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Connie has been reviewing film uninterruptedly since 1970 (47 years) and routinely covers the Chicago International Film Festival (14 years), SXSW, the Austin Film Festival, and others, sharing detailed looks in advance at upcoming entertainment. She has taught a class on film and is the author of the book “Training the Teacher As A Champion; From The Godfather to Apocalypse Now, published by the Merry Blacksmith Press of Rhode Island.

“The Tallest Dwarf” Rises: Free Speech Is Exercised While It Still Exists

By Connie Wilson

On March 26, 2025

In Editorial, Movies, Recipes

“The Tallest Dwarf” screens at SXSW 2025′ (Photo by Gabriella Garcia-Pardo).

“The Tallest Dwarf” was a 92 minute documentary helmed by Julie Forrest Wyman, who directed and produced. Debra Schaffner wrote and edited the film, and many Little People populate the scenes as Julie and other members of the group bond and talk about their feelings towards being far shorter than average. The Octopus Project provided the original score.

Julie has a burning desire to find out if she may be a dwarf, but, as we learn, there are many different types of dwarfs. It will take genetic testing to really confirm if she has Achondroplasia or some other form of what I hesitate to call a disease, because the Little People in this movie do not view their condition as “a disease.” As Julie says, “It’s really hard to feel like your body is wrong.”

Julie talks at length with her father, Forrest Paul Wyman and her mother, Genevieve MaGuffin, about her desire to find out if she is really and truly a dwarf. There is no history of dwarfism in the: family that anyone can point to, but 80% of dwarfs are born to average-sized parents. The dramatic tension (if any) throughout the film is contingent upon Julie waiting to receive the results of the genetic testing she decides to undergo. She does have a FGFR3 mutation, as it turns out.

There’s really not much tension in this “reveal.” After all, the title of the piece is “The Tallest Dwarf.” It is highly unlikely that the Director, in today’s society, would be using that term if it were not supported by science. Otherwise, as with another SXSW short film, “The Beguiling,” about white people pretending to be Indians, she’d face intense criticism for pretending to be something she’s not. Julie can “pass” in society, as she is a tall dwarf but testing reveals the presence of the gene that causes dwarfism.

PERSONAL STORIES

Julie shares old home movies of herself growing up. She is tall, by dwarfism standards, and only her arms and legs appear short. She has kept a journal throughout her adolescence and, at age 12, while praising her thick hair and her hands, she knows she is “different” and wants longer legs and also hopes to lose weight. She finds herself always “struggling to accept the body I have.” She (repeatedly) vows to go from 140 pounds to 120 pounds.

That constant struggle to make her body conform to what the world considers “normal” and is something that most of us can relate to, whether we are short, tall or of average height. The trans debate in society today would be another example of people of all genders struggling with acceptance. The sexual orientation dilemma that many face seems a part of everyday life that we have seen play out forever in films. Weight is another area that is germane. The idea of being accepted in society is universal.

Mark, of the Little People of America.

As a good-looking Little Person named Mark says, “I do not suffer from dwarfism. I suffer from the mistreatment imposed on me by my dwarfism.” Little People express their feeling that this mistreatment is the biggest threat to their happiness. Mark is, in fact, an actor, and says that he chose acting as a career “to control how people thought of me.” He seems resigned, but frustrated, by the fact that almost any movie he has ever had a role in denied him a close-up. He was generally shot wide to reveal his stature. But, says Mark, “When you’re doing a Dr. Pepper commercial and you are dressed as an elf and you only have one line, it really doesn’t matter.”

It is now fairly apparent that repression of many sorts is becoming the rule of the day in the United States in 2025. Any form of compassion towards anyone who is “different” is in short supply in the United States in 2025. What happened to the Golden Rule and the religious notion of loving one another? It is down for the count. All of the documentaries about those on the fringes of society made me wonder: Whatever happened to the Golden Rule and respecting and caring for one’s fellow man? [Removed from original review.]

DWARFISM FACTS

How short do you have to be to be considered a dwarf/Little Person? Answer: 4’ 10”

We see Julie and her father measuring from their chin to the top of their heads and from their ribs to their middle fingers. That is a tenth of the entire body and, yes, they are both “off” about 10%.

What is the term for those whose body parts are proportionate? Answer: Pituitary dwarfs. This particular form of dwarfism scientists found a way to fix (if that is the right term). Dr .Herbert Evans and Dr. Eberly Sheridan in 1935 and Dr. Theodore T. Zuck in 1933 spoke of pituitary dwarfs as “specimens that needed to be fixed.” And they were able to do so, via scientific advances. Julie refers to this discovery as “the canary in the coal mine.” [ ITALICIZED DATA REMOVED BY REQUEST. Difficult to find the citations to justify changing the name Dr. Eberly Sheridan (from the film) to Dr. Shelton, as instructed. Still searching to find the origin of these somewhat unusual names used in the piece as viewed, which may or may not be “wrong”].

MORAL DILEMMAS

Julie Forrest Wyman, Director of “The Tallest Dwarf” screening at SXSW 2025. (Photo by Luz Galliardo).

While almost all of the members of the Little People of America group feel that they are “a marginalized community”, they seem to agree that science providing a relief from spinal stenosis and bowed legs is a good thing. Mention is made of the research in the 70s at the University California in San Francisco into growth hormones, using cadaver pituitary glands. The FDA fast-tracked synthetic growth hormones and Genentech, between 1989 and 1994, began a dwarf measuring program in conjunction with this research. [*On July 29, 1994, Dr. Wimu and Dr. John Wasmuth at the University of California in Irvine discovered the gene for dwarfism. DATA REMOVED BY REQUEST.]

This brought on a heavy-duty moral discussion, including, “What should we test for and who(m) should we test?’

Eighty percent of dwarfs are born to normal-sized parents (changed to average-sized by request). Those parents are seen wrestling with the difficult question of what to do about their child’s lack of height.

Some patients underwent as many as 14 operations, like the 3’ 10” Chan, who chose to undergo the repetitive surgeries to lengthen her legs. This choice is left up to the individuals and the families to wrestle with. Some seem to want to remain the way they were born. Some would do anything to be taller because—let’s face it—there are a lot of things that are more difficult when you are very short, such as driving a car.

There is a heated debate about accepting money from pharmaceutical companies, which some of the members of the Little People of America obviously consider an organization that wants to exterminate them.

CONCLUSION

This one contained a lot of food for thought, and a lot of information on a subject about which I knew very little, going in.

Good luck to the Little People of America and to all the rest of us in America in 2025.

******

WHAT I SHOULD HAVE LEARNED AFTER 55 YEARS OF REVIEWING:

I’ve been reviewing since the 70s. (as I explained to the Public Relations representative who hounded relentlessly for over 3 weeks). I sent a lengthy response to her first e-mail and asked what was “wrong” that she objected to in the review (seen above). There was one typo, I was told, a surname, which we fixed. There were numerous word changes that she objected to, including the use of the term “dwarf” despite the fact that the director entitled the piece “The Tallest Dwarf.”

It was just never going to “please” this person, who completely ignored the contents of my lengthy response, explaining how a young girl sitting behind me at the showing of “On Swift Horses” learned of the documentary from me and immediately began reading the review with an intention to attend, if possible. The general chaos that any film festival represents: pretty much ignored and dismissed. And, yes, I gave her enough details for more than the cursory “When are you going to change this?” barrage that continued unabated.

Here is a partial list of the “changes Anne requested:

Updating to current language embraced & used by the community, For example:
- changing dwarf to little person
- changing dwarfs to dwarfism
- deleting THEIR CONDITION
- Dwarf is a term that is reclaimed by many little people – but also that is seen as problematic by others. In this case Julie (the director) is reclaiming this term in her title
- replace normal-sized with Average Height
Correcting spelling. For example:
- it is Dr. Shelton not Dr. Sheridan (*from the doc; unable to be determined as “wrong”, so far).
Clarifying attribution. For example:
- removing a quote from Julie tied to a medical diagnosis in the review but NOT linked to a medical diagnosis in the film
- Julie’s mother is linked to an IMDB page linking the filmmaker
- Mark is not a spokesperson for Little People of America
- removed a quote attributed to Dr. Zuck when it was Julie’s quote
- remove quote on growth hormones attributed to LPA who does not comment on growth hormones in the film – OR clarify who mentions it
- Remove reference to Dr. Wimo who is not mentioned in the film
Clarifying facts. For example:
- changing THE to MOST
- removing statement that there was no dwarfism in Julie’s family but Julie clearly inherited her dwarfism from her father
- removing Hypoplasia as that is the incorrect medical term
- Changing the statement that Mark has always been denied a close up vs. that it is “less common” for him to get a close up)

SXSW Alamo Drafthouse Theater on Lamar.

First, it was “change this to that.” That was done. One typo was fixed; [trying to find the support for that change has proven difficult; believe the name came from the film itself]. The names of the 1933 and 1935 doctors were so unusual and unique that one would expect them to be able to be found in the literature, but, so far, no. Therefore, whether there IS no Dr. Eberly Sheridan (etc.) is something that, like many claims, has yet to be supported by fact. Since it came from careful watching of the film’s screener, it seems unwise to meekly accept the “change” as an error, but, in an attempt to please Anne we did. Searching for support regarding these surnames has proven difficult,—and is it really important, since the entire italicized portion was subsequently removed? The review on a bigger blog was very “stripped down,” so it did not appear there, anyway.

