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Author Topic: DOC-ember 2010 Group Marathon  (Read 43204 times)

rambler

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Re: DOC-ember 2010 Group Marathon
« Reply #70 on: December 08, 2010, 06:59:05 PM »
Ok I just finished Mr Death The Rise and Fall of Fred A Leuchter Jr.
Code: [Select]
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=654178281151939378#
This was the only way I found to include the link without embedding the full movie

"if they go in with blinders on they see what they want to see"

Full disclosure:
My father's family fled Germany and Switzerland in the 1750's because of religious persecution (they were anabaptists).
My mother's family acknowledges no history before reaching American shores in the early 1900's, whether genetically Gypsy or Jewish or some other form of unwanted minority they left because they felt they had to, and my Grandfather's uncle used 7 different passports to smuggle Jews out of Austria.
My personal standards of conscientious objection, political neutrality, and belief that honoring national symbols is an unacceptable form of idolatry are shared with a group targeted by the Nazi's.

So I am no where near an unbiased audience on the subjects of ethnic and religious persecution.

I am particularly opinionated when it comes to the shear banality of of human evil, and this film is full of it. Morris captures the essence of the bland everyday man who trudges through existence without regard for what he involves himself in. A man who's own words reveal no guiding principles other than a determination to be effective and a willingness to be bought.
As a commentator says Leuchter just wanted "to be someone". He wanted his opinion to count in something important. Then once he's picked his course he's in it with his whole mind and no room for doubt. He's like many young boys who were lead down a path beyond their comprehension because they wanted a brown shirt and a slogan.

"the first Holocaust deniers where the Nazis because they refused to admit to themselves what they were doing"


Enough about the subject and on to the structure.
So much of this reminded me of "The Fog of War" (far and away my choice for best Doc). The controversial subject, the reliance on that subject as narrator with just a hint of an off camera question when it absolutely belongs, and the arc of how an average man gets involved into matters of worldwide importance.

I believe he makes entirely the right choices when it comes to just how long to follow Leuchter's narrative before subverting it with outside material, and really it is the balance of what gets said and when that consistently makes Morris so impressive.
"It's Subjective": an experiment in why we like what we like
http://www.filmspotting.net/forum/index.php?topic=9585.msg558331#msg558331

smirnoff

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Re: DOC-ember 2010 Group Marathon
« Reply #71 on: December 08, 2010, 08:00:02 PM »
Project Grizzly
(Peter Lynch, 1996)



Meet Troy Hurtubise. He once stood face to face with a grizzly bear, and lived to tell the tale. Now, for whatever reason, he is obsessed with building a suit of armor that could withstand a grizzly bear attack. This documentary follows him in his quest to put his armor to the test against a real live bear.

You know who Troy Hurtubise reminds me of? Uncle Rico from Napoleon Dynamite. Like, exactly. A blowhard who fancies himself a stud. He's got the fancy side-burns, the bright red military berret, the tassled cow-hide jacket... meanwhile everyone around him just wears overalls and flannel shirts. He tells these stories of derring-do with a nonchalant arrogance that just makes you roll your eyes. He's a nice enough guy, but you can tell he's pretty impressed with himself. I know people like him in real life, and they drive me crazy, do I really need a documentary?

Anyways, if Troy doesn't strike you as kind of a sad guy than his suit will. It's basically a failure. It weighs 185 pounds and he can barely move around in it. They take him out into the woods in the hopes of having him walk into a grizzlies territory, prevoking an attack but he can't get more than two steps before falling over because of uneven terrain. And that's it, we never see the suit tested. What I kept wondering throughout was what the hell is the point of this thing? *shrugs* I guess sometimes it's just about whether or not you can.

I wouldn't recommend this, even though it is somewhat thought-provoking.
« Last Edit: December 08, 2010, 08:01:34 PM by smirnoff »

Bondo

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Re: DOC-ember 2010 Group Marathon
« Reply #72 on: December 08, 2010, 10:39:41 PM »
@Smirnoff:

Yeah, basically I'd say Restrepo is along the lines of stuff you've seen, but a fairly decent version of it.

Anyway, I'll get the first post updated sometime tomorrow...I'm spent tonight.

Beavermoose

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Re: DOC-ember 2010 Group Marathon
« Reply #73 on: December 09, 2010, 08:46:01 AM »
Crumb
The crazy thing here is that Robert Crumb himself isn't even the most interesting character in this film. His opinion on women and sex and everything can be seen in any of his comics or drawings, and so the doc isn't really telling us all that much. I found his two brothers however to be very fascinating, both of them, also great artists in their own right yet completely socially inept. Their tragic lives are of great interest and Crumb's laid back attitude towards them (as well as almost everything) is a somewhat depressing one.

pixote

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Re: DOC-ember 2010 Group Marathon
« Reply #74 on: December 09, 2010, 11:18:27 AM »
The crazy thing here is that Robert Crumb himself isn't even the most interesting character in this film.

