Though it has been a while since posting a list, I am still
here. Cancelling Netflix streaming, summer activities and more book reading are
some of the excuses for diminished viewing. This list includes what may be my
last Netflix stream. I have not yet tapped into the Amazon Prime choices. My
library list is not particularly inspiring. Now that PBS has started fresh
shows, I am watching Masterpiece, Point of View, American Experience,
Independent Lens and other offerings.
Hamilton's America
– 2016 (3.2). All the hype about the musical will seem justified when you watch
this documentary about the creation of the show and its impact on the cast
members. The creative and artistic people involved in the musical and this
movie are excitingly talented. Interviews, excerpts from musical numbers and visits
to historical sites are nicely blended to make us share the excitement for this
compelling story of an important founding father made into a show that expands
the boundaries of American musical theater.
What Tomorrow Brings
– 2015 (2.9). Several years in the making this documentary tells the story of a
school for girls on the outskirts of Kabul. The woman who founded the school is
very dedicated and capable and has managed to get all the Afghan male elders on
board to support this school and the girls who attend. One teacher and a couple
of the girls in particular are followed over time and present an inspiring case
of women struggling to overcome very unfair challenges.
American Experience:Norman Lear – 2015 (2.8). There is a lot of ground to be covered in a
biography of the personal and creative life of such an iicon of TV history as
Norman Lear. This documentary does a pretty good, though the personal side gets
a bit shorted.
American Experience:Tesla – 2015 (2.8). A genius pioneer in electrical engineering, immigrant
Tesla made a splash on coming to America and then sort of burned out. This documentary
does a good job of telling his story, from the high legacy of having made
alternating current the practical technology the whole world relies on to the
low of envisioning concepts that fizzled.
American Experience:The Battle of Chosin – 2015 (2.8). Archival footage from both sides,
interviews with American survivors and commentary from historians are put to
good use in this documentary about the MacArthur ordered attempt to take UN
control of the entire Korean peninsula in 1950. The effort was met with an
overwhelming Chinese response, but in spite of being greatly outnumbered in
brutal weather conditions the US forces managed to fight their way out. China
suffered great losses which probably prevented them from taking control below
the 38th parallel.
Room – 2015
(2.8). Adapted from a novel by an Irish author, this Canadian-Irish drama tells
the story of a young girl who was kidnapped and held captive in a back yard
shed for seven years during which time she gave birth to a son who was age five
when the movie began. The first half of the film takes place completely in the
shed, which the boy knows as "room" and which is the only world he
has ever known. As the mother tries to explain to the boy that there is a world
outside room, the film starts to strain credulity a bit. But when an escape
plot pays off and the boy for the first time experiences the reality outside
room and as the liberated captives struggle to make the transition to the wide
world, some genuine emotion is evoked.
The Salt of the Earth
– 2015(2.8). Sebastiao Salgado has spent decades
working as a photographer recording indigenous and suffering peoples throughout
the world. He has also restored his environmentally ruined ancestral ranch in
Brazil to prove that such accomplishments are possible. Wim Wenders and the son
of Salgado independently shot voluminous footage documenting this work and then
jointly decided on the editing and final format of the movie. The resulting Oscar
nominated film is hauntingly beautiful in parts and a bit disjointed and slow
in others.
Defying the Nazis:The Sharps' War – 2016 (2.7). During WWII a Unitarian minister from New
England and his wife engaged in dangerous missions to rescue Jews from the
Nazis. Ken Burns and associates tell the story in this documentary using
archival photos and footage, interviews with their daughter and with people who
were rescued and some dramatic reconstructions, but the resulting movie is at
times a little hard to follow and the full impact of their work is never felt
to the extent it should be.
Hell on Wheels (Season Five) – 2015 (2.7). In what should be the final season lots of
ground gets covered in what seems like a rushed effort to wrap up plot lines,
yet parts of some episodes still seem to drag. Unfortunately the net result is
a feeling of waning interest in the characters and an attitude of "let's
get this over".
Hooligan Sparrow
– 2016 (2.7). A young woman returns to her homeland China and documents the
activities of a female activist and her colleagues who call out failures of the
government to prosecute those who sexually exploit young women and girls in
this quite personal documentary. The movie is a one woman production with no
crew whatsoever, so the resulting footage is more like home video. The corruption
of the police and other officials is pointed out and the intimidation of the
activists by the exploiters is chillingly shown but there is no particular analysis
or explanation of the problem
My Friend Rockefeller
- 2015 (2.7). A documentary about a German teenager who ran away to America and
for decades assumed continuously changing identities including that of a
supposed member of the Rockefeller clan while fooling everyone including a
couple wives should have made a very interesting movie, especially when murder
is added in. But this film spends too much time interviewing people he
befriended and not enough time telling the actual story of his escapades. The
impostor targeted upper crust people since that was the lifestyle he desired,
but it also turns out they may have been more gullible than the rest of us.
Thank You for Playing
– 2015 (2.7). A video game designer whose young son has terminal cancer found himself called to use the ongoing experience of seeking treatment and
carrying on life as best possible to create a video game. His wife is
supportive as are his professional colleagues. Some people say it is too morbid
and a bad idea, but when he demos the game at an expo, people are deeply moved.
This documentary is quite personal and raises more questions than it answers.
My Friend Rockefeller
