Words of War: The Anna Politkovskaya Story

October 7^th might be the most evil date in the calendar. Obviously, it has become infamous for the Hamas’s horrific 2023 terror attacks. Furthermore, in 2006, independent Russian journalist Anna Politkovskaya was ruthlessly gunned down, in a blatantly politically motivated assassination, on October 7^th—a date possibly selected as a “birthday gift” for Putin, who was indeed born on that very date. It was a tragedy, an outrage, and a precursor of worse atrocities to come. Politskaya’s idea of journalism was telling the truth, without fear or favor. Not surprisingly, that incurred the Putin regime’s wrath, as viewers witness in James Strong’s biographical drama, Words of War, which opens today in New York.

Politkovskaya wrote for Novaya Gazeta, Russia’s only editorially independent newspaper, edited by Dmitry Muratov, a co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021. Muratov is a muckraker at heart, but even he worries about the risks Politkovskaya takes. Frequently reporting from the battlefields of Russia’s dirty war in Chechnya, she earns the Chechens’ trust revealing Russian war crimes. She also earns Russian military’s hostility and several beatings.

Her family is not necessarily thrilled with her new notoriety, especially her son Ilya. Her semi-estranged husband Alexander somewhat resents seeing her journalistic prestige eclipsing his own. Yet, he makes a point of recording the death threats she receives, which becomes almost a full-time job. Thanks to the credibility she established, the Chechen militia hostage-takers requested her as a mediator during the Moscow Theater Siege, so she saw first-hand how the Russian police killed 132 innocent civilians through their use of an opioid-derived chemical agent.

The film begins with the first attempt on Politkovskaya’s life, an airliner poisoning that eerily parallels the 2020 attempted assassination of Alexei Navalny, and then rewinds to show the why’s and how’s. Frankly, it really starts with a bang, because her escape from the compromised hospital, engineered by Muratov and her grown children, Ilya and Vera, is a true white-knuckle sequence.

It is also worth noting Words of War never indulges in hagiography. As portrayed by the aptly cast Maxine Peake, Politkovskaya is often difficult, but always acutely human. She is also more right than wrong, at least on the big-picture issues.

If you don’t know how it ends, then the Kremlin would like to commend you on your choice of news sources. For the rest of us who understand what is coming, it still lands as a gut-punch, because it is so cold and cruel. We can’t say we weren’t warned. What happened to Politkovskaya happened to Navalny and the war crimes committed in Chechnya were repeated in Ukraine.

In the Land of Saints and Sinners

One of the PR hazards of terrorism is that when you set out to kill innocent people, sometimes you kill the “wrong” innocent people. That is the case for Doireann McCann, when her IRA cell inadvertently blows up two children and mother, who happened to pass by their pub bombing at the worst possible moment. Until the heat blows over, they hide out in the remote coastal village of Glencolmcille, where nonpolitical hitman Finbar Murphy lives. He has had enough of killing in general, but he remains just as dangerous as he ever was in Robert Lorenz’s In the Land of Saints and Sinners, which opens today in theaters.

In 1974, “The Troubles” were heating up, but Murphy kills for money rather than a cause. Bart McGuiness was supposed to be just another job, but instead of begging for his life, he tells Murphy to make something of his lonely life before it is too late. If there is an award for performances under five minutes, Mark O’Regan ought to be in contention for his portrayal of McGuiness. Consequently, Murphy rather takes his words to heart, so he tenders his notice to his shady boss, the reclusive Robert McQue, and starts putting the moves on his single neighbor, Rita Quinn.

Murphy also notices the local barmaid’s daughter Moya is being abused by one of her mom’s unwelcomed house-guests. That would be Curtis June, part of the IRA hit squad that accidentally killed two little girls in Belfast. McCann just invited her way into her late brother’s home, obviously using the threat of violence. They were supposed to be laying low, but June’s behavior attracts Murphy’s’ attention. He basically tells McQue he is hiring his own services. McQue is against it, because he suspects June’s IRA affiliation, but Murphy mind is made up. Of course, McCann is the sort to hold grudges and extract an eye for an eye.

Land of Saints is Lorenz’s second film with Liam Neeson, following The Marksman. Both are similar in theme and vibe to Eastwood’s Gran Torino (which Lorenz produced), in the way Neeson’s older, crustier characters come to terms with their life decisions and decide to face-down dangerous foes, because they refuse to abide by any ethical code. The Marksman is a more straight-forward action movie (but a good one), whereas screenwriters Mark Michael McNally and Terry Loane tell a more sophisticated story of IRA intrigue.

Arguably, it is pretty impressive that the well-known assembly of Irish thesps would appear in a film that casts the IRA in such a negative light. This is a great cast, featuring the hardnosed trinity of Neeson, Ciaran Hinds, and Colm Meaney. Neeson does his thing as Murphy, but Lorenz helps him stretch a bit into more emotionally complex territory. As usual, Meaney is more fun than a sale on Guiness Stout as sleazy, crotchety McQue. Hinds radiates decency as Vincent O’Shea, the honest local copper (who thinks Murphy is a rare book dealer).

