Doc film update #3
Oct. 29th, 2006 09:15 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sernin33. Bombhunters – good (men and boys in Cambodia who look for Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) from the Vietnam War era, dismantle them (often with horrible consequences), and sell the metal for scrap – learned a lot, like the fact that the US heavily bombed Cambodia during the Vietnam War)
34. River Boat Dreams – good (town of Rockaway Beach has dying economy/population since the creation of Table Rock dam in late 1950’s, and tries to pass amendment to Missouri Constitution allowing gambling on White River, interesting look at Gambling Is A Big Bad Sin With Horrible Addictive Consequences bias from filmmaker)
35. America’s Lost Landscape – so peaceful and calming that I fell asleep immediately, but I promise to watch it when it airs on PBS on Earth Day 2007 (loss of the Prairie across the Midwest)
36. Man Who Saved a Million Brains – good (man who realized that up to 1/3 of Tibetan people were afflicted with Cretinism from a lack of iodine in the diet, and started Iodine Deficiency programs to get iodized salt and iodine caplets to the people, learned a lot – including that the lack of iodine in the diet can create thyroid problems and lower IQ by an average of 15 points)
37. Hubert’s World – eh (Hubert has Cerebral Palsy, gets his first “apartment”, and gets a job at McDonalds)
38. The Organistas – good (the people who are dedicated to the creation of organs – big pipe organs in churches)
39. Mr. Minervo and the Five String Guitar – good (man in South America who hand-crafts guitars)
40. Cole Nobody Knows – good (biography/showcase of Freddie Cole, the unknown but very talented brother of Nat King Cole –interesting is that the film was from Plan B productions, the company of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston)
41. Cadillac Man: Life Under the Viaduct – excellent (man who is homeless by choice writes his autobiography)
42. Healing Gardens of New York – excellent (four community gardens in New York: Queens, Times Square, Conservatory at 5th and somewhere close to Sinai Hospital, and a state prison that I hear about on Law & Order but can’t remember – makes me want to plant tomatoes, and I hate tomatoes)
43. Abel Raises Cain – good (Abel is a media hoaxter, and his daughter makes a film of his lifetime of pranks, such as the make-animals-wear-clothes campaign, Yetta Bronstein for President campaign, and anti-breastfeeding campaign)
44. I for India – good (Indian doctor has two cameras, one for himself that he takes to London with his family, one for the family he leaves behind in India - the life that is never quite happy away from India, but unsuccessful when he returns to India – and the daughter that follows her dreams to Australia, following her father’s life in a way that finally gets him to understand how his parents felt when he moved to London)
45. Kind, True, and Necessary – excellent (husband/wife artists/Quakers that live in Oregon – hard to describe but definitely one of my favorite films of the festival)
46. So Goes the Nation – excellent – YOU SHOULD SEE THIS ONE IF YOU GET THE CHANCE – (political analysis of the 2004 election in Ohio with commentary from the big wigs in both D and R parties, grass root organizers in both D and R parties, and nail-biting-edge-of-seat-ness even though we all know the outcome)
47. I’m Boricua, Just So You Know – good (directed and focuses on Rosie Perez, and her love of her homeland Puerto Rico – learned a lot: did you know that the US government supported the sterilization of Puerto Rican woman, and that at one point, up to 1/3 of the women were sterilized, sometimes without their knowledge or consent)
48. 51 Birch Street – excellent (filmmaker who has filmed his family for several years decides to interview his family when his mother dies and his father quickly marries his former secretary and moves to Florida with her – then filmmaker finds his deceased mother’s diaries covering more than 20 years – and is amazed when he reads the story from her point of view)
49. Jonestown – excellent (909 people died in Jonestown on November 18, 1978, but 5 ran into the jungle to escape, and 80 “were away” that day – those who had left the church and those who had escaped the day tell the story of Jim Jones and Jonestown, with the audio and video tapes – learned a lot and would recommend this one as the one to see if it weren’t so absolutely depressing)
