Brooklyn Rail. Dec 08 / Jan 09.

Theodore Hamm explains why the governor of Alaska is Brooklyn Rail's "Person of the Year 2008. Yet the frightening prospect that her book deal, celebrity, and the appeal she holds for her party's base will keep her in the spotlight for years to come is why we must not refer to her by name. We can only hope it is soon forgotten."

Bollywood's "recent trend towards realistic crime films (reflecting the volatile high-crime rate of Mumbai) has ushered in a new wave of Indian cinematic hysteria. Director Apoorva Lakhia, a rising star of this new generation of filmmakers, combines brutal frankness with explosive action." David Wilentz talks with him about Shootout at Lokhandwala.

If you're worried about the state of film criticism, it could be worse. Just ask Dore Ashton.

Williams Cole talks with Ellen Kuras and Thavisouk Phrasavath about Betrayal, "an epic documentary infused with an artistic cinematographer's eye that tells the story of Thavi and his family on their journey from their home in Laos after the turmoil resulting from the US military involvement in that country during the Vietnam War era."

"The latest installment of Che-inspired popular art is veteran cartoonist Spain Rodriguez's Che: A Graphic Biography, a frenetically-paced account of the South American revolutionary's life," writes Nisa Qasi. "Armed with iron-clad principles and an enduring love for the 'little guy,' Ernesto 'Che' Guevara jackboots his way through these pages with the moral urgency of a missionary. But don't be fooled by the title - this Che is every bit the comic-book superhero as Rodriguez's other ass-kicking Marxist, Trashman."

Phong Bui interviews Pipilotti Rist.

Following up on last month's interview with Andrzej Wajda, Alan Lockwood tours the filmmaker's homeland: "While it may be possible to view Poland strictly in its current, robust guise, it's perhaps more instructive and accurate to see it through the layers and ambiguities that resonate everywhere in a nation where such an important portion of its history was annihilated so recently."

"Let the Right One In manages to weave a classically formal coming of age story into the iciest, yet most heartfelt, vampire film in some time," writes Sarahjane Blum.

"Robert Frank, the iconic, influential 20th Century American street photographer/filmmaker, not only questioned and reshaped the photographic style of postwar America, shattering its wholesome image and revealing an honest portrait of American life, he also created one of, if not the greatest, rock and roll films of all time." Mary Hanlon on Cocksucker Blues.

"Slumdog Millionaire gave me the perfect experience of what Roland Barthes calls 'cinematographic hypnosis.'" Lu Chen explains.

"The emotional and physical hardship that a lack of money forces upon someone, and the scattered ambitions that Americans are wooed and then trapped by, form a key aspect of Kelly Reichardt's overarching investigation," writes Camila de Onís. "Wendy and Lucy and Old Joy examine yearnings for independence that are both financial and personal."

Frost/Nixon is "neither an indictment nor an exoneration, but an eloquent exploration of the interplay of personality and power, wants and needs, integrity and ambition," writes Tessa DeCarlo. "It's beautiful, disciplined, consummately well-acted, and unexpectedly moving."

Those familiar with Jon Else's Wonders Are Many may be interested in Ellen Pearlman's take on the Metropolitan Opera's production of John Adams's Doctor Atomic.

Similarly, for Talk to Her fans: Emily Macel on Pina Bausch at BAM.

From David N Meyer, a DVD roundup: Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Deuxieme Souffle, 10 Years of Rialto Pictures and Olivier Assayas's Irma Vep.

Posted by dwhudson at December 23, 2008 2:30 PM