You can never have too many documentaries: The Wolfpack, Malala, The Square and Amy

If I had my way, I would watch four or five documentaries, then something 'silly' or fun, and then more documentaries. Rinse and repeat. And that's kind of what I did over the past week or so. Three of them have been shortlisted for the Best Documentary Oscar of 2015, so I feel prepared in that category. Even documentaries that I don't really like so much, many times it's the way the narrative is told, not always the subject. I would say that's the case here for the first two films. For other films, I want more; I don't care if that means it's three hours, I want more, more, more. That was definitely the case for He Named Me Malala.  


12/9/15 The Wolfpack, 2015

The Wolfpack tells the story of seven children (the focus is on the six brothers) who were kept locked in the New York City apartment because their father is paranoid and controlling. The kids aren't 'abused' in the familiar sense of the word, but we learn that they are resentful of their father's actions and his control. We only meet the family because one of the brothers, Mukunda, sneaks out of the apartment to explore and on one of his trips he meets director Crystal Moselle. The director and Mukunda bond over their love of films. The boys are allowed to watch movies and they have adapted some so they can re-enact them and film them; it's very creative - they transcribe the script, come up with sound effects and costumes and make up. We see their version of Reservoir Dogs. When I first heard of this story, I was intrigued and fascinated, but seeing it on film, something was missing. The boys have very long hair for most of the movie and look very similar, but we don't get any subtitles to remind us who is who; it was very annoying. There is a brief interview with their father, but it's hard to tell if he's sober or drunk (apparently he drinks quite a lot and quite regularly) and I couldn't really follow what he was saying. There are also some moments with the kids' mother, and you get a sense of sadness since she has been cutoff from her family for over twenty years. The boys are very protective of her, especially when their dad loses his temper. It's an interesting story but didn't quite satisfy me.

12/17/15 Amy, not yet nominated, 2015

I wasn't a huge Amy Winehouse fan, although I did find "Rehab" infectious and bouncy, and I was a little sad when she died but quite frankly, any idiot could have seen that coming. The movie, including voice overs from her friends, manager and bodyguards, gives the impression that Amy loved to write songs and sing, but did not necessarily enjoy the other requisite stuff, like interviews and maybe not even recording. She succumbed to the attraction of drugs and alcohol, doing severe damage to her body along the way. Her father is not portrayed in the best light, in fact, you definitely get the idea he was riding the gravy train and may have coerced her into the last tour, which seemed doomed from the start. I don't know the facts, I'm not sure anyone does, but that is how it comes across on screen. One of the most heartbreaking moments was when Amy recorded a duet with Tony Bennett. She seemed so star-struck, to be singing with one of her idols; in fact, she kind of tries to walk away because she doesn't feel like she's singing well. Tony Bennett was so gracious and kind, trying to calm her down. If you're a fan, you might get more out of Amy than I did, but I found it very tabloid-y and focused on the negative, but just reading a bit on Wikipedia it seems like there was a lot more to her, she was very generous and did it without a lot of fanfare. It's a good, but not great documentary.

12/18/15 Best of Enemies, not yet  nominated, 2015

Political wonks and television news historians may really enjoy this documentary about the debates between Gore Vidal and William F. Buckley, Jr., held on ABC during the 1968 nominating conventions. One of the things that made these debates (between Vidal and Buckley, not the candidates) so popular or infamous, depending on your perspective, was that these two men loathed each other, they threw out caustic insults using the English language like doctor uses a scalpel. The movie generously uses footage from the debates and other contemporary interviews and tv shows. It's important to keep in mind that this is in the decades before social media, twenty-four hour news cycle and cable news channels. Both men were erudite, well-spoken and passionate about their point of view; they were also annoying. They were entertaining to watch for a short period of time, but I don't think I could listen or watch them for a long period of time. However, from an historical perspective, I found the men and their debates very interesting. I don't know if the film appeals to most movie goers (or will get more viewers if it gets nominated for the Oscar).

12/19/15 He Named Me Malala, not yet nominated 2015

I don't buy movies, mainly because I usually can't watch the same movie more than once.  He Named Me Malala could be the exception. I can, and probably will, watch this more than once, and it may be the movie that I tell my friends they MUST watch. He Named Me Malala follows Malala Yousafzai as she travels around the world, speaking and inspiring world leaders and children, but also as she goes to school and struggles with her homework and teases her brothers. Davis Guggenheim does a wonderful job of showing a side of Malala that we haven't seen in the news, and it made me admire and like this young girl even more. Guggenheim also focuses on the father-daughter relationship, how they rely on each other. Malala seemingly bears no resentment or hate towards the men who shot her and her school friends; she seems at peace with what happened, and like a superhero, was made even stronger by the events. The story adds animation to tell of life in Pakistan before the Taliban moved into the Swat Valley; when Malala's father was a young boy, and when her mother went to school, but left to be with her friends. Many thoughts went through my head watching this, but one that persisted was that Malala and her family are essentially refugees living in England, and would they be allowed in the US under similar circumstances or would people be afraid they were terrorists? I think everyone should watch this movie, if you have children, watch it with them and talk about it. Malala's speech at the end to the children ambassadors (from UNICEF?) will make you pump your fist and maybe restore faith in humanity, if only for a little while.

12/19/15 The Square, nominated for Best Documentary, 2013 

The Square is a documentary about the Egyptian Revolution which started in 2011 and turned into the Egyptian Crisis. The Revolution was successful in uniting different groups of people, Muslims hoping for a new future,  the Muslim Brotherhood (known for being more radical), Christians, young and old Egyptians to overthrow Hosni Mubarek who essentially 'reigned' over Egypt for thirty years. Unfortunately, the revolution didn't end there, because promises that were made were not kept. The movie shows us the revolution from the perspective of Ahmed Hassan who is determined that the movement not turn into a strictly religious affair, with the Brotherhood imposing their will on the country; he calls Muslims and Christians brothers in this fight to bring democracy to Egypt. Khalid Abdalla was born in Scotland to Egyptian parents who fled Egypt but were anti-regime activists; Khalid returns to Egypt to join the protests in Tahrir Square. Magdy Ashour is a member of the Muslim Brotherhood and joins the protests with Ahmed and his friends, and they have discussions about the reputation of the Brotherhood for forcing its beliefs on others; Magdy dismisses the criticism, indicating that he does not believe that, but some good can come from the Brotherhood. To me, he seems the most conflicted, not supporting the strong arm tactics of the Brotherhood, but believing that Morsi deserves a chance. Magdy was also imprisoned under the Mubarek and fears going back to prison. We see some of the revolutionaries getting beaten by the army, and run over by tanks, but they don't back down. What struck me, especially in this climate of fear and xenophobia and Islamaphobia, was that there was very little talk by most of the people we see on screen of imposing Islam on everyone; in fact Ahmed gets in many heated discussions about who is to tell whom about the right way to be a Muslim and that Egypt is for everyone, he embraces his Christian neighbors. I wish more people would see what these activists went through to try and make their lives better. Twenty Feet From Stardom won the Oscar this year for the Best Documentary, and while I loved that movie and found it uplifting, I have to wonder about the choice, because I think in terms of long-term importance, The Square is more valuable. That also may be the convenience of hindsight; nobody in 2014 could have really thought our country would have devolved to such a low level of discourse and a high level of racism. It took a long time for this movie to be released on DVD, but now that it's out, I strongly encourage you to watch this documentary. You may be surprised.