Advertisement
Then an old flame comes for a visit and lures Anne to an abandoned old mill for a romantic tryst. What neither of them knows is that someone else is already lurking on the property: an ancient vampire known as “The Master” (Bonnie Aarons). After getting bitten, Anne becomes more assertive, reclaiming her sexuality and confidence.
Then something even odder happens. Jakob walks in on Anne as she’s feasting. (“This wasn’t me,” she insists, while kneeling in a pool of blood. “Of course it was you,” he replies, genuinely peeved.) After an understandable period of freaking out, Jakob adjusts to the new power dynamic. He even seems to enjoy how his wife threatens him with bodily harm if he doesn’t help her fetch fresh victims.
“No Man’s Land” comes out of the blue to comment memorably on the immigration crisis by simply giving human life its due. It’s wise and empathetic and worth a watch.
The film follows two loving families unknowingly on a collision course. One, American ranchers near the border with Mexico, excitedly anticipate an upcoming tryout their strapping, handsome younger son Jackson (Jake Allyn) has with the New York Yankees. The other family is led by Gustavo (Jorge A. Jiménez), who successfully immigrated to the States. In his capacity as a respected member of his church, he returns to Mexico to guide an undocumented group, including his young son, across the border. A tragedy shatters the families and sends them spiraling on paths they wouldn’t have imagined the day before.
Among the many archival materials excerpted in Sam Pollard’s “MLK/FBI” is a 1964 televised interview with the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., conducted by journalist Gay Pauley. With a superior smirk and galling bad faith, Pauley asks King if his code of nonviolent resistance has nonetheless produced a “crisis atmosphere,” one that has ultimately damaged its own cause by incurring bloodshed and stoking white resentment. King’s response is more measured than the question deserves. “The only way people can grapple with their prejudices is to admit that they have them,” he says, tactfully declining to state whether his interlocutor might be one of those people.
Gary Dourdan deserves better. The former “CSI” star, also known for “Alien: Resurrection,” has a strong screen presence that suggests something deeper beneath the surface. Unfortunately, his star turn in the abduction thriller “Redemption Day,” the feature directing debut of Moroccan producer Hicham Hajji, is not the tool to excavate that something. Although Hajji has assembled an impressive supporting cast, including Andy Garcia, Martin Donovan, Ernie Hudson and Canadian actress Serinda Swan, the script by Hajji, Sam Chouia and Lemore Syvan is dreadfully dull and underdeveloped, ridden with bland, limply delivered dialogue. There’s not a thrill to be found in this ostensible thriller, a rote kidnapping exercise taped together with digital blood spatter and an overly dramatic score, vaguely gesturing at global crises from five years ago.