The review was a fair, objective reporting of the issues faced by the Little People of America; in no way would it be considered a “bad” review. It was sensitive to the predicament that Little People face and sympathetic to their plight.

No mention of the “draggy parts” of the documentary was made, although there was cause for making such a negative point. Some editing to make it shorter would have improved the documentary, but that is very often the case. So, there was no mention of that in the original review(s). The review was far “meatier” than others, because research had been done to add to the audience’s understanding. Objections were made to giving this dwarfism background, which seemed, then and now, odd.

No mention was made of the frequent shots taken from an angle that was very unflattering to the director and the others (see picture at the top of the page). None of us would look great if shot from behind, but the shots were frequent. But, as it was a Little People project with many contributing to the filming, the focus was on the issues, not the cinematography. Those issues were presented in a fair and unslanted fashion, usually using direct quotes from the dialogue. If anything, the review was very sympathetic to Little People.

NO GOOD DEED GOES UNPUNISHED

In fact, in the original appearance of the review at SXSW, the times that the documentary was going to be shown were included, in the hopes of boosting attendance at the venue, which was somewhat off-the-beaten path. This only happened in two reviews submitted. It was an attempt to be helpful to the documentary. Also offered was placing the review up earlier than its stated embargo.

Rather than appreciating this additional information (included in only one other review), the “change this to that” orders kept coming. An offer was made to put the review up early (original premier date was March 10^th) with the thought that more people might attend, as happened with “Retirement Plan” from Irish Director John Kelly in the animated short category (a category he won. John wrote twice to say he felt the early review was a factor in their win in the category of Animated Short.)

THIRD TIME IS NOT A CHARM

Red Carpet, Paramount Theater, March 7th.

I’ve had 3 instances (in 55 years) where a representative made herself or himself unbearable by trying to pressure a reviewer (i.e., me) to present a certain point-of-view or slant. The first time was eleven years ago in Chicago. The documentary dealt with Honor Killings in the U.S.. I’ve honestly tried to block the entire incident from my mind and do not remember if it was “The Price of Honor,” or another. It taught me that it is unwise to respond to pushy people who want a total rewrite. A group of Canadian women (all attorneys) were bound and determined to dictate the point-of-view of the piece. Many things that seemed immaterial to the basic opinion of the piece (a piece which was sympathetic) were changed at their request.

But the commands kept coming.

I finally just took it down, BUT the Canadian attorneys resurrected it in PDF format and kept at it.

That went on for a very long time (just like this episode). I made a note never to deal with that agency again in any way, shape or form.

I also made a mental note that it never pays to respond. It leads nowhere. The only “changes” should be fixing factual errors, and, aside from one typo, there weren’t a lot of “factual errors.” [I’m still not certain that the surname change is “right,” but most of the paragraph was “axed” anyway, so it became immaterial.] I will need to write this down before I get into the fray of a large film festival again.

We fixed and fixed and fixed, but nothing was going to make Anne happy. I recognized this immediately and suggested taking it down from the second blog right away, just as I had taken it down from my blog immediately..

But, just as democracy dies in darkness, free speech is not something to surrender without a fight.

Reviewers should not cave simply because the person wanting the changes becomes more and more demanding and persistent. I did not tell Anne how to do her job, but she certainly tried to tell me how to do mine. If alienating reviewers when you are a Public Relations person is the goal, it seems counter-productive. Is this the best line of work for someone with a tendency to verbally bite you in the ankle (figuratively speaking) and do so over and over again? A nice, neutral review with good data should be considered a win by a P.R. team, since it was in no way negative towards the film and even designed in such a way to try to increase attendance (offer to run it earlier) by inserting the run times of the film.

FREEDOM OF SPEECH

In light of the bullying going on nationwide these days, something about removing the entire mention of this (“B-“) documentary does not set well. We still have freedom of speech—don’t we? We might not have it much longer if we cave to every demanding person who feels they have the right to dictate our opinion. [Funny: I got thank you notes from 4 other representatives or their clients, including the Swedish Ambassador representative for “The Home,” John Kelly for “Retirement Plan” and “We Bury the Dead” director Zak Hilditch and The Beguiling team.]

Australian Writer/Director Zak Hilditch and reviewer Connie Wilson at the SXSW screening of “We Bury the Dead.” (Photo by Jeff Peterson),

The second time a P.R representative sent demanding e-mails over a review was a Tennessee documentary entitled “The Tennessee 11.” That happened a good 10 years later. In that case, the P.R. representative didn’t like the opinion expressed, which was that bringing the eleven Tennessee people, who were on opposite sides of the gun control debate, into a room and making them try to reach some sort of legislative consensus to bring about gun control in the state yielded much heat but little light. It was true that the group was civil to one another, but they were no closer to reaching agreement than a liberal would be close to agreeing with a rabid evangelical MAGA supporter. There were other issues, but the Big One was saying that the meetings had been counter-productive. No legislation ever emerged as a result of the Tennessee Eleven and that was ostensibly the purpose of the documentary effort.

By then, I had wised up. I simply took down the piece immediately, rather than be subjected to non-stop “do this/change that” demands.

This time, the onslaught went on from March 2nd for over 3 weeks.

It has been an unrelenting series of “do this/do that” demands. Is this the best way to facilitate future reviews?

In reviewing “The Beguiling” I researched the background of “pretenders” who claim Indian blood when they have none. Research outside of what was presented in the short film was included, because it added to the audience’s understanding of the message of that (short) film. No one from that film sent me a note saying “that wasn’t in the film.” In fact, I received a very nice thank you note.

This attempt to include background information was also the case with this documentary. Much “looking up” of the background of dwarfism, who first found the gene that causes it, etc. The film’s P.R. representative complained about the inclusion of additional information—something that I look for in a good review. Over a period of nearly 3 weeks that information was removed in an attempt to honor her many requests.

It does make one wonder whether it is a P.R. firm’s job to repeatedly contact a reviewer and demand that data be removed. I’ve written 30 books. I’ve never contacted a reviewer telling them what to think about any of my books in their review(s). I’ve never tried to tell them what information can or cannot be used to support their point-of-view. It is fair game to correct misspellings but telling a reviewer in minute detail what should be included is not the way it works. The review should be sensitive and fair and this one was.

Maybe, under our current President, it WILL become how it works, as it does in Russia. But, right now, we have freedom of speech. A reviewer is supposed to give an honest appraisal of the content of the film. That was done. It was NOT a “bad” review and it was sensitive to the subjects. It was a fair and impartial discussion of the issues that were presented in the documentary. One objection was to the use of the term “dwarf.” “Dwarfism” was to be used or Little People. That change was made, despite the fact that the title of the documentary was “The Tallest Dwarf.” A handsome young man who appeared throughout the film—an actor named Mark—was NOT a spokesperson for Little People of America. Okay. He was shown articulating his opinions in front of the group constantly and certainly appeared to be a spokesperson for the group, but that was also removed, by request. Then came requests to change various wordings. Let’s just be precise about what all was asked and what was done:

Changed “dwarf” to “little person,” while respecting the film’s reclaimed use of the term in its title.

Changed “dwarfs” to “dwarfism” in relevant contexts.

Replaced “normal-sized” with “average height”

Removed the phrase “their disease.”

Corrected spelling/typo of Dr. Shelton to Dr. Sheridan

Clarified that Julie inherited her dwarfism from her father.

Removed “hypoplasia” but retained the correct term: Hypochondroplasia

Removed a quote that was attributed to a physician, rather than Julie

Unlinked Julie’s mother’s IMDB page and, instead, linked to the filmmaker

Clarified that Mark is not a spokesperson for Little People of America (although he is used extensively in the film)

Clarified or removed information on growth hormones, [which was contained in the film.]

Adjusted language to reflect that close-ups of Mark are “less common”, rather than “always denied. ( The actual dialogue that Mark speaks was taken from the documentary. If the Director later found it off-putting, maybe it should have been edited out?)

So, here is the review, with (some) changes and with the desire to utilize our right to free speech before it is taken away. Just as I said at the end of my review, “Good luck to the Little People of America and to all of us in the United States in 2025.”
.

“

“The Pearl Comb” Marries Mysticism, Misogyny and Mermaids

By Connie Wilson

On March 19, 2025

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews

“The Pearl Comb” to screen in Cleveland.

“THE PEARL COMB” from writer, director and star Ali Cook is a 20 minute short that has a message about female empowerment (or lack of same). It is set in 1893 Cornwell with beautiful cinematography of the area. The Victorian period sets and costumes, cinematography and music were also excellent. But, best of all, the short packs an unexpected surprise ending—not easy to pull off in twenty minutes.

CAST

“The Pearl Comb” to premiere at Cleveland Film Festival.

The film focuses on a fisherman’s wife, Beatie Lutey (Beatie Edney of “Poldark”). Beatie is being investigated to find out how she was able to cure a young person of tuberculosis. Beatie tells Gregory, the investigator (played by Writer/Director Ali Cook), that the healing gift comes from her husband, Lutey (Simon Armstrong) and his happening upon a mermaid who bestowed upon him the gift of healing in return for his aid.