50. Smitten – good (retired winery owner has largest collection of regional northern California art, so much that he turned his house and two other constructed buildings into a gallery)
34. River Boat Dreams – good (town of Rockaway Beach has dying economy/population since the creation of Table Rock dam in late 1950’s, and tries to pass amendment to Missouri Constitution allowing gambling on White River, interesting look at Gambling Is A Big Bad Sin With Horrible Addictive Consequences bias from filmmaker)
35. America’s Lost Landscape – so peaceful and calming that I fell asleep immediately, but I promise to watch it when it airs on PBS on Earth Day 2007 (loss of the Prairie across the Midwest)
36. Man Who Saved a Million Brains – good (man who realized that up to 1/3 of Tibetan people were afflicted with Cretinism from a lack of iodine in the diet, and started Iodine Deficiency programs to get iodized salt and iodine caplets to the people, learned a lot – including that the lack of iodine in the diet can create thyroid problems and lower IQ by an average of 15 points)
37. Hubert’s World – eh (Hubert has Cerebral Palsy, gets his first “apartment”, and gets a job at McDonalds)
38. The Organistas – good (the people who are dedicated to the creation of organs – big pipe organs in churches)
39. Mr. Minervo and the Five String Guitar – good (man in South America who hand-crafts guitars)
40. Cole Nobody Knows – good (biography/showcase of Freddie Cole, the unknown but very talented brother of Nat King Cole –interesting is that the film was from Plan B productions, the company of Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston)
41. Cadillac Man: Life Under the Viaduct – excellent (man who is homeless by choice writes his autobiography)
42. Healing Gardens of New York – excellent (four community gardens in New York: Queens, Times Square, Conservatory at 5th and somewhere close to Sinai Hospital, and a state prison that I hear about on Law & Order but can’t remember – makes me want to plant tomatoes, and I hate tomatoes)
43. Abel Raises Cain – good (Abel is a media hoaxter, and his daughter makes a film of his lifetime of pranks, such as the make-animals-wear-clothes campaign, Yetta Bronstein for President campaign, and anti-breastfeeding campaign)
44. I for India – good (Indian doctor has two cameras, one for himself that he takes to London with his family, one for the family he leaves behind in India - the life that is never quite happy away from India, but unsuccessful when he returns to India – and the daughter that follows her dreams to Australia, following her father’s life in a way that finally gets him to understand how his parents felt when he moved to London)
45. Kind, True, and Necessary – excellent (husband/wife artists/Quakers that live in Oregon – hard to describe but definitely one of my favorite films of the festival)
46. So Goes the Nation – excellent – YOU SHOULD SEE THIS ONE IF YOU GET THE CHANCE – (political analysis of the 2004 election in Ohio with commentary from the big wigs in both D and R parties, grass root organizers in both D and R parties, and nail-biting-edge-of-seat-ness even though we all know the outcome)
47. I’m Boricua, Just So You Know – good (directed and focuses on Rosie Perez, and her love of her homeland Puerto Rico – learned a lot: did you know that the US government supported the sterilization of Puerto Rican woman, and that at one point, up to 1/3 of the women were sterilized, sometimes without their knowledge or consent)
48. 51 Birch Street – excellent (filmmaker who has filmed his family for several years decides to interview his family when his mother dies and his father quickly marries his former secretary and moves to Florida with her – then filmmaker finds his deceased mother’s diaries covering more than 20 years – and is amazed when he reads the story from her point of view)
49. Jonestown – excellent (909 people died in Jonestown on November 18, 1978, but 5 ran into the jungle to escape, and 80 “were away” that day – those who had left the church and those who had escaped the day tell the story of Jim Jones and Jonestown, with the audio and video tapes – learned a lot and would recommend this one as the one to see if it weren’t so absolutely depressing)
50. Smitten – good (retired winery owner has largest collection of regional northern California art, so much that he turned his house and two other constructed buildings into a gallery)
And with that, I'm done. One week, 50 movies.
