Schools today, from junior high on up, could put a series of movies to good use as discussion stimulators, for instance with a series of movies on racial intolerance, one on conflict resolution and another on peer pressure. The possible topics are numerous and the choice of movies on any theme is even more extensive. What fun it would be to choose the themes and movies and then facilitate and moderate the discussions.
When I was a kid, theaters, usually the cheaper ones I could afford would show double bills, two movies for one admission. In fact, the old Embassy on 3rd Avenue in Seattle offered triple bills for some oddball pittance, either 9 cents or 11 cents. There was seldom any apparent attempt by the theater operators to pick films that would have a common theme, though sometimes that might happen by coincidence.
Now that I am watching movies on DVD, I sometimes watch two movies in sequence and am surprised that they have a lot in common. That happened on two pairs of movies listed below (High Fidelity and Fever Pitch) both about young lovers based on novels by Nick Hornby with stories set in England and then relocated to America for the movies, and Dean Spanley and The Cave of the Yellow Dog, both touching on dogs reincarnated as humans.
Here is what I have watched on DVD and streaming since I posted my last list. The ratings I give are on my own number system explained at the link on the sidebar. Those watched via Netflix instant view, include “Streamed” after the numeric rating.
South of the Border – 2009 (3.3) Streamed. Oliver Stone did a good job with this documentary about democratically elected leaders of South American countries who are taking their nations in a more progressive and social minded direction, in opposition to the rich elites, multi-national corporations and pressure from American and European governments and their surrogates. Starting with Hugo Chavez in Venezuela, the chronological leader of the pack, Stone conducts intimate interviews with these leaders, who seem to feel his good will towards them and are thus more open in their dialogue. Brief visits are also made to Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Ecuador, and Raoul Castro also participates. The result is a hopeful sense of significant, worthwhile and long overdue change.
The Cave of the Yellow Dog – 2005 (3.1). The plan for this Mongolian film had included a few ideas to include in the story of following a nomadic Mongolian family, but the realities of the lifestyle and the appeal of the subject family took over the story instead. The result is a fairly slow moving film about a young mom and dad with three little children, the oldest of whom picks up a stray dog, part drama and more documentary about the lifestyle and the honestly simple passing of the wisdom of generations to the youngsters. Watch the 12 minute interview with the young Mongolian filmmaker for a quick bio on her and some fun facts about making the movie. Do not try to watch this on streaming, because that version is English dubbed in the worse possible way, and Netflix should be ashamed for not warning about that.
Cocalero – 2007 (2.9) Streamed. This Spanish language documentary follows Evo Morales as he successfully runs to become the first indigenous Indian leader of Bolivia. A dedicated leader of the coca growers union, Evo has tremendous support among the poor people. The film is a little slow in parts, but does an effective job of showing what a grass roots (or coca leaves) campaign this was.
Fever Pitch – 2005 (2.9). A truly fanatic Red Sox fan (Jimmy Fallon) and a workaholic ad agency up and comer (Drew Barrymore) fall in love, but Fallon is a totally rabid Red Sox fan and Drew is not that interested in baseball. This was filmed by coincidence in the season the Red Sox broke the 86 year curse and won the World Series. Predictable but still enjoyably cute.
Closely Watched Trains – 1966 (2.9) Streamed. This Czech movie about a young man coming of age near the end of WWII has him yearning to end his virginity while the Nazis retreat through the train station where he is newly employed. In a charming way, this film shows the bleakness of then contemporary Czechoslovakia while telling a gently heroic story from 20 years earlier. The Soviet occupiers probably delighted in having a film made about the Nazi occupiers, without realizing it was also about them.
High Fidelity – 2000 (2.8). I like John Cusack and always crack up over Jack Black. Stephen Frears directs good movies (he says proper casting is essential for a good movie). The female roles in this movie were well played. The premise of learning by analyzing past relationship breakups was good. But somehow the whole movie did not turn out to be as good as I hoped. It never seemed to get to any depth and the insider celebration of musical artists largely went over my head, and not entirely because I am just too old.
Airplane! – 1980 (2.8). This spoof of disaster movies had some funny bits in it and holds its age pretty well, but runs out of steam after a while. When Leslie Nielson died in November, a few clips from this movie were shown as part of his tributes, and they were campy enough to make me get it from Netflix. They sent me the Don’t Call Me Shirley Edition.
Big Night – 1996 (2.6) Streamed. This movie had some moments of humor, but was not really a comedy. It had a little drama, but not much plot. The principal players maybe all learned a little something, but there was no particular message. The food feast was lavish but that does not especially impress me. Some good performances and interesting, but slow pacing save it for me, but it is marginal.
Dean Spanley – 2008 (2.5) Streamed. I picked this out thinking I would see some BBC TV type humor bordering on Burlesque, but was surprised to find a quite polished looking New Zealand film about reincarnation, the thoughts of dogs and coping with death. I wish I could say it is as good as some Netflix members have said, but it never quite connected with me. The look and intention are there, and the acting is good, but the script was a weak link for me. Not quite bad enough to dislike, but hard to say yes.
I Capture the Castle – 2003 (2.5) Streamed. Netflix calls this movie quirky and Jane Austen-esque, but I call it marginal. It starts unnecessarily quirky and then tries to become a more serious drama. The script does not seem to achieve any focus until near then end. The acting is all right, but the script does not make any of the characters particularly appealing, except the role played by Romola Garai, who does a good job.
Trainspotting – 1996 (2.5). I got this because Susan was interested – she really likes Ewan McGregor. Netflix warned me (2.3), though it was well directed by Danny Boyle and the acting was good, the story about young UK heroin addicts is not my cup of tea. While watching, Susan asked what the purpose of the movie was, and I suppose the answer is to show the evil of drug addiction in a way that still has some humor midst the horror. The characters were not presented in any depth and what drama there was suffered accordingly. We are probably supposed to root for a clean future for the McGregor character, but the odds are against him and nothing in this movie made me feel how terrible that really is. So though this is very marginal for me, I’ll give it the edge at 2.5 and a reluctant 3 stars at Netflix.
The Story of Adele H. – 1975 (2.4). This sad story of the daughter of Victor Hugo, based on her diaries and filmed by Truffaut, is a disappointing French movie. Adele obviously had mental issues that caused her to become a stalker, but all this movie did was show us some of that stalking in a boring way. Isabelle Adjani received an Oscar nomination for her performance and won the French Cesar, but the role was not that demanding and though her performance was all right, her filmography does not show that her career ever blossomed.
Ship of Fools – 1965 (2.4). Stanley Kramer directed this overlong gabfest with an ensemble cast aboard a German ocean liner on the brink of WWII. Based on a novel, the story was trying to appear progressively opposed to intolerance and oppression, but the movie was jumping around between the characters, none of whom we came to understand or care much about, and the message of tolerance seemed oddly heavy handed and ineffective. Honored with at least 8 Oscar nominations, the movie won only in 2 black and white categories, cinematography and art direction, where it likely had little competition. This was the last screen appearance of Vivien Leigh.
