Film Review: In Search of Israeli Cuisine

Engaging Israeli food and culture doc is a must-see for food lovers

Chef Mike Solomonov (r.) samples spices at the Levinsky Market in Tel Aviv.

Just in time for Passover comes this lovely and charming new documentary that is bound to delight foodies of all persuasions. Documentarian Roger Sherman will make your mouth water with his beautifully filmed images of sumptuous Israeli cuisine dished up by both street vendors and some of the county’s fanciest restaurants. In Search of Israeli Cuisine is writer/director Sherman’s attempt to answer a singular question: What is Israeli cuisine? In such a new country, is having a nationally defined cuisine even possible?
Continue reading “Film Review: In Search of Israeli Cuisine

Spinning Platters SFIFF Interview: Yoav Hornung, Writer/Director, Deserted (“Nivut Golem”)

Screen Shot 2014-04-29 at 9.50.28 PM
Yoav Hornung’s DESERTED

In the lounge of the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF), Yoav Hornung sips a cocktail.  Yoav is a young Israeli filmmaker who has his tense and reflective dramatic short film, Desertedshowing in one of the shorts programs.  I sat down with him to discuss his new film, its controversy, its funding process, and some details on his recently co-founded start-up, Veed.Me:

(Warning: Contains spoilers)

Are you enjoying bringing your film around the festival circuit?

It’s very exciting.  I worked very long on the film and it’s probably the most rewarding experience.  To see it on the big screen with other people watching it, so far it’s been amazing.

The premise is something you’re personally familiar with, can you touch on how you came up with the story for Deserted and for those who don’t know, how military obligations work in Israel?

Continue reading “Spinning Platters SFIFF Interview: Yoav Hornung, Writer/Director, Deserted (“Nivut Golem”)”

SFIFF Spotlights #4: All About the Feathers/The Double/Club Sandwich/School of Babel/Select Shorts

Spinning Platters coverage of the 57th San Francisco International Film Festival (SFIFF) continues with four more film spotlights.  Program notes and tickets available at: http://www.sffs.org/festival-home/attend/film-guide

All About the Feathers (“Por Las Plumas”)
(Costa Rica, 85 min, 2013)

Allan Cascante in ALL ABOUT THE FEATHERS
Allan Cascante in ALL ABOUT THE FEATHERS

All About the Feathers is a charming tale of an unlikely friendship between a lonely security guard, Chalo, and a fighting rooster he finally purchases, aptly named “Rocky.”  The quasi-absurdist narrative, delivered calmly and steadily by first time director Neto Villalobos, is steeped in colorful characters and environments.  The film wins our hearts through Charo’s unflinching devotion to his new fowl friend and how such goodnatured care can spark close bonds with others.  Odd and hilarious, yet truly touching at its core, All About the Feathers gives us a quirky example of how it’s in our nature to fight being alone.

Screenings:

  • Tuesday, April 29th, 6:15 pm, Kabuki

Tickets: http://www.sffs.org/festival-home/attend/film-guide/all-about-the-feathers

Continue reading “SFIFF Spotlights #4: All About the Feathers/The Double/Club Sandwich/School of Babel/Select Shorts”

Film Review: World War Z

Brad Pitt (and his fictional family) in World War Z
Brad Pitt keeps his cool (with his fictional family) in World War Z

Fans of the book World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War by Max Brooks can either rejoice or fume at the fact that the new film adaptation is almost entirely its own unique entity.  An opening credit claims it is “based” on the book.  Sure, it does share the same title, and I can confirm that there are some borrowed story elements.  However, the action-packed narrative of the World War Z movie is extremely different from the book, in which a collection of post-pandemic interviews conducted by an agent of the U.N. Postwar Commission (Max Brooks, as a fictionalized version of himself) reads like a non-fiction history book.  In my opinion, a faithful adaptation of the book would work best in the form of a ten part HBO mini-series.  But, since the Brad Pitt action spectacle is what we must see to satisfy our WWZ cravings, then we will just have to make do.  Luckily, it really is not that bad.  In fact, it is quite entertaining.  WWZ lacks the heart and layered character portrayals we hoped for due to its connection to the phenomenal source material, but it remains a worthwhile blockbuster that contains a lot of thrills, impressive visuals, and a fun frenetic pace courtesy of numerous rewrites, reshoots, and a healthy dose of unpredictable plot turns.

Continue reading “Film Review: World War Z”