Jan A.P. Kaczmarek Movies

Inspired by the true story of Tennessee recluse Felix "Bush" Breazeale, who planned his funeral while he was still alive, director Aaron Schneider's dramatic period thriller stars Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, and Lucas Black. Few folks have spoken with Felix Bush (Duvall) since he disappeared into the Tennessee woods 40 years ago, and the ones who have don't necessarily have the kindest things to say about him. Gruff, confrontational, and ill-tempered, Felix has been the source of many malicious rumors over the years. Some say he's a cold-hearted killer and his penchant for walking into town with a shotgun, a wild beard, and threadbare clothes doesn't exactly give the impression of a man who seeks to make friends. When Felix walks into Frank Quinn's (Murray) funeral parlor and announces his intentions to throw himself a massive party before he passes away, word quickly spreads through town and anticipation starts to run high. Before long the big day has finally arrived, and Felix surprises everyone by revealing exactly why he shunned society to lead a life of solitude in the deep woods. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

A film that examines the relationships between lives on both sides of the proscenium, Petr Zelenka's Karamazovi finds a Prague-based theatrical ensemble arriving in Krakow, Poland - where its members prepare to mount a stage production of Fyodor Dostoyevsky's The Brothers Karamazov. The central catch behind this unusual production is the locale: the play will be conducted at the local steelworks. Zelenka's central narrative crisscrosses two spheres of reality - the documentary-like sphere of the actors playing the characters, and the more traditional cinematic narrative involving the characters in the play itself. Soon, distinct, haunting parallels between the two begin to emerge. Then, an unexpected tragedy arrives from out of left field that brutally impacts one of the spectators of the play, and further echoes the structure and preoccupations of the tale in the original novel. Throughout, Zelenka explores one central theme: that of intellectuals and their moral accountability to a world that has lost both spiritual faith and a bedrock of ethos. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

Based on the 1987 Japanese film Hachiko Monogatari, as well as on a true story, Hachi: A Dog's Tale stars Richard Gere as a college professor who finds an abandoned dog and takes the poor lost animal in. The film follows the two as the man and animal soon form a strong and unexplainable bond. Joan Allen co-stars in the Inferno Entertainment production. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

As Constance (Natasha Richardson) and Nina (Toni Collette) gather at the deathbed of their mother, Ann (Vanessa Redgrave), they learn for the first time that their mother lived an entire other lifetime during one evening 50 years ago, one she kept secret all their lives. In vivid flashbacks, the young Ann (played by Claire Daines) spends one night with a man named Harris (Patrick Wilson), whom she'd remember so many years later as the love of her life. As her daughters try to face the loss of their mother and the struggle to be happy in their own lives, they piece together an idea of love, happiness, and the woman they called their mother. ~ Cammila Collar, Rovi

A group of soldiers in the deep South take vengeance against one of their own when word circulates that he's become involved with a transgendered nightclub performer in this drama based on a true story. Barry Winchell (Troy Garity) was a young man with an educational disability who volunteered for the United States Army and found himself stationed in Tennessee, where he soon struck up a friendship with Justin Fisher (Shawn Hatosy), a high-strung fellow GI with a drug problem. One night with nothing to do, Winchell and Fisher tagged along with a group of soldiers who ended up taking in a drag show at a bar in Nashville. One of the performers on the bill that night was Calpernia Addams (Lee Pace), a transsexual and former combat medic in the Navy who was a veteran of the Gulf War before taking the first steps towards sexual reassignment. While Winchell, who was straight, was aware that Addams was at least partially still male, he found himself attracted to her for her intelligence and sensitivity, while she found herself similarly drawn to him. As Winchell and Addams' mutual attraction grew into a romance, the unstable Fisher found himself increasingly confused and angry with Winchell, and he struck back by spreading rumors that one of the men in their company was gay, with fingers soon pointing towards Winchell. Despite the Army's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, the company's drill sergeant (Barclay Hope) took it upon himself to find and remove the gay soldier in his ranks, while the increasingly vicious Fisher aligned himself with Calvin Glover (Philip Eddolls), a young and narrow minded recruit eager to strike out with violence against those different from himself. Directed by veteran filmmaker Frank Pierson, Soldier's Girl premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

One of the most expensive Polish films ever made, Jerzy Kawalerowicz directs the ancient Roman filmmaking staple Quo Vadis. This remake follows in the style of the MGM Hollywood epic directed by Mervyn Le Roy in 1951. Set in 64 A.D., the story begins with officer Marcus Vinicius (Pawel Delag) returning to Rome to relax with his uncle Petronius (Boguslaw Linda), who works for Emperor Nero (Michal Bajor). Vinicius becomes interested in Jesus when he goes to a Christian gathering in order to see his sweetheart Lygia (Magdalena Mielcarz). Emperor Nero is opposed to the Christians, which leads the way to a firey, explosive, and violent conclusion. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