The Woman in Black: The New Hammer Adapts Susan Hill

Arthur Kipps' assignment sounds like a nightmare from Hell: one solid week of paperwork. He is supposed to organize the ratty old papers of the late Alice Drabow, the former owner of Eel Marsh House. Frankly, the visitation of a vengeful ghostly woman sounds like a welcome distraction from such drudgery, but unfortunately, her appearances are a harbinger for yet another child dying in the beleaguered local village. Despite the tragedies, poor Kipps still has to get all those blasted papers in order in James Watkins’ Hammer-produced The Woman in Black, which airs Thursday on Comet.

Kipps’ beloved wife died in childbirth, leaving him to raise their son Joseph on his own. The senior partner of his proper Edwardian firm says he is sympathetic to Kipps’ situation, which means he really isn’t. Regardless, Kipps must sort out the Drabow estate if he is to have a future with the firm. Unfortunately, the local solicitor has been decidedly uncooperative, so Kipps must go to Eel Marsh House and process all the paperwork, so they can clear the title for the prospective heirs.

Of course, he receives a nasty welcome from all the locals, except the wealthy and skeptical Sam Daily. Yet, he too lost his young son in an incident attributed to the Woman in Black. According to legend, whenever she is seen, a child dies through an act of self-destruction. As a result, Kipps only makes things worse for himself in the village when he asks about the strange woman he has seen around the Eel Marsh grounds. Children do indeed start dying, which is especially alarming to him, since Joseph and his nanny are scheduled to visit over the weekend.

Woman in Black is an entertaining gothic throwback, which made it an altogether fitting production for the relaunched Hammer Films. As well as channeling vintage Hammer, Watkins also picked up a step or two from films like Bayona’s The Orphanage, using the full frame to tease viewers with shadowy figures, half-seen from down long hallways. Yet, the wonderfully lush and decaying set designs are pure vintage Hammer. Plus, the isolation of Eel Marsh House, built atop a rise in tidal basin that is inaccessible during high tide, lends the film additional claustrophobic creepiness.

Since Daniel Radcliffe now shuns J.K. Rowling as a heretic who should be burned at the stake, this could be his new favorite film. It is the second screen adaptation of Hill’s novel, following a 1989 BBC production, and the first to spawn an original sequel. It is refreshingly atmospheric and suggestive, rather than bluntly gory.

The Terror—on AMC and as part of What the Fest

You might wonder if sailors would be too superstitious to serve on a ship named HMS Terror, but when it was commissioned as a bomb ship, the name probably sounded reassuring. During the War of 1812, the Terror helped lay siege to Fort McHenry, thereby contributing to the composition of “The Star-Spangled Banner.” However, when it was retrofitted as a polar exploration vessel, it stopped instilling terror and started attracting it, according to the laws of karma. It will be the crew’s profound misfortune to be assigned to an impossible mission, under the command of a tragically hubristic commander in the new period horror limited series The Terror, produced by Ridley Scott, which premieres on AMC this Monday—and the first three episodes will also screen together during the upcoming What the Fest!?

Sir John is determined not to return until he finally discovers the long-sought Northwest Passage, but unfortunately, it does not exist. Frankly, Captain Francis Crozier probably suspects as much. He is second in command to Franklin (who leads the expedition from HMS Erebus), and directly skippers the HMS Terror. Franklin is convinced providence will eventually open up a back channel to China for them, but you could say hope does not cut much ice that far north.

Inevitably, the two vessels become icebound, which would be bad enough on its own. To make matters worse, as the crew prepares to endure winter in the distant arctic seas, a mysterious creature starts hunting them. The so-called “Tuunbaq” looks like a mutant polar bear, but it seems to have some sort of psychic connection to the Inuit woman they fittingly but somewhat ironically dub “Lady Silence.”

Based on Dan Simmons’ novel, The Terror combines the icy dread of Lovecraftian horror with the grim but fact-based realities of conditions during a Nineteenth Century polar expedition. There is a palpable sense of claustrophobia, isolation, and biting wind-chill throughout the series. The set and design craftsmanship is absolutely first-rate, but from time to time, the battery of directors (Tim Mielants, Edward Berger, and Sergio Mimica-Gezzan) allow too much slack in the line. Arguably, this ten-episode series could have easily run a leaner, meaner eight episodes without seriously ill-effects.

Nevertheless, it is impressive how skillfully co-showrunners David Kajganich and Soo Hugh build this sinister ice-bound world and establish the intricate network of relationships among the expedition’s crew. It is also nice to see a major television production entrusted to veteran character actors like Jared Harris and Ciarán Hinds. Indeed, both are well within their elements, bringing complex, humanizing dimensions in the dour, whiskey-medicating Captain Crozier and the arrogant, tunnel-visioned Franklin, who both feel a strong emotional attachment to their crews, but which manifests in very different ways.