One line that sums up Beatie’s message to the investigator: ”No one is ready for a female doctor. A woman of learning is far more threatening,” (Sad that this remains true in 2025, just as it was true in 1893.)

Simon Armstrong as Lutey (“Game of Thrones”), Clara Paget as the mermaid (“Black Sails”), Roxana Cook as Edith and Thomas Stocker as Arthur round out the cast.

MAN MEETS MERMAID

Clara Paget as the mermaid. The mermaid (Clara Paget of “Black Sails”) promises Lutey wealth if he will help her return to the ocean. (“Beautiful mortal, help me. Carry me out to sea.”) Lutey sought, instead, the gift of healing to improve his wife’s ailment (prompting the mermaid to say, “You are the first unselfish man that I’ve ever met.”) To prove to Lutey that he is not just imagining their meeting, the mermaid gives him a pearl-encrusted comb.

The film is a blend of the mystical and the modern. The line from Beatie to her husband when he calls her “beautiful” is modern. Beatie responds, “You ain’t called me beautiful in 30 years!” The long-suffering wife at first thinks her husband has been drinking, but she soon learns that his story, while fantastic, is true.

CONCLUSION

The Pearl Comb.”

“The Pearl Comb” is both beautiful and thought-provoking, with a surprise ending that adds to its impact. “The Pearl Comb” was nominated for five awards at the British Short Film Awards 2024, winning two. Writer/Director/Actor Ali Cook’s previous film “The Cunning Man” won 33 awards.

This is another potential award-winner to watch as it screens at the Cleveland International Film Festival, an Oscar-qualifying festival. “The Pearl Comb” premieres on April 4^th at the Allen Theatre at 9:50 p.m. and subsequently will be available on CIFF Streams from April 6-13^th.

“We Bury the Dead” at SXSW 2025

By Connie Wilson

On March 16, 2025

In Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews, Scary stories

Reviewer Connie Wilson and Writer/Director Zak Hilditch

Australian Writer/Director Zak Hilditch and reviewer Connie Wilson at the SXSW screening of “We Bury the Dead.” (Credit Jeff Peterson).

From Australian writer/director Zak Hilditch (1922, These Final Hours), comes a terrifyingly realistic new zombie movie, “We Bury The Dead.”

PLOT

As the synopsis says, “We Bury the Dead’ is a gripping and emotional thriller set after a military experiment decimates the people of Tasmania.” It is the United States that is responsible for the deaths (500,000 victims). One scripted line, alluding to Ava’s U.S. citizenship, says, “I’m surprised we’re letting the Yanks chip in at all.” [Me, too, in today’s climate.] But Ava, a U.S. citizen, is determined to find her husband, who was away on a work retreat.

An experimental weapon has totally annihilated Hobart. Travel is banned. Ava volunteers for a body retrieval unit, hoping to make her way to Woodbridge where her husband, Mitch, was attending a work retreat at the Enso Resort. Some of the victims, who lay dead where they fell instantly in this catastrophe, are re-animating for brief periods. The “Miracle Mike” headless chicken is even referenced. (I wrote an entire short story about Miracle Mike that appears in “Hellfire & Damnation,” a book of horror short stories, so that line rang a vivid bell)

CAST

Daisy Ridley (Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens) stars as Ava, a desperate woman joining the “body retrieval unit” as a volunteer in the hopes of finding her husband alive. Some of the victims have been “coming alive” briefly. That means there might be hope for restoring life, perhaps. Ava’s husband, Mitch (Matt Wheelan), when he departed, was on the outs with his wife. We don’t find out why for a very long time in the 94-minute movie.

When we do, however, and when Ava finally finds her spouse, it humanizes all the horrors she has endured and triumphed over on her way to the Enso Resort. It also sets up the only false note, for me, of the entire film,–the ending— but, since it is the very end of this SXSW entry, you’ll have to see it for yourself to find out what that might be. I hope that you do. It’s well worth the time and we can debate the significance or likelihood of the last few minutes—the denouement— of the film. It was a unique original ending.

The body retrieval volunteers are assigned partners, and Ava draws a hunky, long-haired motorcycle-riding he-man named Clay (Brenton Thwaites, “Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales, 2017). After seeing flashbacks of Ava’s nuptials with husband Mark, one wonders if she might consider dumping Mitch for Clay, based on looks alone. But, of course, this is not a skin-deep movie based on only sex appeal. Ava is going to go through hell to try to find and perhaps save her spouse. We will (eventually) find out what they were fighting about just before he departed. When Ava succeeds in finding Mark, she will be in for some surprises.

GRIEF

Director Zak Hilditch of “We Bury the Dead.” (Photo by Connie Wilson.)

“We Bury the Dead” is an exploration of human grief, which grew out of Writer/Director Zak Hilditch’s loss of his mother to breast cancer. When he was cleaning out her house and disposing of her things, said the Director in a Q&A session following the movie’s screening at SXSW, he realized, “There’s no handbook when it comes to grief.” Hilditch began thinking about the ramifications of some sort of mass catastrophe and how cleaning up all the bodies might be handled.

Hilditch admitted that there was much DNA from the 2002 film “28 Days Later” in this film. That early influence contributed to thinking about how the country would handle the disposal of all the bodies— those who had dropped dead while having breakfast (or, in one case, at a bachelor party with strippers). And what if some of the deceased started to “come back,” which a few do. Would the Army want to study those that temporarily revive, to see if they could be restored to life somehow? (Answer: no). What would the undead dead look like? You know the answer, but the rheumy eyes of those who are “awakening” and the mastication noises of teeth grinding (sound designer Duncan Campbell and Tom Heuzenroeder get the credit), plus the gorgeous cinematography from Steven Annis all contribute to a first-rate viewing experience. This one was exciting to watch, beautiful in its many images of the Australian landscape, and professionally done.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

The aerial shots, (which are many and numerous), added a great deal to the film. The use of choral music (Handel, et. al.) during body removal scenes was both original and eerily fitting. A British composer now living in Melbourne composed the score. He is listed as Clark (first name, Chris). Shots of the still-burning hills instantly took me back to panoramas of the recent Los Angeles fires. The truly interesting camera shots from overhead angles really added to the film’s patina, achieved on a relatively limited budget. A shot of the sun coming up was breathtaking; there are great coastal scenes when Ava and Clay are riding a borrowed motorcycle to evade the road blocks. The music was great in those scenes, also.

CLOSE CALLS

“We Bury the Dead” with Daisy Ridley at SXSW 2025. (Credit Steven Annis).

Ava displays a great deal of courage during several encounters with the zombies and, in one case, with a military man who has lost his pregnant wife to the disaster imprisons Ava for a short time in a bathroom, During Ava’s brief imprisonment, Clay escapes. When the officer comes to let Ava out of her cell, he asks for one dance during which she will impersonate his now deceased wife. The poor guy insists that Ava dress precisely the way his wife would have been dressed, complete with wearing his wife’s wedding ring. That’s when trouble starts. Ava is no slouch when it comes to taking care of herself using violence, if necessary.

There were so many human moments and so many unique touches that one viewer announced to the crowd that “We Bury the Dead” was now his favorite zombie movie. Never an afficionado of “The Walking Dead,” I had attended with someone who worked on that series. He gave it high marks for creativity and realism. (I know my eyes were riveted on the stripper with pink hair, Crystal Heo,, and the barn full of zombies in chains, the Viking funeral of husband Mitch when Ava finally located him, the assisting of a victim to bury the rest of his family and dispatching of the grief-stricken.) All felt fresh and unique and were so well filmed and scored that I’d have to agree with the impressed viewer who voted for 2002’s “28 Days,” until now.

Q&A

Hilditch gave great credit to Daisy Ridley for her work, saying, “I think it is the most amazing performance of her career. She knew what to do. And she is just the easiest-going person.” Scenes that called for tears, such as on the airplane on the way to the Tasmanian disaster area, seemed natural and effortless. Said Hilditch, “I think she’s the only actor in Hollywood who reads and reads fast.” It took one year to prep the film. Hilditch sent her the script within 72 hours of zooming with her.

CONCLUSION

This one, released on March 9^th after its SXSW debut, deserves to find an audience. It is riveting, well-paced, and human—not necessarily characteristics of all zombie movies. In a week that saw me take in multiple features, this one was my favorite film. I look forward to seeing it again. At the end of the screening at the Hyatt Theater, the director, once again, mentioned the low budget and said, “All hail indie cinema!”

Amen!

“On Swift Horses” on March 13th, 2025 at SXSW

By Connie Wilson

On March 14, 2025

In Movies, Pop Culture, Reviews

The closing night film at SXSW in Austin at the Paramount Theater on March 13, 2025 was “On Swift Horses.” Director Daniel Minahan (“Six Feet Under”) was present with cast members Daisy Edgar-Jones (Muriel), Diego Calva (Henry), and Sasha Calle (Sandra). Missing from the stage was the cast member most came to see, newcomer Jacob Elordi, who played Julius Walker, brother of Will Poulter’s Lee.

