Insanity in the Warsaw Ghetto, Hollywood, Our Schools, the Streets of Brazil, and the Military

Now that the summer movie mishegoss is behind us, a lot of interesting new documentaries are getting theatrical releases. (There’s a mad push by distributors to get them in the theatres in time to qualify for the 2010 Oscar nominations.)

During the past few weeks I’ve managed to see five of these films. I can say that I recommend all of them, even though I remain skeptical about one so-called documentary. Here they are (in alphabetical order):

A Film Unfinished. This is a must-see for anyone interested in the Holocaust, Jews, or Nazi propaganda (Ding! Ding! Ding! This film had my name on it!). I’m sure many of you have seen some of the poignant film clips that were shot in the Warsaw Ghetto in 1942, just a few months before the ghetto was liquidated and all its inhabitants sent to the death camps. It was always known that this footage was shot by Nazi film crews for a film that was never completed. Half a century after accepting this footage as a purely factual record, a missing reel of the film was found that revealed Nazis forcing Jewish residents to do additional takes of certain scenes and other signs of coerced participation. It became clear that many of the scenes were staged by the Nazi propaganda machine in an effort to promote certain “facts” about the Jews living in the ghetto. Most of the coercion involved scenes of “happy Jews” attending concerts, dinners, and other normal events. Filmmaker Yael Hersonski weaves a fascinating film out of the original footage, the missing reel, and filmed commentary by survivors of the ghetto as they respond to the raw footage. Some of the survivors remember the Nazi film crews and recount how they were forced to participate in the folly of showing Jews living “the good life” inside the ghetto, which at its height, housed over 400,000 people in insanely cramped quarters. The goal of the Nazis was obviously to juxtapose scenes of the wealthier Jews enjoying themselves and cruelly indifferent to the plight of their brethren starving on the street. The actual footage of the suffering masses, including many agonizing scenes of children begging for food or too sick to even care anymore, was also intended to paint the ghetto inhabitants as vermin living an inhuman existence. Most of the Nazis’ footage did not need to be faked. So many people died every day of starvation and typhus that rotting corpses in the street were a common sight and the living residents had no choice but to walk past these bodies every day. One survivor viewing the footage broke down in tears even though she remembered walking by the actual corpses with little emotion. “I can cry now that I’m human again,” she explained. Gazing at the faces of the many children in the footage, I couldn't help but think of Leah and Charlie and how a slight time and geographic change would have landed all of us in this hellish existence. Today most of the focus on the Warsaw Ghetto is on the uprising by a small, brave band of armed residents who managed to miraculously stave off the Nazis for a while but were eventually captured and killed. That’s a piece of the history that should be celebrated but this film reveals a much broader reality that should not be forgotten.

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I’m Still Here. I was so curious about the “truth” behind actor Joaquin Phoenix’s bizarre behavior after he supposedly retired from acting two years ago, that I rushed to see this long-awaited documentary on its opening day. After seeing the film, I’d say the jury is still out on whether Phoenix is a total whack job who was ill-suited for the bullshit surrounding Hollywood celebrity or if he has pulled off an Andy Kaufmann-like hoax on the gullible public by creating a false persona for the purpose of this film (which was directed by his brother-in-law Casey Affleck). Maybe a little bit of both? In any event, while I was fascinated watching this very talented actor implode his career (starting with his now infamous appearance on David Letterman), I was wincingly uncomfortable during much of the film which included colorful close-ups of Phoenix vomiting, snorting cocaine, grabbing naked prostitutes, and one horrific scene in which of one of Joaquin’s assistants defecates on the actor’s face. (I defy anyone to watch this scene without turning their head away.) Some reviewers are saying that the filmmakers all but admitted that the documentary is a hoax in the closing credits since some of the roles (including the non-speaking part of Phoenix’s dad) are played by actors. My feelings is that it’s a bit more complicated than that. I just read that Phoenix is making a return appearance on Letterman’s show later this month and I hope that we see a clean-shaven and slightly more “normal” Joaquin this time around. Whether he ever admits that the film is a put-on, he definitely achieved the goal of conveying a major “fuck you!” to Hollywood, and that could be seen as a worthy goal. I also heard he’s attached to a few upcoming films so that lends credence to the hoax theory. But about his much derided hip hop career, am I in need of medication if I admit that I didn’t think some of his songs were that bad? I actually appreciated some of his lyrics even though he seemed to be in full lunatic mode during his horribly received nightclub performances. Another thing that made me believe that the film was indeed an elaborate hoax is that there’s not the slightest mention of his late brother, River Phoenix. I’m guessing that Joaquin declared River’s memory completely off-limits to these crazy shenanigans. (Update/Spoiler 9/17: Affleck finally admitted that the documentary was fake! Gotta hand it to Joaquin for his commitment to that crazy persona. I still wonder if it wasn't a little bit of the real him. Now let's see if Phoenix can resurrect his other acting career...)

