Monthly Archives: May 2024

“Lee” Trailers, Poster and Image

I had the pleasure of meeting Ellen Kuras at a film festival, where we were both on a panel discussing women and minorities in film. It was shortly after 9/11, and Kuras talked about her experience. Living across the water, she invited friends who had no place to stay after the horrific incident to her large home. Together, they watched the smoking rubble. Surprisingly, Kuras said it was both depressing and healing. 

Since the film festival, Kuras and I stayed in touch at first, with me lining up an interview with a now-defunct film website. The last time I heard about her was when she received an Oscar nomination for the documentary The Betrayal, which she co-wrote and co-directed while also being the cinematographer. Kuras has won many awards for her cinematography. 

Kuras directs Lee based on a pivotal decade in the life of American war correspondent and photographer Lee Miller, played by Kate Winslett. Miller’s singular talent and unbridled tenacity resulted in some of the 20th century’s most memorable images of war, including an iconic photo of Miller herself, posing defiantly in Hitler’s private bathtub.

Miller had a profound understanding and empathy for women and the voiceless victims of war. Her images display both the fragility and ferocity of the human experience. Above all, the film shows how Miller lived her life at full throttle in pursuit of truth, for which she paid a huge personal price. This forced her to confront a traumatic and deeply buried secret from her childhood.

The supporting cast includes Josh O’Connor, Andrea Riseborough, Andy Samberg, Alexander Skarsgård and Marion Cotillard.

When I saw that Kuras had directed this film, I was super excited for her and delighted at her success. 

“The Dead Don’t Hurt” Trailers, Poster and Images

Viggo Mortensen’s new Western feature, The Dead Don’t Hurt, written and directed by Mortensen, blends the action, grit, and thrills of the American West with a captivating story of two pioneers embarking on a life journey fraught with obstacles. 

Hopefully, Mortensen sets this film apart with his unique storytelling, keeping the audience on the edge. 

The story depicts the conflict between revenge and forgiveness and offers a unique female-forward perspective, adding depth and complexity. 

The film premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, where Vicky Krieps received the Tribute Performer Award. 

The story begins with star-crossed lovers on the western U.S. frontier in the 1860s. Krieps plays Vivienne Le Coudy, a fiercely independent woman who embarks on a relationship with Danish immigrant Holger Olsen, played by Mortensen. 

After meeting Olsen in San Francisco, she agrees to travel to his home near Elk Flats, Nevada, where they start a life together. The outbreak of the civil war separates them when Olsen makes a fateful decision to fight for the Union. Vivienne must fend for herself in a place controlled by corrupt Mayor Rudolph Schiller, played by Danny Huston, and his evil business partner, powerful rancher Alfred Jeffries, played by Garret Dillahunt. Alfred’s violent, wayward son, Weston, played by Solly McLeod, aggressively pursues Vivienne, who is determined to resist his unwanted advances. 

Olsen returns from the war. He and Vivienne must confront and make peace with the person each has become. It’s a portrait of a passionate woman determined to stand up for herself in an unforgiving world dominated by ruthless men.