These Movies Matter

DVDS Worth Watching,

How to Get the Films We Recommend:

Sources for the movie titles we recommend can be found by clicking the "read full review" link at the end of each critique below.

• Featured Title(s)
• Recommended Titles
• Classics
• Worth a Mention
• Overlooked Comedy

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Featured Title(s)

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MAHALEO, 2005, 102 min., Subtitles, Color

Genre: Documentary
Release Data: August 2006
Director(s): Marie-Clémence Paes

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What It's About: The island of Madagascar as seen through the lives of the members of its most popular musical group, Mahaleo. The seven musicians are exceptional people who have been combining music and careers to serve their people since 1972. Their career roles as a neurosurgeon, a sociologist, a general practitioner, a farmer, a couple of community regional developers and a parliamentary deputy compliment their music to inspire and support local community aspirations. The film celebrates this intimate relationship as the group prepares for its 30th anniversary concert in 2002. The word “Mahaleo” means “free, independent,” and the story of these musicians, both individually and as a group, provides a window on a wide cross-section of local culture and history.

What to Look For: This film is a wonderful example of how to combine art and livelihood into social action, with music as a centre to heart-felt living. These
musicians keep their distance from the world of show business, instead remaining deeply committed to helping their country and its people develop and progress into the modern world. When they’re not entertaining the crowds, they’re working as part of the community. Their daily contact and involvement with their people’s joy and despair goes a long way to account for the enormous popularity of their music. This is a great film to watch for inspiration to social action.

Why It Matters: The music, which features mellow guitars with a whiff of Polynesian melody plus a little Cajun-Flamenco spice. The group’s leader, Dama Mahaleao, who has been described as the Madagascan equivalent of Bob Dylan. The songs, which are both poetic and political combining rock rants, lilting ballads and calls to action that reach into the deepest part of the Malagasy soul. And finally, this film is a wonderful introduction to Madagascar, an island of exotic beauty, unique flora and fauna, and a hybrid population of African, Malay and Arab descent, who speak a melodious language which seems to have originated in Borneo. This is one of the world’s poorest nations and, since independence in 1960, it has been in a near constant state of political upheaval as one regime after another has betrayed its promises and enriched itself at the expense of the people. Mahaleo arose out of this social ferment and, although it has never been the voice of any particular political party, the group are certainly spokesmen for the average Madagascan.

Available on DVD from www.newsreel.org Be sure to pick the Home Use option.

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Recommended Titles

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SCARED SACRED, 2004, 105 min., Color

Genre: Documentary
Release Data: US release August, 2006
Director(s): Velcrow Ripper

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Hope looks at the evidence and says, 'It doesn't look good at all. But we’re going to make the leap of faith, go beyond the evidence, and create new possibilities based on visions that become contagious; to allow people to engage in heroic action, always against odds, no guarantee whatsoever.' That's hope. I'm a prisoner of hope...never going to believe that misery and despair will have the last word. Cornell West, Professor of Religion and African American Studies, Princeton University.

What It's About: A tour of some of the planet’s “Ground Zeros” – such as Bhopal, the jungles of Cambodia, Bosnia, Israel and Palestine, Afghani refuge camps and post 9/11 New York City – in search of stories of survival, resilience and recovery.

What to Look For: The film asks the question: What does it mean to be a global citizen in today's world, without falling prey to the lure of being a “tourist of darkness”. As the director searches for meaning in a time of both inner and outer turmoil, he notes: (I needed to) “avoid filling my pockets with images while leaving my heart untouched."

Why It Matters: Stunning photography, and an evocative soundscape are deftly woven as the background to unforgettable stories of how the afflicted in some of the world’s top disaster zones deal with grief, pain and suffering.

Notes: More information from: www.scaredsacred.org.

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources

SKETCHES OF FRANK GEHRY, 2005, Color

Genre: Documentary
Release Data: August 2006
Director(s): Sydney Pollack

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What It's About: A wonderful documentary about world-famous Canadian architect, Frank Gehry (Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao), by his friend, filmmaker Sydney Pollack (Cold Mountain, The Quiet American, Out of Africa)

What to Look For: The point where the architect expresses his envy for painters, and laments his inability to achieve the same luminosity of visual effect. "Yeah, right," says the filmmaker as he cuts to a montage of some of his friend's buildings, reflecting sunlight, absorbing rain and changing the atmosphere to uplift their neighbourhood. This is your opportunity to experience the magic taking place as the creative sketch metamorphoses into architectural existence.

Why It Matters: Enjoy the wide range of interviews with patrons and peers, including conductor Esa Pekka Salonen, architect Philip Johnson, actor Dennis Hopper, promoter Bob Geldof, Hollywood studio executives Michael Eisner and Mike Ovitz, and more. Take note of Gehry’s habit of doodling; those quick initial sketches give the film its title. Then watch how some progress to 3-dimensional “doodles” of cardboard and tape – all before the lucky few find their final incarnation in glass and titanium on the world stage.

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources

EGYPTIAN CINEMA CLASSICS, 1947 -1971, 5 discs, Subtitles, BW

Genre: Drama
Release Data: August, 2006
Director(s): Various

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Egypt is home to one of the world's oldest and most prolific film industries and, in its heyday it was known as "Hollywood on the Nile". This collection presents a wide range of genres, from political thriller to musical comedy, and features some outstanding directors and stars. The recently launched specialty collection includes old trailers and some interesting extras on the stars, while the individual titles have been available since December, 2003. The following five titles form part of this collection: ADRIFT ON THE NILE, 1971, Egypt, 115 min., B/W, subtitles Director: Hussein Kamal A revealing look at the socially alienated Egyptian upper-class on the eve of the 1967 war, which would usher in a time of enormous social change. AFRITA HANEM, 1947, Egypt, 97 min., B/W, subtitles Director: Henri Barakat A typical Hollywood-on-the-Nile entertainment film, that uses a lot of song and dance to further the action - which you will likely find baffling if you are unfamiliar with Arabic culture. However, it's totally worth seeing for the belly-dancing. FATMA, 1947, Egypt, 130 min., B/W, subtitles Director: Ahmed Badrakhan A classic romantic melodrama, worth seeing for Umm Kulthum (in the title role as Fatma), Egypt's legendary singer/dancer who died in 1975 but whose songs are still played regularly on the radio throughout the Arab world. A MAN IN OUR HOUSE, 1961, Egypt, 159 min., B/W, subtitles Director: Henri Barakat A youthful Omar Sharif stars in this political thriller about Ahmed Hamdi, a young revolutionary who assassinates the King's prime minister and finds sanctuary with an apolitical, middle-class Egyptian family, who risk everything to hide him from the police. Set against the background of the 1950s Egyptian resistance to British rule that supported King Farouk and resulted in the rise to power of Gamal Abdel Nasser. The film has a strong Hollywood flavour and is a bit long, but its combination of the familiar and the alien make it well worth seeing. THE NIGHTINGALE'S PRAYER, 1959, Egypt, Arabic, 109 min., B/W, subtitles Director: Henri Barakat A classic tale of love and betrayal in which Amna (Faten Hamama, the Arabic world's first lady of the silver screen) seeks revenge on the nameless engineer who destroyed her family's honour.

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources

STATE OF THE UNION, 1948, 124 min., Color

Genre: Drama
Release Data: August 2006
Director(s): Frank Capra

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It won't be at all surprising—this being a Presidential year and the … "State of the Union" being the picture it is—if a spontaneous grass-roots movement develops within the next few months to send Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn to the White House on Nov. 2. For, among other things, Mr. Tracy, who plays a Presidential aspirant in this film, is a much more attractive-looking candidate than anyone who has yet declared …. and Miss Hepburn as his helpmate and as his conscience in moments of need, gives every assurance of making the most stylish First Lady we've had in years. The New York Times, 1948 A political satire that tells the story of Grant Matthews, an idealistic self-made millionaire (Spencer Tracy) who is manipulated into running for the Presidency of the United States by an ambitious newspaper publisher Kay Thorndyke (Angela Lansbury). He soon finds himself caught between the demands of politics and the unassailable integrity of his wife Mary (Katherine Hepburn). A wonderful piece of screen satire that delivers a knife-sharp commentary on the issues of its day. To quote from one of the ladies in the film: “we haven't had so much fun—or so much instruction, for that matter—from a political ruckus since Huey Long died.”

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources

THE MOONSTONE, 1972, 225 min., Color

Genre: Drama
Release Data: August 2006
Director(s): Paddy Russell

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The first Masterpiece Theatre whodunit focuses on a literary classic that earned its author the distinction of being the “father of British detective fiction.” Although it’s been adapted many times for stage, film and TV, this lavish adaptation is one of the best and withstands the test of time better than most. The story centres around a fabled diamond that is looted from a Hindu temple by one of the heroine’s ancestor. The jewel, of course, harbours a curse and the plot concerns its sinister progress through the Victorian household of the upper-middle-class Verinder family. Rachel Verinder is dazzled by the diamond’s beauty when she inherits it on her eighteenth birthday, but its disappearance shortly thereafter deprives her of something she values even more. The best detectives are called in but fail to resolve the case and the repercussions ripple for many years as the plot twists and turns, love ebbs and flows, anger and deceit roil, and mysticism and science vie for supremacy. Save this one for the depths of winter, when the days are short and you can curl up on the couch.

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources

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Worth a Mention

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ON NATIVE SOIL, 2005, 120 min., Color

Genre: Documentary
Release Data: August 2006
Director(s): Linda Ellman

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A straightforward presentation of the events of September 11 told through the filter of the bi-partisan 9/11 Commission Report. As we now know, the Report concluded that 9/11 might very well have been prevented given what was known at the time. However, despite the evidence, the possibility of prevention is still something that many are unwilling to acknowledge. The director’s approach is even-handed but critical as she shows familiar events in a new light, but without the sensationalism of films like Fahrenheit 9/11. At the centre of this documentary are interviews with the families of victims who decided to fight Washington and make the truth known. Most of their recommendations have now been passed into law, despite frequent resistance from an embarrassed Bush administration – which initially stonewalled the investigation under the banner of "national security”. Although these events have been gone over many times, this film manages to present an important subtext through highlighting the contributions that can be made by an active, aware electorate.

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources

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Overlooked Comedy

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FILM GEEK, 2005, 78 min., Color

Genre: Drama
Release Data: August 2006
Director(s): James Westby

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As film geeks ourselves, we couldn’t resist this comedy about Scotty Pelk, a socially inept young man whose sole interest in life is cinema. Naturally, he works as a video store clerk, but even this proves unworkable as he annoys the customers with his endless talk of aspect ratios, Jean-Luc Godard, and his untrafficked website where he posts long essays on his favourites. Eventually, he is fired and begins a downward spiral punctuated with begging for another job at every video store in town. Scotty is so very everything we try hard not to be … but we appreciate him because his existence makes it possible for us to be less obviously geeky ourselves. Every film critic can recognize Scotty, the person you try to avoid at screenings who talks about nothing but film, and rarely seems to blink. He’s so enthusiastic you just want to hide in the washroom until darkness descends and you can sneak in without encountering him. In this case, our geek does get a lucky break, and even a bit of romance, after hitting bottom. Set in Portland, Oregon, the film is based in part on the director’s own life. Quite possibly it’s funnier for those of us who work in this business, but keep an open mind, because we too would like to share!

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources