living and dying Tagged Articles at Cinematical

What happens when a group of armed robbers suddenly finds the tables turned? In Jon Keeye's Living and Dying, which can perhaps best be described as Western-meets-heist-film-meets-thriller, three armed robbers take refuge in a café after their heist getaway, only to find themselves trapped with a pair of sociopathic killers. When the killers take the situation over and start killing hostages, it's up to the robbers to turn hero and save the day before anyone else gets hurt. One of the robbers is killed in the takeover, leaving Sam (Edward Furlong) and Nadia (Bai Ling) to figure out a way out of the mess.

Sam decides to sidle up to the bad guys, who are known in the local criminal circle as "the Blood Brothers." Karl (Curtis Wayne) is the smart one, relatively speaking, and Max (Trent Haaga)is the stupid follower; both of them are mean as rattlesnakes, with no regard for other people or human life in general. Fortunately for Sam, he used to do some work for Karl's brother, and that connection keeps Sam from getting a bullet in the head -- for now.

Lots has been happening here in Dallas since the last dispatch I wrote up. I've seen several docs here: Where the Sun Rises, Darius Goes West, and Rape of Europa, and today I saw The Proper Care and Feeding of an American Messiah, Paprika, and Living and Dying. Let's talk about the docs first, because docs are one of my favorite genres. There aren't quite as many playing at this fest as I'd like, and most of the doc screenings have been a bit lightly attended. I've talked to a few locals about this, and what I keep hearing is that Dallas folks haven't really been exposed much to the idea of documentaries as entertainment, as opposed to something you're forced to watch for a class or catch on PBS because nothing else is on and you have insomnia.

So I want to plug some docs I've really enjoyed here so far. Where the Sun Rises, helmed by Grace Phan, is about Xanana Gusmao, former guerrilla leader and current president of East Timor, the world's youngest independent nation. Where the Sun Rises isn't about war and politics, though, it's about the healing power of forgiveness, and Gusmao's journey from hate to love and genuine forgiveness.