By 
BROOKLYN ****
Immigration returned to the center of discussion, as new movies, both fictional and real stories, hit theaters throughout the year. The most notorious case is definitely the spy-friendly lawyer played by Tom Hanks in Spielberg’s “Bridge of Spies” implying a moral lesson as he asks how would one expects to be treated if caught by the enemy during war. Also, President Candidate wannabe Donald Trump became the voice of anti-immigration reform as he proposes to deport everyone. Despite all the chaotic mess happening in the world as we speak, with immigration as the core of the deadly game, thousands of people continue to migrate seeking a brighter future and America has always been the ideal place for prosperity with its generous opportunities. Cinema plays as a form of education towards the issue in director John Crowley’s “Brooklyn” and also as a form of escapism: as we learn of the devastating news, there’s nothing wrong in escaping into fantasy and history with this efficient romance that evokes the sense of hospitality that once made a difference and helped build this great nation. Written by Oscar nominee Nick Hornby, whose female sensibility had been explored in his previous screenplays, “An Education” and “Wild”, the film follows the cultural clash experienced by a prestigious young Irish girl, as she leaves her small village and comes to New York in order to develop her talents as a professional and as an adult. Saoirse Ronan continues to state she is one of the smartest performers at her age (21), engaged in acclaimed and mature projects, which allow her to explore the depths of her great capacity. Here is no different: she seduces the audience with fragile tenderness and firm integrity, conducting all attentions, as she journeys through the phases of a new immigrant, the inevitable homesickness and loneliness, the attempts to go with the flow, the struggle and the steps into foreign love. After sometime, she’s finally settled at the job and learned how to enjoy social life, attending dancing ballrooms with her roommates, and also starts dating an Italian guy from the neighborhood. A family matter back in Ireland puts her on a difficult position as she must cross the ocean and face her own fears. Beautifully constructed, with glamorous cinematography, set designs and costumes, “Brooklyn” is a fantastic girly film that gives us such a charismatic heroine everyone’s cheering for.
ABSENCE ***
Brazilian director Chico Teixeira examines family values and broken relationships through the melancholy of a young boy longing for his father in this new ambiguous drama following his acclaimed film “Casa de Alice”. As he can’t understand himself, neither keep up with his mother’s mood, he wanders around, meeting up with people in attempts to fulfill the lack of a father figure, including artists from a Circus and his vulnerable teacher. Teixeira tells the story with honesty, extracting vivid performances from the cast, making it an accurate study on family dependence. (Playing Saturday, November 21st as part of “O Brasil” serie at Museum of the Moving Image, NYC)
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