Home Performing Arts Tribeca Film Festival Roundup: Part 2.

Tribeca Film Festival Roundup: Part 2.

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Road, Movie:The ultra-saturated colors in this beautiful film serve to heighten the contrast between the modern and traditional cultures that live shoulder to shoulder in modern India. Director Dev Bengal has made an somewhat uneven film, where scenes of light comedic banter bookend others where out leads literally nearly die in the desert for lack of water. Bengal may not have set out to make a film about the issue of water rights and scarcity, but he certainly brings attention to an issue that is normally only on the minds of very few in America. Abhay Deol plays the petulant Vishnu, a thouroughly modern man who is dismayed to know that he must one day take over the family’s hair oil business. In a form of extremely mild revolt, he offers to deliver an ancient truck across the country. On the way he encounters crooked police, warlords, a beautifully sad gypsy, and a kid and older man who manage to hitch a ride. The appeal of men’s hair oil  is sure to be a bit lost on American audiences, but the emphasis on the power of movies to bring people together is universal.

The Trotsky: Lead actor Jay Baruchel has been playing 17 year olds for ten-plus years now, and it’s probably time to stop. That being said, I’m willing to forgive him this one last time because his portrayal of Leon Trotsky (née Bronstien) was so engaging and memorable. Ok, fine, Baruchel wasn’t actually playing Trotsky, he was playing a high school student who sincerely believes he is the living reincarnation of the famous Russian Marxist. Between sparring with his exasperated father, wooing 27 year old Alexandra who he identifies as his future wife, and clashing with the typical high school boredomcore (“Are you my Stalin, Dwight?”), Leon stages an epic battle to unionize his public school. Hijinks ensue, naturally, but they wouldn’t be much fun if it wasn’t for Baruchel’s brilliant comic timing. When a hungover Alexandra wakes up to find him in her kitchen, he is totally nonplussed by the situation: “Do you think you need a shower?” is not a phrase that most teens can pull off when talking to their decade-older conquests.

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