Reel-View Ratings: The Bigger The Beard, The Better The Movie
A UNITED KINGDOM
Another famous interracial love story gets the Hollywood treatment, but this one extends across country borders. Bechuanaland prince Seretse Khama (David Oyelowo) falls in love with British clerk Ruth Williams (Rosamund Pike) and marries her, but their two governments are virulently opposed to the match for reasons as far ranging as apartheid and the diamond trade. Unfortunately, the movie fails to commit to either being a love story or a historical drama, and thus meanders without much drive between the two tropes. The editing also is kind of terrible. The result is a well-acted but shallow film that fails to say much about love or history. Watch Loving instead.
Opens March 10 at Kahala Theatre
MY LIFE AS A ZUCCHINI
A young orphan boy, nicknamed “Zucchini,” builds a new life for himself amongst his fellow children after he accidentally kills his alcoholic, abusive mother in self-defense. Yes, that did escalate quickly. It’s a strange tonal dissonance ever present in this French animated film — every character comes with a depressing backstory of despair (the girl orphaned by murder-suicide, the kids that were molested, etc.), but the actual contents of the film are aggressively cheerful, with plenty of snowball fights, young love and bullies put in their place. If you can get over that dichotomy, there’s much here to enjoy — but the emotional whiplash just might be too much.
Opens March 10 at Kahala Theatre
THE WOMEN’S BALCONY
A battle of religious extremism plays out in this appealing Israeli film. A community of moderate orthodox Jews is up-ended when the women’s balcony (men and women pray separately) collapses, taking their rabbi temporarily out of the picture. Into the void steps the extremist Rabbi David, who has a very different view of how women should behave in the church. Lysistrata ensues. The film’s ever-relevant message (even if packaged within a very contextual story) is portrayed without violence or disrespect toward either side — a cautionary tale that begs tolerance and moderation between people without preaching or caricature.
Plays at 1 p.m. March 10 and 14, and 7:30 p.m. March 15 at Doris Duke Theatre
