海角大神

'Mister Rogers' documentary 'Won鈥檛 You Be My Neighbor?' is full of sentiment, affection

I鈥檓 tempted to say that the documentary 鈥淲on鈥檛 You Be My Neighbor?鈥� is exactly what we need in these scabrous times, but that makes it sound too self-important. And if there is one thing that Fred Rogers, the host and creator of the beloved educational children鈥檚 show 鈥淢ister Rogers鈥� Neighborhood,鈥� would disdain, it鈥檚 self-importance.

Morgan Neville鈥檚 movie is more than just a chronicle of Rogers鈥檚 career. In some not-quite-definable way, the film itself is all of a piece with Rogers鈥檚 principled gentleness. It鈥檚 a love letter, but the sentiment and affection that pour through the film is honestly arrived at, even when, near the end, the film threatens to turn into the cinematic equivalent of a group hug.聽

The simple fact is that Rogers, who is now on a postage stamp and will be portrayed in an upcoming biopic by Tom Hanks, is exactly as advertised: a genuinely caring man who can unabashedly say, 鈥淟ove is at the root of everything.... Love or the lack of it.鈥� One can certainly, with a head full of cynicism, argue this point, but one can鈥檛 argue with Rogers鈥檚 sincerity. Or his achievement.聽Grade: A- (Rated PG-13 for some thematic elements and language.)

While watching 'En el S茅ptimo D铆a,' viewers rejoice in the hopes of immigrants

鈥淓n el S茅ptimo D铆a鈥� 鈥� the title means 鈥淥n the Seventh Day鈥� in Spanish 鈥� is an unassuming charmer about a hot-button subject. Jos茅 (Fernando Cardona) is an unauthorized Mexican immigrant sharing an overcrowded apartment in the gentrifying Brooklyn neighborhood of Sunset Park. He works as a bicycle delivery worker for an upscale restaurant and hopes to become a busboy so he can earn enough money to spirit his pregnant wife in Mexico across the border and support a family.聽

It鈥檚 a small-scale triumph of humanistic filmmaking.聽It doesn鈥檛 try to be anything more than what it is: a genial, extended anecdote about good people trying to get by while holding on to some dignity.

The film would have been richer if聽McKay didn鈥檛 highlight Jos茅 and his teammates as such unremitting good guys. But McKay is very good where it counts the most: He understands these immigrants from the inside out, and, against all odds, he allows us to rejoice in their hopes. Grade: B+ (This movie is not rated.)

'Leave No Trace' shows empathy for those on the fringes of society

鈥淟eave No Trace鈥� stars Ben Foster as Will, a war veteran and widower with post-traumatic stress disorder who has been living undercover with 13-year-old daughter Tom ((Thomasin Harcourt McKenzie)聽in a large public nature preserve in Portland, Ore.

The director, Debra Granik has a keen empathy for people living on the fringes of 鈥渞espectable鈥� society.聽It鈥檚 clear from watching 鈥淟eave No Trace鈥� that these are people, and this is a story, that Granik cares deeply about. It鈥檚 rarer than you think to watch a movie in which this is the case.

Early on, Tom and Will are caught in the park and brought by social services into a small rural community where Will works as a laborer on a Christmas tree farm and dutifully attends church with his daughter. By necessity, he opens up a crack, but he is always on the lookout for an escape route. You can see it in his eyes.聽Tom, however, tasting her first young adult experiences in friendly territory, loses her desire to once again hit the road.聽The film ultimately hinges on the emotional connection between Will and Tom, and so it鈥檚 a gift that the two lead performances are so lived-in. Grade: B+ (Rated PG for thematic material throughout.)

'Saving Brinton' chronicles discovery of film rarities

鈥淚 like saving things, especially if they look like they鈥檙e too far gone,鈥� says Mike Zahs, a retired history teacher in Washington, Iowa, who has a long, stringy white beard and an unending supply of homespun anecdotes. Zahs is the subject of "Saving Brinton," directed by Andrew Sherburne and Tommy Haines.

In 1981, he bought the boxed artifacts of Frank and Indiana Brinton, two barnstorming Iowa show people who, in the late 19th and early 20th century, projected early movies and staged magic acts all across the heartland. When he finally delved into the trove, with its 8,000 items, he discovered rarities that brought him to the attention of some of the world鈥檚 leading film restorers, including Martin Scorsese. Zahs, a genial obsessive, is a lot of fun, and so is the movie. Grade: B+ (This movie is not rated.)

'Three Identical Strangers' is a true story that could only be believed because it actually happened

I sincerely hope that no one tries to dramatize Tim Wardle鈥檚 documentary 鈥淭hree Identical Strangers鈥� as a fictional film. It鈥檚 a true story that could only be believed because it actually happened. In 1980, through sheer coincidence, 19-year-olds Robert Shafran and Eddy Galland discovered they are identical twins separated at birth. When their story was trumpeted in the media, 19-year-old David Kellman saw the photos and realized he was their triplet. All three boys had been adopted from the same agency by separate pairs of parents who knew nothing of the babies鈥� circumstances.

To reveal much more than this would spoil the experience, but suffice to say this is a movie that begins like a News of the Weird anecdote and turns increasingly dark. It brings the nature versus nurture debate into shattering focus. Grade: B+ (Rated PG-13 for some mature thematic material.)