Twenty Two

Of 200,000, twenty-two survive. Those must be some stories.

Yep. And difficult to share. Surviving systematic abuse by the Japanese army, just to have society look down on you? These women deserve better.

So the movie does what it can. Our Chinese grannies share their pain—some of them, for the first time. But even when reliving becomes too difficult, we still sit with them. See them.

About half of the movie steps out of the room. Nothing-moments. As much as these give grannies a respectful distance, they give us time to download what we’ve just learned. Watching a snowfall, we can think about how the voice of pain is sometimes muffled. Or, we can focus on the flakes’ delicate dance. Up to us.

Whether by interviews or in-betweens, this movie is as tasteful and beautiful as a movie can be. There is no action, no journey. Just life, raw and real.

Office

Oh, the Office! What will today bring?

Two new recruits are ready to find out. As they learn about work(/life), so do we.

It’s a musical equal parts play and movie. Dazzling set design builds emotion, and songs amplify it. There’s promise, intrigue, romance, and more.

The movie certainly has an opinion on the corporate world, but it’s never as tedious as a team meeting. It stays fun and energetic while exploring the highs and the lows.

Green Room

Green Room is where you wait. The anticipation kills.

Aint Rights is on tour, and is so underground, it seems, that nobody will attend their shows. Desperate, the band accepts a gig in a remote location. The crowd is . . . a bit rawer than the usual.

The band’s lyrics are hard, but its members are soft. This becomes painfully clear after one of them witnesses a crime. Aint Rights is now too real a name.

Every element of this movie maintains a terrific tension. It’s so good, and so prolonged, that you’ll almost beg for the spark. But fair warning, it’s more lightning than static.