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The Race to Nowhere. From the ridiculous to the sublime, this important documentary by Vicki Abeles shows the intense pressures that many adolescents face today with their mountains of homework, test-centered school culture, full slate of extracurricular activities, and desperate expectations about getting into the “best” schools rather than the ones that are the best fit. Abeles started working on the documentary when her own children began to crack under the weight of the daily grind that included absolutely no time for unstructured play or the relatively carefree childhoods our generation enjoyed. A bunch of teachers, students, and others are interviewed in the film to bring home the point that something has to be done about the non-child-centered focus that is hurting so many children throughout this country. One of the saddest interviews was with a clearly devoted, passionate teacher working with low-income kids in Oakland who finally felt forced to resign from her job after getting so much pressure to stop doing all of the stuff she did that worked with the kids in favor of the soul-killing practices that were geared towards higher test scores at the cost of creating lifelong learners or effective problem solvers. Much of the work that I do is aligned with the tenets of this film so I was hardly an objective viewer but it’s impossible not to be moved by the stories of some of these kids including the lovely, talented 15-year-old girl who committed suicide over a bad math grade. This film is part of a broader movement to reject the craziness that is being mandated from above. The film's excellent website includes many resources and ideas for combating the system. One person interviewed is spearheading the “no homework” movement and makes a strong case for eliminating homework. Thank God Leah’s homework isn’t as insane as the six plus hours that many of the kids in the film have to do each night, but I’m very interested in the move to abolish homework completely. And by the way, when several AP teachers in the film cut their homework load in half, do you know what happened? Their students’ test scores went way UP. See this film…and help stop the insanity!

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Sequestro. I saw this Brazilian documentary late Saturday night just after seeing “The Race to Nowhere.” Nothing like a carefree night at the movies, huh? This film chronicles the activities of an anti-kidnapping squad in Sao Paulo, Brazil, We learn how (and why) the kidnapping rates in Brazil have skyrocketed in recent years and we travel with the courageous men and women who work with the victims’ terrified families and track down these thugs who are out for a fast buck. Filmed over a four-year period, we get to know some of these families whose loved ones have been grabbed and ferreted away and we sit in on the agonizing phone calls from the kidnappers as they make their demands and engage in psychological torture. We also hear from people who went through such kidnappings as they describe their horrific ordeals and what it was like to be reunited with their families. While we see some tragic conclusions to these family dramas, we also get to witness some heartwarming reunions that are impossible to watch without bawling along with the family members. It’s very rewarding to see some of the ruthless, cowardly kidnappers dragged off by the police. The victims whose stories we follow range from a six-year-old girl to an 82-year-old man on heart medication. I’m sure Brazil is an amazing, beautiful country but I must say that all that we hear of the rampant crime that goes on in some parts of the country makes me reluctant to ever travel there. On the other hand, many of the people profiled in this film are so genuine and warm it makes me want to pack my bags for Sao Paulo immediately. Frankly, I’m surprised that this kind of kidnapping epidemic isn’t more prevalent in this country. I hope this excellent documentary doesn’t give anyone any ideas.

