Simone Urdl Movies

Director Atom Egoyan explores the concept of cyberspace as a place for redemption in this drama about an adolescent boy named Simon (Devon Bostick) who reinvents his life on the Internet. Before long, Simon's deeply personal journey provokes strong reactions from around the globe. Rachel Blanchard and Scott Speedman co-star. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Director Brian De Palma turns his lens on the Iraq War with this "fictional documentary" about the experience of U.S. soldiers involved in the conflict. Based on a news item about the rape of an Iraqi schoolgirl by wayward grunts assigned to patrol a checkpoint, the film depicts a scenario not unlike the one De Palma covered in Casualties of War. Shot on high-definition video, Redacted also addresses the ever-evolving manner in which war is covered by the media by focusing on such journalistic innovations as blog coverage and web reporting. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

When a devout, forty year old Muslim woman from a traditional family falls in love with a handsome Canadian man, the stress of balancing her secret romance with her highly demanding family life gradually begins to take a heavy emotional toll. As a young girl, Sabah (Arsinée Khanjan) was always passionate an independent. When her family moved to Toronto and her father died shortly thereafter though, the once spirited young girl gradually found her independence stifled by two decades of duty to her loving yet high-maintenance family. It was around that time that Sabah's family became much more conservative, but a gift from Sabah's brother is about to change everything. Upon being bestowed with a picture of herself and her late father frolicking together in the ocean, Sabah longs for the days when familial obligations didn't weight on every aspect of her life. For as long as she can remember Sabah has had to answer to her tyrannical brother Majid - who controls not only the family finances but the actions of each member as well. But it was Majid who gave Sabah that powerful photograph, and who, despite his objection to westernization, inadvertently acted as the catalyst for his sister's life-altering journey. Longing to reconnect with the carefree memories of her childhood, Sabah stealthily sneaks off to celebrate her fortieth birthday with a secret swim. While the feel of the water and the thrill of rebellion immediately reinvigorate Sabah, it is a chance meeting with a man named Stephen that will truly change her life forever. Later, when Sabah's clandestine trips to the pool become a regular occurrence and Stephen invites her out to lunch, the differences between the unlikely couple seem to draw them together rather than pushing them apart. Before long Sabah has fallen in love with Stephen. In breaking the news to her disapproving family, however, Sabah attempts to explain how they must reconsider the rules of their culture if they are ever to find happiness in a foreign land. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide

Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan explores his Armenian heritage, and how the country's tragic history has touched several generations of the nation's expatriates, in this ambitious drama. Edward Saroyan (Charles Aznavour), a veteran filmmaker of Armenian descent, is in Toronto shooting a film about the Siege of Van, in which invading Ottoman armies forced the evacuation of Armenian communities in 1915, leading to the genocide of over a million Armenian people at the hands of Turkish troops. Twenty-one-year-old Raffi (David Alpay) has been sent to Turkey to shoot background footage for the film; Raffi's mother Ani (Arsinee Khanjian), an author and historian, is also involved in the project as a consultant. Lately Raffi and Ani have been at odds; Raffi has been dating Celia (Marie-Josee Croze), Ani's stepdaughter, who is convinced that Ani is somehow responsible for the death of her father. Ani's first husband, who was Raffi's father, is also dead, after taking part in an assassination attempt on a Turkish political leader. As Raffi attempts to re-enter Canada with cans of exposed film, he's detained by David (Christopher Plummer), a suspicious customs official who has his own tenuous link to Saroyan's film -- David is struggling to come to terms with the gay lifestyle of his son Philip (Brent Carver), whose lover Ali (Elias Koteas) is playing the villain in the picture. Ararat also features Eric Bogosian and Bruce Greenwood. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide