I grew up not far from a large church that I called Saint Francis Cabrini and it was known for their wonderful autumn spaghetti suppers as a fundraiser. In later years, I realized my error and the patron saint was not a man, but an Italian woman, named Saint Francesca Xavier Cabrini, who founded churches, schools and hospitals around the world. She was the first American citizen to be canonized as a saint. Director/co-scriptwriter Alejandro Monteverde gives us the early days of Saint Francesca from life in Italy to arriving in New York City. Poverty is abundant throughout the world, and shown here in Italy and America. Obstacles are always present, both in keeping healthy and dealing with men in the distinctly masculine society of that time, which is shown here in 1889, when the Sisterhood lands in New York City. Cinematography by Gorka Gomez Andreu gives us, in depth, the poverty of the time. However, in contrast to that, Gene Back’s soundtrack could be softer for better effect.

Italy is a country of leisure vacations, pasta, wine, warm bread and afternoon siestas. That is the scene people think of, however, we are in another century now, and immigrants have come into Italy to the extent that eight percent of the population is now of another ancestry. With a mix of cultures in the country, rules begin to change. People move and take their culture and habits with them. Such is the story of two Afro-Italian brothers in Italy. One, Patrick of slender build (Maurizio Bousso) lives with their mother in what could be considered a slum area of Rome. They have come to Italy from Cameroon. Patrick is against ever being evicted. The other brother, Daniel (Germano Gentile) is a well-built police officer in the Reparto Mobile (riot squad). Director Hieb Papou, himself born in Belarus but living in Italy, brings to life what it is like to have such a division within a family unit. One brother lives just under the law, while the other brother upholds the law. There is police brutality here.

Do you feel the itching in the palm of your hands?  Anxious to grab a pool stick and go for a game or two?  In “Double Down South,” the game is on with a capital “O.”  Not only is it pool, but add Keno to it and you have a pool table with a special addition at the end of the table---one with holes in it so the cue ball can go in special holes.  Holes that mean winning money for the player. Ingenious, yes, and what will they come up with next?  A special upward tube for the ball to enter and then spin downward to a hole on the table? The film doesn’t go there yet, it is content to draw your attention to what it takes to be a winner.  An honest winner, that is.

Another year rolls along and it is time to go through the list of films out in 2023. This list contains three lists of films from 2023. The first is the Best Films of 2023, the second is The Worst Films of 2023 and the third and final list is the remarkable Indie Films of 2023. Enjoy.

There are the daring, and then again, the daring. Going back a few years to the film “Free Solo” about a man climbing a mountain with bare hands and feet. Now, we have “Nyad,” about Diana Nyad, the championship swimmer and her 100 mile-plus trek from Cuba to the United States swimming all the way.  

This 1978 film of a band trying to form in Chicago and the obstacles it meets with finding musicians, getting instruments and finding a practice place is a gigantic project.  Persistence is the name of the game and music is what ties them together. Music is in their DNA and they can’t quit, no matter what. Cinematographer Tak Fujimoto’s work of the city at night, along with memorable soundtrack by David Matthews makes this a glowing background for the stories of the musicians. Oh, those 1970’s cars that take up half a block when cruising down the street and the 1970’s saxophones. A delight.

Film audiences are sure to recognize the name of one of the main characters in “The Shift.”  It is Neal McDonough who had a major role in Season 2 of television’s “Yellowstone.”  McDonough is one of the leads in this film by Brock Heasley, that tries to bring together religion and science fiction. Kristoffer Polaha is the other lead in “The Shift,” that of Kevin, who has quite a journey to make in the storyline. Supposedly, this story could be akin to Job of the Old Testament, but it misses the mark there.  Instead, it is science fiction with a villain, time warp and reminiscence  of television’s “Quantum Leap.”

The word “hayseed” has come to mean someone who is out of their element, usually in a small community. The stranger---the traveler---the visitor---are classified in one word that means “out of place.”  This is what happens to Leo Hobbins (Bill Sage), an insurance investigator who is called into action when one of the policy holders is found deceased.  The dead person is a pastor and found  in a pool on parish grounds. Accident, thought at first, but then, the word “doubt” comes into play and the search begins, The setting is Emmaus, Mich. and the name “Emmasus” will be familiar from the New Testament

here is a family with three children or more, the middle child is expected to be the problem child. Older sibling is the pride and joy, second child the unexpected and the third child, an after-thought. In “Sisters” Director/Scriptwriter Linda Olte gives us the viewpoint of a middle child in a trio of girls. The setting is Latvia and begins with children, for one reason or another, given by their parents to the state. There, they are provided with food, clothing, schooling, but eventually, they must leave. The center piece in this film is Anastasia (a thoughfully acted Emma Skirmante) who is thirteen years old, and doesn’t know how to live her life yet. This is no purpose as she can see, and poverty is always in the background.

Small villages in parts of Russia were called “shtetls” (village) and people who lived there were Shtetlers.  A mix of Christianity and Judaism lived side by side in harmony. On Sunday morning, a Jewish woman may help her Christian neighbors by milking their family cow while that family was in church, and then on Saturday, the Christian woman would milk the Jewish family’s cow while they were at the synagogue. If one had a torn coat, the other had needle and thread and would mend it. Side by side without animosity as opposed to what is happening in Israel right now. This documentary by filmmaker Katya Ustinova details life in several shtetls as she accompanies people with their memories who used to live there.