DOM HEMMINGWAY and WE ARE THE BEST take center stage for Wednesday (April 9) as films you should make an effort to see at this year’s Dallas International Film Festival. We’ll be posting daily suggestions on what you should make time for at DIFF, and these are pretty great.
In DOM HEMINGWAY, Jude Law plays the most foul-mouthed, lewd and hilariously destructive character since Sir Ben Kingsley brought SEXY BEAST to the screen.
After spending 12 years in prison for keeping his mouth shut, notorious safe-cracker Dom Hemingway is back on the streets of London looking to collect what he’s owed. Along the way, Dom tries to make up for lost time—in a flurry of violence, sex, drugs and alcoholic debauchery. While on this journey we get to know Dom and his insistence that there be honor among thieves. A code to live by and to die for.
Director Richard Shepard has a knack for finding the humanity and complexity in characters that are externally single-minded (see THE MATADOR). DOM HEMINGWAY moves along like a freight train full of dynamite, and Jude Law gives the performance of a lifetime, reigniting the fuse over and over again.
— James Faust
Angelika 6 – Thursday 4/10 at 7:30pm
Up next is WE ARE THE BEST. Skip the neon leg warmers, it’s 1982 Stockholm and punk is thriving by means of intrepid Klara and ingenious Bobo. The two middle school outcasts spend their days defiantly resisting femme stereotypes with their Mohawk haircuts and political activism. Taking a stand against (heavy metal) noise pollution and their pointless gym class, Klara and Bobo form a band with sparse instruments provided by the local recreation center and immediately recruit the very lonely and very Christian guitar-skilled, Hedvig. In between song-writing sessions and band practice, the girls encounter parents, alcohol, parties and the spiked-haired boy that will change everything between them. Director Lukas Moodysson successfully presents a refreshing and optimistic story that exhibits the significance of preteen friendships. Adapted from a semi-autographical graphic novel by Moodysson’s wife, Coco, WE ARE THE BEST outshines familiar coming-of-age conventions by crafting strong females and empowering revolutions.
— Dilcia Barrera, AFI FEST
DIRECTOR Lukas Moodysson
SCREENWRITER Coco Moodysson, Lukas Moodysson
PRODUCER Lars Jonsson
CINEMATOGRAPHER Ulf Brantas
EDITOR Michal Leszczylowski
MUSIC Hans Moller
PRODUCTION DESIGN Paola Holmer, Linda Janson
CAST Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin, Liv LeMoyne
DIRECTOR BIO
Lukas Moodysson is a Swedish writer and film director who published his first poem collection at the age of 17. After publishing five poetry collections and a novel by age 23, he moved on to study film at the Dramatiska Institutet. His directorial breakthrough came with SHOW ME LOVE, which won four Guldbagge Awards, including best film and best direction. His other film credits include TOGETHER (2000), LILYA 4-EVER (2002), A HOLE IN MY HEART (2004), CONTAINER (2006) and MAMMOTH (2009). His film WE ARE THE BEST! is adapted from the graphic novel “Never Goodnight” created by his wife and graphic novelist Coco Moodysson.
Angelika 4 – Thursday 4/10 at 10:00pm
Angelika 7 – Sunday 4/13 at 3:15pm
Born and raised in Dallas, Mark has been a movie critic since 1994, with reviews featured in print, radio and National TV. In 2001 he started the Entertainment section of the Herorealm website, where he contributed film reviews and celebrity interviews until 2004. After three years of service there, he started Bigfanboy.com, which has become one of the Dallas film community's leading information websites. Bigfanboy hosts several movie screenings in the Texas area, and works closely with film and TV studios and promotional partners to host exciting events and contests. The site also features a variety of rare celebrity and filmmaker interviews, and Bigfanboy.com regularly covers the film festival circuit as well. In addition to Hollywood reporting, Mark has worked for many years as an advertising and sci-fi/comic book artist. Clients have included Lucasfilm Ltd., Topps Trading Cards, The Dallas Mavericks and The Dallas Stars. From 2002 until 2015 he managed the Dallas Comic Con, Sci-Fi Expo and Fan Days events in the DFW area. He currently catalogs rare comic books and movie memorabilia for Heritage Auctions, and runs the Dallas Comic Show conventions, but remains an avid moviegoer and cinema buff. 
