Jon Kean Movies
- 2008
Filmmaker Jon Kean explores an aspect of the Holocaust left largely unexplored in the annals of history with this look at six women who survived incarceration in the most notorious concentration camp of all. While male testimonies concerning the unimaginable hardships of living in Auschwitz have been well documented, the experiences of women who were forced to endure the exact same physical conditions have been curiously omitted from public record. By documenting the grueling hardships experienced by six women who came to Auschwitz from locations all over Europe, Kean highlights the unbreakable spirit of the survivors who refused to give up hope no matter how grim their circumstances became. Separated from their families, forced into cramped trains for three days with no food or water, and subsequently stripped, shaved, and tattooed before being forced to sleep outside while their quarters were prepared and the smell of crematoria filled the night air, nine out of ten women didn't even survive the initial stages of internment. For those who did, however, things would get much worse before they got better; emotional survival was nearly as difficult as physical survival. Now, for the first time on film, their remarkable stories are told from the years preceding World War II, to the notorious death marches that followed their stay in Auschwitz, the ultimate experience of liberation, and the memories that would haunt them for decades after their harrowing ordeal. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- 1999
Premiering in the Midnight Movie section of the 1999 Sundance Film Festival, Kill the Man poses the question: "What would you do if you won $100,000 during a half-time basketball free-throw contest?" Stanley Luke Wilson and Bob Josh Malina decide to open a small copy center. The problem is that a large-chain copy store is right across the street, taking the lion's share of the business. So with absurd determination, they decide to declare their own comic brand of war on big business. Persuading his girlfriend Vicki to join in, Stanley must choose between his life of wreaking havoc on corporate America or taking a job from Vicki's dad Michael McKean. The answer may lie somewhere in the middle, as suddenly Stanley is in jeopardy of losing his own shop if he can't come up with the rent. Directors Tom Booker and Jon Kean use wacky characters and slapstick to cook up a David-and-Goliath story about the big guy versus the little guy, with a little rule-breaking irreverence on the side. ~ Arthur Borman, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Luke Wilson, Joshua Malina, (more)
- 1997
In this independent feature directed by Fritzi Horstman, a group of 20-somethings stage their own 1990s version of The Big Chill by engaging in a frenzied weekend of bed-hopping. Ali (Frederika Keston) is a young woman who has more romantic opportunities than she can cope with. During the course of a few nights, she and her two female roommates find themselves visited by old and new male friends, including Ali's current lover, two of her former boyfriends, and a wisecracking, brooding poet. The revelers themselves make reference to the similarity of their roundelay to the action in The Big Chill. Ali becomes increasingly disoriented and incapable of choosing the right romantic path. Horstman wrote the script and produced the low-budget indie film, which was her feature debut, in 1997. ~ Michael Betzold, All Movie Guide
