FILMS: Chris Rock once famously said that “a man is only as faithful as his options”. I don’t know how true that is but it makes you think. Why does it seem like infidelity is more likely, the more successful a man is?

Lukas Moodysson’s latest film, Mammoth, is a brilliant examination of modern love and marriage. It’s about the rippling effects of life’s smallest decisions. Leo and his wife Ellen lead a charmed life in New York with their daughter, Jackie. Ellen is a hardworking emergency surgeon and Leo is an entrepreneur. His website is doing extremely well and is generating a great deal of interest. When he travels to Thailand on business, he unknowingly sets off a chain of events that will have a dire impact on his family. Mammoth is currently available on DVD and Video On Demand. Click here to view the trailer.

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“Now I’m very vulnerable to female beauty… Everybody’s defenseless against something, and that’s it for me. I see it and it blinds me to everything else.” These are the words of David Kepesh, the central character of Elegy, a film about a womanizing professor and his relationship with an emotionally mature female student.

Kepesh has a deep appreciation for aesthetics – he has impeccable taste and has managed to construct a life filled with elegance. When Consuela enters his classroom, she disrupts this well-planned life. His encounter with her paralyzes him, as he’s confronted with the gravity of a real connection. Elegy is a brilliant examination of beauty and its ability to both blind and transform. Click Read More for additional information and photos. Watch the trailer for Elegy.

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Written by Joanne Lam: Jean-Pierre Melville’s Le Samouraï is a masterful crime drama that thoroughly captures the spirit of “less is more”. With its insistence on monochromatic tones, rigid lines and hushed dialogue, Le Samouraï’s minimalist viewing experience perfectly accentuates the tension prevalent in the life of a professional hitman named Jeff Costello. Acted to perfection by Alain Delon, this stone cold character meddles in the grey area between law and crime in order to accomplish his tasks, and in doing so, eventually works himself into trouble. As Le Samouraï unfolds, the plot becomes a game of Russian roulette where Costello’s every move is potentially lethal – for him, the outcome can be either black or white, but never grey. Click Read More for additional information and photos.

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Love is the recurring theme of Three Times. It tells three tales over three time periods – 1911, 1966 and 2005. In the first story, a man leaves his true love to serve in the army. When he returns, he finds that his girlfriend has disappeared, so he sets out to find her. A man develops an unlikely bond with two women in the second story; and four Taipei teens relieve their angst with technology and sex in the last story. The film is an emotional experience. Simultaneously minimalist and extravagant in its execution – Three Times isn’t simply about love as a constant, but how the expression of love is constantly changing. Click Read More for additional information and photos.

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Darshan, The Embrace is a touching movie about the power of kindness. It elegantly presents the story of Amma, one of India’s most famous spiritual guides as she travels through the country with her inner circle to visit with her disciples. Internationally she’s well known for her charitable work, peace efforts and work with illiteracy. She also won the Gandhi King Prize for her work in 2002, joining a prestigious group of winners that includes the likes of Nelson Mandela and Khofi Annan.

While watching the movie you can’t help but notice her undying charisma and quiet enthusiasm for a kinder gentler world. In short, Amma is an inspiration to many and a comfort to those who have little hope to cling to. Darshan, The Embrace is a moving documentary with awe-inspiring cinematography. It shouldn’t be missed. Click Read More for additional information and photos.

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Written by Hanif O’Neil: There is no denying that Medicine for Melancholy is a cleverly crafted feature debut for director Barry Jenkins. Its rich cinematography and stylish tone convey a hue not so well known in today’s cinema. What this film does well is enter a film history with fresh depictions of an African American existence not widely represented, acknowledged, or identified with: the non-violent urbanite seeking intimacy. A character study spanning 24 hours, Medicine for Melancholy takes the delightful feeling of human connection, into the depths of complexity and uncertainty. Actors Wyatt Cenac (Micah) and Tracey Heggins (Jo) revel in this genre of film making, delivering natural performances as two unlikely lovers reconciling the ambiguities of love of intimacy.

Set in San Francisco, a city known for its rich cultural diversity and progressive politics, Medicine for Melancholy offers a sentimental approach to discussing relationships, race, class, and gentrification. Full of poignancy, warmth, and humor Medicine for Melancholy demonstrates the unspoken connections that link us to unlikely characters in our lives.

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Treeless Mountain is a poignant tale about the importance of family bonds. It centers on Jin, a six-year-old, who lives with her mother and little sister Bin in a small apartment in Seoul, South Korea. Early in the story, their mother decides to look for their estranged father and leaves her children with their alcoholic aunt. After their mother fails to return, they’re forced to move to their grandparent’s farm.

These unfortunate events engender a coming of age in Jin. Although she has lost her parents, she is inspired by her grandmother’s work ethic and determination, in taking care of them and the farm. She realizes that staying close and taking care of her younger sister is the best way to get over the hurt of being abandoned. Click Read More for additional information.

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