Culture Watch
In this issue:
These Movies Matter;
DVD Reviews
Mountain Patrol, the efforts of a volunteer patrol to stop the poaching of the rare Tibetan antelope; Water, "rounding out the human drama ... and unforgettably touching the heart"; Mahaleo, a wonderful example of how to combine art and livelihood into social action; Sketches of Frank Gehry, the creative sketch metamorphoses into architectural existence; Scared Sacred, stories of survival, resilience and recovery; Unknown White Male, an opportunity to explore the composition of personal identity and the relationship between memory and experience; Mrs. Parker and The Vicious Circle, unsparingly honest portrait of alcoholism and ego; Pretty Poison, one of the prettiest little perversions in the world of movies
Foreign Drama: Mountain Patrol (Kekexili), Water
Documentaries Worth Watching: Mahaleo, Scared Sacred, Sketches of Frank Gehry, Unknown White Male
Classics on DVD: Pretty Poison, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
Mountain Patrol (Kekexili)
2005, China, 95 min., subtitles
Director: Lu Chuan
Recognitions
Golden Hose for Best Picture and Best Cinematography,
Taiwan, 2004; Don Quixote Award, Berlin, 2005; Hong Kong Film Award for
Best Asian Film, 2006; Special Jury Prize, Tokyo, 2004; Nominated for
Grand Jury Prize, Sundance, 2005; Political Film Society nominee for
Best Film Expose, 2006
The efforts of a volunteer patrol to stop the poaching of the rare
Tibetan antelope, or chiru, on the Kekexili plateau in north-western
Tibet. Based on a true story, the Mountain Patrol is short of men,
short of money and short of guns, and their existence at all is legally
questionable. The poachers are much better equipped and have no qualms
about killing anyone who gets in their way.
In 1993, the murder of a patroller draws Ga Yu, a young and idealistic photo-journalist from
Beijing, to investigate. He accompanies the Patrol out onto the plateau
and an adventure that is strongly reminiscent of what for us is a more
familiar counterpart: the desperados of the American West.
Why It Matters
The story’s hook is the endangered wildlife, but as the drama unfolds we see that it has as much to do with man’s inhumanity to
man as to his fellow creatures. And we are happy to report that the
story filed by Ga Yu’s real-life counterpart prompted the Chinese
government to establish the Kekexili as a nature reserve. As a result,
the chiru population is increasing.
Water
2005, Canada/India, 114 min., some subtitles (in Canada since
March, 2006 and now finally available in the US)
Director: Deepa Mehta
Recognitions
Vancouver Critics Circle Awards for Best Director and
Best Actress (Lisa Ray), 2005; Youth Jury Award and Nominated for
Golden Spike, Valladolid, 2005; Genies (Canadian Academy Awards) for
Best Actress, Cinematography and Score)
In 1938 Colonial India, against the backdrop of Mahatma Gandhi's rise
to power, eight-year-old Chuyia is married for only a few weeks before
her husband dies and her family delivers her to a run-down ashram for
Hindu widows where she will live in seclusion for the rest of her life.
But Chuyia is young, full of energy and not ready to submit.
She soon becomes fast friends with Kalyani (Lisa Ray), a beautiful young widow
who has been allowed to keep her long hair so that she can be "of
service" to the ashram’s corpulent and corrupt matriarch by allowing
the local pimp to ferry her favours across the Ganges to wealthy
Brahmins. One day, Kalyani meets Narayan (John Abraham) a handsome,
young Brahmin lawyer, who champions the progressive ideas of Gandhi.
They fall in love, but his idealism sets loose an uncontrollable chain
of consequences in reality....
Why It Matters
In the words of author Salman Rushdie: "The film has serious, challenging things to say about the crushing of women by
atrophied religious and social dogmas, but, to its great credit, it
tells its story from inside its characters, rounding out the human
drama of their lives, and unforgettably touching the heart."
Mahaleo
2005, Belgium/France/Madagascar, 102 min., subtitles, documentary
Director: Marie-Clémence Paes
The fabled island of Madagascar as seen through the lives of the
members of its most popular musical group, Mahaleo. The seven
musicians are exceptional people who have been combining music and
careers to serve their people since 1972. Their career roles as a
neurosurgeon, a sociologist, a general practitioner, a farmer, a couple
of community regional developers and a parliamentary deputy compliment
their music to inspire and support local community aspirations.
The
film celebrates this intimate relationship as the group prepares for
its 30th anniversary concert in 2002. The word mahaleo means "free, independent," and the story of these musicians, both individually and
as a group, provides a window on a wide cross-section of local culture
and history.
Why It Matters
Madagascar is one of the world's poorest nations and,
since independence in 1960, it has been in a near constant state of
political upheaval as one regime after another has betrayed its
promises and enriched itself at the expense of the people. This film is
a wonderful example of how to combine art and livelihood into social
action, with music as a centre to heart-felt living.
Sketches of Frank Gehry
2005, USA/Germany, 83 min., documentary
Director: Sydney Pollack
A wonderful documentary about world-famous Canadian architect, Frank
Gehry (Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao), by his friend, filmmaker Sydney
Pollack (Cold Mountain, The Quiet American, Out of Africa). Enjoy the
wide range of interviews with patrons and peers, and take note of
Gehry's habit of doodling. Those quick initial sketches give the film its title. Watch how some progress to three-dimensional "doodles" of
cardboard and tape — all before the lucky few find their final
incarnation in glass and titanium on the world stage.
Why It Matters
The point where the architect expresses his envy for painters, and laments his inability to achieve the same luminosity of
visual effect. "Yeah, right," says the filmmaker as he cuts to a
montage of some of his friend's buildings, reflecting sunlight,
absorbing rain and changing the atmosphere to uplift their
neighbourhood. This is your opportunity to experience the magic taking
place as the creative sketch metamorphoses into architectural
existence.
Page Two of Angela's Reviews>>