The volume of U.S. military hardware headed to Puerto Rico suggests an escalation of the Trump administration鈥檚 military campaign against Venezuelan President Nicol谩s Maduro. The president says land strikes might follow.
You made it to Saturday.
A chief cultural export, Iran鈥檚 films often shimmer. Former Monitor film critic David Sterritt, two decades retired, has been credited with helping to draw global attention to the artistry of Iranian cinema. Our current critic, Peter Rainer, also celebrates it.
鈥淭he irony is that repressive regimes often force filmmakers to come up with more creative, encoded solutions,鈥 Peter says. 鈥淭his was true of filmmakers in countries like Poland and Czechoslovakia in the Soviet era, and it鈥檚 true in Iran today, though in his latest film, Jafar Panahi is saying the quiet part out loud.鈥
Today, Peter reviews a film 鈥 made with French financial backing, and actually entered by France for the international-film Oscar 鈥 by that Iranian director. 鈥淗e鈥檚 fearless,鈥 says Peter, 鈥渁nd so is his movie.鈥
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Also: On our 鈥淲hy We Wrote This鈥 podcast, writer Scott Baldauf joins me to talk about seeing the United States with a fresh perspective after many years spent living and working abroad. You can listen here.
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