'Mehsampur' DVD Review

Filmmaker Devrath (Devrath Joshi) is a very oddbal sort of fellow. He has very little money but he wants to make a film on the folk singing husband and wife team Chamkila and Amarjot. The legendary duo sing bawdy songs on the Punjabi culture and village life. The pair are loved and also scorned for their music and eventually would be Assassinated in 1988.  Most documentaries are based on fact but Mehsampur is often called a docufiction. You do get to meet Tiki who was their manager. You will meet Surinder Sonia a collaborator and Lal Chand a dholak player.

Devrath becomes aware of another film crew also doing a documentary on the the husband and wife folk singers. The other crew have way more funds for their project than Devrath so he interviews the above people involved in the life of the dead singers. Devrath has been staying in a run down hotel and comes across a young actress being chased by a group of lechers who want to molest the young lady. He saves her and in return she accompanies Devrath and Lal on a road trip to the place where the singers were murdered. The village of Mehsampur is not far but the journey is interesting to say the least.

The film doesn’t give us detailed account on the murders. It does give us a brief look on the pair as to how they lived but it does enlighten us as to how life has simply moved on after their death. It is sometimes a psychedelic look at life but it does show us Indian cinema in a way we’ve never seen before.IndiePix Films brings us this interesting film to DVD on October 29th, 2019. The quality of the DVD is fantastic and the sights and sounds are beautiful. This will definitely be a wonderful addition to the personal library at your home. It will also make a great gift to that special someone for Christmas.

'Sisters Of The Wilderness' DVD Review

This Documentary of five young Zulu women heading  off into the wilderness of the South African iMfolozi is the journey of a lifetime. The women come from underprivileged backgrounds and carry all their equipment on their backs. They are led by the first woman wilderness guide in South Africa Lihle Mbokazi. The ladies live and camp under the stars. They are in what’s called big game country and they are exposed and face the elements at their best. The challenges are many but the woman are up to it. The women have never experienced true nature as they are now and this is certainly a life changing experience.

The Zulu people use to live in the iMfolozi wilderness and had an almost spiritual experience when they were there. Mother Nature took care of her young and the children worshipped her. With a coal mine now in the area and Rhino poaching taking its toll on the animals almost to extinction  the woman begin to learn the true majesty of the land. The women learn that nature needs man and man needs nature to continue an existence on this planet. Lihle along with two other guides Janet and Zondi the women learn how to take care of themselves and the group. Especially at night when it’s just one lady on guard duty and they see the eyes of a cat just sitting there observing them. Then maybe the Elephant that wanders by and you have to make sure all are ok. The charging Rhino also teaches one how to care for themselves and others. The women learn so much about themselves and life they come away from this experience changed forever.

IndiePix Films brings this wonderful story of life and living to DVD to us on October 22nd, 2019. The quality of the DVD is pure excellence. The sights and sounds are superb. The iMfolozi is a beautiful area but with one coal mine already there and another possibly coming the land could go away in a very short time. Possibly with films like these we may change that course of destruction and keep this wilderness thriving for many years. This is an excellent addition to that personal library and with the holidays just around the corner it would be an amazing gift.

'An Israeli Love Story' DVD Review

Margalit (Adi Bielski) is an 18 year old young girl who is aspiring to be an actress. She lives in northern Israel in 1947. Israel is not yet a state of its own and there are many problems among its people. While traveling to watch a play in Haifa, Margalit meets a young man named Eli (Avraham Aviv Alush). Eli lives on a Kibbutz and has all his life. Eli works in the Palmach which is the pre state army underground. The two youngsters will eventually meet again and the romance begins. As time goes on Margalit moves to Eli’s Kibbutz and the talk of marriage begins.

This is a true love story and is based on fact. The story is about theater director Pnina Gary and Eli Ben-Zvi the son of Israel’s second president Yitzhak Ben-Zvi. They met, fell in love and did it all while Israel was becoming a state in 1947. Dan Wolman is the director of this love story and in all his comments he has said it is nothing more than a Love Story. Everyone wants to say it’s got a political backdrop to it but in reality it is still just a love story. For you see in every relationship there is always ups and downs. People are still people no matter what’s going on around them. Love does conquer all this story is so true to that.

Film Movement brings this love story to DVD on October 22nd, 2019. The quality of the DVD is fantastic. The sights and sounds are superb. The scenery is amazing. This film with make a wonderful addition to that personal library. It will also make an amazing gift for that special someone this holiday season. So don’t waste any time and pick this one up and enjoy.

'Harmonia' DVD Review

Abraham (Alon Aboutboul) is the conductor of the Jerusalem Philharmonic Orchestra. His wife is Sarah (Tali Sharon) the Harpist in the Orchestra. They love each other and love the arts but there is major tension between the two. You see Sarah is not able to have children and the pair want to have a family very desperately. Sarah has become pregnant over the years but miscarries every time.

