TRIBECA FILM FESTIVAL 2015 // A FILM REVIEW OF "BLEEDING HEART"
The 2015 Tribeca Film Festival, presented by AT&T, runs April 15th-26th and features hundreds of features, documentaries, short films, and special events all throughout downtown New York City. The ArtsWire Weekly's three featured reviewers Mateo, Derek, & Chrisena are hitting the festival and bringing the reviews right to you! What you should see and what you should skip...
"Be the change that you wish to see in the world." That's a famous Gandhi quote. Another concept that great little man espoused was "Ahimsa", a basic principle of several religions that best translates to nonviolence, or even non-injury. It's quite a beautiful idea that says any harm you do to another living being is also harmful to yourself, therefore you should refrain from that action. Ahimsa speaks to the connectedness that resides in and between all things. And appropriately enough, "ahimsa" is the first word uttered in a great new movie from Diane Bell, BLEEDING HEART.
May (Jessica Biel) not only earns her living in the world of yoga, but lives her life by that world. She resides in zen; even her home, which she shares with her yogi boyfriend Dex (Edi Gathegi) is styled with decor of Buddhist and Hindu symbolism. But this story begins when the perpetual peace she seems to have found comes into question as she follows a lead to find her long-lost biological sister. Shiva (Zosia Mamet) is a sex worker--you may have another title for her job, though that's the one she prefers--haunted daily by her boyfriend pimp, Cody (Joe Anderson), but insists that May doesn't need to save her. May's world get's tangled as she's forced to make decisions between the known and the unknown, between her boyfriend and her sister. Diane Bell does an A+ job telling the Bleeding Heart story with just the right amount of drama and humor, tension and relief, and with solid performances by the entire ensemble, we are reminded of a famous quote from the Buddha: "How wonderful! How wonderful! All things are perfect exactly as they are!"
VERDICT: MUST SEE
WRITTEN AND DIRECTED BY Diane Bell STARRING Jessica Biel, Zosia Mamet, Edi Gathegi, Joe Anderson, Kate Burton, Harry Hamlin
Playing as part of The 2015 Tribeca International Film Festival. For tickets & schedules: http://www.tribecafilm.com
W. DEREK JORDEN is an actor currently living and working in New York City. He and his wife live on a Spaceship on the top of a building, which makes for some interesting dinner parties.