These Movies Matter

DVDS Worth Watching, Nov 3, 2006

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
• Our Boxed Set Pick(s)

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Featured Title(s)

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MONGOLIAN PING PONG, 2004, 102 min., Subtitles, Color

Genre: Drama
Release Data: October, 2006
Director(s): Ning Hao

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What It's About: One day, Bilike, the young son of a traditional nomad family who still live in yurts out on the vast grasslands of the steppe, finds a mysterious white object floating down a stream. His imagination is immediately engaged with figuring out what it can be. A golf ball glimpsed on a movie screen set up for the Nadam Festival, provides one false lead, while his grandmother’s suggestion that it is a magical and luminous pearl sent from heaven provides another. It’s not until someone wins a TV and they learn about ping-pong, that the young nomad and his friends begin to grasp that their "treasure" may be the “national ball of China”. Thinking they’d better return something so important, they set off for Beijing….

What to Look For: An engaging account of the moment when a young boy’s mind suddenly opens to a world beyond the one he knows, presented in the form of a love-letter to Mongolia. The story focuses on how the smallest details can spark us to question the world around us, while the answers reveal something much bigger than we had at first imagined.

Why It Matters: Experience the vast landscape of the Mongolian steppe, one that has changed little since the days of Genghis Khan. Note the trip that young Bilike and his two best friends, Ergotov and Dawa, take to consult the monks at the local monastery – and watch their faces when they realize that even the venerable lamas are stumped as to the nature of their treasure.

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources

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Recommended Titles

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LA COMMUNE, 2000, 345 min., Subtitles, Color

Genre: Drama
Release Data: October, 2006
Director(s): Peter Watkins (Privilege, Punishment Park, The War Game)

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Editorial Note:A dense and inventive piece of filmmaking that may not be for everyone. At 5 hours and 45 minutes, this is long and ambitious – but it is also a wonderful and inspiring piece of radical filmmaking, by a master of the genre and, if you are willing to venture out beyond the mainstream, you shouldn’t miss it. [A film that is] at once a provocative account of a neglected episode in social history, a call to arms against the contemporary injustices of capitalism, a critique of the mass media and an experiment in collective filmmaking. The New York Times

What It's About: The story focuses on the “Paris Commune” of 1871 – a working class movement that briefly managed to rise up and hold power in the French capital. The film extends the documentary techniques first seen in the director’s The War Game, which won the Best Documentary Oscar® in 1967 – despite being an entirely fictional reportage – and expands upon them by imagining a 19th century Paris which somehow already has black-and-white television, and where the media wars are between a foppish newsreader backed up by a royalist historian, who report on the uprising for Versailles TV while “Commune TV” faces off with its own guerrilla media.

What to Look For: On the one hand, this is an exploration of revolutionary euphoria, of living – and dying – in a sacred time. On the other, it’s an investigation of a utopia that is already doomed, collapsing under the weight of its anarchic idealism where “everyone debates and no-one obeys.” An exciting and complex presentation of a sensitive subject – even today, the Paris Commune is given short shrift in French schools – this film is at once theatre on a grand scale and an experiment. Whichever face you favour, it is a reinvention of historical filmmaking and well worth the time it takes to watch.

Why It Matters: Watkins apparently involved the 220 amateur and professional actors who tell the story, in doing their own character research and then dividing into groups representing the four historical factions – the National Guard, the local politicians, the bourgeoisie and the oppressed – in order to give a realistic rendition of the situation. And then, he allowed them to step out of character and comment on their roles from the perspective of contemporary French politics.

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources

THE ROAD TO GUANTÁNAMO, 2006, 95 min., Subtitles, Color

Genre: Documentary
Release Data: October, 2006
Director(s): Michael Winterbottom (Wonderland, Welcome to Sarajevo) and Matt Whitecross

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[This film] does not tell us anything new. It is nonetheless a wrenching and dismaying account of cruelty and bureaucratic indifference, a graphic tour of a place many citizens of Western democracies would prefer not to think about. The New York Times

What It's About: A first-hand account (part documentary and part dramatization) of the trials and tribulations of the “Tipton Three” – 3 young British Muslim citizens who set out from their West Midlands home-town of Tipton, for a wedding in Pakistan and ended up in the American military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, where they were held, without charges, for two years, before being released and returned to the UK.

Having some time on their hands before the wedding, and seemingly on a whim, the trio crossed the Afghanistan border to “see what was going on and help those harmed by the bombing”. They were captured by the Northern Alliance who accused them of being Al Qaeda fighters and – after months of harsh treatment, were coerced into “confessing” that they were terrorists. The Alliance turned them over to US authorities, who shipped them in containers to Guantánamo Bay, where they were beaten, interrogated, tortured, and held without trial. They were eventually cleared by their British records as petty-criminals, which showed them as having been in Britain at the time they were allegedly cheering for Osama bin Laden at a Pakistan rally. This is the story of three people who were caught in the wrong place at the wrong time and now wonder “how did this happen to us?”

