A tale of revenge and grief, “The First Breath of Tengan Rei,” shot predominantly on Chicago’s South Side, begins midstream with an abduction of a teenage boy, Paris (Katori Eason), the kidnapper young Okinawan woman Tengan Rei, played by Erika Oda. She’s in over her head, her handgun far too big for her—no matter how well the boy’s tied up, we know she’s not a professional. Paris’ father Nelson (Sean Nix), a U.S. Marine who spent time in prison for raping Rei when she was a girl, longs for his missing son, who was taken in an act of vengeance. This can only end one way. Written, directed and produced by husband-and-wife team Ed M. Koziarski and Junko Kajino, “Tengan Rei” explores themes of forgiveness, redemption and the sometimes terrible results of occupation, and the film benefits from persuasive writing and skilled editing that moves you, in snippets, back and forth from past to present. Some horrors most of us will, luckily, never know, and desperation, the bond that unites all of these characters, is a global affliction. (Tom Lynch)
Heart: A Review of Soul The real world is soulful, too, in Pixar's bountiful life of the mind.
Seeing The Elephant: A Review Of Babylon The boisterous, brawling yet melancholy "Babylon," is a variation on film history, but more drawing for drama. It's gaudy and mean, celebratory and sorrowful.
A Drag Getting Old: A Review Of Indiana Jones 5 In the protracted opening couple of reels, a very young, computer-crafted Harrison Ford plays a younger cultural marauder who first encounters the dull MacGuffin of the title.