Nice! That's always the first comment I make about Crumb, too.

pixote
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zarodinu

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Re: DOC-ember 2010 Group Marathon
« Reply #75 on: December 09, 2010, 01:10:16 PM »
Project Grizzly

Anyways, if Troy doesn't strike you as kind of a sad guy than his suit will. It's basically a failure. It weighs 185 pounds and he can barely move around in it. They take him out into the woods in the hopes of having him walk into a grizzlies territory, prevoking an attack but he can't get more than two steps before falling over because of uneven terrain. And that's it, we never see the suit tested. What I kept wondering throughout was what the hell is the point of this thing? *shrugs* I guess sometimes it's just about whether or not you can.

I wouldn't recommend this, even though it is somewhat thought-provoking.
My interest in this movie went from 10 to 0 the second I found out he doesn't actually get mauled by a bear.  Its like snakes on a plane without the snake, why bother? 
I’ve lied to men who wear belts. I’ve lied to men who wear suspenders. But I’d never be so stupid as to lie to a man who wears both a belt and suspenders.

Bondo

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Re: DOC-ember 2010 Group Marathon
« Reply #76 on: December 10, 2010, 06:48:11 PM »
Deliver Us From Evil

This documentary makes one ask many questions, one of the foremost being, "Why are they interviewing O'Grady about his abuses in a public park?"

That bit of filmic oddity aside, if I had to compare this documentary to another, it would be Dear Zachary. Like that doc, this captures extremely raw emotions. This film however does have a bit more remove than Dear Zachary in that the filmmaker gives no indication of having a personal stake in the story it tells.

One thing I'm not entirely sure about is the split focus of this film. It focuses a lot on this one priest, O'Grady, and then kind of hits upon the greater problem and cover-up from the Church, mostly related to him. It is certainly horrible to hear the specifics of O'Grady's abuse, and the film does make a pointed effort to squelch any sympathy for him. But O'Grady may not be the big monster here. He is a clearly disturbed individual (and the reason for that is his actions and inability to control them more than his taboo sexual desires, there is a difference between pedophiles and child abusers just as there is a difference between men who date and date rapists) and perhaps that takes away from how responsible you can hold him. The enablers have always seemed the real monsters. And yes, this doc does cover that aspect, but it seems secondary, and that seems a bit flipped.

I guess this is always going to be an issue with documentaries...the tension between global perspective or a representative sampling of it, and the focus on one case to provide a more detailed examination. Frankly, it's the same conversation we'd have in graduate school about qualitative case studies versus quantitative examinations at a broader level. I tended toward the latter so maybe it isn't a surprise that I tend toward docs that also attempt the global, when it is relevant. This doc was certainly of a strong quality in many ways, but it does seem to have its cake and eat it too in trying to bring the emotional, personal story and the bigger picture. I feel like it needed to do the latter better or not even try. That is why I'd still consider something like Dear Zachary, that never really tries to be more than a small story, a better documentary.

smirnoff

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Re: DOC-ember 2010 Group Marathon
« Reply #77 on: December 10, 2010, 07:33:08 PM »
Stranded: I've Come from a Plane That Crashed on the Mountains
(Gonzalo Arijon, 2007)



Most of us are probably already familiar with this story thanks to 1993's Alive, so what does this documentary offer that the dramatization didn't? Well for one thing, first hand accounts. The film cuts together interviews held with all 16 survivors of 1972 Andes plane crash. The interviews start out rather dry, basically just laying down events, the basic details... but eventually the men start to open up a bit and we get real insights into the experience. It's a harrowing tale, and you feel their hopelessness, and later, happiness... it was enough to move me to tears. But even so, on the whole I would call the doc average. About 30 minutes too long, and my interest wavered throughout. Worthwhile, but not exceptional.


Corndog

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Re: DOC-ember 2010 Group Marathon
« Reply #78 on: December 10, 2010, 07:37:47 PM »
Now that I am home in Columbus, with no work or school, I may start getting down to this tonight. Will definitely start with Hoop Dreams and movw on to whatever else is available on Netflix instant.
"Time is the speed at which the past decays."

Bondo

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Re: DOC-ember 2010 Group Marathon
« Reply #79 on: December 10, 2010, 08:09:54 PM »
Yay, more doc reviews. :)

Smirnoff, Stranded is on my list to watch too so I'll perhaps engage a bit with your review once I watch it.