The best new movies this week include some surefire documentaries as well as a black-and-white B&W epic that’s one of the best films of the year — if you can handle it. And the Jewish Film Institute is serving up a brief summer festival starring two documentaries on prominent Bay Area figures.
Here’s a look.
“Father Soldier Son”: After spending a year on an ambitious project about the toll that active military duty takes on a family’s life, New York Times reporters-turned-filmmakers Catrin Einhorn and Leslye Davis realized they needed to dig a little deeper. With “Father Soldier Son,” the two journalists spent 10 years with Sergeant First Class Brian Eisch, a dedicated officer and proud single father of two boys, who returns home after a serious injury in Afghanistan. Once back, the physical and emotional challenges overwhelm him and his new life.
Einhorn and Davis capture Eisch’s triumphs and the tragedies in a film that is refreshingly unbiased as it presents a cinema verite look into the struggles wounded veterans and their families confront in America. “Father Soldier Son” is a quiet triumph. Details: 3½ stars out of 4; available July 17 on Netflix.
“Fatal Affair”: A high-powered Bay Area attorney (Nia Long) encounters a former classmate (Omar Epps) in a thriller that follows the “Fatal Attraction” boilerplate — except no bunnies get boiled. This isn’t a film you ponder deeply. It’s one you gobble up over pizza. Long and Epps — who have worked together before — keep us interested in the by-the-numbers story and director Peter Sullivan gives the Bay Area a glossy, sensual look while employing minimal bloodshed. Details: 2½ stars; available July 16 on Netflix.
“The Painted Bird”: What if I told you one of the best-made films of 2020 happens to also be one of the hardest to endure? The barrage of cruelty here — physical and sexual — can make it difficult to watch director/screenwriter Vaclav Marhoul’s black-and-white adaptation of Jerzy Kosinski’s controversial novel. But “Bird” should not be cast aside; it’s directed with bold strokes, acted fiercely by a cast that includes Petr Kotlar, Udo Kier, Barry Pepper and Harvey Keitel, and delivers a sweeping 35mm vision about war and the destruction of innocence. It’s one of the most disturbing films I’ve seen, but “Bird” leaves you in awe. Details: 4 stars; available July 17 on various platforms and at selected drive-in theaters.
Cinegogue Summer Days: The annual San Francisco Jewish Film Festival won’t be held in its usual format this summer, but the Jewish Film Institute scrambled to create a meaningful, mostly virtual celebration of Jewish film and culture running Thursday through Sunday. Opening the Cinegogue Summer Days July 16 at Concord’s West Wind Solano Drive-In is Berkeley filmmaker Abby Ginzberg’s “Truth to Power: Barbara Lee Speaks to Me,” about the fearless Oakland congresswoman. (Screens 8:30 p.m. July 16, you must secure tickets in advance).
Also in the mix are “On Broadway,” screening at drive-ins in Concord and San Jose, an illuminating look at Broadway featuring interviews with such stars as Hugh Jackman, Sir Ian McKellen, Helen Mirren and many more (8:30 p.m. today). And classical fans should check out director Susan Froemke’s documentary on Michael Tilson Thomas, who just wrapped up a legendary 25-year run as San Francisco Symphony music director. In “Michael Tilson Thomas: Where Now Is,” the maestro talks about his childhood, husband and his love for both music and the New World Symphony he helped co-found (2:30 p.m. Saturday, followed by a conversation between Tilson Thomas and Peter Stein).
Details: for a full festival lineup and to order tickets, visit jfi.org/summerdays.
“Dirt Music”: In the transition from page to screen, novelist Tim Winton’s emotionally distanced protagonists come out looking like pretty mopers. It’s a shame, given that stars Garrett Hedlund and Kelly Macdonald give it their all in this romantic drama. Even sweeping shots of West Australia can’t overcome Gregor Jordan’s plodding direction and Jack Thorne’s bland screenplay. Just read the Booker Prize-nominated book. Details: 2 stars; streams July 17 on multiple platforms.
“Olympia”: Harry Mavromichalis’ chummy film about grand actress Olympia Dukakis is like having a bottomless mimosa weekend brunch with your besties. There’s a boozy dinner with Armistead Maupin, the beloved author who created the iconic character of Anna Madrigal Dukakis is loved for. There’s a chat with Norman Jewison (the director who helped her land an Oscar for “Moonstruck”), and there’s her stint as Grand Marshall at an S.F. Pride Parade. Mavromichalis captures it all with elan, revealing the inner workings of a creative spitfire. Details: 3 stars; available on various platforms.
“Browse”: Toss Mike Testin’s paranoid cyber thriller into the landfill of going-bonkers horror, a subgenre thriving during these nutso times. “Browse” bumbles along while not making a hell of a lot of sense in the end. Lukas Haas is a fine actor, but he’s hamstrung by a ditzy screenplay that has him descending into a Kafkaesque tailspin through an online-dating connection. You could do worse … maybe. Details: 1½ stars; streaming on multiple platforms.
“We Are Freestyle Love Supreme”: Delayed from a June release is this winning documentary about the famed New York improv hip-hop show featuring one Lin-Manuel Miranda. Details: 3 stars; available July 17 on Hulu.
“Lake of Death”: The pay channel Shudder went through growing pains, but has emerged as the Netflix for horror devotees. This creepy Norwegian import — a Shudder original — isn’t revolutionary, but knows how to crank up the atmospherics as a protagonist with a shaky mind returns to her old haunt where her clingy twin brother disappeared. Director Nini Bull Robsahm shoots it in shudder-inducing 35mm which adds to the ominous look and feel. This one curdles the blood without unleashing the carnage. Details: 3 stars; available July 16 on Shudder.
