No Mockingbird

There is something I should have learned better before now. My first chance was over fifty years ago when I took a literature class from a professor who had written a book entitled Novels into Film. Most recently the same lesson was taught in comments on this blog (back when there were some) by John from Phoenix. Now I finally get the lesson and I want to explain why.

My reading through the years has been overwhelmingly non-fiction with only very few novels. On the death of Harper Lee, I decided to finally read To Kill a Mockingbird. At the same time I read a book (Scout, Atticus and Boo) with memories by various people about when they first read Mockingbird. I was in law school when the movie came out and I thought it was great; I particularly admired Atticus of course. The screen play won the Oscar for best adaptation. So after reading these books I watched the movie again, the first time I can recall since my first viewing. I was shocked how totally disappointingly different the movie was from the book.

I know I have seen at least a couple movies based on books I had read previously, but I do not remember being bothered by differences on the screen from the pages of the book. But in the case of Mockingbird I disliked the movie adaptation so much because it oversimplified the book and left so much of importance totally out of the script that I am not even including it in this list. I will let my ancient five star rating stay in place as a respectful memory, but I have now finally learned that a novel and a movie based on a novel are two separate and wholly autonomous works of art.

Downton Abbey (SeasonSix) – 2015 (3.2). Enjoyable house guests sometimes engender mixed feeling after they leave; while we will really miss them, we are also glad they are gone. So with the final season of Downton, it is time to part company with the people who have been visiting us and we wish them well. The scripts were written to grant our wish and they did so, with everyone taking a positive step forward in life, even as we are realistic enough to know they cannot all live happily ever after. Perhaps a sequel will be made in ten or twenty years.

Matt Shepard Is aFriend of Mine – 2014 (3.2). Matt wanted to be famous, but not by dying at a young age as a victim of a homophobic beating. Using archival home movies, evocative scenes of the filmmaker traveling around the area where Matt lived, and extensive interviews with his family and friends and those involved in investigating his murder, one friend made this documentary to let us learn who Matt was and why so many people loved him. There is not much issue preaching here, but there is the encouraging example set by the parents of Matt in starting a foundation to address the need for greater respect for individual differences. There is also a provocatively thoughtful conversation between the filmmaker and a priest who ministered to the murderers.

Call the Midwife(Season Four) – 2015 (3.1). As time moves forward, some of the cast turns over though some of the old stay on, and the medical and social issues keep evolving. A few story lines keep progressing even as new angles develop in the lives of some characters. There is a valid feel to the way things move along, but it does seem a little peculiar that the narrator from old age continues her voice over role even though her character is no longer appearing in the series. There are still many calendar years for the stories to run forward and as long as the quality holds up there is good reason to continue filming.

Jackie Robinson – 2016 (2.9). With this documentary Ken Burns attempts to fill in more of the personal side of the baseball great and his attitude toward racial relations in America from his young days through his integration of major league baseball and into his political activity after leaving baseball. The task is fairly well accomplished with lots of archival footage, interviews and dramatic voiceovers.

Doc Martin (SeasonSeven) – 2015 (2.9). Louisa returns from Spain and she and Martin begin couples therapy. We know about the problems Martin has, but bow we get to find out whether Louisa has problems of which we have been unaware. Meanwhile the characters and events in the town continue to provide drama around the central couple. Unfortunately, after setting the counselling up to be not only quite helpful to the couple but also to provide a deeper personal emotional drama for the series, this story line sort of fizzles in the last episode.

PlantPure Nation – 2015 (2.9). The son of one of the doctors whose life work on the health benefits of plant based eating was featured in the film Knives Over Forks is the maker of this newer documentary. Kentucky is the state with the least healthy population and this movie follows the efforts of the film maker to get the Kentucky legislature to approve a modest study of  plant based eating. Surprised by the defeat of the proposal, a self-funded study is done in North Carolina with impressive results and the Kentucky Legislature approached again. The truth of the value of this way of eating seems quite obvious but efforts to get government involved in promoting it run into vested animal based food interests and their control of the political process.

An Honest Liar – 2014 (2.9). For decades professional magician James Randi has made it his mission to discredit people who use the tricks of his trade to fool people into believing the tricksters have psychic, spiritual or other mystic powers. Lots of archival footage is combined with interviews, especially of Randi himself, to produce this documentary. Sadly, we learn there are willingly gullible people who use the charlatans as an emotional crutch and are angered when the fraud is exposed.

Supermensch: TheLegend of Shep Gordon – 2013 (2.9). Comedian Mike Meyers directed this documentary homage to a show biz agent who seems universally admired not only by his famous clients but also by no less than the Dalai Lama. Numerous interviews and clever reconstructed videos are well edited together with the precise timing of an experienced stand up comic. The result is a fun movie that moves right along.

Welcome to Leith – 2015 (2.8). A peripatetic white supremacist provocateur bought a rundown house in a very small town in North Dakota with the intention of attracting others of his ilk and taking over the town politically, though only one other couple actually came. These invaders were so obnoxious that the townspeople rose in opposition and ultimately persuaded the prosecutor to file charges against the men for terrorizing the townspeople. This documentary uses interviews with the townspeople, invaders and the prosecutor and a spokesperson for the Southern Poverty Law Center along with some archival footage of events that happened in the town to follow the case in a very personal way, without going into an academic analysis or criticism of the white supremacist views.

The Look of Silence – 2014 (2.8). In this sequel to an earlier documentary, The Act of Killing, the film maker follows the efforts of the brother of one of the victims of the Indonesian political genocide of the 1960s to confront the aging murderers and see if they have remorse or feelings of guilt. The brother was born after the killing as a replacement for son who was killed. The mother still lives and is kept informed as the son pursues his mission. The audacious sadism of the killers shown in the earlier film is fodder for the new journey and the people he confronts are still despicable and unremorseful. New to this film are the children of the murderers who profess varying degrees of ignorance about what happened, understandable because the murderers have been in charge of the Indonesian government since the slaughter and have tried to bury the past in silence.

How to Survive aPlague – 2012 (2.8). Archival footage and current interviews are used in this documentary to tell the story of the Act Up protestors whose persistent activism over many years finally got enough serious attention from the government and the pharma industry on the need for effective treatment AIDS victims. The film is more of a testament to the work of the individuals involved than a political history of how and why they had to work so long and so hard to get our country to properly address the problem.

Forks Over Knives – 2011 (2.8). Decades of lab research and working with patients have convinced two American doctors that a plant based diet is optimal for health. They present their findings in this documentary which also includes input from other doctors and patients who swear by the wonderful health gains of excluding animal products from what we eat. The presentation is easy to follow, though one is left with many questions about specifics, which means visiting the website and reading the book are the next steps for consideration.

Reel Injun – 2009 (2.8). A documentary film maker from the far north of Canada takes a road trip in a "res car" to visit Hollywood, the creator of American Indian mythology. Along the way he visits some historic Indian sites and talks with various Indians including some famous actors and activists. Archival footage of Indians being played by whites and cast as stereotypes provide humor tinged with resentment. But there is some good news in the more recent movies, some made by Indians, showing indigenous people in a more accurate light.

The movies on this list streamed via Netflix were (though some of the streaming rights may now have expired):

Matt Shepard Is a Friend of Mine

Call the Midwife (Season Four)

PlantPure Nation

Supermensch: The Legend of Shep Gordon

The Look of Silence

How to Survive a Plague

Forks Over Knives

Reel Injun