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Listings for Friday, November 28, through Thursday, December 4, 2008
Full Battle Rattle
War games take on a surreal aspect in this video documentary about a U.S. Army battalion training in Medina Wasl, one of 13 fake Iraqi villages built in the Mojave Desert to simulate conditions overseas. The soldiers and those hired to portray villagers are so immersed in their role-playing that they take method acting to a new level, from Sergeant Paul Greene, already a veteran of two military tours, who's cast as an insurgent, to Nagi Moshi, an Iraqi refugee nervously awaiting the outcome of his immigration case, who plays a deputy police chief. Directors Tony Gerber and Jesse Moss raise some intriguing questions, such as whether exercises like these can effectively prepare soldiers for the carnage of actual combat, even those weaned on video games and reality TV. 85 min. -- Andrea Gronvall
This movie is currently playing at:
Facets Cinematheque
Milk
Like Spike Lee's Malcolm X (1992), this moving biopic about the slain gay-rights activist Harvey Milk is not only the story of a political leader but a political event in its own right, introducing mainstream moviegoers to a martyred hero and implicitly championing his ideals. Known in San Francisco as the Mayor of Castro Street, Milk pulled off an impressive balancing act in the mid-70s: though he worked tirelessly for gay rights, he also assembled an unlikely power base of gays, hippies, seniors, union members, and small-business owners that catapulted him to elective office on the city's Board of Supervisors. Sean Penn gives a meticulously detailed performance as the cagey and charismatic pol, but credit should also go to Dustin Lance Black, whose script squarely locates Milk at the center of his community, his city, and his cause. Gus Van Sant directed. R, 128 min. -- J.R. Jones
This movie is currently playing at:
Landmark's Century Centre
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