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Light emerging from the shadows: SOS staff members share their thoughts on noir

Film noir. What is it? What are its defining characteristics? What films best express its qualities? Sex appeal, violence, cynicism, anti-heroes, femmes fatales, bleak commentary on modern society, maddening twists of fate that perpetuate one’s misery, running away from danger yet never making any ground…Noir is and represents a wide variety of things, so much so film experts do not even agree on whether it is a genre unto itself (two of the leading voices, James Ursini and Alain Silver, agree that it represents a movement rather than a definable genre).

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‘Renoir’ Movie Review – an artful but flat story of creative inspiration

Sometimes, it is more fascinating to watch the struggle a film has in trying to balance dual aims than it is to watch the movie itself. Case in point: Renoir, a feature showcase at this year’s Phoenix Film Festival. In essence, Renoir tells us of how an alluring young woman came into the lives of the impressionist painter Pierre-Auguste Renoir and his son Jean, and how she changed all of their lives.

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