Digital Week – February 1

This riveting film, from the play by Clark Young and Derek Goldman, introduces Jan Karski, a member of the Polish resistance during WWII, who went to France, London and the U.S. to give eyewitness testimony of how Jews in the Warsaw Ghetto and a nearby concentration camp lived…and died. Out of this rich dramatic ore, directors Goldman and Jeff Hutchens have fashioned a breathless, emotional 90-minute journey, given more depth by Hutchens’ illuminating B&W photography. And David Strathairn’s unforgettable, physically imposing performance as Karski is simply jaw-dropping to watch—and listen to: he not only voices Karski but dozens of other characters, from Nazis and Polish Jewish leaders to FDR.

Florian Zeller’s heavy-handed plays “The Height of the Storm,” “The Father” and “The Son” have begotten, from the latter two so far, equally ponderous films adapted and directed by Zeller himself. As small-scale family dramas go, they have juicy roles for his casts (Anthony Hopkins won the best actor Oscar two years ago for “The Father”)—too bad the latest, “The Son,” shows Zeller at his most ham-fisted. A study of a divorced couple whose teenage son deals with depression and suicidal thoughts, “The Son” is superficial and often risible, forcing able actors (Hugh Jackman, Laura Dern, Vanessa Kirby) and the less-than-able Zen McGrath to clench their jaws and grit their teeth as they dive into Zeller’s mechanical melodramatics.

Italian director Luca Guadagnino’s 2017 breakthrough, “Call Me By Your Name,” featured breakout star Timothee Chalamet—and now the pair reunites for a young-adult cannibalistic love story (yes, you read that right). But while Guadagnino spends two-plus hours desperately trying to make this romance even more bizarre with his visual flourishes, Chalamet and the extraordinary Taylor Russell actually make us care about them—through intelligent, subtle acting. The film looks splendid on Blu; extras are several short making-of featurettes.

This 1995 concert—during rush hour for a surprised bunch of New York commuters—was originally shown on the Lifetime network but now gets its first hi-def release. It’s a terrific hour-plus of Carly Simon in great voice and enjoying herself in front of an audience (she’s often had notorious stage fright) backed by a crack band and terrific backup singers. The selection leans a bit much on her then-current album “Letters Never Sent”—which does include her touching goodbye to her mom, “Like a River”—but there are lots of hits from “Anticipation” to “Let the River Run,” along with her most memorable melody, “That’s the Way I’ve Always Heard It Should Be.” But the hi-def presentation is a missed opportunity: the video looks like upscaled videotape and the audio, while crisp and clear, is only stereo—sadly, there’s no surround-sound option.

Choreographer Wayne McGregor’s latest ballet, based on Dante’s classic trilogy, is fantastically visceral, thanks to the marvelously elastic, lithe movements of London’s Royal Ballet dancers, led by the incredible Edward Watson, Gary Avis and Sarah Lamb. Thomas Ades’ score consolidates his early avant-garde leanings with his later sophistication, making this a complete visual and aural success. Both the hi-def video and audio are topnotch; lone extra is a making-of featurette with interviews with McGregor and dramaturg Uzma Hameed.

Chilean director Patricio Guzmán, who has chronicled his country’s history in memorable documentaries for several decades, adds to that glorious run of films with his latest, a look at the massive 2019-20 protests as millions swarmed the streets of Chile’s capital, Santiago, hoping for a return to the democracy that was lost following the 1973 Pinochet coup. With stirring footage shot on location by participants during the police crackdown, Guzmán also interviews several brave women who took part in the protests, placing them in their proper historical context. Guzmán, who was tortured by the Pinochet regime (and whose three-part “The Battle of Chile” stands as one of the great political documentaries ever made), once again insightfully shows history repeating itself—but this time possibly for the better.