George Oxford Miller, Reel News, July 2014

George Miller is a member of the Society of American Travel Writers and believes that travel is a product of the heart, not the itinerary. See his webmagazine at www.travelsdujour.com.

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The Lunchbox (2014) Starring: Irrfan Khan, Nimrat Kaur. What is the purpose of life? If you answer “To love and be loved,” you’ll click with this lonely-heart, pen-pal romance set in India. In the digital era, people isolated by fragmented jobs and anonymous lives resort to virtual romance on social media and websites. In crowded, chaotic Mumbia, a misdirected lunchbox works just as well. Mumbai housewives pack elaborate lunches for their working husbands and delivery men take them to the workplace. Trying to rekindle the fire of her marriage, Ila (Kaur) starts sending elaborate meals to her husband, and secrets endearing letters in the lunchbox. The problem, or not, is the canister is always delivered to the wrong man, a lonely widower (Khan). Yet, he dutifully responds to the mystery woman. The lunches become more sumptuous and the letters more life encompassing as the kismet relationship develops. The tale unfolds around handwritten hard-copies, unexpected self-discovery, and well-crafted personalities impossible to develop in a text-messaging society. ★★★★ [PG]

Bethlehem (2014) (Starring: Tsahi Halevi, Shadi Mar’i ) The endless Israeli-Palestine feud would be the perfect setup for a star-crossed, Romeo-and-Juliet tragedy, or any kind of tragedy for that matter. Writer-director Yuval Adler, a former Israeli intelligence officer with a doctorate in philosophy from Columbia, gets right to the heart of the political-interpersonal-ideological-revenge-fueled conflict with this story of an Israeli agent and his Palestinian asset. Intelligence officer Razi (Halevi) cultivates Sanfur (Mar'i), a disenfranchised Palestine teen, to inform on his brother’s radical suicide-bomb squad. Over a period of years, the relationship develops into more of a father-son than a handler-asset bond. Yet, the hatred, rage, and distrust always simmer just below the surface in both men. Finally, hearts boil over when Razi is pressured to force Sanfur to expose his brother, and save Israeli lives, even though it means certain death for Sanfur. Torn between his allegiances and love, Razi, like the society and cultures around him, finds no hope in the lose-lose situation. Hebrew and Arabic with English subtitles. ★★★★ [Unrated]

Under the Skin (2014) Starring: Scarlett Johansson. In the recent movie Her, Scarlett Johansson didn’t have, or need, a body. Samantha, a computer operating system, seduced her man with her smooth voice and exponentially expanding intellect. In this version, Johansson as Laura, the ultimate femme fatale, most definitely needs a sensuous human body, though it’s only a cover, literally, for a sinister, unearthly creature. She cruises around moody Scotland in a white van offering single men a one-way ride and terminally messy sex. Like the cyber personality of Samantha, Laura initially has no understanding of humans or the human condition. Humans are no more than objects to fulfill her needs. Then as she walks through streets filled with people living everyday lives, as well as seducing young men and turning them into Solvent Green, she begins to experience what being human is all about. Is the portrayal of an emerging empathetic woman a coming-of-age metaphor, a commentary on what it means to be human, or simply a dark and seriously mind-bending sci-fi thriller? Or all of the above? ★★★ [R]

Le Week-End (2014) Starring: Jim Broadbent, Lindsay Duncan, Jeff Goldblum. Paris is the perfect place to make up, or break up. We’re never sure of the outcome of Nick (Broadbent) and Meg’s (Duncan) second honeymoon. After 30 years of less-than-blissful marriage, they tote a lot of baggage to the City of Light. The flames may have died but the ashes smolder with enough heat to either warm the heart or sear the spirit. Their dialogue alternates between body blows and caresses, their glances between daggers and seduction. They stay in a hotel beyond their means, skip the check in an expensive restaurant, sip coffee in corner cafes, and ponder their future–with or without each other. Then they meet an old colleague, Morgan (Goldblum), a free-spirited American academic and his young French wife. He invites them to a dinner party, which surprisingly, through the haze of alcohol, pot, and stuffy conversation, helps clarify their future. No chase scenes or pyrotechnics, and not much of a plot, but expect terrific acting and characters you’ll care about. ★★★ [R]