Sasha and Diego on the Red Carpet at SXSW on March 13, 2025. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

The scripted line “He has passions of his own” (Lee to Muriel) is code for “my brother Julius is gay.” Apparently the many gay sex scenes caused a few patrons to depart the Palm Springs International Festival when it was a surprise showing. The true nature of the relationships is somewhat shielded by the veiled write-up(s) that appeared before the film was screened.

As the plot progresses, we learn that Muriel, too, may be gay—although she may be more accurately termed bi-sexual. As I watched the film, I couldn’t help but be reminded of the content of the “Sally” documentary of Sally Ride, who also married and had male lovers, hid her true sexuality from the world, but spent the final decades of her life with a significant partner of the same sex.

There is definitely chemistry between Daisy Edgar-Jones’ character and Julius when he shows up at the Kansas farm that Muriel has recently inherited from her deceased mother. I was hopeful that this “forbidden passion” was going to be played out onscreen, but it was several different kinds of forbidden passions of the fifties that comprised the film’s 2 hour run.

LGBQT?

As a female appreciative of a young actor as good-looking as Jacob Elordi (“Saltburn”) it disappointed me that the sex scenes we saw the most of were between Elordi and Diego Calva as Henry. To each his own, but the loss of some heterosexual love scenes between two such attractive leads as Daisy Edgar-Jones and Jacob Elordi was a big disappointment, just as the young actor’s absence from the premiere was a let-down for the crowds that had gathered.

There would be some less lengthy love scenes between Muriel and Sandra (Sasha Calle). Sasha Calle turned in a dynamite performance, as did Daisy Edgar-Jones.

BACKGROUND

The unsung heroes: the writers! (Book, left, Shannon Pufahl, and screenplay, right, Bryce Kass). (Photo by Connie Wilson)

The book “On Swift Horses”, written by Shannon Pufahl, was the basis for this film. I get the distinct impression that I should go back to the source material to see how accurate the Bryce Kass screenplay was in adapting the multi-layered story of young love and lust in the fifties in the United States.

But, as a woman who lived through this decade (the Eisenhower era), I feel informed enough to comment on the societal repression it portrays. Women, in the fifties and sixties, were not allowed to have credit cards in their own names. We had to apply as Mrs. Wilson or, in this case as Mrs. Lee Walker to get a department store credit card. It was still illegal in San Diego to be queer until 1975, said Sasha Calle from the stage. Jobs of various sorts were not open to females (i.e., the high-paying ones.) Prejudice against queer or gay citizens existed, even if it was unspoken, and, all-in-all, it was not the greatest time to come of age as a woman in America nor to be “different” in any way.

The screenplay by Bryce Kass tells us that Muriel’s mother was the first woman in Marshall County, Kansas, to get a car, the first to go to college, and the first to get a divorce. Perhaps Muriel’s blazing new life paths for herself isn’t quite as surprising after we learn that information about the bold steps taken by her own mother. There is also the put-down from Julius who said, “That sad girl. She needs someone to tell her what to do.” Remarks like that would make today’s females mad enough to cut loose and attempt to do their own thing. It may have sparked those emotions in young Muriel. As Director Minahan said from the stage “These are young people following their hearts and risking everything to be themselves.” Another documentary (about Sally Ride) playing here (and at Sundance), “Sally,” covered the same ground with a woman who was the first U.S. woman in space. My point: yes this prejudice against gays, lesbians, Hispanics existed in the fifties and beyond. It still exists in repressive countries like Iran and Russia. Are we secure that those bad old days are gone forever in America today? Check your local newspaper (online, of course) to see if equality—which came a long way—can survive in 2025.

SEXUAL RELATIONSHIPS

Daisy Edgar-Jones (Muriel) at SXSW on March 13, 2025. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

Muriel marries Lee, but not very enthusiastically. There is repressed sexual tension between Muriel and Julius as soon as he shows up at the couple’s home. (If only that had been let play out a bit more.) The dancing scenes were promising. From an interested onlooker, you have Lee–who is a good guy with a bad hairdo—and you have Julius, who is gorgeous. No wonder Muriel hesitates to give a straight answer about marriage when she meets the handsome brother. We suspect, however, that her lone wolf style, which emerges and triumphs, is more her inner spirit guiding her than the temporary lure of a more attractive male. Muriel is young and she is finding her own way, which ultimately doesn’t involve either brother. Lee (Will Poulter) says that Muriel has chosen what is not real. (Hmmm)

Will describes his brother as “He gets to live his life like there’s no tomorrow.” Basically, it means, as one other scripted line put it, that Julius ends up “a thief, a faggot and alone.” It does seem that Julius really wants to have a meaningful relationship with Henry (Diego Calva), harkening back to films like “Brokeback Mountain.” In fact, in the latter half of the 1 hour and 59 minute film, Julius is putting his life in danger looking for Henry in Tijuana. (Thank heaven for Henry’s little gold gun at the moment of truth!)

One performer who stood out was Sasha Calle as Sandra. Her onscreen performance as a sexually liberated lesbian bombshell was palpable. She smolders onscreen with a sense of self-confidence. Sasha referred to the cast as “young, attractive, and cool” right before breaking into laughter and calling herself a “dork.” She’s a dork who will have a bright future in the right parts, as will Daisy Edgar-Jones, who has already been working professionally since age 17 on the London stage and in television.

Sasha Calle on the Red Carpet for “On Swift Horses” at SXSW on March 13, 2025. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

Diego Calva told the audience during the Q&A that he was not sure, at first, that he was the right choice for Henry, but Director Minahan sat him down and said, “You’re Henry. Be brave.” Calva (“Babylon”) was brave (as was Elordi). However, I’m still regretting the failure to provide equal time for an Elordi/Edgar-Jones hook-up. (Different strokes for different folks.) The sexual tension was there; it would be nice to see the two paired again in a different vehicle.

I wasn’t as convinced by the Elordi/Calva relationship. It was not because it was a homosexual relationship. It was because I had a hard time understanding much of Diego Calva’s dialogue and some of Jacob Elordi’s. On the other hand, I was impressed with how well Daisy Edgar-Jones, born in 1998 in London, handled her American Midwestern accent. She has shared that snippets of her accent(s) from a Northern Ireland grandfather and her Scottish father emerge at times. Edgar-Jones trained at the National Youth Theatre in London.

THINGS THE PERIOD PIECE GOT RIGHT

Daisy Edgar-Jones on closing night of SXSW on March 13, 2025, at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

I lived through the fifties, a time when a married woman couldn’t get a credit card in her own name, but had to apply as (in this case), “Mrs. Muriel Walker” or “Mrs. Lee Walker.” A good friend of mine, a single teacher buying her first home, was truly irritated when she was listed as “a spinster” on the paperwork. (She was in her twenties at the time, but single.) Women were frowned upon in the professions. It was “okay” to be a secretary, a nurse, a teacher, or a hairdresser, but it was not okay to be an engineer, a doctor or a lawyer. The phrase “second class citizens” might be considered accurate for women in the 1950s and beyond. Yes, there were the occasional trail-blazers like Ruth Bader Ginsberg, but I’m talking about the majority of women. The pill did not really become available until the early sixties, so women were trapped by their biology and by the mores of society, which frowned on divorce and barely even had terms for women attracted to their own sex.

One thing that certainly was accurate: everybody smoked.

Kat Cunning as Gail. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

The gambling scenes, for both Julius and Muriel, were well-done and took us out of the house, the low-rent hotels ($1.50 a day), and the underbelly of fifties society, in general.

The un-sexy boxy female underwear of the era: accurate.

The Zenith radio and “The Rifleman” on TV: true to the times.

All-in-all lots of attention to detail to “get it right,” although one wonders if the principals aren’t a bit preoccupied with sex. Muriel, in the film, never has to contend with a pregnancy that might have changed the course of her life. Most of society’s women of the time did have to deal with that reality in one way or another, but Muriel seems to float through life on a lucky streak, winning at the race track even as she loses at marriage.

HORSES

Julius is a gambler, and Muriel becomes one, betting on the ponies. (Title reference). There is also a horse that Julius wins in a poker game and takes to his brother Lee’s house, thinking that Will and Muriel live on a ranch. Lee corrects him. Will had said the couple built a ranch-style house. Now they have a horse wandering around in their backyard. Interesting. Also interesting: I wondered how one could ride a horse from San Diego to Kansas, but nevermind about that. Jacob Elordi looks good on a horse, sprawled on the hood of a car (shirtless) when we first see him, in a sailor uniform or lazing about in his underwear. He even looked good dead (in “Saltburn”). Give me more Jacob Elordi opposite Daisy Edgar-Jones in the future, please.

The cast of “On Swift Horses” onstage after the film at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas, during SXSW’s closing night film on March 13, 2025. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

CONCLUSION: If you are an open-minded person who accepts same sex (and opposite sex) relationships without condemnation or moral judgment, as I am, but you are straight, you will probably regret not having more of the Elardi/Edgar-Jones chemistry explored onscreen, but the attempt to “really honor the performances and approach every scene with simplicity and integrity” was admirable. The performances were, by and large, authentic and touching and we get a peek into the sexually repressed fifties, which gives us a glimpse into the future that the current administration would like to reinstate. The cinematography from Luc Montpellier was terrific. The period music, costuming, and sets all contributed. The film opens in theaters on April 25th.