What to Look For: This film is not easy viewing but it is a testimony that should be seen a noted widely. The subject matter feeds directly into renewed public concern about the mistreatment of detainees and the policy of holding suspected terrorists in detention camps. As a movie release, it has already provoked significant controversy for its critical stance towards the American and British governments. And it certainly brings to the fore the question of whether prisoners, innocent or not, should be treated in such a morally inferior way. The story is repugnant and will provoke strong feelings of helplessness and dread for the viewer; nonetheless it is testament worth seeing.

Why It Matters: The events shown are reconstructions, although based on extensive interviews. The filmmakers cleverly intersperse the dramatic sequences played by unknown actors, (you may find yourself a bit confused about who’s who) with actual interviews with the three men about their ordeal. The directors also use actual news reports to provide a context for their story. In the scenes from Guantánamo Bay, the artifice is unmistakable, since no camera could have actually penetrated the isolation cells, interrogation rooms and chicken-wire cages of Camps X-Ray and Delta. However the sequences from the beginning of the story, shot in Pakistan and Afghanistan have the shaky, grainy quality of real life captured on the fly. Although the line between fact and fiction is blurred here, and the presentation is certainly not “just the facts”, the film does provide some first-hand testimony of a horrific experience – although you may find the accents a bit hard to understand.

Notes: We understand that the Tipton Three have recently filed a suit against US Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld, and ten members of the American military, under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993. And, shortly after the commercial release of the film, the U.S. Supreme Court indicated that the lack of due process afforded to the detainees amounted to a violation of Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.
For dditional information see the film’s official website: www.roadtoguantanamomovie.com/

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources

TIBET: A BUDDHIST TRILOGY, 1979, 134 min., Color

Genre: Documentary
Release Data: October 2006, (Canada Only)
Director(s): Graham Coleman

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A long unavailable classic which seeks to document some of the fast-disappearing culture of Tibetan Buddhism in exile. The first part sets the stage by exploring the dual role of the Dalai Lama as Head of State and spiritual teacher against the backgrounds of Dharamsala and the re-built Sera Monastery in Tibet. The second part invites us into the annual practice of A Beautiful Ornament, at a Sakya monastery in the village of Boudha, Nepal. We follow the monks through the preliminary retreat, the creation of the mandala and the performance of the ritual - an invocation of Tara in her role as the protectress who can magically transform any malevolent forces that might bring harm to society. This part has no voice commentary but instead features subtitles based on a text by Dudjom Rinpoche. The third part follows a death in a small farming community in Ladakh and how the local monastery responds to guide the departed through the bardo state between death and rebirth.

What It's About: A long unavailable classic which seeks to document some of the fast-disappearing culture of Tibetan Buddhism in exile. The first part sets the stage by exploring the dual role of the Dalai Lama as Head of State and spiritual teacher against the backgrounds of Dharamsala and the re-built Sera Monastery in Tibet. The second part invites us into the annual practice of A Beautiful Ornament, at a Sakya monastery in the village of Boudha, Nepal. We follow the monks through the preliminary retreat, the creation of the mandala and the performance of the ritual - an invocation of Tara in her role as the protectress who can magically transform any malevolent forces that might bring harm to society. This part has no voice commentary but instead features subtitles based on a text by Dudjom Rinpoche. The third part follows a death in a small farming community in Ladakh and how the local monastery responds to guide the departed through the bardo state between death and rebirth.

What to Look For: We can’t say it better than the director: “In making the Trilogy, we were searching for an immediacy, intimacy and unobtrusiveness…. Above all, we hoped that the film would draw the audience into the spirit of the Tibetan way of life, into its light-heartedness, openness and quietly powerful awareness of the sacred.” Mr. Coleman has come remarkably close to achieving his objective. Highly recommended if you want a film which is really more of an experience than a documentary. If you sit quietly and let it happen, you may find, at the end, that you feel you have actually participated in another culture and been empowered.

Why It Matters: In this case, "What To Look For" has been replaced by "How It Happened":
English Director, Graham Coleman, was brought up in Luxor, Egypt, where his father worked as an artist for an archaeological expedition. This background led him to wonder "what kind of a society had created such vibrant, monumental temples and elegant, deeply peaceful art." Exploring this question, he set out for India in 1974 where, after some initial travels, he settled in Dharamsala, the hill-town of the Dalai Lama's exile. In a meeting with the Dalai Lama, Coleman told him of his "grand ambition to make a film about the Tibetan way of life, the contemplative and sacred arts skills of the monasteries, and the Tibetan Buddhist way of helping the dying." His Holiness was very encouraging and said that if Coleman managed to organise everything, he would participate and help. On his return to London, Coleman met Sogyal Rinpoche who immediately offered to accompany him back to India and introduce him to Tibetan masters Dudjom Rinpoche, Sakya Trizin and the Karmapa. One auspicious coincidence led to another and suddenly there was a production company and the wherewithal to make the film.


