Nominated for Best Foreign Film, Agnieszka Holland's In Darkness tells the story of a group of Jews who survived the Holocaust by spending 14 months living in sewers beneath the city of Lvov.

In his less than laudatory review, Jordan Hoffman writes: "Only hardest of hearts could ever watch a movie like In Darkness and not be moved." He vastly prefers the Academy Award nominated film The Separation out of Iran.

In Darkness opened in theaters this week. Read Jordan's review.

Review: In Darkness originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Saturday, February 11th, 2012 at 10:19:45.

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Film critic Jordan Hoffman tried and failed to muster enthusiasm for Gerardo Naranjo's earnest drama from Mexico. The film -- "laden with nobility" tells the story of beautiful Laura Guerrero (Stephanie Sigman) who finds herself at the wrong place at the wrong time. She enters the Miss Bala beauty contest, but her dreams of escape are thwarted when she stumbles into a gang ambush.

Miss Bala is currently playing in theaters. Read Jordan's review.

Review: Miss Bala originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Thursday, February 9th, 2012 at 09:15:22.

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David McKenzie's dystopian love story Perfect Sense demands a lot from its audience.  Accept the film's premise and suspend your disbelief: the world is coming to an end and humans will lose their senses, one sense at time. In the midst of this crisis, a pair of tormented pair of lovers find each other and experience true love for the first time.

This would almost be preposterous except for the lovers, played with smoldering intensity by Eva Green and Ewan McGregor. Perfect Sense is currently playing in both theaters and on VOD. Read Marcy's review.

Review: Perfect Sense originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Thursday, February 9th, 2012 at 06:24:12.

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The 2012 Sundance Film Festival came to a close this weekend. Top winners at the awards ceremony were Beasts of the Southern Wild, which received the Grand Jury prize for drama,  and The House I Live In for documentary.

The complete list of winners at the fest.

Overlooked by the awards committee and the overall hype machine: Richard Bates, Jr.'s Excision. See why Jordan Hoffman fell "absolutely over-the-moon in love" with this indie film.

Sundance 2012 Awards originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 14:18:00.

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Spike Lee's new film Red Hook Summer has been lauded a his  "return to his roots" film. Financed by the director and shot in under 25 days, the film was one of the most talked about at this year's Sundance Film Festival.

There have been pans by both critics and fans, some of them furious. Jordan Hoffman agrees that Red Hook Summer is a "difficult" film -- but also doesn't care.  "If you have a love for large, messy tapestry movies," he writes,  "With high highs and low lows, Red Hook Summer is essential viewing. Read Jordan's review.

Sundance Review: Red Hook Summer originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Tuesday, January 31st, 2012 at 14:14:24.

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Jordan Hoffman has seen the first superhero movie of 2012 and it is Steven Soderbergh's Haywire. It stars the Mixed Martial Arts champion/future household name Gina Carano. It's the greatest belated Christmas gift in years.

Michael Douglas and Ewan McGregor co-star in the latest treat from our of our most versatile filmmakers. Haywire opens in theaters today. Read our review.

Review: Haywire originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Friday, January 20th, 2012 at 14:20:10.

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The mother of a teenage boy who went on a high-school killing spree tries to deal with her grief - and feelings of responsibility for her child's actions. The remarkable Tilda Swinton stars in Scottish filmmmaker Lynne Ramsay's adaptation of Lionel Shriver's best-stelling novel We Need To Talk About Kevin.

We Need To Talk About Kevin is currently playing in theaters. Read Jordan's review.

Review: We Need To Talk About Kevin originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Friday, January 13th, 2012 at 06:02:04.

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Director Jason Reitman and screenwriter Diablo Cody hit it big in 2007 with Juno, the story of a pregnant teen and her unborn baby's potential adoptive parents. Now, the two have teamed up again for Young Adult, the story of Mavis Gary, a ghostwriter for a young adult book series, who abandons her wrecked life in Minneapolis to travel back to her small hometown to win back her high school sweetheart, Billy Slade. Charlize Theron gives her all to portray the unlikable, failed seducer.

Now playing in theaters, Young Adult co-stars Patton Oswalt, Patrick Wilson, Elizabeth Reaser, and Collette Wolfe. Read Beck Ireland's review.

Review: Young Adult originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Tuesday, January 10th, 2012 at 07:28:53.

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Dee Ree's debut film Pariah tells the story of Alike, a seventeen-year-old African American teen in Brooklyn coming to terms with her identity.  There simply isn't enough praise in the world for Adepero Oduye, writes Jordan Hoffman. The young actress was nominated for an Independent Spirit award.

Read Jordan's review.

Review: Pariah originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Friday, December 30th, 2011 at 16:07:38.

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Set in contemporary Iran, Asghar Farhadi's A Separation is a compelling drama about the dissolution of a marriage. Leta Leila Hatami stars as a middle class, educated woman who doesn't wear her headscarf too tight and desperately wants to get out of Iran.

The film, which received the prestigious Golden Bear Award earlier this year at the Berlin Film Festival, opens this week in theaters. Read Jordan Hoffman's review.

Review: A Separation originally appeared on About.com World / Independent Film on Tuesday, December 27th, 2011 at 08:50:15.

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