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The Tillman Story. This superb documentary will infuriate you. It’s about former NFL star Pat Tillman who gave up a multi-million dollar football contract to enlist in the elite Army Rangers and go fight in Afghanistan. When he was killed there in 2004, the army created a story about Tillman’s heroism confronting enemy soldiers in the hills of that country. His funeral was used as a patriotic propaganda event to drum up new recruits in his memory. But there was a hitch. The story of Tillman’s death was pure fiction. In reality, he was the victim of “friendly fire,” shot by his own troops in the chaos of the miserable war. The military knew the details of his death from Day 1 but decided to lie to the Tillman family to serve their own needs and to shut up the other men that were there the day that Pat was killed. When Tillman’s tireless mother worked to uncover the truth, she was continually let down by the highest echelons of the military establishment and even the U.S. Congress. Pat Tillman was turned into a God-loving saintly American hero even though he was way more complicated than that and his family wasn’t going to quietly stand by and participate in the lies. The sad irony is that from all accounts Pat Tillman WAS a truly amazing, unique, incredible guy—and far more interesting than the cardboard cut-out our military propagandists tried to turn him into. I hope everyone goes to see this film. The Tillmans finally hit a dead end in their search to find out what really happened to their son, but their refusal to sink quietly into their grief over the loss of their beloved son, brother, and husband (as the army hoped they would do) makes them a truly remarkable family.

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As you can see, I love the documentary form, even though I have no illusions that such films can ever be completely unbiased or objective. I don’t mind filmmakers messing with the form (and I’m a big fan of outright “mockumentaries” such as “Waiting for Guffman” and “This Is Spinal Tap”) but the questionable premise of Joaquin Phoenix’s “I’m Still Here” makes me very uncomfortable. Which, I'm guessing, was largely the point.

Comments

[Sarah]

Thanks so much for the reviews! I'm very interested to see all of them... once Ben's separation anxiety finally disappears. Oy.

[Julie R.]

These movies sound very interesting (although I think I would find the Joaquin Phoenix movie annoying). Of the five, do you have a favorite?

[Margie]

Compare The Race To Nowhere to Waiting for Superman--the latter has started a chain email campaign that if you commit to watch it they'll send you a $5 donation to the classroom of your choice. The same people who support charters paying kids for doing their work -- cause that's the only way they get anything out of doing it.

[susie specter]

The Race to Nowhere interests me the most of all, i trust it will play at our fine indie cinema house called The Pickford.I must tell you that Gene Siskel would be impressed w/ your film critiques!

[churlita]

Thank you so much for your reviews. I love documentaries, but some of them can be so heavy handed, self-indulgent or just bad. it's nice to have something to go on when I start looking for a good one.

[Danny]

Julie, not sure how to pick a favorite since they're apples and oranges but it certainly wouldn't be the Joaquin Phoenix debacle. I have a gut feeling that "The Tillman Story" will win the Oscar next year (which would be fine by me) but I really hope that "The Race to Nowhere" and "A Film Unfinished" get nominated.

[Rachel]

If you love documentaries I hope you will try and see "The Red Chapel." (That is, if you haven't already)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=td9nmG5ssUc

[Gordon]

Dear Danny,
Phoenix has to be either drugged, insane, or both. What a waste of a monumental talent.
Thanks,
Gordon

[david]

OK, they're all on my list.

[Kirk]

In the beginning, movies were nothing but documentaries, in the sense that they documented real life. Then fiction took over. Nice to see that non-fiction still has a place in the scheme of things.

[Anne]

As a high school math teacher, I was particularly struck by your review of the "Race to Nowhere". I'd love to see it, but doubt that it will make it to Pittsburgh. On an unrelated note, Danny, you might want to take a look at this video in a story on npr: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=129935115

There is a new exhibit on the evolution of the kitchen. The video is a trip.

[Julie R.]

Danny, I'm sure you've heard by now that Joaquin Phoenix's persona was all a put-on. I wonder if that admission is going to drive people to or away from the movie.

[orieyenta]

We're seeing "100 Voices, A Journey Home" tonight. It's a one night only thing here but they are playing it longer in NY and LA in hopes of getting nominated. There's been a lot of talk about it around here so I am hopeful!

[buy deca durabolin]

Ah! finalmente ho trovato quello che cercavo. A volte ci vuole tanta fatica a trovare anche una minima parte di informazioni utili.

[Pattaya Girls]

never seen these titles on any torrent sites, anyone have a suggestion on where to find them ?