Lone Star Film Festival Preview
ArtandSeek.net November 12, 2019 22The Lone Star Film Festival begins its five-day run Wednesday in Fort Worth, appropriately, with a story of love and loss in a small Texas town. “Sleeping in Plastic” centers on a high school wrestler who befriends a call girl and gets way in over his head. It shows Wednesday night at 8:30, and ahead of the screening I talked with director Van Ditthavong about using Texas as a backdrop for his story.
Looking for further recommendations? How about:
A Hidden Life – Austin director Terrence Malick is tough to pin down. For every “Days of Heaven” and “The Tree of Life” there’s a “The New World” and “Knight of Cups.” So with that disclaimer, his latest is based on the real-life story of an Austrian farmer who refused to fight for the Nazis during World War II. It was nominated for the Palme d’Or this year at Cannes, so that’s a good sign. (Saturday, 6:30 p.m.)
Just Mercy – Michael B. Jordan plays Civil Rights lawyer Bryan Stevenson as he fights to free a death row inmate. Brie Larson and Jamie Foxx also star in this adaptation of Stevenson’s best-selling memoir. (Sunday, 8:30 p.m.)
Now or Never: A Tony Romo Story – Meet the people who influenced the former Cowboys quarterback long before he was playing on Sundays. The film also played this year’s VideoFest, when I talked with director Chris Hannah. (Wednesday, 6 p.m.)
Netflix vs. the World – This documentary looks at how the streaming service upended both the movie distribution and exhibition industries. The timing is particularly apt with the release this month of the Netflix production “The Irishman,” which had movie theater operators up in arms. (Saturday, 7:15 p.m.)