Arts
Kidnapped: The Abduction of Edgardo Mortara relates the true story of a young Jewish boy who was taken from his parents so he could be converted to Christianity.
It’s a disturbing tale, but you may also find it a bit confusing unless you know something about Italian history. It also helps if you have a little patience.
Veteran director Marco Bellocchio takes his time unfolding the account of 6-year-old Edgardo Mortara, who is seized from his Bologna home in 1858 after Catholic officials learn he’d been secretly baptized as a baby. According to law, as the local “inquisitor” explains to the parents, he therefore must be raised as a Christian.
The boy’s father and mother, Salomone and Marianna (Fausto Russo Alesi and Barbara Ronchi), are shocked, as they know nothing about the baptism. They beg the official not to take their son, but their pleas only win them a 24-hour reprieve. After that, Edgardo (Enea Sala) is whisked away to Rome and enrolled in a school along with other boys who are training to become Catholic.
Wes Ball renews the franchise with "Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes," propelling the beloved saga into a new era with a blend of grand world-building, visceral action, and poignant storytelling.
The film opens with Caesar’s funeral, honoring his legacy and setting the tone for the rest of the movie––an integral character to the lore is celebrated without becoming the central focus.
Set generations after Caesar's reign in a post-apocalyptic world where apes rule, and humans lurk in the shadows, Proximus Caesar (Kevin Durand) commands, aiming to maintain ape dominance. However, a young ape, Noah (Owen Teague), embarks on a journey that will challenge everything he’s been taught and ultimately define the future for both species.
Noah’s bravery and ambition make him a protagonist you root for, while his impressionable nature and evolving choices create a compelling narrative arc. Proximus, determined to keep apes free, uses questionable tactics to advance his agenda and avoid repeating history, making him the perfect foil to Noah.
Rocco Di Pietro’s The Normal Exception: Life Stories, Reflections, and Dreams from Prison is an outcome of the author’s ten years of teaching college courses to prison inmates in New York, Ohio, and California.
A thoughtful observer, Di Pietro offers illuminating commentary on people's roles and the relationship
between prison and life outside the walls. Incarceration, he points out, “was only one way to transgress
out of the matrix of society; the artist, the poor, the homeless, the ill, the addicts, and psychological
cripples of every sort were also some of the other ways one could slip through the cracks.”
The book consists of essays that Di Pietro had assigned his students to write, interspersed with the
author’s thoughts on the content. For me, the most striking impression taken from these stories is how
many of these individuals had been living in prisons of other sorts long before their incarceration. Many
of these stories are harrowing, and the words of one woman are indicative of the suffering: “Though I
was incarcerated, I began to feel freer than I had in a long, long time. No longer did I live under an
In the quirky, unconventional setting of "Sasquatch Sunset," the Zellner brothers craft a film that defies categorization and fascinates with its unique blend of humor, heart, and environmental commentary. A bizarre gem that turns folklore into a poignant exploration of family and nature.
Imagine the opening scene of "2001: A Space Odyssey," but instead, we have Sasquatches grunting, fighting, mating, and tripping on mushrooms. This 90-minute, documentary-style comedy/adventure follows a year in the life of a Sasquatch family, exploring their dynamics, survival, and humanity's harmful impact on the environment.
The actors (Jesse Eisenberg, Riley Keough, Christophe Zajac-Denek, and Nathan Zellner) fully commit to their roles, disappearing into realistic-looking Sasquatches. Their grunts, expressions, and hand gestures evoke every emotion possible, and their transformation is so convincing that I forget they are actors in top-notch Sasquatch cosplay.
Bloodstains
We finally made it to my house. Jean and I had to convince Annie to keep walking with us because she kept trying to turn back towards her house. I saw Mr. Jimmy’s cab as we approached the front of the house. The first thought that came to my mind was that this was gonna be a problem. The goal was to get Annie to our bedroom to hide until he came home. Now I had to figure out how to sneak her into the house without her father seeing her. We wanted Annie to see him first and then decide if she wanted to speak with him. Difficult but not impossible.
“Hold on a minute.” I stopped and turned to face Annie. “That’s your father’s cab in front of our house. He may be in the living room or kitchen.”