Inspired by a true story, this made-for-TV drama stars Meredith Baxter as Terry Stone, a woman whose 19-year-old son, Andrew (Eric Lively), is an honor student in college. Late one night, Terry and her husband, Geoff (Alan Rosenberg), receive shocking news -- Andrew is in the hospital following an auto accident. Terry and Geoff learn that a drunk driver ran into their son's car; Andrew has suffered severe head injuries, and it's possible that he may never fully recover. As Andrew goes through the slow and painful process of rehabilitation, Terry does some research on the driver who injured her son, and makes the shocking discovery that this is not the first time he was in an accident while under the influence. As Andrew struggles to put himself and his life back together, Terry struggles with the legal system to see that the drunken driver will never be allowed behind the wheel of a car again. Crash Course originally aired under the title A Mother's Fight for Justice. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

The opening film of the 49th International Berlin Film Festival in 1999, Aimée & Jaguar drew attention not only for the lesbian love story that it narrates, but equally for the political position of the lovers -- Aimée, the wife of a Nazi officer, and Jaguar, a Jewish journalist. The story is based on the memoirs of Lilly Wust (the Aimée character), who is 85 and still living in Germany. In 1943, as Allied bombers leave Berlin in ruins, Lilly Wust Juliane Köhler earns a Cross of Motherhood for bringing up four children while husband Günther Detlev Buck is away fighting on the eastern front. She leads a bourgeois existence, with occasional love affairs on the side, and the bust of Hitler is a prominent decoration in their flat. When Lilly receives a love letter signed 'Jaguar,' she suspects a male admirer. But it is the self-confident Felice Schragenheim Maria Schrader who initiates this forbidden romance. A passionate love affair begins amidst the bombing raids and the threat of persecution. Madly in love, Lilly wants to divorce her husband, which causes a terrible storm, not just because her lover is a woman, but because she is Jewish and fighting for the Resistance. But nothing stops the love-blind Lilly. The two women make a pact of love and marriage and try to block out the reality of war and persecution; however, the Gestapo soon catches up with them. Aimée & Jaguar is based on Erica Fischer's best-selling book, published in 1994 and translated into eleven languages; the real life Lilly Wust was 80 years old when she told Erica Fischer her story. Maria Schrader and Juliane Köhler shared the Silver Bear for the Best Actress at the 49th Berlin International Film Festival, for their roles in Aimée & Jaguar, while the film received the Teddy Award, given to films dealing with gay and lesbian issues. ~ Gönül Dönmez-Colin, Rovi

This film is the second effort to bring to the screen the 1880 Henry James novel of the same title (the first was The Heiress in 1949). Set in 1850 among the aristocracy of New York, Washington Square examines the inhibitions of Catherine Sloper (Jennifer Jason Leigh), the only child of wealthy Dr. Austin Sloper (Albert Finney). Catherine is clumsy and shy and something of an embarrassment to her high-class father. Dr. Sloper still unconsciously resents the child because her birth caused the death of his wife. He also disapproves of Catherine's attraction to Morris Townsend (Ben Chaplin), warning her that the handsome young man is after her money. He takes Catherine to Europe and warns her to break off her relationship with Morris, but she defies him. Townsend proposes, and Catherine accepts despite her father's threats to disinherit her if she marries him. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

This historical drama, directed by Agnieszka Holland, focuses on the rocky relationship between the renowned 19th century French poets Arthur Rimbaud and Paul Verlaine. Rimbaud (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a teenage wunderkind known for his rebelliousness against conventional society and his surrealistic writing. He disrupts the life of Verlaine (David Thewlis), a more conventional writer who is older and married to a dutiful young wife, Mathilde (Romane Bohringer). The drunken Verlaine is unkind to Mathilde, even though her father is providing him with a house and an income to live on while he pursues his writing. Rimbaud overwhelms Verlaine, mocking his conventionality, constantly disrupting his domestic life, and somehow attracting the maniacal love of the older man. ~ Michael Betzold, Rovi

As directed by Polish film stalwart Lech Majewski in English, with a Hollywood cast including Viggo Mortensen (A Walk on the Moon) and Jack Kehoe (Melvin & Howard), the 1993 allegory The Gospel According to Harry unfolds at some indeterminate point in the future - when much of the Pacific Ocean is now a sandy, scorched and barren wasteland. Mortensen and Jennifer Rubin are Wes and Karen, a young couple trapped in the most unhealthy of relationships and bound by a co-dependency to one another. With only a bleak future in sight, the two go through empty and meaningless days searching for happiness with scarcely an iota of success. Then into the situation walks Harry, a tax collector who looks on as a distant observer but seems powerless to intervene on any level. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi