neither are particularly guilt ridden, even when she unexpectedly meets her husband for one night, but as the end of the war comes within view must face the reality of their return to their other lives. Well-acted, if talky and a bit claustrophobic, story gives a new slant to "wartime romance".

Khovanschina (1959)

Academy Awards, USA 1962

Nominated Oscar

Best Music, Scoring of a Musical Picture Dmitri Shostakovich

Artkino Pictures
Directed by Vera Stroyeva
My rating: 2 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

More or less faithful adaptation of the Mussorgsky opera concerning a revolt against the ruling Tzars in the 17th century. It will take some preparatory study to fully understand the political and historical context, but basically a Russian prince and his Orthodox religious allies rebel against the modern reformations of the rulers of the day. Add some melodramatic and supernatural elements, and have it all end in a fiery mass suicide, and well, you've got a filmed opera, just not exactly riveting cinematic material.

A War (2015)

A War [Blu-ray]

Academy Awards, USA 2016

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Denmark

Magnolia Pictures
Directed by Tobias Lindholm
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Magnolia)

The commander of a Danish regiment in Afghanistan is accused of a war crime after ordering the bombing of a civilian area without proper identification in order to save a wounded soldier. Back home, he faces a court trial and is apparently ready to admit guilt, until his wife convinces him otherwise for the sake of their own family. The film raises more questions than it answers, and the court trial goes on for too long, but ultimately another passionate reminder of the far reaching consequences of war.

Embrace of the Serpent (2015)

Embrace Of The Serpent [Blu-ray]

Academy Awards, USA 2016

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film of the Year Colombia

Oscilloscope
Directed by Ciro Guerra
My rating: 3.5 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(Blu-ray, Oscilloscope)

A native Amazonian, the last of his tribe, travels with two different scientists, approximately 30 years apart. The first trek is to accompany a German ethnographer, seriously ill, in search of a plant that supposedly has healing powers. The second is with an American botanist, supposedly in search of the same mystical plant. The two stories intertwine almost seamlessly, held together by the younger native who is angry that his tribe has been all but extinguished by the greed of the rubber industry, and his older, wiser self, not so angry but still distrustful. A memorable stop on both trips takes place at a remote Catholic mission, overseen by a sadistic priest who tortures children, then overrun by the same children a quarter of a century later, who have become savages and practice a bastardized Catholicism. Hypnotically filmed in black and white by David Gallego, with the notable exception of a drug-induced animated sequence.

Madame Rosa (1977)

Academy Awards, USA 1978

Won Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film France

Atlantic Releasing Corporation
Directed by Moshé Mizrahi
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(YouTube)

Former madame Simone Signoret spends her elderly years as a sort of daycare and orphanage for children of prostitutes. One of her longer term stays is a Muslim boy in his early teens. When she becomes ill and is urged to go to the hospital by her doctor, the woman and boy forge an unbreakable bond. He lies to keep her out of the hospital so she can die at home, while she lies to his father who shows up unexpectedly for the first time in his life. The story takes a macabre turn at the end, but watching Signoret in the role of lifetime is a pure pleasure.

The Other Side of Sunday (1996)

The Other Side of Sunday DVD

Academy Awards, USA 1997

Nominated Oscar

Best Foreign Language Film Norway.

Norsk Filmdistribusjon (Norway)
Directed by Berit Nesheim
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb Wikipedia
(DVD, Fox Lorber)

Teenager Marie Theisen rebels against her strict religious parents in rural Norway. Her father, a priest, feels most of her wrath, as she questions God, the other parishioners and her upcoming confirmation. She starts hanging out at the local underground cafe with other teens, listening to rock and roll, smoking, drinking and having sex. She befriends an older woman who also has a rebellious nature, but channels it in a more positive way. Manages to balance humor and serious issues, although certainly leans toward the former, with a standout performance by Theisen, who disappeared after only one more role. Filmed in a wonderful blue hue that makes it seem to be bathed in the eternal light of sunshine passing through stained glass windows.