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Reviews
Ganges: River to Heaven (2003)
Intriguing moments but mostly too shallow
This documentary focuses on a hospice in Varanasi, India, a sacred city on the banks of the Ganges. The occupants come there when they are about to die, as many Hindus believe it will help their karma to die there. The film traces a few of the elderly patients, too sick to make any expression, and their care-taking families, but it is difficult to remember who is who after they are introduced. The film also interviews people active in this "industry," running the hospice, selling firewood for the pyres, etc. It's sometimes difficult to see this through their eyes instead of our cultural beliefs about death, but people are sincere.
In comparison with the director's earlier "Anonymously Yours," about the sex slave trade in Burma, this film is much less polemic. It displays a similar amount of sympathy with its subject, but generally looks positively at the practices shown here, with the exception of the environmental degradation of the river. However, it doesn't have the riskiness of the previous venture and thus stands out less from other documentaries about Indian culture.
Overall, the best part of the film are the most commonplace--I for one don't seem to be able to tire of watching the endless bustling on the ghats, disgusting as I find the water. The interviews are interesting but mostly too brief and it's difficult to connect who the people are. The shots of ceremonies (religious prayers and the funeral pyres) are fascinating but could be explained. The overall shape of the documentary could also have been better defined. There are intriguing moments, but it's difficult to get a clear picture of these people and this place.
Monumental: David Brower's Fight for Wild America (2004)
An interesting look at the history of American conservation via its most prominent figure
I found this movie quite interesting because, despite having considerable interest in conservation myself, I didn't know much about the history of the movement. Although the movie focuses specifically on David Brower, his actions play with or against the perspectives of the Sierra Club, the American government, various business interests, and the population at large, and one can trace the philosophical and political emergence of the movement as a whole. Brower himself seems to have led a fascinating life, and it's interesting to see how his experiences contributed to his convictions, while admiring his prodigious ability and insight. It's downright inspiring to see his confidence in an age when wilderness protection was not just unimportant, but undesirable. For me the most interesting parts were archival footage of films Brower and his opponents made which promote either conservation or development, but to a modern viewer more than anything express the tenor of the time which seems so different from our own. Also nice is the footage that is no longer possible to film: that of Glen Canyon, now submerged due to a compromise Brower made early in his career, which he never forgot and which shaped to a great extent where he went from there.
Kerst (2003)
Excellent and frightening
An intense look at a man who seems to be trapped in someone else's body, his attempt to discover whose body he seems to be in, and how this all happened. It's very exciting, as he tries to figure out what is going on, and ultimately makes one think a bit about what identity means, and how one might deal with a similarly inexplicable episode in one's own life. It's short enough to really keep the pace consistently, and the ending is terrific. The visual effects are quite engaging, like a great scene as he look in the mirror and sees who it is everyone else seems to be seeing. I don't know how to find this film (I saw it in the Minnesota Shorts Showcase at the Minneapolis Film Festival) but if you get the chance I highly recommend it.
Eyengui, el dios del sueño (2003)
Interesting look at the culture of Central African Pygmies
This is an interesting look at the Baka pygmies of Cameroon. Instead of an anthropology documentary in the style of National Geographic, it is the recounting of a legend, all told from the point of view of the tribe. It's quite interesting in how it deals with their mythology and culture, which are of course introduced along the way, often cleverly in the way of an elder explaining to youngsters. (Anthropologists would describe this sort of presentation as "emic" instead of "etic.") There is a lot of voice-over narration, but not of the sort commenting on the customs, but literally the story of the elder (and so forth). It makes a lot of sense and is a good insight into the worldview of one of the few cultures of this type remaining. The scenery is of course quite interesting and the mood feels rather authentic (the director works also as an ethnographer). My main complaint is in some of the post-production, where for instance they felt the need to include a Romantic score that very much takes away from the authentic feel of the film. Why include such an obviously extrinsic element, instead of the pleasing native music which is heard occasionally in the film? There are also occasions which border on heavy-handedness, although these are perhaps fewer than in most films of this type.
Sábado, una película en tiempo real (2003)
Funny and interesting...definitely unusual.
Apparently this one is really a matter of love it or hate it, because I know some other people in my theater weren't able to make it through. However, I found it really funny and well-made. The entire film, which reputedly cost under $100 to make, is in one long shot. It captures a cameraman, sought out by a neighbor to capture the face of a woman about to be married when she finds out that her fiancé has been sleeping with someone else. Then the man is brought with the fiancee to find the fiancé, some friends for consolation, and an old lover. There are some very funny moments, made funnier because of the forced voyeurism of the filmer. It's surprisingly well-made, evenly paced, and well-put-together, for what obviously is a film based on a simple idea and executed quickly. I recommend it.
Jylama (2003)
slow but ultimately touching
This is the only movie from Kazakhstan I've ever seen, so I didn't know what to expect. The style is very stark, and reminds me of a Dogme 95 film, in particular in its non-use of music. It takes a bit to get going, and some of the scenes are too long, but like the best films of that series, in the end it cuts that much closer. The story is about a singer in Kazakhstan, born in China, who is under doctor's orders not to sing for a year. She raises her child and does simple work for the grandmother. When the child gets sick, however, she must make sacrifices to buy the medicine. The conclusion is very strong, because of restrictions the filmmaker has made until then.