REVIEW: Red Trees [2017]

“A Mr. Hitler is in power, but it’s the vending machines that I recall” If yours were one of only twelve Jewish families in all of Prague to survive World War II, you’d do your best to move forward despite the memories of death, fear, and oppression that marked you in a way no one who wasn’t there could ever understand. Some are better than others at pushing these aside to embrace the life that remained and future to come. Alfred Willer was one such survivor, a teenager at war’s…

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TIFF17 REVIEW: Downrange [2017]

“How’d your passengers turn out? Any weirdos?” A car slams on its breaks at the pop of a flat. Inside is Todd (Rod Hernandez) and Sara (Alexa Yeames), a young couple toting around a bunch of strangers who pitched in gas money to reach everyone’s shared destination. Putting on the spare this SUV is thankfully equipped with should only take around twenty minutesā€”or less thanks to a friendly bet for bragging rights. But that would be too simple. The heat gets to Jodi (Kelly Connaire) and Keren (Stephanie Pearson), Eric…

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