Cinema from South Asia, plus scary new releases — starring an ever-relevant George Orwell and a phenomenal dog — are highlighted this week.
The San Francisco International South Asian Film Festival returns to the Roxie Theater, with movies from India, Sri Lanka and other places on Friday through Sunday. Thirteen films reflecting a diversity of South Asian stories and cultures screen at the 23rd annual festival, presented by San Francisco–based 3rd i Films. “Little Jaffna,” directed by Lawrence Valin, opens the event. A French undercover cop of Sri Lankan descent experiences dual-identity conflicts in the crime thriller from France. Uttera Singh’s “Pinch” is a dark comedy from India about a young YouTube vlogger who retaliates impulsively when she is groped while traveling to a religious festival. “Farming the Revolution,” Nishtha Jain and Akash Basumatari’s Hot Docs–honored documentary, looks at the historic antigovernment protests conducted by Indian farmers in 2020 and 2021. Lakshmipriya Devi’s “Boong” is a coming-of-age tale about a mischievous Indian schoolboy with a mission. Also on the bill are “Cactus Pears” (India/Canada/UK), “Humans in the Loop” (India), “Your Touch Makes Others Invisible” (Sri Lanka/USA), and short films from the South Asian diaspora. Filmmaker Q&As accompany several programs. For more information, visit thirdi.org.
Uplifting it isn’t, but “Orwell: 2+2=5,” from award-winning Haitian filmmaker Raoul Peck (“I Am Not Your Negro”), is urgent viewing as it illustrates the relevance of British author George Orwell’s writings about the dangers of authoritarianism. Using “Ministry of Truth” phrases from Orwell’s novel “1984” — “War Is Peace,” “Freedom Is Slavery,” “Ignorance Is Strength” — as chapter titles, Peck’s sprawling but cogent cinematic collage contains historical materials, readings (by actor Damian Lewis) from Orwell’s diary, clips from movie adaptations of Orwell’s works and recent footage of subjects ranging from the wars in Ukraine and Gaza to human-rights abuses in Myanmar to the storming of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. Peck examines the experiences — including living in British India and Burma and fighting fascism in the Spanish Civil War — that led to Orwell’s steadfast opposition to inequality and totalitarianism. He also focuses on Orwell’s final year, when the author, who died in 1950, was writing his seminal “1984.” As it captures how authoritarian governments control populations by silencing critics, presenting lies as truths, and stifling free speech by instilling fear in citizens, the documentary compellingly demonstrates that Orwell’s writing has proved to be more than dystopian fantasy. A special presentation of “Orwell: 2+2=5” at 6 p.m. Oct. 7 at the Roxie Theater features a Q&A with Peck following the film, which continues through Oct. 16 at the Roxie. Rated R.
“Good Boy,” filmmaker Ben Leonberg’s feature debut, combines a haunted-house thriller with a heroic-dog story and comes up with 73 minutes of winning hybrid genre entertainment, presented from a canine perspective. The canine is a retriever named Indy, who relocates with his ailing owner Todd (Shane Jensen) to the house in the woods where Todd’s grandfather lived — and died. Quickly, Indy detects a malevolent presence. Using his wits, instincts, sense of smell, and canine heart, he battles the demons to protect his human friend. That’s about all there is to this story. Its success stems from Leonberg’s adept DIY-style presentation and the charisma of the movie’s four-legged star, who, with his frequent whimpers, has more lines than Leonberg’s rarely seen human actors (who include art-horror cinema’s Larry Fessenden). Via efficient camerawork and low-fi sound effects, Leonberg keeps the suspense intense, while closeups of Indy’s devoted, intelligent face movingly demonstrate the dog-human bond and suggest what this outstanding animal might be thinking. “Good Boy” is in Bay Area theaters. Rated PG-13.
Writer-director Carmen Emmi condemns homophobic police practices and depicts the quiet torment of living a lie in his sexy and moving debut feature, “Plainclothes.” Lucas (Tom Blyth) is a closeted undercover cop in 1990s Syracuse, New York, tasked with the horrible job of luring cruisers into shopping-mall bathrooms and arresting them for public indecency. One day, Lucas can’t bring himself to bust his target, a married man named Andrew (Russell Tovey). Instead, the two men soon meet for sex and conversation, secretly. Lucas falls for Andrew, and their affair forces Lucas to face his sexuality. Presented nonlinearly, the story unfolds predictably. We know that Lucas will experience heartbreak, gain courage, and reveal his secrets to his family at his mother’s plot-anchoring New Year’s Eve party. Stylized video footage proves more distracting than enlightening as a means of conveying Lucas’ anxiety. Still, it’s a compelling love story. Emmi gives the central relationship an erotic charge and a resonant sadness as Lucas and Andrew, both trapped in dishonest lives, come together out of desire and feel something deeper but are forbidden from embracing who they truly are. Blyth and Tovey, both excellent, keep the drama engrossing and affecting. “Plainclothes” is in Bay Area theaters. Not rated.
Ghosts, curses, demonic possession, occult rituals, masked wrestlers, and a haunted all-girls boarding school are featured in the Roxie Theater’s “Noche Oscura” series, a lineup of Mexican gothic terror films. Both genre entertainment and a showcase for the culturally significant art of Mexican gothic storytelling, the series begins at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, with “Hasta el viento tiene miedo /Even the Wind Is Afraid” (1968), a ghost story directed by Carlos Enrique Taboada. “Cronos” (1994), Guillermo del Toro’s debut feature, shown in a 4K restoration, follows, at 6:30 p.m. on Oct. 15. The series continues through Oct. 27. Visit roxie.com for a complete schedule.
The post Movies: SF South Asia film fest, ‘Orwell: 2+2=5,’ ‘Good Boy,’ ‘Plainclothes,’ ‘Noche Oscura’ appeared first on Local News Matters.