CLOSING NIGHT Sunday, February 14, 2016 Miles Ahead Special Screening 2015/US/Feature Narrative/100mins Dir: Don Cheadle
SPECIAL EVENTS A Conversation With...Nate Parker Saturday, February 6 @ 3:00pm RAVE Cinemas 15 BHC, $20.00 PAFF 2016 will have an exclusive look at selected clips from Nate Parker’s directorial debut feature film about the Nat Turner Rebellion, THE BIRTH OF A NATION. A Conversation With...Ryan Coogler, $20.00 Monday, February 8 @ 8:30pm RAVE Cinemas 15 BHC With two critically acclaimed featured films under his belt, Fruitvale Station and Creed. A Conversation With...Wesley Snipes, $20.00 Saturday, February 13, 2016 @ 2:00pm
Photo by Jose Alberto Hernisillo.
STUDENTFEST SATURDAY MORNING CHILDREN’S FESTIVAL SENIOR CONNECTIONS ARTFest
“Concussion” is a powerful biopic of a man of color who stormed the football world on an “Any Given Sunday.” It flawlessly reflects the man’s struggles and accomplishments.
Will Smith shines on the screen. The script of this heartfelt story was tailor-made for the actor to deliver an Oscar-worthy performance.
Poster design by Cold Open Copyright Sony Studios
The life of the Nigerian immigrant, Dr. Bennet Omalu, goes to the big screen. The forensic specialist in the Science of Death discovered “chronic traumatic encephalopathy or CTE,” a traumatic brain injury better known as a concussion.
Copyright Sony Studios 2015
Dr. Omalu follows the paths of former NFL players considered untouchable Gods by fans and sports authorities. In his findings, he sees a constant worriment in those bizarre and tragic deaths, just because it was not customary to die at fifty, active, rich, and famous.
Oma Lu’s character is faithful to the truth and is not afraid to engage in an epic battle between David and Goliath.
The football players suffered from a progressive, degenerative brain disease, a trauma resulting from the constant bumps in the heads from playing America’s favorite sport known as football.
Copyright Sony Studios 2015
The
Nigerian character is a Doctor who came from outside and had the vision
to understand the true nature of the sport without fanaticism or
infatuation. He delivers a significant report using animals’ skulls, a
natural shock-absorbent protecting their brains from being damaged. For example, woodpeckers are something humans don’t have.
Poster design by Cold Open Copyright Sony Studios
During Dr. Omalu’s research, he makes enemies, including the high NFL administrators and the FBI. With determination, he is risking all his savings to investigate the disease.
He also makes a few allies, including a supportive boss, Dr. Cyril Wecht (Albert Brooks), and Dr. Julian Bailer (Alec Baldwin), who believes in Omalu’s honesty.
As a forensic, he is so immersed in his work with the dead bodies that his boss tells him: “You need a girlfriend and to touch someone alive.”
Copyright Sony Studios 2015
As an immigrant in America, the Doctor has the advantage of being educated, which sometimes helps him open some doors to continue his studies. But sometimes, there is a stigma working against him, even by people of his own.
Mr. Smith nails the Nigerian accent to perfection. Mastering the English/Nigerian accent took him over three months.
The script of “Concussion” has some circumstances falling together too quickly, some additional sugar-coated dialogs that sacrifice the symbolism and the subtext, making the information in the speaking parts too explicable.
Photo by Jose A. Hermosillo Copyright FestivalinLA 2015
The opening scene of “Concussion” was not impressive. A montage of the Doctor’s close-ups working with the microscope is more powerful and meaningful in introducing the story.
Another reference is the Best Picture Oscar winner, “A Beautiful Mind,” where we can see the character’s real struggle.
Director Peter Landsman’s artistic background helped him illustrate progressive cinematography and perfect colors in the characters’ evolution, setting the emotional tones in a suitable mode.
For example, while the Doctor is working in the morgue, everything is dark gray, and towards the end, when “Mr. Will Smith Goes to Washington” to speak to the committee, we can see the warm light at the tunnel’s end.
“Concussion” is a story of perseverance and struggle for tolerance and understanding. A drama with nationalistic rhetoric to which all of us can relate and learn something valuable about football and the preservation of human nature.