Harris and Hinds give the series instant credibility, but Tobias Menzies delivers what might be the best performance, involving the most extreme character development arc, as James Fitzjames, the expedition’s third in command. Initially, he comes across like a Mr. Darcy-like character, but he becomes considerably humbler as reality sets in and his sympathies swing from Franklin’s gung-ho position to the pragmatism of Crozier.

For obvious reasons, this is a very Y-chromosome cast, but Nive Nielsen is terrific as the mysterious Lady Silence. Adam Nagaitis chews the scenery like an old pro, making a suitably despicable villain as the mutinous Cornelius Hickey (typically pronounced “Higgy”). Likewise, Paul Ready is indelibly memorably as the tragically empathetic Harry Goodsir, the ship’s surgeon (ranking below the doctor in 1800’s terminology).

It definitely feels like a long voyage, but there are scenes in Terror that will really stick with viewers. The term “punished as a boy” will always ring with meaning and a third act death clearly evokes David’s painting of The Death of Marat in its grim elegance. This is an effectively moody slow-boiler, but when the creature attacks, the effects are quite good. The series should also keep viewers honest with respect to the over-hyped storms that recently dusted through the City. Sure, there was a little snow, but there was no need to worry about scurvy. Recommended for fans of atmospheric period horror, somewhat in the Hammer tradition, The Terror premieres this Monday (3/26) on AMC—and 30% of it screens during What the Fest!?, at the IFC Center.

2012 Oscar Nominated Shorts: Live Action

Last year, Luke Matheny won the best live action short Oscar for God of Love and delivered the best acceptance speech of the night. He had respectable competition for the former but practically none for the latter. This year’s field is also looks relatively competitive, but viewers can judge for themselves when the Academy Award nominated live action shorts program opens this Friday in New York at the IFC Center.

If this year’s Oscar nominated short form animation has a Canadian flavor, the live action shorts have a slight Irish disposition, at least according to some definitions. As it happens, one of the best contenders hails from North Ireland. Regardless of identity issues, Terry George’s The Shore (trailer here) is probably the film to beat. It hardly hurts that George is a highly regarded filmmaker, already twice nominated in screenplay categories. The Shore also stars an actor viewers will recognize: Ciarán Hinds, currently seen in finer theaters as “Soldier” in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy.

Yes, The Shore addresses the troubles, but not in a polarizing context. Twenty-five years ago, Jim Mahon’s grandfather was spooked by the escalating violence and trundled the young man off to the American relations. He has finally returned with his grown daughter to make peace with his former best friend and the woman he jilted. Although it is more of a drama than a comedy, The Shore has a wry, knowing sensibility that should appeal to popular audiences. Rather than dwell on Belfast’s battle scars, George captures the picturesque landscape of Northern Ireland. One of the great actors of our day, Hinds is perfect as the conflicted Mahon and Kerry Condon is appealingly smart and down to earth as his daughter.

Unfortunately, the proper Irish contender is not nearly as rich. An incompetent choir boy is offered a chance to redeem himself in Peter McDonald’s slight Pentecost. However, the big mass plays out as a childish rebellion fantasy at the expense of the mean old Catholic Church.

Though also relatively short, Andrew Bowler’s genre comedy Time Freak (trailer here) is easily the most entertaining live action nominee. An obsessive scientist has developed a time machine, but his regular guy best friend is alarmed by the self-defeating ways he has been applying his breakthrough. A very funny film, Freak is similar in tone to some of the original Twilight Zone episodes that played it strictly for laughs.

There are not a lot of laughs in Max Zähle’s Raju (trailer here). There are not a lot of surprises where this international adoption morality play is headed either, but it is executed quite well, especially for a student film. Shortly after Jan and Sarah Fischer adopt the title character, he disappears under mysterious circumstances. However, as the German would-be father searches for Raju, he learns troubling facts about Raju’s circumstances. Filmed on the streets of Kolkata (a.k.a. Calcutta), it conveys a sense of the city’s teeming poverty and sets up the protagonists’ ethical dilemma rather effectively.

Another international award winning student film, Hallvar Witzø’s Tuba Atlantic offers an Academy friendly blend of quirk and heart-string pulling. Given exactly six days to live, grouchy old Oskar Svenning sets out to contact his estranged brother in America via the monster tuba they constructed on the shore. Although he stubbornly refuses help, a young Evangelical Christian insists on acting as his “angel of death.” While innocent Inger might sound like a hopeless caricature, Ingrid Viken plays her with a fair degree of innocent charm. Granted, it is unabashedly sentimental, but the unrestrained war Svenning wages against the pesky seagulls is frequently quite amusing.

Either Time Freak or The Shore would be deserving Oscar winners. Both are thoroughly engaging and satisfying films. If not at the same level of accomplishment, Raju and Tuba are certainly perfectly respectable, falling somewhere on the spectrum between good and nice. Altogether, the 2012 live action Oscar nominees are a strong group, mostly recommended as films in their own right as well as for their Academy Award interest. They open this Friday (2/10) in New York at the IFC Center as part of the annual showcase of nominated short films.