Jean scoffed “What’s he doing here? He’s supposed to be at work.”
“Well, he’s not, as you can plainly see, good grief! Focus!” I shook my head at Jean and turned back to Annie who was looking at the cab.
“That’s his cab? I see that cab and the other ones all the time. I didn’t know my father drove one.” Annie said in wonder.
Let’s Close This Case
Detective Richardson looked over the recent information that he received regarding Booker T’s case. This case had been difficult to solve, however the pieces of the puzzle were fitting into place. His interviews with both Shelia and Jimmy had been productive. He believed Shelia didn’t know about her daughters and their connection to Smooth until he told her today. That removed the only motive he felt Shelia had to murder Smooth. So, he checked her off of his suspect list. He was surprised that she didn’t know about Jimmy’s daughter, considering Annie was Sara’s best friend, but that was a minor detail.
Jimmy on the other hand, had been surprised. Jimmy started the interview cocky, smirking when questioned about Smooth and their last encounter. He stopped smirking when Richardson asked about his daughter, Annie. “When was the last time you saw your daughter?”
Jimmy jumped up from the chair, looking at Richardson in shock. “What does Annie have to do with this?”
Let’s Close This Case
Detective Richardson looked over the recent information that he received regarding Booker T’s case. This case had been difficult to solve, however the pieces of the puzzle were fitting into place. His interviews with both Shelia and Jimmy had been productive. He believed Shelia didn’t know about her daughters and their connection to Smooth until he told her today. That removed the only motive he felt Shelia had to murder Smooth. So, he checked her off of his suspect list. He was surprised that she didn’t know about Jimmy’s daughter, considering Annie was Sara’s best friend, but that was a minor detail.
Jimmy on the other hand, had been surprised. Jimmy started the interview cocky, smirking when questioned about Smooth and their last encounter. He stopped smirking when Richardson asked about his daughter, Annie. “When was the last time you saw your daughter?”
Jimmy jumped up from the chair, looking at Richardson in shock. “What does Annie have to do with this?”
Decision Time
I finally calmed down and let Annie finish telling her story. Her mother sold the house, moved from the southside to the eastside and never looked back. Annie stopped asking about her father because her mother would just look at her and say “What father? You don’t have a father.” After a while, Annie stopped dreaming about her father. Forgot what he looked like or how he smelled. The sound of his voice had faded from her ears, and she no longer heard his songs. Her mother had destroyed any pictures that her father was in, so Annie couldn’t even look at past memories they had as a family.
I Hear Things
On the way home from the police station, she asked Jimmy several times why he was being questioned by Richardson. Jimmy wouldn’t give her a straight answer at first, causing Shelia to raise her voice at him, so he finally gave in, before she cursed him out, and told her it was about Smooth. “What about Smooth?” Shelia asked as Jimmy parked the car in front of their home.
“Nothing, really, just about cab rides.”
Shelia looked at him with a look of uncertainty “That doesn’t make sense. He could have got that information from Sissy. It’s her job to keep track of cab runs, isn’t it?” Jimmy nodded his head in the affirmative, got out of the cab and walked into the house, leaving Shelia in the cab alone.
Nice Men Don’t Cheat
We didn’t get to school at all that day. After Annie told us that Mr. Jimmy was her father and started to cry, she ran off towards Franklin Park. Jean and I were frozen for a few seconds in shock, because even though we kind of knew that it might be something like Annie being related to or knowing Mr. Jimmy, we, or at least I, never thought he was her father. Mr. Jimmy had never mentioned he had a daughter my age. Ever. That seemed weird to me. Why wouldn’t he tell me about Annie?
I snapped out of my daze and shouted after Annie to stop running and wait for us to catch up to her. She kept running until she got to Franklin Park and our favorite spot, the place we first met, where she flopped down on the ground. By the time we caught up with her she wasn’t crying anymore. Her face was blank. “Annie, are you alright?” I asked as I sat down beside her on the ground. She didn’t answer me. “Annie! Earth to Annie!” Jean shouted. Still no answer from Annie. “Sara, maybe we should leave her alone and go on to school.” Jean suggested. “Come on, let’s go. We’re gonna be late.”