A French horn player by the name of Hagar (Yana Yosef) joins the orchestra and almost immediately Abraham and Hagar hit it off. Hagar and Sarah strike up a friendship and yes you can see where this might be going. Eventually Sarah considers the thought of using Hagar as a surrogate and brings it up to Abraham. What’s funny is Hagar volunteers to be a surrogate even before Sarah speaks up.
Yes this does make for an interesting situation between the three individuals and you will have to watch to see where it goes. The story is very similar to the biblical story of Abraham and Sarah. The film is directed by Ori Sivan and is nicely laid out. The music is beautiful and the scenery is breathless. The acting by the three leads is excellent and you will enjoy this wonderful tale.

Film Movement brings this romantic drama to us on DVD on October 22th, 2019. The quality of the DVD is exceptional and the sights and sounds are superb. Israeli film making has jumped leaps and bounds over the years and this is an excellent film to pick up and add to that personal library. Another thing you can think of is the holidays are coming up and this would make a wonderful gift for that special someone.

'Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries' Holiday POP-Up Collectible, DVD Review

Phyrne Fisher (Essie Davis) and Dr. Mac and Aunt Prudence are all dressed up and ready to go to the Christmas ball. Actually they are heading to a Chateau for a Christmas in July celebration. As they arrive at the arrive at the Chateau no one comes out to greet them. They head inside to find no one around. Nicholas comes into the room and apologizes telling of the death of Len. You see earlier Len was hanging the Christmas lights on the tree. He had noticed that a bulb was out and was trying to replace it. He had unplugged the lights from the wall socket but when he had started to mess with the burned out bulb he had his finger in the socket and was electrocuted. The tree fell on top of him and he was dead. What nobody knows is that a gloved hand had plugged the lights back in thus electrocuting him. When the tree fell over it had unplugged the lights when Len was found it was thought he had a heart attack.

Phyrne and Dr Mac go to look at Len and see if they can decipher the cause of death. They find a scorched finger and his feet are scorched in his slippers. Phyrne thinks he’s been electrocuted. The guests head off to their rooms and Phyrne ponders what is really going on. She calls her friend at the police station to let him know what has taken place and what she thinks actually happened.
Two other deaths take place shortly after and the mystery has begun to take shape. Phyrne feels right at home now that she has a mystery to solve.

Acorn brings this wonderful episode back from the second season and placed it in a nice POP-UP collectible. Acorn brings this DVD to us on October 15th, 2019 just in time for the holidays. It will make a great gift for that someone special or it will be a wonderful addition to your personal library. The quality of the DVD is fantastic and the sights and sounds are superb. Enjoy.

'The Brokenwood Mysteries' Holiday Pop-UP Collectible, DVD Review

Christmas is on the way in Brokenwood and the celebrations have begun. The mayor once again is dressed up like Santa Claus as he does for the Christmas parade. Unfortunately this time mayor Evan Whitestone is still at home sitting in his chair and this year he has been murdered. Detective Shephard (Neill Rea) and Detective Sims (Fern Sutherland) have been called  to investigate the murder.  At first they believe that he was killed because the Mayoral Elections are coming and god knows Whitestone had some enemies. Actually there were many people who had grudges with the mayor. Then as the investigation proceeded more deaths began to take place thus making the detectives believe there was a darker motive at foot. This fan favorite actually was shown back in the series third season but this year it was brought back in a collectible pop-up version for this years Christmas Season.

The pop-up is actually Shephard and Sims and looks quite nice. Brokenwood has been a fan favorite coming from New Zealand. But one must admit this is possibly the best Christmas episode they ever made. It definitely is one of the bloodiest.  Acorn brings this holiday collectible to us on DVD this October 15th, 2019. The DVD quality is excellent and the sights and sounds are superb. If you haven’t pick this episode up in the past you will certainly want to do so now. This is definitely one for that personal library or it would be a great gift for that someone special.

So sit back this Christmas and watch Detective Shephard and Detective Sims break the case of the 'Merry Bloody Christmas' in Brokenwood. Find out who is terrorizing the community and leaving dead bodies all over the place. Find out who wanted to murder Mayor Whitestone in such a gruesome way especially while he was dressed as Santa Claus. Enjoy the holidays in Brokenwood and have bloody good time watching.

'Midsomer Murders: Holiday' POP-UP Collectible DVD Review

Yes, the holidays are around the corner. 'Midsomer Murders' are bringing us a pop up collectible that opens up with DCI Barnaby and his dog. The story we have is the 'Christmas Haunting' which came out in the sixteenth season. It also happens to be DS Charlie Nelson (Gwilym Lee) first case with DCI Barnaby (Neil Dudgeon). The pair are called in to investigate the murder of Conor Bridgeman who was at one of those ghost hunts.

Morton Shallows manor house was having a ghost hunt when Bridgeman was found stabbed to death. Bridgeman was using the hunt to have a sexual tryst. He had also just attempted to buy the manor house so there are just a few people who would want him dead. There really wasn’t any ghost sightings in the manor house but someone had been sending out flyers stating don’t disturb the ghosts because they will take out their revenge on you.

The township has another ghost hunt and once again it has a murder. This time it’s the local pub owner. He is having an affair but is also despised by others so there are once again many possible murderers to choose from. Also, at the same time, Barnaby’s wife is pregnant and with the new partner for her husband she wants to try and fix him up with a friend of theirs. So yes we can say the show has many twists and turns to keep us occupied. What’s even more enjoyable is all this is taking place at Christmas time. So all the town is lit up and decorated.

Acorn does a wonderful job with this Christmas collectible. The pop-up collectible is available on October 15th, 2019. The quality of the DVD is fantastic. The sights and sounds are perfect for the season. This is an excellent gift for that special person or it is an excellent addition to that personal library.

'Ulysses and Mona' DVD Review

Ulysses (Eric Cantona) is a man lost in his own despair. He ran away from his life with a wife and son. He was an artist with a grand following but he walked away from that also. He has been told that he has brain cancer and simply doesn’t know how to live with it. He spends his day in his Chateau rambling around from room to room. He will from time to time go out to the tennis court and simply hits the tennis balls around. He will listen to horror movie soundtracks to pass the time away.

Now we have Mona (Manal Issa) a young 20 year old art student who is spending most of her young life between nude workshops and theory classes. Mona has seen Ulysses work and has decided that she wants to meet the artist. Mona decides she is going to the chateau and meet her idol. She goes to the chateau not knowing what to expect. The two lost souls walk around the estate and Ulysses not really knowing what to do with this young girl finally decides to go on a road trip. Ulysses decides he is going to see his brother, he wants to find his ex and he wants to see his boy. He especially wants to see his boy because of the feeling of he has wronged him over the years. Mona tried to make a move on the older man but that doesn’t go anywhere. The two finally settle into their road trip that will eventually have a profound effect on both their lives.

Film Movement brings this wonderful film to DVD on October 15th, 2019. French Indie auteur Sebastien Betbeder does a great job on this one. The quality of the DVD is excellent and the sights and sounds are superb. You feel for both the leading character. One who is at the end of his life and the other just beginning to understand hers. This is definitely one for the personal library of DVDs you may have and it is a good addition to your movie collection.

'Family' DVD Review

Israeli filmmaker Veronica Kedar gives us a disturbing look at one dysfunctional family. Lily (Veronica Kedar) is a member of family with a mother , father, sister and brother. Our story opens with Lily in the family living room surrounded by four dead bodies. She is sitting there looking at the bodies of her dead family. At first you might think that she just happened to have walked in on this deadly scene but you almost immediately know that there is more to this story than a simple break in gone bad. Lily begins to look at each of the dead members of her family and small flashbacks start to show up on different episodes of her life with her family.

When our story begins all you can do is look at this person as what a horrible person this lily must be. As we see the past we begin to understand a different story. We see how a person could lose love or even interest in her family. We see a girl who only wanted a loving father. Lily only wanted a caring mother and a sister who was sane. All she wanted was a brother who wasn’t madly in love with her. We begin to see just how a young girl could resent her family and would eventually want no more to do with them.

Lily sees that there are problems after the blood shed. She heads over to her therapist house to confess what she had done and to seek help. When lily arrives at her therapist’s house the teenage daughter answers the door to let lily know that the therapist is not home. Unfortunately, Lily being in the state that she is in begins to feel all the anger and rage from before when she killed her own family.

Our story evolves in such a way that everything makes sense and all seems to fall into place. IndiePix films brings this psychological drama to us on DVD on October 8th, 2019. The quality of the DVD is excellent and the sights and sounds are superb. This will make a wonderful addition to the personal library of films that you may own. You will want to watch it over and over.

'The Ice King' DVD Review

Documentary Director James Erskine brings us the story of the late figure skating champion John Curry.  John Curry was born in Birmingham Warwickshire, England. Curry studied dance at an early age but his parents disapproved so he began studying figure skating. Curry was able to bring his study of dance into his skating routines. He was able to transform ice skating into an art form. It was also his study of dance that would help with the physicality of the ice skating.

Curry had a troubled past since his father died when he was only 16. His father died of tuberculosis which is usually not a pretty way to go. It affected Curry greatly. Another aspect of Curry’s life was that he was a homosexual. It was at the Olympics at Innsbruck in 1976 when Curry would come out of the closet so to speak. It was also the same night of his Olympic win. Curry had been outed by a German publication a few days before but it wasn’t until he came out himself did the world know for sure. Curry would continue skating  for some years but it was in 1991 when all would come full circle with the announcement he had AIDS.

In 1976 Curry would become the first British citizen to win gold for Ice Skating. When he announced he was gay it caused quite a stir in Europe. Coming out of the closet so to speak was not something that happened every day. He would take some grief about it but it never stopped him from living. Curry was emotionally aloof and an elitist at heart. He was needy but ambitious and he was always running from his fathers death, his own self and even his country.

Curry was a troubled man but through his own efforts he found fame. The documentary gives us a good look at the ice skating champion to the simple man who would die of AIDS. Film Movement brings us this story of a complicated man to DVD on October 8th, 2019. The quality of the DVD is excellent and the sights and sounds are superb. The ice skating scenes are beautiful and amazing. This is definitely one that you will want to add to your personal library. You will watch this over and over because it shows you the art of ice skating as well as the life of a man who died young.