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House of Stronzo (2018)
man who loves his art collection
Do we own our possessions or do our possessions own us? Not sure if Pete Cecere, the subject of this thoroughly enjoyable documentary, ever wondered about this or if he would just say what the world does that mean? We get a tour of his massive folk art collection, largely South American, and learn a good deal about the pieces themselves as well as about particular niches of folk art through his colorful commentary. This is what really makes this doc so appealing, the personality and stories of Pete. It's so much better for not having a commentator and only the occasional inclusion of others remarks, such as from his daughter and sister, as it leaves Peter to tell his story. And the story of his collection is much more than just about showing objects but spans travel, culture, friendships, and simple appreciation of creativity. A scene of him telling about feeding the birds outside his window was a favorite of mine. I would love to be able to visit his home. (Note: The IMDB rating of MA is unnecessary and perhaps a mistake as there's nothing but a handful of swear words.)
Desert Bloom (1986)
Exceptional story of America 1950 with desire and pain.
I never knew of this movie til recently picking up a copy in a second hand store. What an excellent show all the way around, engaging story telling about humanity in such an honest way and never exceeds what is necessary. The acting is great! I can't say I remember seeing a lot of Jon Voight movies but, man, he was good in this character. And while I have plenty of favorite coming of age movies about boys (which I can relate to as well) I really appreciated this from the older daughter's perspective. And to think this was this actress' first role. Her expressions so subtly suited every scene. The cast is all very good even down the most minor of roles. And visually this had a great look for the place and time. A favorite scene is when Rose is at the party and also provides some breathing space and simple joy that the writer did good too include. I agree with other reviews that is must have been overlooked and underrated.
Vale Abraão (1993)
um, not my kind of thing
Dreary, dull exhibition of post-modern amoralism. Not a single interesting, likeable, or unlikeable character from top to bottom. Almost watched the whole thing til I realized I could have listened to The Ramones instead.
The Act of Killing (2012)
brutal and weird reality
C.S. Lewis said: "How monotonously alike all the great tyrants and conquerors have been; how gloriously different are the saints." The first part of this quote came to mind while watching this 2012 documentary about mass killings in Indonesia in the 1960's. The director Joshua Oppenheimer used a bold technique to tell the truth about a story for which no one has been held accountable. The Indonesian gangsters killed more than a million supposed Communists, ethnic Chinese, and many others in less than a year and Oppenheimer has the very death squad leaders recount how they did it through reminiscing and acting it out based on the movies they were fans of. They are all more than willing to do so now all these years later and making the movie is matter of pride. They're proud of the cruelty and most of them enjoy acting it out, some of them to continue to keep the accepted narrative going that they are national heroes and others seemingly just for something to do, like now they're movie stars. The main figure, who is a terribly conflicted person named Anwar Congo, tells graphically how he killed people but also about the nightmares he has and seems to have a faint flicker of conscience left. Not pleasant to watch but worth watching for the history as well as what it reveals about evil.
Adanggaman (2000)
visually it drew me in
Tells of inter-tribal conquest and slavery in West Africa. Ossei the main character has to run for his life after his village is ravaged. I like this movie a lot for the good performances by the main characters and excellent scenery/color/cinematography. The soundtrack of African music is wonderful and sublime. Most movies are too long for me; this was too short.