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I'm tempted to write, "How do you review a film about pickles that's bananas?" But that's too cheeky. "Pickle Vision" is like stepping into a universe where it makes sense that music videos and arthouse films and sci-fi adventures collide into new dimension where pickles represent the essence of humanity.

It makes me wish that I had a Time Machine and could sneak into a video rental story, hide a VHS copy of Pickle Vision on their shelves, and start letting strangers come across it and take it home to have their minds blown.

It also amuses me that I have to click that this review contains no spoilers. Can you spoil a painting like Guernica by telling people that Picasso created it out of fury and disgust with Nazi Germany for carpet bombing a town in Northern Spain? Nope. You can't.

I saw the documentary "Party Dream" at the Sherman Oaks Film Festival and I swear to you it was more than just a great, fun, and inspiring movie. I loved it so much I bought it on iTunes as a pre-order. The band featured, "Gil Mantera's Party Dream," is so outrageously entertaining that at first I assumed this was a mockumentary with a band played by actors. But NO. The band is real and the music is great and the team that made this film tell the band's story in an amazingly entertaining and insightful way.

If you love indie rock that gives the finger to the corporate music industry, then this doc will not only entertain you but soon you'll be singing their songs around the house and downloading their music. Is that life changing? Heck yeah. I'm old. You know how often I discover new bands? Never. But in 2022 this doc helped me discover Gil Mantera's Party Dream and I will be forever grateful.

What makes the film "Jiyan: La vie" so special? This film was made by a filmmaker who worked intimately with refugees and this experience inspired him to make a film about their lives. Yes, it is fictionalized, but in every way this story is true to life about the challenges that people face when forced to flee a war-torn nation. Yet the story is told with humor, authenticity, and even features a touch of romance. I personally cannot imagine a mature, intelligent adult not appreciating this breathtaking film.