Eric Deggans wrote a thoughtful piece for NPR about the end of the Parenthood TV series. This type of realistic family drama is unfortunately becoming rarer these days, though Downton Abbey does present a historical British version.
Parenthood (SeasonFive) – 2013 (3.2). This next to last season includes 22 episodes moving
the multiple story lines along in touching and believable courses that feel
properly paced. We begin to sense that the family members, in spite of the
three generations of age spread, are coming to times of their lives where
turmoil is beginning to lead to clarification of what is important. The next
season will be a final shorter season because of disagreements between the cast
and NBC. Hopefully the writers will carefully bring the stories to points where
viewers can be comfortable bidding farewell, wishing everyone well and still
wondering how things will actually turn out after we part company.
Belle – 2013
(3.1). Based on a true story, this per Revolutionary War Brit drama follows the
daughter of a slave woman and an English aristocrat soldier from the time she
joins the family of her father in second class status, through the death of her
father and her blossoming into an impressive young woman with an independent
mind. As she and her beloved cousin reach marriageable age, they encounter the
social pressures about which Jane Austen so notably wrote. During this time, the patriarch of the family
who is the Lord Chief Justice of England must decide a famous case about sick
slaves being sent to market in America being jettisoned overboard supposedly
for humanitarian reasons, but more probably in order to claim insurance benefits
for their loss as cargo.
An Unreal Dream: The Michael Morton Story – 2013 (3.1). One might
wonder how yet another story about a wrongfully convicted man finally obtaining
release could be told in a new way, but this documentary is up to the challenge.
Quietly told mostly by the man himself, the movie includes a reasonable dose of
the requisite legal issues, but what makes the film distinctive is the
concentration on the personal transition of the man himself, which he talks
about and which is also discussed by fellow inmates, members of his legal team
and a few others, most importantly his son who was only three years old when
his father was sent to life imprisonment for the murder of his wife, the boy's
mother.
Parenthood (Season Six) – 2014 (3.0). The shortened final season brings
all the characters to decisions leading to new hopeful beginnings and we are
given some quick previews of what may be in store for them on their continuing
journeys. If the audience for the series had been larger, there was dramatic
potential to follow these people for a few more seasons, though there would be
no clear time for it to end. Dramas set in historical eras can end with a
particular calendar year or historical event. Those centered on one main
character can end with a significant life or death event of that character. But
ensemble dramas set in contemporary times do not have such natural ending
points.
Alive Inside – 2014 (2.9). Old people with Alzheimer's and dementia
can be depressingly trapped in isolation, both literally and figuratively. This
documentary follows a man with a promising idea for bringing out the still
alive interior of these people. He gives them I-Pods with their favorite tunes
from the past and they light up and become vibrantly happy. Doctors, scientists
and musicians are interviewed about why this works and loving family members
and nursing home workers are shown interfacing with the afflicted. An African
musician is shown using music to heal Congolese women victims of abuse as well
as Americans in nursing homes.
Return to the Wild:The Chris McCandless Story – 2014 (2.8).In 2007
Sean Penn released a documentary based on book telling a true story about a
young man from an affluent family who traveled around alone after college,
discarded all trappings of his wealth, severed connections with his family and
wandered off into the wilderness of Alaska where he became stranded and starved
to death. He became sort of a cult hero to young people and his sister decided
it was time to revisit his story and set the record straight. The result is
this new documentary telling the biography of the young man through interviews
with his sister, his parents and his two half-sisters. What emerges is a
sorrowful tale of an abusive bigamist father and a mother in denial, and three
young women who survived what inadvertently killed their brother.
The Kill Team –
2013 (2.8). A young American soldier in Afghanistan finds that his platoon sergeant
is involving some platoon members in murder of innocent Afghan civilians. He
knows it is wrong but when his qualms are detected he is threatened with death
if he tells. Through Facebook chat he explains his situation to his father who
tries to help from the US by contacting military related authorities, but
becomes concerned that if he stirs things up too much, his son will pay the
price with his life. The soldier, his parents, some platoon members and a few
others are shown in this documentary as the situation eventually plays itself
out back in the US. The movie is yet another piece of evidence questioning US
military forays into foreign countries to "win the hearts and minds"
of the local people.
Like Stars on Earth
– 2007 (2.8). Learning differences can be difficult for some parents and
schools to recognize and the consequences of failing to do so can be
devastating to a child whose brain works in a different way. This overly long
drama from India stars an eight year old boy who cannot read or write or do
math and who tries to disguise his difficulty in learning by acting out in
delinquent ways. The young actor plays the role quite well and the heartfelt
spirit of the movie and happy ending are probably reasons why Disney aided US
distribution. Edited to a more reasonable length it could have been a good film
to show US third graders both for the message of the film and for the
experience of watching a subtitled movie [though the DVD seems to offer the
option of dubbing in English].
Dear Mom, Love Cher –
2013 (2.7). On the 85th birthday of her mother, Cher conducted an
interview which was then expanded into this one hour TV documentary giving some
biographical information on Mom and her six marriages and current long term
arrangement. There are lots of holes in the story and at first Mom seems easy
to dismiss, but over the hour she becomes more endearing.
The Missing Picture
– 2013 (2.7). In this Oscar nominee for best foreign film, a Cambodian filmmaker uses archival footage and clay figures
placed into panoramas to portray his experience as a boy during the terror of
the Khmer Rouge in the late 1970s. His narration is written in an almost poetic
style, but his low key delivery and unfamiliar accent make it seem more mundane
than it had to actually have been.
Xmas without China
– 2013 (2.5). An intriguing premise, an American family trying to go without
using any products made in China, gets lost in this short documentary which
also blends in the young Chinese born film maker struggling with the pull of
his motherland and the allure of the United States, his home since he was
eight. Add to the mix the Chinese parents, now American citizens, trying to
understand how Christmas is the top holiday in America, and the movie never
seems to have clear direction.
The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though
some of the streaming rights may now have expired):
Parenthood (Season Five)
An Unreal Dream: The
Michael Morton Story
Alive Inside
The Missing Picture
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