1h 21m
‘Foreign Parts’ portrays a hidden enclave of automobile shops and junk-yards fated for demolition in the shadow of a new baseball stadium in Queens. The film observes this vibrant community of immigrants – where wrecks, refuse, and recycling form a thriving commerce – as it struggles for daily survival and contests New York City’s development scheme.
Directors Verena Paravel & J.P. Sniadecki
Unrated; 2h 5m
Romanian New Wave auteur Cristian Mungiu (“4 Months, 3 Weeks, 2 Days”) returns to masterful form with this drama, set in the filmmaker’s homeland and focusing on Matthias (Marin Grigore), a man who returns to his small village after walking off his slaughterhouse job in Germany, only to find the townspeople roiled by the presence of foreign workers. Ann Hornaday writes: “So much fear and misplaced anger are at play in Matthias’s increasingly hysterical behavior that ‘R.M.N.’ might as well be an X-ray of contemporary America.” (PG-13, 106 minutes.)
When a policeman falls in love with a prostitute, he doesn’t want her to see other men, so he creates an alter-ego who will be her only customer.
Based on French journalist Florence Aubenas’s bestselling non-fiction work Le Quai de Ouistreham, investigating rising precarity in French society through her experiences in the northern port city of Caen.
‘Between Two Worlds’ Review: Juliette Binoche Goes Undercover
In modern-day Helsinki, two lonely souls in search of love meet by chance in a karaoke bar. However, their path to happiness is beset by obstacles – from lost phone numbers to mistaken addresses, alcoholism, and a charming stray dog.
NYT review: Can a Rom-Com Make Sense in Dark Times? Yes, When It’s From This Master.
An overworked and underpaid production assistant drives around Bucharest to shoot the casting for a workplace safety video commissioned by a multinational company.
Singing for Justice tells the story of Faith Petric, a political radical, community organizer and charismatic performer who united folk music and progressive causes from the 1930s through the early 2000s. Narrated largely by Faith herself, the film weaves her musical and political journeys to showcase the central role of folk music in the transformational social movements of the 20th century.
Co-director: Estelle Freedman
ebf@stanford.edu
info@singingforjustice.com
Mike (Mark Wahlberg), a construction worker from Jersey, is quickly thrust into the world of super spies and secret agents when his high school sweetheart, Roxanne (Halle Berry), suddenly comes back into his life and recruits him on a high-stakes U.S. intelligence mission. Watch on Netflix.
Netflix hit “The Union” is a miss
Reviewed by Chris Garlock (Labor Heritage Foundation newsletter)
The Union is a hit on Netflix, but it’s not really about the labor movement, and it’s a pretty lousy movie, despite starring Mark Wahlberg and Halle Berry. Wahlberg plays Mike, a construction worker in New Jersey, who finds himself thrust into the world of super spies when his high school sweetheart, Roxanne (played by Berry), enlists his help on a high-stakes US intelligence mission for a shadowy group of ex-agency operatives called The Union. It’s a telling sign that a film called The Union doesn’t bother to say whether Mike’s construction job is union or not. J.K. Simmons runs the team and does have a cool class-conscious rationale for its existence: “(We’re the) invisible army that keeps the world running. The people who do the actual work. Street smarts over book smarts. Blue collar, not blue blood. Able to build our cities, keep production lines humming. That’s who we are. We get shit done.” Unfortunately that’s about the only nod to labor in the film, which has been getting abysmal viewer reviews, the best of which call it “generic” and “cheesy”. Action fans will be disappointed by the rote gunplay, endless — and pointless — car chases and lame dialogue from movie stars who — like us — deserve better. And the big plot twist involving a traitor in The Union is not only completely unbelievable, but misses an obvious opportunity to take a shot at scabs. Hate to say it, but this is one union you won’t want to join.
Got an opinion you’d like to share about labor art you’ve seen or heard lately? Email us at info@laborheritage.org.
A film by Joanna James
The documentary A Fine Line explores why less than 7% of head chefs and restaurant owners are women, when traditionally women have always held the central role in the kitchen.
Featuring candid interviews with world-renowned chefs including World’s Best Female Chef Dominique Crenn, Emmy Award-winning TV host Lidia Bastianich, two Michelin-starred chef April Bloomfield, Iron Chef Cat Cora, World’s Best Chef Daniel Humm and many more, A Fine Line grapples with themes sparking national conversations right now, including workplace harassment, equal pay, paid parental leave and career advancement.
56 min. | SDH Captions | Scene Selection
THE LABOR FILM DATABASE 