© 2024 Kansas City Public Radio
NPR in Kansas City
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Up To Date

Up To Date's Indie, Foreign & Doc Critics' 'Three To See,' March 2-4

Bleeker Street Media
Jon Hamm plays sports memorabilia store owner Will Beam in "Nostalgia."

With the Oscars on Sunday, this weekend is your last chance to catch some of this year's nominees before winners are announced. If you've already seen them all and want something new to view, Up To Date's independent, foreign and documentary Film Critics have that covered, too, in this week's recommendations.

Steve Walker

"Nostalgia," R

  • Intensely moving performances from Catherine Keener and Ellen Burstyn elevate Alex Ross Perry's screenplay about people's connections to their possessions, and the alternately wistful and painful memories embedded within them. 

"The Insult," R

  • In this invigorating Oscar-nominee from Lebanon, two residents of Beirut — a Lebanese Christian and a Palestinian Muslim — have a nasty verbal dispute over a broken drainpipe. The argument escalates into a divisive trial and media circus.

"Call Me by Your Name," R

  • Timothée Chalamet gives a break-out performance as a gifted, multi-lingual, sexually-fluid teenager who, over six weeks of an Italian summer, falls in love with his father's graduate student, a charismatic American played by Armie Hammer.

Cynthia Haines

2018 Oscar-nominated short films: Animated

"The Insult," R

  • In modern-day Beirut, a minor insult blown out of proportion becomes a major lightning rod for a court case that grips the attention of, and bitterly divides, a nation.

"Nostalgia," R

  • A mosaic of stories about love and loss, this film starring Jon Hamm and Catherine Keener explores our relationships to the objects, artifacts and memories that shape our lives. 
Since 1998, Steve Walker has contributed stories and interviews about theater, visual arts, and music as an arts reporter at KCUR. He's also one of Up to Date's regular trio of critics who discuss the latest in art, independent and documentary films playing on area screens.
As senior producer of Up To Date, I want our listeners to hear familiar and new voices that shine light on the issues and challenges facing the myriad communities KCUR serves, and to expose our audiences to the wonderful and the creative in the Kansas City area. Just as important to me is an obligation to mentor the next generation of producers to ensure that the important conversations continue. Reach me at alexanderdk@kcur.org.