Enemies of the People

This film was a testament to the persistence of a Cambodian journalist who spent years building a relationship with men from the Pol Pot regime, right up to the second in command to Pol Pot (shown in the photo). He was eventually able to get them talking about their experiences killing people. These men spoke in careful, unmodulated voices - even when they were saying they now experienced remorse and shame for what they'd done, there was certainly no emotion identifiable in their body language, at least to this Westerner.

The most chilling segment for me was when the journalist asked for one of the men to give a demonstration of how he killed. The journalist was told to lie on his stomach with his hands behind his back, as the killer showed how he would pull his head up and back to slit his throat. He mentioned that his wrist could get tired after a number of such murders and he would change to a stabbing motion to give himself a rest.

Despite the admiration for the tenacity of the journalist who had gathered all this film in his spare time and his passion for documenting this period (during which his own father had been killed), the film was missing something for me. It didn't tackled the big themes - a better explanation of why Pol Pot embarked on this kiling spree, other a brief mention that it was internal conflicts. Nor did the men interviewed come to life for me as individuals. They gave the usual reason for the murders - orders from above - but I didn't get a strong feeling whether this was something they did unthinkingly, or with much internal angst. Neverthless, I would recommend this film.

Farewell

A gigantic blimp, a small passenger gondola slung below, one woman among the score of journalists and an around-the world trip. Lady Grace Drummond Hay was the first woman to circle the globe by air, and she did it in the Graf Zeppelin in 1929. The film consists of archival footage from the period and the story is narrated by a Julie Andrewish voice, as if reading from the journal of Lady Grace.

Graf Zeppelin was designed and built by Germans and the trip described in the film had a German captain flying the dirigible. However, the Germans ran out of money, and the around-the-world trip was paid for by William Randolph Hearst. Lady Grace Hay, a journalist looking to make her mark, enthusiastically accepts Hearst's invitation to provide the women's point of view, only to discover she's to be under the wing of an experienced journalist - her former lover Karl von Wiegand.

The film weaves together three stories. There's the story of life on board the ship, and the images of the journalists working away at their ancient typewriters, writing both about the trip and the political situations in the countries they fly over. The depiction of tumultuous welcomes on their landings in Frederichshafen, Tokyo, Los Angeles and finally New York provides the backdrop for further comment on political situation, as we see swastika armbands in Germany and marches protesting war reparations.

There's the adventure story of the trip itself . There's the counterintuitive image of the wind blowing through open windows as they move majestically through the sky. They have to jettison water as they struggle to rise about mountains in Russia that were supposed to have been 3,000 feet high and turned out to be 6,000 feet. The description of a ferocious storm in the Pacific that had them out of touch and stranded on the water making repairs on the Tokyo to LA leg, was apparently 'borrowed' from a different trip across the Atlantic but lent drama to the film.

Then, there's the third story - the love story between Gracie and the married Karl. Their romance was on again off again during the trip. But the pair were to be lifelong companions and traveled to cover many stories over the globe, with many adventures, including internment in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.

I saw some 'cheats' in this supposedly totally documentary film (e.g. same men reaching up to grab the ship on landing in US and Germany) and read of more online today. Nevertheless, the mood of the film was totally coherent and charming, and this is another film I would recommend.

Budrus

Budrus is a Palestinian village of 1,500 on the West Bank. The Israelis arrive to to build the security fence - well beyond the 'Green Line' marking the boundary between Israel and the Palestinian territory on the West Bank. This will result in the residents of Budrus losing land and olive groves they depend on for their livelihood.

A leader in the village inspires non-violent resistance. At first the protests involve only the men of the village, but they are soon joined by the women. As word of the protests spreads, some international sympathizers join the protesters. But the tide really turns when Israeli activists arrive to stand side by side with the Palestinians. The Israeli Border Patrol is reluctant to do anything that would result in Israelis being hurt, and many cameras documenting the action serve to keep the army's actions moderated. Frustrated youth finally break ranks and start throwing rocks at the Israeli armored vehicles. But the threat of chaos breaking out is averted and the protest continues mostly peacefully.

Ultimately, the Israelis decide to move the placement of the fence near Budrus. By the, the protests have spread to other villages where the fence has swung substantially within Palestinian territory, and the fence ultimately gets built very close to the Green Line. The Israelis state the change is not due to the protests. As the Billy Joel lyrics to She's Only a Woman go - "she never gives in, she just changes her mind."

The film was created from the film taken by many different people over the course of the protests and was supported by the work of Just Vision (click here for their web site). For those sensitive to hand-held cameras, be warned that some portions of the film are subject to considerable motion.

I would recommend Budrus to anyone who has a chance to see it. It's a heart-warming tale of how non-violence can be effective, and how supposedly antagonistic people can work together in common cause.

Hot Docs Festival

It's that time of year when I veer away from TED discussions and inject some reviews of Hot Docs films into this blog.

In the past, I've tended to have about 90% or better hit rate of films I love at Hot Docs. This year, I got the 10% cleared early!

My first film was General Orders No. 9, an elegy to the passing of the South as interstates and big cities dehumanize the old towns. I chose this film because it had won the Cinematography Award at Sundance. It did have some beautiful shots, but, in my personal opinion, not that nice! To say the film's pace was langorous would be to overstate the pace; it felt like a series of still photographs dissolving into each other, with some narration and music in the background. Despite some beautiful scenery, I couldn't recommend this movie to anyone.