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From 2023, this quiet moving film about a young Afghan woman who has resettled in the Northern California city of Fremont (near San Francisco) after having served as a translator for the U.S. in Afghanistan. Though not many details of her previous life are offered, it’s clear she has suffered some trauma and feels isolated and adrift, as she tries to adjust to her new life. This is in spite the fact she lives in an Afghani community and holds a job at a fortune cookie factory. The one star in it was Jeremy Allen White. It’s in black and white. But there really isn’t much about Fremont itself lol, though that is where she lives. A very quiet film of small moments, but I liked it a lot.
Rental Family (Hulu)
Another quiet moving film about an American expatriate (Brendan Fraser), a struggling actor living in Japan who finds work at a family rental agency. I’m not sure how accurate the film is in terms of the kind of work these workers actually do (though I had vaguely heard about people paid to attend funerals), but it explores the sticky ethics of such work (especially when it involves deception), and whether it’s possible for the workers to keep their work and personal feelings and lives separate. Full of warmth and humor, Brendan Fraser anchors the film, joined by a dominantly Japanese cast.
EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert
When I heard about this film, I opted to see it in a theater to enjoy a full theatrical and sound experience. Part documentary and part concert film, it mostly strips away Elvis’s bigger-than-life image to focus on his music chops and performance, particularly his early in residence Vegas years. (Though you do see a bit of weight fluctuation in some of the footage, there’s little of the later “Fat Elvis” years—in fact, in the earlier footage, The King looks downright terrific and slim. Kind of a mini-version of the Beatles’ Get Back documentary, the film provides a brief bio of his early musical and movie career, then focuses on both studio rehearsals and concert performances. It was a treat to see Elvis in concert, he was truly electric, giving 110% in every performance. And to go back to the Get Back comparison, it was a blast seeing him perform three Beatles tunes: Yesterday, Something, and, live in concert, a terrific mashup of Little Sister with Get Back!
