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Many children prefer to leave the closet light on to keep the monsters away at night. Some end up in their parents' bed. Those monsters, however, are but imaginary. But the monster who is the main focus of Barry Hershey's feature debut The Empty Mirror is far too real. A bold re-imaging of the man who committed the most heinous crimes in history, we find Adolf Hitler (Norman Rodway) if he had survived WWII, left to contemplate his deeds. If Hitler lived to write his memoirs, how would he justify his actions? Hershey challenges us to examine the myth vs.
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San Francisco-based filmmaker Marcia Jarmel never identified herself as a Jew. That was before a friend's wedding where she was drawn into the Orthodox Jewish world. She takes her camera to Crown Heights, Brooklyn, the center of Lubavitcher Chassidic life, to explore what draws modern, educated women to choose such a restrictive way of life. Along the way, Jarmel learns about her own Jewish identity as well as the choices one makes in life and the rich benefits of community.
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In 1992, the small peninsula community of East Palo Alto was filled with crime and designated as the ''murder capital of the United States.'' This absorbing, in-depth documentary by Michael Levin tells the 100-year history of this misunderstood town. A superb blend of historical research and a revealing and hopeful portrait of how people can make a difference.
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Three women, two days, one family: an apt, if oversimplified, synopsis of Chris Brown's absorbing feature film debut. Daughters gives us a snapshot view of the lives of three generations of women, each facing an age-related crisis. Jade is turning 50. She lives with her mother, a cynical woman who refuses to stop smoking despite serious health problems, and her daughter, a 25-year-old slacker-in-training. Jade tries to prod her housemates into doing what's ''right'' while dealing with the eminent bankruptcy of her own home-based business.
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Every so often a film acquires the status of a landmark, not necessarily because it is a wide-screen epic or has Hollywood stars or has an unusual amount of violence or sex. Darling is none of these, but is the story of the ruthless, self-seeking climb in London society of an ordinary girl (albeit very attractive). It came along in the mid-sixties when social upheavals were just starting to happen on both sides of the Atlantic.
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Alone by choice, Billie has settled for the life of a drifter. Until, that is, she finds herself stuck in a small fishing village. After a scam goes bad, she limps back to the motel only to discover all her money has been stolen. Billie's definition of freedom is tested as she is forced to ''rely on the kindness of strangers.'' Thinking that a local man, Ben, is responsible for the theft, she bullies her way into his life. Although he is often frustrated by the rules, Ben is ready to play. Then she meets his friend, Ted.
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Maverick film and sound editor Walter Murch joins us for a special screening of the classic film The Conversation. In the midst of our current infatuation with information, particularly telecommunications, how often do you wonder who may be listening in on your cell phone conversation or furtively slitting open that cyber envelope of your latest e-mail? Released more than 23 years ago, Francis Ford Coppola's The Conversation is, nonetheless, as eerily contemporary as www.privacynomore.com.
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Everyone hated this baseball legend. And he loved it'' the tag line for Cobb's release and most appropriate. Ty Cobb was certainly not a favorite and was, by many accounts, a mean-tempered, vicious, drunken, wife-beating, racist SOB who was impossible to spend any length of time with, and the movie Cobb faithfully represents those qualities, especially the last one. But don't let that scare you away. Ron Shelton's Cobb is one of the most original sports biopics. Why? Because it tells the truth, and you most likely will have trouble finding a better performance by Tommy Lee Jones.
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Diego Musiak's second feature film is a delightful mix of travelogue, romance, and comedy, and when you watch it, you'll learn something. An Argentinean production filmed in Cuba, Clandestine Stories in Havana is a series of inter-related stories, beginning with Laura's. She's just arrived in Havana from Argentina, newly separated from her husband, and unsure about her future in both work and love. Also unsure about his love life is Frank, the taxi driver Laura meets. His wife has left him, he lives with his mother, and he's in no mood for love.