We can't say it better than the director: "In making the Trilogy, we were searching for an immediacy, intimacy and unobtrusiveness…. Above all, we hoped that the film would draw the audience into the spirit of the Tibetan way of life, into its light-heartedness, openness and quietly powerful awareness of the sacred." Mr. Coleman has come remarkably close to achieving his objective. Highly recommended if you want a film which is really more of an experience than a documentary. If you sit quietly and let it happen, you may find, at the end, that you feel you have actually participated in another culture and been empowered.

Notes: Hopefully available in the US soon -- we will let you know.

DVD available in Canada Only from our regular on-line sources

Also available in European PAL Format from: www.tibetantrilogy.org.uk/uk/b

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Classics

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THE BLUE LIGHT, 1932, 70 min., Subtitles, BW

Genre: Drama
Release Data: October, 2006
Director(s): Leni Riefenstahl and Béla Balázs

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This film is worthy of a mention because it is the vehicle that launched the directing career of Leni Riefenstahl. In a way the film presages her life: first she’s a beautiful young woman named Junta (played by Riefenstahl, who also wrote the script), who communes mystically with a crystal grotto in the mountains that is the source of a beautiful blue light. Shunned by the villagers as a witch, she retreats further and further into an ideal, but clichéd “Nature”. Then, she falls in love with a travelling painter. He discovers her secret and soon everyone knows and tragedy ensues. Apparently this was a favorite film of Hitler’s and in fact prompted him to hire Riefenstahl to make Triumph of the Will, the poster-piece of the Third Reich. For Leni the relationship secured both fame as a master of her craft, and enduring infamy as the Fuhrer’s filmmaker. To be seen more as a curiosity than as entertainment.

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources

HANDS OVER THE CITY, 1963, 105 min., Subtitles, BW

Genre: Drama
Release Data: October, 2006
Director(s): Francesco Rosi

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The director paints an almost journalistic picture of Italy’s chaotic post-war industrial boom in the early 1960s. Using a potent brew, which combines the acute need for new housing construction, the building industry’s get-rich-quick ethic, and the desire of corrupt municipal politicians to make the most of the gift of graft wherever they can, this film paints a picture of society's vulnerability to institutional corruption. When a newly constructed tenement in Naples collapses, the tragedy triggers an investigation. Notolla, a powerful building speculator with a seat in the municipal Council – played by Rod Steiger dubbed into Italian – is given the task. As a result, he finds himself with his “hands on the city” -- a corrupt government official profiting from dodgy land deals and construction practices while attempting to ignore disasters in the deprived ghetto he helped create. However De Vita, the municipal building inspector, is on a political crusade of his own and seeks to expose the criminal neglect of construction standards exemplified by Notolla’s buildings. This film caused considerable controversy in Italy at the time of its release, being a little too close to the mark in its depiction of the cutthroat machinations and ruthless egotisms of Naples's governing Chamber of Deputies. And, to add insult to injury, the director subtly suggests that the whole situation is the result of a tendency on the part of his countrymen to allow a laissez-faire attitude to political matters and social affairs. This is serious stuff, but believable – and there are even some entertaining moments.

Notes: This is the two-disc Criterion edition.

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources

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Worth a Mention

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SOUNDS OF THE SOUL: THE FEZ FESTIVAL OF WORLD SACRED MUSIC, 2005, 68 min., Subtitles, Color

Genre: Documentary
Release Data: October, 2006
Director(s): Stephen Olsson

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This is a film that unfortunately promises a lot more than it is actually able to deliver: starting with the box cover, which shows a scene of whirling dervishes, which apparently did happen at a Fez Festival of World Sacred Music, just not any of the ones at which the director actually filmed. That said, this documentary does act as an introduction to a remarkable event. “The Fez”, as it is referred to colloquially, was founded by Dr. Faouzi Skali, a Sufi professor of cultural anthropology, and Mohamed Kabbai, a member of Morocco's Royal Cabinet, about ten years ago. The two developed the festival as a response to the growing religious intolerance, which was surfacing in the Arab world around the Persian Gulf War. The ancient Moroccan city of Fez has a long history of religious tolerance, having been home to Jews, Christians and Muslims across the centuries, and so it is an ideal place for such a gathering. Using the power of music as both a microcosm of our fundamental interconnectedness, and as a means of direct communication beyond distinct languages, the festival – and the film – showcase a number of groups representing diverse religious traditions. At the same time, a gathering of artists, scientists, philosophers, spiritual leaders and international development representatives is held to promote peace and to further the understanding of the role of spirituality. Unfortunately, the film never shows us a complete concert, nor does it explore in depth any of the ideas being presented at the conference, so you are left with the feeling of a nice but rather frustrating travelogue, that just skims along the surface. The content here is very worthy. but you may be disappointed in the execution.