“The Age of Disclosure”—Or Is It?

By Connie Wilson

On March 12, 2025

In Best Paranormal Stories Online to Read | Paranormal Podcast, Movies, News, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics, Pop Culture, Reviews

Director Dan Farah worked 2 and ½ years on his documentary “The Age of Disclosure.” Previously Farah had produced Steven Spielberg’s “Ready Player One” and has numerous other credits on IMDB.com. In “The Age of Disclosure,” which premiered at SXSW on Sunday, March 9th, 2025 at the Paramount Theater in downtown Austin, 34 government, military and intelligence community figures speak out about alien intelligence and UAP, Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena. (Formerly known as UFOs).

From “The Hollywood Reporter” (Daniel Feiberg, March 9, 2025): “Almost nothing in The Age of Disclosure is “new,” per se. The documentary uses these 34 talking heads from various levels of the government, military and intelligence community to allege a deep state conspiracy covering up interactions with non-human intelligent life and technology of non-human origin going back 80 years. Many of the people in the documentary have testified before Congress about what they say they know, and more than a couple of them have been in previous documentaries and docuseries recounting their stories with the same level of personal conviction.”

The pilots and scientists who told stories of their encounters with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena seemed legitimate. Telling the audience that the document is “unprecedented and revelatory” was NOT totally accurate. But it was an interesting and slick documentary that the young audience seemed to totally accept. Director Dan Farah, from the stage, disclosed that he had been told by “key members of the White House” (one a personal friend) that they are going to be using this film. Congressman Tim Burchett of Tennessee was onstage as a proponent of additional Congressional hearngs. On March 12th, Burchett, who represents Tennessee’s 2nd Congressional district, appeared on CNN defending DOGE and addressing questions about a potential government shutdown. Burchett is part of the new House subcommittee overseeing President Trump’s DOGE (Department of Governmental Efficiency.)

Tim Burchett (R, TN) is one of the Committee Heads of DOGE, Elon Musk’s Department of Governmental Efficiency and was Committee Chairman for the first Congressional hearings on UAP (until he was removed from that position 18 hours before the hearings).

The “secret war” amongst major nations is a competition to be the first to reverse engineer technology of non-human origin: a contention for which the film offered no real proof. Nor had the term “the Legacy Crash Retrieval Program” been used previously, to my knowledge. Was it coined for this film? The documentary alleges that this secret program goes back to President Harry Truman and 1947, and that Roswell (NM) really happened the way it’s been portrayed in the movies. The film flatly states that there was a boot-shaped aircraft with hieroglyphs or runes within it, 4 non-human bodies that were sent to Wright Air Force Base. [I’ve been to the Roswell, New Mexico “museum” devoted to this crash; it is not persuasive at all, unless you’re “in” to paper mache re-enactments.]

There is a second contention presented as fact that Russia recovered a Tic Tac ship in 1989 and 4 non-human bodies. Proof, again, is not available, all because of the “conspiracy” to keep things secret.

Who would want to keep this secret? And why?

As another reviewer noted, “My problem isn’t the lack of opposing voices. It’s that there could not be experts debunking anything because nothing is proven, therefore nothing can be refuted…If someone insists (as one man in the documentary does), without evidence, that people they can’t or won’t name were killed to keep certain things they can’t tell you about secret, what are you going to say?” What about cell phone video of these encounters in this day and age of cell phones?

DEFENSE CONTRACTORS

Dan Farah, Director of "The Age of Disclosure"

Dan Farah, 45, Director of “The Age of Disclosure.” (Photo by Ali Feinstein)

Tops on the list for people with a motive to refuse to reveal the truth of alien spaceship crashes are defense contractors. The contention is that defense contractors have been going to flying saucer crash sites for years, but won’t share the knowledge they glean because they want to keep it for themselves, reverse engineer whatever they find, and become Top Dog. Hence, the Age of Disclosure, since we all can agree that transparency—so far not very forthcoming in any political administration ever—would be desirable. The film even goes so far as to suggest that the Presidents during these 80 years might not have been “in the know” and used the example of former President George Herbert Bush, who was also once the head of the CIA, so…. It seems illogical that Bush I could be kept in the dark, but the film does a good job of making it all seem plausible. And isn’t that enough for the fans of Alex Jones, for instance? Should it be “enough” for we regular citizens who owe it to ourselves and our nation to really dig deep on simply accepting statements as fact (“Your grocery prices will go down on Day One,” for instance, from one political candidate.) Don’t we owe it to ourselves and our country to ask tough questions, no matter how much we WANT to believe?

TECHNIQUES

One technique for giving some of the speakers legitimacy is to have them stand near monuments like the Washington Monument or have their picture appear right after another better-known individual. Another is to insert a brief snippet of someone like Bill Clinton being asked about alien life on a talk show format and include President Clinton’s neutral-but-open-minded answer. It was former Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton who revealed (on Jimmy Kimmel’s show) that the term, today, for what we had come to identify as a UFO, is now UAP, Unidentified Anomolous Phenomena. Many of the scientists and pilots absolutely come across as telling the truth and some governmental spokespeople seem honest (and some don’t, which I’ll address in another article.)

Another alien existence testifier not in this film, but on Joe Rogan’s podcast, Bob Lazar (Bob Lazar: Area 51 and Flying Saucers) commented that changing the terms the general public uses might well be an attempt to keep the general public from investigating further. Lazar takes no money from his appearance(s) and testimony. He also tries not to make many of them, as he talks about working on a retrieved space ship at Los Alamos many years ago. He, also, experienced the “he never worked here” public denial that was discredited. So perhaps there is a kernel of truth within this slickly put-together documentary. And we’re all interested in getting to the truth, aren’t we?

But is the entire aim to enlighten the public and spark more investigations, or are there other concealed motives at play?

THE EVIDENCE

Typical of the images used in “The Age of Disclosure” to convey gravitas and legitimacy. (Photo credit: Vincent Wrenn).

Owen Gleiberman, in “Variety:” The evidence, if you truly look at it, isn’t all that compelling: blurry black-and-white U.S. government video footage that shows tiny objects zipping forward over the surface of the water. It’s the footage of aerial phenomena witnessed by Navy pilots that we all saw back in 2021, when it was declassified. It’s fascinating to look at but quite inconclusive. It’s hardly the stuff that alien dreams are made of.”

There were a lot of juxtapositions of the officials testifying with well-known figures like Secretary of State Marco Rubio. Were they attempting to give the speakers legitimacy? The pilot or expert would be telling us, as fact, that alien bodies existed, but their existence was “covered up.” The reasons for this ranged from the lust for power by anyone in the know (pick your agency, because all of them are being discredited these days) to this theory, which makes sense: “We must prepare for the unforeseen or whatever we’ve not seen before. It could be a threat to humanity. If this is something they can’t protect us against, they don’t want to tell the public about it.”

So far, so good.

THE WORLD HANGS IN THE BALANCE?

Then comes the statement “We need unprecedented levels of cooperation to face an alien threat from outside this world.” Does this mean that we must completely change our historic allegiances and our positions as “the leader of the Free World” and cozy up to Russia? [Gee! That would be quite a big change, wouldn’t it?] And how would this “unprecedented level of cooperation” work if we recently had placed huge tariffs on most of our biggest trading partners (our old friends and allies) leading to a plummeting stock market and a lot of economic uncertainty in the days ahead, not to mention a fair amount of returned antagonism. In other words, can we even count on Canada and Mexico, our traditional allies, to join us to fight an alien enemy? How popular are we now in Europe, since we seem to have turned our backs on NATO, the Ukraine, and recently voted against the UN resolution censuring Russia for invading Ukraine? Correct me if I’m wrong, but didn’t our president just say that Ukraine caused the war and Zelensky (not Putin) was a dictator?

What about the concept that other nations (Russia, China, etc.) might be behind the space ship sightings which seem to have increased of late? Are drones somehow to blame for recent increases in UAP sightings?

ABOUT THE DOCUMENTARY

This is a well-done documentary that made me immediately think of the documentary that convicted felon Dinesh D’Souza released to discredit President Barack Obama, entitled 2016: Obama’s America. That was a hit job, full of “facts” that didn’t add up. But it made a lot of money. It became the fifth highest-grossing documentary-style film in the United States during the last four decades,^[98] and the second highest-grossing political documentary. He’s made a lot of other questionable documentaries, all of them pushing “facts” that are really D’Souza’s far right neo-Conservative beliefs, with little or no factual foundation(s). The testimony in “The Age of Disclosure” is definitely worth examining and discussing, but intelligent viewers will remain skeptical and keep questioning and asking for proof.

This documentary (unlike any of D’Souzas), on the contrary, has some stated noble goals.

The good: transparency, letting the American people know the truth, establishing a resource for pilots to report what they see while on the job. (“We need to have standardized reporting for both military and civilian pilots.”) Educating ourselves about potential scientific advances and progress that should be shared with mankind.

The bad?

Stories about “secret organizations” and established organizations refusing to cooperate in sharing important knowledge. Not saying it isn’t true; saying we should continue to question and not gullibly accept everything we are told. Naturally, this theme of “secret conspiracies” leads us to distrust every organization in existence, to the point that we are pitted against each other as Americans. And to the point that many of these organizations (FBI, CIA, IRS, Social Security, USAID, etc.) are currently under intense attack. Seems to be a lot of that going around lately. Maybe it cannot be avoided.

