helena zengel – ALLIANCE OF WOMEN FILM JOURNALISTS

THE LEGEND OF OCHI – Review by T.J. Callahan

April 15, 2025April 20, 2025 T. J. Callahan a24, Emily Watson, helena zengel, Isaiah Saxon, The Legend of Ochi, willem dafoe

A24 is testing the family film waters with The Legend of Ochi, meant for the entire clan to enjoy together, but kids under 10 may be bored and/or scared. It’s not flashy or fast paced even though the film is only 96 minutes. Kid characters carry shotguns. The mother smokes. But there are lessons to be learned and hearts are warmed. The Legend of Ochi is a quirky flick that will win you over if you give it a chance. It’s a symphony of sights and sounds with an old fashioned story attached.

Festivals Reviews

TRANSAMAZONIA (NYFF 2024) – Review by Margaret Barton-Fumo

October 16, 2024October 16, 2024 Margaret Barton-Fumo Assurini, brazilian films, helena zengel, Jeremy Xido, New York Film Festival, NYFF 2024, Pia Marais, Transamazonia, Trocará Indigenous Territory, Willem Droste

Set deep within the Brazilian rainforest where lush vegetation runs into endless dirt roads, Pia Marais’ fourth feature Transamazonia is a measured portrayal of a conflicted landscape, produced in collaboration with the Assurini people of the Trocará Indigenous Territory. The film focuses on two Westerners, the evangelist Lawrence Byrne and his teenage daughter, the sole survivor of a plane crash nine years prior. Byrne is capitalizing on his daughter’s supposedly miraculous survival, promoting her as a faith healer for the local population.

Reviews

NEWS OF THE WORLD – Review by Susan Granger

January 21, 2021January 21, 2021 Susan Granger helena zengel, luke davies, news of the world, paul greengrass, tom hanks

Set five years after the Civil War, Tom Hanks stars in this elegiac Western as Captain Jefferson Kyle Kidd, who travels from town-to-town, enthralling often-illiterate audiences with stories about what’s happening in this country and abroad, charging a dime per person. It’s 1870 and the tumultuous 15th Amendment has just been ratified, extending the right to vote to all men without regard to race or previous condition of servitude.

Reviews

NEWS OF THE WORLD – Review by Diane Carson

December 18, 2020December 20, 2020 Diane Carson helena zengel, news of the world, paul greengrass, tom hanks, western genre

News of the World travels in 1870 to return a kidnapped girl. The most identifiable American genre, the western, is fully realized in co-writer/director Paul Greengrass’ News of the World. But as welcome as the 1870 setting and the beautiful widescreen compositions are, the film lacks Greengrass’ usual dynamic energy. That’s surprising since News of the World reunites Greengrass with Tom Hanks who partnered to make Captain Phillips thrillingly suspenseful.