DVD available directly from: www.cemproductions.org

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HELEN'S WAR: PORTRAIT OF A DISSIDENT, 2004, 58 min., Color

Genre: Documentary
Release Data: October, 2006
Director(s): Anna Broinowski

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They can lock me up in Guantanamo Bay if they want to, I don't care. It will be great publicity for the book. Dr Helen Caldicott A documentary about Australian physician and successful author, Dr. Helen Caldicott, who became a globally-recognized fire-brand in the anti-nuclear movement. In 1980, Caldicott left her high-profile medical career to concentrate on focusing international attention on what she perceived as “the insanity of the world’s increasing supply of nuclear weapons and national stockpiling.” An icon for the cause, she has been awarded 19 honorary doctoral degrees; was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize by Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling; was awarded the Lannan Foundation Prize for Cultural Freedom in 2003; and received the inaugural Australian Peace Prize, in 2006 "for her longstanding commitment to raising awareness about the medical and environmental hazards of the nuclear age". And, as if all that were not enough, the prestigious Smithsonian Institution recently named her one of the most influential women of the 20th century. In 2003, Caldicott’s skeptical and inquisitive filmmaker niece, Anna Broinowski, asked her Aunt Helen if she would be willing to be the subject of a documentary: the result is this film. Anna believes that nukes are inevitable and questions whether a straight-talking dissident like Helen really can make a difference in George W. Bush's “Land of The Free”, and make a dent in the “Star Wars” sequel. Starting from that viewpoint, she follows her Aunt on a roller-coaster tour from Baghdad to Washington, via Kabul, as she vies with spin-savvy neo-conservatives for airtime, courts celebrity backers for her DC think-tank, and battles to stop the bombing of Baghdad. In the course of the journey, we discover a humorous, passionate, sometimes vulnerable, woman and learn something of what it costs, in human and emotional terms, to fight for peace.


DVD available in the US from: www.dvdempire.com and from www.videomatica.ca (rent-by-mail) or http:// www.cinemaclock.com (sales) in Canada.

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Overlooked Comedy

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THAT'S MY BUSH, 2001, 240 min., Color

Genre: TV mini-series
Release Data: October, 2006
Director(s): Trey Parker and Matt Stone

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A very funny TV sitcom from the creators of South Park, this is a parody of life at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue as Dubya gets settled and gets on with business. During the 2000 Presidential Campaign, the directors announced that they would produce a sitcom about the winner. They started out with Absolute Al! but had to switch to That’s My Bush! and the results unraveled. The 8 episodes that made it to the screen focus on Bush’s challenges in balancing the important issues of the day (such as abortion, capital punishment, the war on drugs…) and the attention he must give to his equally demanding personal life with First Lady, Laura – so it really does stick to classic situation comedy and leaves political satire pretty much alone. Good for a winter’s evening at home on the couch.

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources

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Our Boxed Set Pick(s)

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ICONS OF HORROR: BORIS KARLOFF, 2 discs, 2006, Color

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

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Notes: The Boogie Man Will Get You, The Black Room, The Man They Could Not Hang, and Before I Hang

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources

ASTAIRE AND ROGERS COLLECTION, VOL. 2, 6 discs., 2006, BW

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

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Notes: Flying Down to Rio, The Gay Divorcee, Roberta, Carefree and The Story of Vernon and Irene Castle

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources

CLAUDE LELOUCH BOX SET, VOL 2, 2006, Subtitles, Color

Genre: Drama
Release Data: October, 2006
Director(s): Claude Lelouch

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Notes: All That….For This, And Now, Ladies and Gentlemen, And Now My Love, Bolero, Edith and Marcel, Going and Coming Back, Good Guys and Bad Guys, Long Live Life, A Man and A Woman and Robert and Robert
Be sure to get the English edition; it also comes in a French Language Only version

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources

GOERGE BURNS: THE TV SPECIALS COLLECTION, 4 discs, 2006, 450 min., Color

Genre: TV mini-series
Release Data: October, 2006

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Notes: The most memorable TV Specials from the long career of the legendary comedian and actor who has been called “the greatest straight man of the 20th century.”

Available on DVD through our listed on-line sources