Discrediting all legitimate news sources and refusing to allow agencies like the Associated Press to cover White House briefings (ostensibly because they haven’t begun calling the Gulf of Mexico the Gulf of America) is not good for us as a nation or for the stock market, as we are all currently experiencing. A free press is the people’s friend and trying to “control” the dissemination of all news is a page right out of Putin’s playbook Distrusting the courts—the last bastion of protection against the chaos being perpetrated by DOGE— not good. What could happen if all of the citizenry rise up in rebellion? (Did you see Alex Garland’s “Civil War,” 2024?) Personally, I’d like to see a return to the days of presidential decorum when the incumbent didn’t berate and belittle his predecessor non-stop, but acted “presidential,” responsible, moral, compassionate and reasonable. Enough with DOGE and firing thousands of loyal government servants. Let’s slow down and do some serious thinking about the repercussions of such drastic acts, shall we? But I digress.

Some of the 34 talking heads who appeared in “The Age of Disclosure,” onstage at SXSW on March 9, 2025. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

CONCLUSION

“Mulder, the truth is out there,” says FBI Special Agent Dana Scully in Episode 17, “but so are lies.”

Either the things that the people in “The Age of Disclosure” are talking about are alien spaceships…or they’re not. Many who see the film will come away thinking that they are real, says Owen Gleiberman in “Variety,” because the film is well-done (Kudos to Editor Spencer Averick, Cinematographer Vincent Wrenn and Blair Mowat’s music. Mostly, the documentary is talking heads stating things as facts for 109 minutes with no real proof except our own intrinsic willingness to believe that “we are not alone.”) I’m as open-minded about accepting these testimonials and as willing to believe as anybody, but I’m also a born skeptic.

Is there another “hidden agenda” operating here? Think about that, too, before accepting every word or supposed “fact” as Gospel.

Crew: Director: Dan Farah. Camera: Vincent Wrenn. Editor: Spencer Averick. Music: Blair Mowat.
With:Lue Elizondo, Chris Mellon, Marco Rubio, Hal Puthoff, Jay Stratton, James Clapper, Kirsten Gillibrand, André Carson, Brett Ferrderson, David Fravor.

(*Read the companion piece, “A Funny Thing Happened to Me on My Way to the Documentary”).

“The Home,” Swedish Horror Film, Premieres at SXSW on March 10, 2025

By Connie Wilson

On March 11, 2025

In Best Paranormal Stories Online to Read | Paranormal Podcast, Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews, Scary stories

Director/Co-writer Matthew Skoglund of “The Home” at SXSW 2025. (Photo by Malin LQ).

“The Home,” a Swedish horror movie, based on the novel by Mat’s Strandberg, premiered at SXSW on March 10, 2025, with its Director Matthias Skoglund and stars Gizem Erdogan and Philip Oros present. The movie focuses on a son (Joel, played by Philip Oros) putting his ailing mother, Monika (Anki Liden) in a nursing home in Sweden called Ekskuggen. “The Home” will screen again on March 12th at 3 p.m, at the Alamo Drafthouse on Lamar (Theaters 1, 8 and 6).

PLOT

The synopsis provided by the filmmakers read: “Many years after leaving the small town behind, Joel returns to move his mother Monika into a home for the elderly struggling with dementia. However, Monika’s health takes a turn for the worse soon after her arrival. She experiences terrifying visions of her late husband, Joel’s abusive father, and begins exhibiting violent behavior. Joel begins to believe that something malevolent and supernatural has taken control of his mother. But with his own history of substance abuse and mental instability, can he trust his own perceptions? As Monika’s memories fade, Joel must confront the demons of his own past, dredged up by his return to the home where he grew up.”

Director Matthew Skoglund of “Home” at the party hosted by the Swedish consulate on March 10, 2025 at SXSW. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

Monika Eddington, during her life, had a stroke. For a brief period of time, she was technically dead. During that time something supernatural may have breached the barrier between life and death. She now “knows things she shouldn’t know” and bad things are happening in the nursing home.

Son Joel (Philip Oros) had a troubled relationship with his dead father throughout his life. His father constantly called him horrible names, accused him of being a drug addict, and was physically abusive. His mother was not immune to such perverse treatment at the hands of her husband, Bengt. Bengt is now deceased. (Or is he?)

As the film opens, Monika is in her kitchen and things are out of control. Soapsuds are rising in the unattended sink. Everything is in disarray, and the elderly woman mentions Bengt (her deceased husband), “is waiting for me on the other side.” Monika is confused about Joel’s identity, at first, and seems fragile and unhealthy.

DIALOGUE

Aside from a humorous reference to the home (Ekskuggen) as the Hotel Incontinental, the exchange between Monika and her son, Joel, is far from humorous. At first, exhibiting signs of dementia, she confuses him with her older son Bjorn, the owner of a successful business. Then she asks, “Are you really going to leave me here. What have I done wrong?…But I’m not supposed to be here. This must be a mistake.” Those scenes are heartbreaking. They are often also universal in a world where the Baby Boomers are rapidly aging.

As someone who has had to put her mother into a home (Lantern Park, Coralville, Iowa), the placing of an elderly relative in custodial care is, indeed, traumatic for both sides. In my own case, I moved my mother between the home and her apartment three times, in an attempt to keep her independent, which was her desire. (The home said I “held the record” for multiple moves.) Type II 4-shots-a-day diabetes and poor eyesight eventually forced her into the home full-time, where she lived for 3 full years.

Director Matthew Skoglund, Philip Oros, Gizem Erdogan and Producer Siri Hjorton Wagner at the Premiere of “The Home” at SXSW, March 10, 2025 (Photo by Connie Wilson).

The three lead characters (Monika, Nina and Joel) were convincingly portrayed. Anki Liden, who played the elderly Monika, did a great job, and Joel (Philip Oros) and Gizem Erdogan (Nina) were supported by an actress playing Olivia (Malin Levanon), another attendant in the home, who also did a fine job. While Anki (Monika) joined the project only one month before shooting started, Gizem was in from the beginning (2017), having read the novel, She said, “I really loved the novel and joined the project early.” Gizem came aboard during an early version of the script that later removed much of the detective speak that originally dealt with Monika’s mysterious injuries. Director Matthias Skoglund worked with the novelist (Mat Strandberg) to craft the script, which also changed to keep the focus on the three major characters, an adaptation from the book.

CINEMATOGRAPHY

The camera work by Malin LQ was well done. There were shots of the full moon over the shoulder of a main character or a field of waving grass that were beautifully composed. But the creepiness of the home was key. Unlike some films with dark scenes, it was clear what we were looking at. My only criticism would focus on the pacing of the action, as there are enough violent action and intense scenes, ranging from “jump scares” on, but the time between these beats dragged at times.

This is the third film or TV series I’ve seen recently that went inside a custodial care facility seeking horror. John Lithgow has a 2024 release “The Rule of Jenny Pen,” while Ted Danson’s current “Inside Man” television series is a lighter approach to what goes on behind the doors of nursing homes. Bubba-Hotep all the way back to 2002 is a precursor, with Barbara Hershey’s turn in “The Manor” in 2021 an Amazon Original movie with a horror-themed look at the topic.

SOUND

The leads of “The Home” answering questions during the Q&A for “The Home” on March 10, 2025 at SXSW. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

I was impressed by the sound design (Matis Rei), music (Toti Gudnason) and general creepiness of effects like the crashing noises in the kitchen or the point in the film where I wrote: “This sounds like an avalanche.” Director Mathias Skogland explained that he comes from a radio and podcast background “so sound was very important.” He worked with an Icelandic composer and an Estonian sound design team; the result was impressive.

Lead Philip Oros described the project: “It was fun, but also difficult. I hadn’t really done anything with supernatural elements before.” Producer Siri Hjorton Wagner said that the group began working on the project in 2017. The film shows one more time here at SXSW (Wednesday, March 12th) and joins the ranks of “Horror Movies with Nursing Home Settings” that are worth taking in, (if you don’t mind the scary side of the street and subtitles.)

“My Uncle Jens” @SXSW Paints A Portrait of Immigrant Woes

By Connie Wilson

On March 10, 2025

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews, Texas

Director Brwa Vahabpour. (Photo by Tori Gjendal).

“My Uncle Jens” is a joint Norwegian/Romanian production which marks the feature film debut at SXSW 2025 of Screenwriter/Director Brwa Vahabpour. Uncle Jens might more accurately be dubbed Uncle Khdr, as the main character has come to Oslo from the Iranian part of Kurdistan. He adopts the alias Jens. Brwa Vahabpour is writing about a culture he knows well. He attracted positive attention for his 2020 short film “Silence” that was featured at the Palm Springs International Shorts Fest.

The plot focuses on a young literature teacher in Oslo (Norway) named Akam (Peiman Azizpour), who receives a late-night visit from his estranged Uncle Khdr, his father’s brother. Why is the movie not entitled Uncle Khdr, rather than Uncle Jens? That explanation goes back to the common ploy of trying to “blend in” to a strange land by adopting a more common surname. In Khdr’s case, he begins using the Norwegian first name Jens after a conversation with a friendly cab driver.

Jens (Hamza Agoshi) claims he is in town for a surprise visit.

THE PLOT

Akam (Peiman Azizpour) doesn’t live alone. He has two roommates, a young girl (Theresa Frostad Eggesbo) and a tall, lanky yellow-haired stork-like Norwegian male, Stian (Magnus Lysbakken). Lysbakken as Stian represents the stereotype of “yellow-haired people” that Uncle Jens references when he says, to Akam, “You’re probably busy with those yellow-haired people.”

Uncle Jens immediately begins shaming his nephew into hosting him in his cramped apartment. He uses the term “peshkesh,” meaning “from me to you.” Uncle Jens is loud, he snores, he takes the one single bed (while Akam sleeps on the floor). Jens has many other annoying and obnoxious habits, including smoking in the apartment, which the roommates object to. Jens also constantly leaves water all over the bathroom floor, throws away the community kitchen brush in favor of a sponge, and just generally behaves as though he is moving in for good. When the roommates ask Akam how long Jens is staying, the answer is always “just a couple days.” In reality, Jens shows no signs of ever leaving.

THE PLOT THICKENS

“My Uncle Jens” (Photo by Jorgen Kluver).

It isn’t until Jens and Akam are out together that Akam begins to find out that his uncle has actually been hanging around a local café owned by a man known as Hussein for a couple of months. Akam begins to realize that Uncle Jens’s “surprise visit” may never end, and he finally begins to realize that maybe his uncle is not in the country legally. What, then, does that mean for him?

Akam is advised by a friend to beware of guests who arrive in the middle of the night. The friend directs him to a girl named Elina (Sarah Frances Braenne), who works for the Directorate of Immigration in Norway and knows the country’s immigration rules.

THE RULES

Akam devises a clever ruse to try to find out what rules apply to people visiting Norway from other countries. He pretends to be writing a short story about a Norwegian girl whose aunt arrives unexpectedly to visit. He asks about Norway’s rules for visitors. For openers, says Elena, visitors should have a written invitation from the person in Norway in order to qualify for a visitor’s visa. Also, the visitor has to have state proof that they are able to return to their country of origin (Iran). Elena adds that, if the visitor is up to no good (human trafficking, etc.) that can lead to deportation for them and for those who might be harboring them. She suggests that the visitor has to have proof of employment and other such signs of being an upstanding individual. Meanwhile, Akim and Elena are hitting it off as a couple which will complicate matters.

What is going through Akam’s mind is “Yikes!”

At one point, Akam almost anonymously turns his uncle in, but when they ask what address the suspect is at, he hangs up, realizing that he will be implicating himself, as well.

DENOUEMENT

My Uncle Jens lead, Akam (Peiman Aizpour).

“My Uncle Jens” lead, Akam, portrayed by Peiman Azizpour. (Photo by Jorgen Kluver).

As Akam and the rest of us feared, there is finally a visit from the representatives of the Directorate of Immigration. They are very polite, but they do search the house, looking for Uncle Jens. It is time for Jens to go, but, before he leaves, he has caused the downfall of the Elena/Akam relationship and has told a harrowing tale of his escape from Iran and assuming the alias Sabir Salehi.

A STORY FOR OUR TIMES

Much like the illegals attempting to flee violence and economic insecurity in their homeland, Uncle Jens has been both physically assaulted and threatened to the point that he made the harrowing journey to Turkey (Istanbul) and, by boat, to Greece. He was placed in various holding facilities while he awaited a ruling on his request for asylum. Unfortunately, the authorities rejected his application and he received a deportation notice. Among other things, Jens says, “I have to prove that my life is really in danger.” Ironically, he asks his nephew, “Can’t you see your lies affect all those around you?”

CONCLUSION

It is easy to see the parallels between Uncle Jens and every immigrant on the run. The country may not be Norway, but there are so many countries in turmoil and so many refugees wanting to settle in a country that can offer them a better life. That list would go on for a very long time. Two people on that list would have been my Grandfather (Ole Monson) from Norway and my Grandmother (Rena Stietske Weirda) from the Netherlands.

This film makes a real effort to show us the hurdles that immigrants face on a personal and psychological level. It also underscores the very real dangers that newcomers face and the lengths they will go to to seek a better life for themselves and their families. Can we blame them for these efforts? Recently, it appears that we do, which is sad, and, to me, un-American. “My Uncle Jens” is a tribute to every new citizen to any country. The directorial touches (ringing phone bookending the action; symbolic watch) are nice aspects of a touching movie.

“The Beguiling” Screens at SXSW on March 9, 2025

By Connie Wilson

On March 9, 2025

In Editorial, Essays on Politics: Best Political Essays & Ideology, Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Politics, Pop Culture, Reviews

A United States Premiere of “The Beguiling,” a 15 and ½ minute short about native American Indians, premieres at SXSW Film and TV Festival Sunday, March 9, at the Rollins Theater at the Long Center. The shorts start at 9:45 and run until 11:30 p.m. A second showing will be held at the Alamo on South Lamar on March 13^th, Alamo Theater #9, 10:15 p.m. until 12:06 a.m. (Midnight Shorts Category).

The film, written and directed by Ishkwaazhe Shane McSauby, explores the romance between two young native Americans, portrayed by Benairin Kane as Billy and Kim Savarino as Riley. As the plot summary put it, “Deceit turns their romantic evening into a darkly comedic nightmare.”

Reviewer Alex Heeney (“Seventh Row”) said: “This horror-inflected film addresses some hard-to-discuss-without-stepping-in-it issues. Wait for the fantastic needle drop, which offers a lot to unpack..”

Attempting to address some of the plot points, without stepping in it, here is my unpacking.

SYNOPSIS

The plot summary might more accurately have described this short as being an investigation into the phenomenon of “Pretendians” or “self-Indigenizers,” people who are not of Indian ancestry misrepresenting themselves as Indian. If you don’t remember Senator Elizabeth Warren’s claims to have some native American ancestry, those remarks caused her to be belittled at Trump’s March 4^th Address to Congress (DJT’s “Pocahontas” jab. (Leave it to Donald J. Trump to attack a respected female United States Senator with what he apparently intended to be a racist jab.) That makes “The Beguiling” an even more timely topic.

PRETENDIANS

A New Yorker article by Jay Caspian Kang laid out the case of a Professor at Berkeley, Elizabeth Hoover, who rose quickly through academia based on her claimed Indian heritage. One observer, who described the woman as showing up at every faculty meeting to spend the entire meeting beading said, “It looked like an entire Etsy store had exploded on her.” So, “Pretendians” or “self-Indigenizers” are a fact of life if you are of native American Indian ancestry.

Hoover (one of many, it should be noted) ultimately released a “Letter of Apology and Accountability” for the “broken trust” that she had caused. She maintained that her deception was in no way intentional. She insisted that posing as native American was simply what she had been told about her heritage as a young child, ancestry which she had accepted without questioning it or investigating it more fully. Hoover’s public apology labeled “Identity Crisis” was released on March 4, 2024.

Therefore, the background for this 15-minute short has its roots in recent history. In the pre-Trump days, when diversity and inclusion mattered, sometimes it was advantageous (especially in academia) if a white person had Indian blood.

DENOUEMENT

“The Beguiling” at SXSW. (Photo by Shaandiin Tome)

In the lead-up to an emerging romantic tryst between Riley (Kim Savarino) and Billy (Benairin Kane) in “The Beguiling,” Riley bites Billy a bit too aggressively in the neck. Billy goes in search of a bandaid. What he finds while searching for a bandaid in Riley’s bathroom medicine drawer and cabinet makes him suspicious about Riley’s authenticity.

Is Riley trying to convince Billy she is “a real Indian” when she’s not? If so, why?

You’ll have to journey to the Midnight Shorts at SXSW for those answers.

COMEDY OR DRAMA?

The young lovers’ romantic tryst veered a bit off the romance trail and into thriller, drama and comic territory, merging all three. For me, with my sympathies heavily on the side of the Anishimabemowin natives, the short was another sobering moment in considering the injustices of early West settlement and colonization in this country. I’ve toured the Holocaust Museum in Skokie, Illinois. Nothing funny there on that Museum’s lower level, which is devoted to Indian interment camps in Canada where indigenous Indian youth were imprisoned and mistreated.

The still-emerging details make instances of whites mistreating American (or Canadian) Indians in more modern times a hard sell for humor, for me. Don’t get me started on the rest of history! I used to teach at Black Hawk Junior College. Looking back on our historical treatment of Indian tribes just makes me mad, much like the DJT speech remark on March 4^th, 2025 makes me both mad and sad. In other words, to me, it’s not “funny;” it’s just a continuing injustice that should be stopped and redressed. Historically, I’m with Marlon Brando on this (despite the unfortunate Sacheen Littlefeather Pretender incident at the 1973 Oscars.)

CONCLUSION

Writer/Director Ishkwaahe-shane-mcsauby of “The Beguiling” short at SXSW. (Photo by Gareth Cattermole).

The heavy-duty emphasis on native Indian history on “date night” (Which camp: Carlisle or Haskell? Genocide. Colonization. Wild rice /manoomin) made me wonder about Billy’s taste in women. Flirtation has definitely changed. In today’s America, I’m told, there are Big Discussions about party affiliation before a girl even accepts that date with the cute guy hitting on her. An interesting peek into how divided things have become in the United States of America. And it seems to be getting much, much worse. Hmmmm…I wonder what we can all do about that, as voters?

The synopsis asserted that the piece was “darkly comedic.” For me, the film leaned more heavily to the former (“Dark”) than the latter (“Comedic”). If anyone doubts the timeliness of the underlying debate about authenticity and the issue of dubious claims of native American Indian heritage, we need only direct them to rewatch the supposed Leader of the Free World (is he still?) baiting a female United States Senator Elizabeth Warren on live television (March 4^th, 2025), with a snide remark (“Pocahontas”) during a live Address to Congress. That was just a few short days ago. I’m still upset about it (so was Jimmy Kimmel on his March 5th monologue).

Let’s keep fighting for diversity and inclusion and fair and civilized treatment for all. This short has exposed one small example of exploitation of a minority amidst the cultural mosaic that is the United States of America. Let’s hope that by highlighting such injustices, they can be eradicated. “The Beguiling” calls this particular version of inequality out for what it is: wrong now, then, and forever. A good effort in the fight to restore dignity and equality for everyone by making the public more aware.

“The Studio” Screens at SXSW 2025 on Opening Night

By Connie Wilson

On March 9, 2025

In Local, Movies, Reviews, Television

Seth Rogen and friends came to downtown Austin in golf carts for the Premiere of their new television series “The Studio.” Accompanied by Evan Goldberg, Catherine O’Hara, Ike Barinholtz, Kathryn Hahn and Executive Producer Peter Huyck, the first two episodes of the new series gave me the most laughs since Bob Odenkirk in “Lucky Hank” in 2023 (or last year’s first look at the season of “Hacks” with Jean Smart in attendance.) This one is a winner. There are even appearances within the first episode by Paul Dano (“Wildfire”), Bryan Cranston (“Breaking Bad”),Charlize Theron (“Monster”), Steve Buscemi (“The Sopranos”), Directors Peter Berg and Nick Stoller and a hilarious bit featuring Director Martin Scorsese. It begins streaming on Apple Plus on March 26, 2025.

Writer/Director Seth Rogen on the Red Carpet at SXSW on March 7, 2025. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

The Apple TV Plus offering would have had me signing up for the service if I didn’t already have it. The first two episodes are to be released March 26, 2025.

As the synopsis describes the series about making movies: “Seth Rogen stars as Matt Remick, the newly appointed head of embattled Continental Studios. As movies struggle to stay alive and relevant, Matt and his core team of infighting executives battle their own insecurities as they wrangle narcissistic artists and craven corporate overlords in the ever-elusive pursuit of making great films. With their power suits masking their never-ending sense of panic, every party, set visit, casting decision, marketing meeting, and award show presents them with an opportunity for glittering success or career-ending catastrophe. As someone who eats, sleeps, and breathes movies, it’s the job Matt’s been pursuing his whole life, and it may very well destroy him.”

EPISODE ONE

In Episode One—which opens with Paul Dano (“Let There Be Blood”) acting in a gory scene—we meet Matt, played by the schlubbish Everyman whom Rogen personifies. You get the feeling that Matt would like to make really fine cinematic masterpieces, but then there are “the suits” at the studio. They want movies that make money. And, as Bryan Cranston’s studio uber boss makes clear, the mext big thing after Greta Gerwig’s fantastic success with “Barbie” are more films focusing on the next Barbie, which, he says, is going to be (drum roll here) Kool Ade.(Cranston: “Two billion off the plastic tits of a fucking doll!”)

Kathryn Hahn of “The Studio” on the Red Carpet at SXSW on March 7, 2025. (Photo by Connie Wilson,)

The female studio head (Patty, played by Catherine O’Hara) has put in 22 years at the studio (think Sherry Lansing). But Patty is being forced out and Matt is in, disappointing best buddy Ike Barinholtz, who thought he had a shot. Patty isn’t taking Matt’s calls, at first, but when they finally meet, she presents as a formidable adversary who knows the business inside-out and sweet-talks and bullies Matt into giving her work as a producer. Matt owes her.

Matt tries to stand firm on some of Patty’s outrageous financial demands, but she counters, “I killed one of Warren’s movies in 1988 and he never slept with me again.” Part of the plot of the first episode is right out of the playbook that Sondra Locke experienced during her tumultuous break-up with Clint Eastwood. (She sued and won; look it up). “We’ll own the project, but nobody will ever be able to make it.”

The writing is truly spot-on. As the credits rolled, in addition to Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg, Peter Huyck is listed as Writer, not just Executive Producer, which he is along with James Weaver, Alex Gregory, Alex McAtee, Josh Fagen and Frida Perez, all of whom are also credited with helping write the truly hilarious dialogue. Editor for the series was Eric Kissack and Production Designer is Julie Berghoff. (I want to know whose Hollywood homes are featured as sets? Are they still standing? Did any of them burn down? They were gorgeous.)

EPISODE TWO

Ike Barinholtz on the Red Carpet for "The Studio" on March 7 at SXSW

Ike Barinholtz, co-star of “The Studio” on the Red Carpet at SXSW on March 7, 2025. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

In Episode #2, Matt decides to make a visit to a project that Patty is producing. It’s not a good idea, but he can’t be dissuaded.

There are many funny lines that center on the idea that “We have to keep Baby Huey (Matt) in his playpen.
“The days of Robert Evans stopping by with a Magnum of champagne and an 8-ball are gone,” goes one line and, ultimately, after a series of comedic clashes, the Director of the film shouts, “I want Mr. Magoo gone!”

CONCLUSION

If you love the movies and you have a sense of humor, don’t miss this one. Fans of “Hacks” will love this series, too. It’s my favorite SXSW viewing experience of 2025, so far.

“Another Simple Favor” Opens SXSW on March 7, 2025

By Connie Wilson

On March 8, 2025

In Movies, Of Local (Quad Cities') Interest, Pop Culture, Reviews, Uncategorized

Paul Feig, Director of SXSW Opening Night film “Another Simple Favor” on March 7, 2025 (Photo by Connie Wilson)

Opening night of SXSW 2025 was a star-studded affair. Paul Feig, Director of “Another Simple Favor” was present with Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick and numerous co-stars in attendance. He was fashionably attired in a very western fringed soft leather look.

Director Paul Feig of “Another Simple Favor.” (Photo by Frank Miceletto)

Suffice it to say that the true fans in the audience seemed happy. Among the celebrities present on the Red Carpet, were Blake Lively, Anna Kendrick, Henry Golding, Michele Morrone, Andrew Rannell, Bashir Salahuddin, and Alex Newell. The film picks up directly where the first left off and takes viewers to Capri, Italy.

Since the first film was not on my Must See list, the plot was incomprehensible to a newbie. Writing credit goes to Lada Kalogridis and Jessica Sharzer, who crafted some good zingers. There was the remark to Joshua Satine playing Miles Smothers (Blake Lively’s character’s son), who is launching a drone, “You don’t need a drone to find your Mom. Just follow the trail of destruction.” I snickered at the character who asked for “enough booze to kill a small show pony.”

But, other than the sets and costumes, which were fantastic, I was not the audience for this one. Andrew Rannells said that, of eleven scenes he had that were supposed to be set in Connecticut, all were actually filmed in Rome. The listed Capri settings were J.K. Place Capri for the elegant wedding scenes, as well as Lido Del Faro (a west coast beach club) and Villa Jovis (ancient ruins), but the sign on the back of one hotel door said Grand Hotel Quisisana, which is only 2,750 feet from the beach; the entire area was gorgeous. Costuming of Lively at one point in something that looked like it came right out of “Bride of Frankenstein” was odd, but, again, not an expert on the effect desired.

The new “lead” who portrays Blake Lively’s husband-to-be in the film (Michele Morrone) was a handsome hunk of eye candy. So far, there have been no stories of the two not getting along. There were a few implied jabs at the relationship between Blake Lively and Anna Kendrick, but everyone played nice. (No lawsuits, to date.)

Feig directed “Snatched” with Goldie Hawn and Amy Schumer, which I liked very much. (Where was Amy Schumer when we needed her?) This film was beautiful, with wonderful sets and costumes. Director Paul Feig told IndieWire that he had never done a sequel and was trying to make his “Godfather 2.” (I’m thinking, “No.”)

Henry Golding (Ex-husband of Blake Lively’s Emily Nelson) in “Another Simple Favor on the Red Carpet at SXSW on March 7, 2025. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

Anna Kendrick on the Red Carpet at the Premiere of “Another Simple Favor” on March 7, 2025 at SXSW. (Photo by Connie Wilson).

Blake Lively, up close and personal at the Premiere of “.Another Simple Favor” on March 7, 2025 at SXSW. (Photo by Connie Wilson)

Star Blake Lively of “Another Simple Favor” with co-star Michele Morone who portrays Dante Versano, embracing as they meet outside the Paramount Theater in downtown Austin on March 7, 2025. (Photo by Connie Wilson).