(Le fils de l’autre, 2012) Lorraine Levy’s French-Israeli “The Other Son” is a nearly-serviceable babies-switched-at-birth Israeli-Palestinian drama, placing two eighteen-year-old soldiers in fate’s way. Talky in the worst way, the film still holds attention for decent performances and bristling atmosphere that keep its wholeheartedly loaded “West Bank Story” and trunkful of plot contrivance and hapless predictability afloat. Emmanuelle Devos is the stricken mother. With Pascal Elbé, Jules Sitruk, Mehdi Dehbi, Areen Omari, Khalifa Natour, Mahmud Shalaby, Bruno Podalydès. 105m. (Ray Pride)
Ray Pride is Newcity’s Senior Editor and Film Critic. He is a contributing editor of Filmmaker magazine.
Ray’s history of Chicago Ghost Signs is planned for publication next year. Previews of the project are on Twitter and on Instagram. More photography on Instagram.
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.
Uncanny Ally: A Review Of M3GAN "M3GAN" sells itself in its first handful of seconds in how it introduces the handiwork of roboticist Gemma (Allison Williams, "Get Out") and her present product, PurrPetual Petz from Funki.
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.
