Documentaries: Warriors of Qiugang, Gov. Booth Gardner, Bob Dylan, Trouble the Water - Hurricane Katrina

12/28/16 Warriors of Qiugang, nominated for Best Documentary Short, 2010

I was struck by how American this story was: villagers rallying together to fight a factory that was polluting their air, water and land; making them sick. It sounds like a story made for Erin Brockovich. The villagers of Qiugang, many who are not very educated, are trying to use Chinese law to fight the environmental damage begin caused by three chemical factories. It occasionally seems hopeless, but they get some assistance from a Chinese NGO committed to environmental causes as well as laws that are on the books. I was impressed by the faith that the villagers put in the national government, not so much the local leaders, but in the President. I would say that is not necessarily so true in the U.S. at the moment. One of the villagers in particularly takes the lead, if a little unwillingly, but once he is among other Chinese who are fighting the same fight in their villages, he comes back energized and ready to fight. The film didn't win the Oscar, but hopefully it inspired and continues to inspire other Chinese villagers and people in other situations to join together and reclaim their lands from the pollution.

1/6/17 The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner, nominated for Best Documentary Short, 2009

A person in the United States has the right to buy an armory's with of weapons, but if they want to die with dignity, it is an uphill battle. A battle that former governor of Washington, Booth Gardner, was ready, willing and mostly able to fight. Gardner, who served two terms as governor (1985-1993), and very possibly could have won a third term, was diagnosed with Parkinson's in 1994, and he decided that he wanted to decide when he would die, not the disease. As of 2016, only four states in the United States permitted legally assisted suicide; at the time of filming, only Oregon allowed it. The film shows both sides of the issue, potentially letting viewers make up their own mind, but it seemed to slant towards the death with dignity side. When the documentary starts, Governor Gardner shows some effects of the Parkinson's but he is still able to debate, discuss and orate without much difficulty, but as the weeks go on, and the rigors of a statewide campaign are taking its toll. Music by Prudence won the Oscar for the Best Documentary Short this year, and it certainly is one of my favorites, but there is something about watching a film like The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner and how it fits into one's own belief system. I do happen to believe that a person should be able to die with dignity and if there is a protocol with safeguards, I do not think it would be abused the way opponents do; opponents also try to impose their own religious beliefs, which may or may not align with someone who would like the option of assisted suicide. This is still a very contested topic, and I think that Governor Booth was a very able spokesman. Booth Gardner died in 2013.

1/6/17 Dont Look Back, 1967 National Film Registry

Disclaimer: I like Bob Dylan songs...when someone else sings them. If people were surprised or shocked at his response to winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016, which seemed like indifference, they wouldn't have been if they watched Don't Look Back, D. A. Pennebaker's documentary on Bob Dylan's English tour in 1965. When he is engaging with fans, he can be very pleasant, but when he is being interviewed by journalists, Dylan is combative and diffident. Pennebaker also films Dylan's manager, Albert Grossman, who was himself a large figure in music in the 1960s, gets into an argument with hotel staff who have been getting noise complaints; he also gets into negotiations with British television to see if Dylan goes on BBC or Granada Television. The movie opens with Dylan's "Subterranean Homesick Blues" playing and him holding the iconic cue cards with key words from the lyrics; perhaps one of the first music videos. There is no narrative for the film, just Pennebaker following Dylan and letting the action happen, including an argument with folk singer Donovan about who threw a bottle from the hotel, or a sing-along in the hotel with Donovan singing and playing the guitar, and then Dylan taking a turn. There is also live footage from some of the concerts. There is no doubt that Bob Dylan is a musical and American icon, and his songs have been part of the political and social tapestry for over fifty years, and this film gives a little insight into those early years.

1/7/17 Sun Come Up, nominated for Best Documentary Short, 2010

I have never heard of the Carteret Islands, which I learned are part of Papua New Guinea in the South Pacific. They are also very quickly going under water, due to climate change, and its inhabitants are trying to find another place to live. This film follows the islanders as some of the younger people go to Bougainville hoping that they can buy land for their families. They meet with some resistance, Bougainvilleans (sp?) seemed to look down on the 'simple' people from Carteret, who are called lazy, and it's implied they might not want to do hard work. The Carteret Islanders are simple, they don't really drink alcohol, they're not used to people waving guns (Bougainville had a ten year civil war),they use shell money, they try to raise crops, but the increasing level of sea water has made that almost impossible. Eventually they get to a village that sympathizes with their plight and understands that global warming is an aspect that must be faced. Moving thousands of people is no easy task, but some of the island leaders formulated a plan to be carried out over a period of ten years. It's heartbreaking to see these people prepare to lose the only home they have known for centuries; there is very little they can do, except share the story of their island home with the world and raise awareness to the harm of global warming.

1/7/17 Trouble the Water, nominated for Best Documentary, 2008

As I was watching Trouble the Water, one of my thoughts was that this should have won the Oscar over Man on Wire (which I will re-watch in the coming weeks). Trouble the Water made me angry, sad, frustrated, encouraged and uplifted, all due to the couple that was the focus of the movie, Kim and Scott Rivers. My other thought while watching was I would really like to meet these two, and I hope that eight years after the movie was released that they are doing well. Kim, Scott and their neighbors lived in the Ninth Ward in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina in 2005. The filmmakers, Tia Lessin and Carl Deal, follow Kim and Scott as they try to rebuild their lives, going to Alexandria, Louisiana, then to Memphis, and back to the Ninth Ward. They also include footage that Kim filmed during the storm and during their journey. Also included are absolutely agonizing 911 calls, with 911 operators telling callers that there would be no rescue attempts 'until the weather was better'. Unreal, but it happened. Kim's brother was in Orleans Parish jail for a misdemeanor during the hurricane, and we hear from him and in the extras, from a defense attorney, about the conditions in the prison: no food, no water, no guards because they left. A few times people interviewed mentioned how they felt abandoned by President Bush, Governor Kathleen Blanco, the National Guard, the military. Kim Rivers mentioned that it was like they took away their citizenship. I should also say that for as frustrated and upset as Rivers and her husband were, they were respectful and appreciative of the National Guardsman working in their neighborhoods. I really liked this film, and think that there are a lot of messages that resonate today, especially regarding race relations in this country and the treatment and marginalization of poor people in our country. There is a scene at the end of the film that shows a white woman who works for perhaps the tourism board complaining that people don't want to hear about the devastation or the flooding or anything, they just want to have a good time. She proceeds to put in a DVD that was produced that showed a shiny, happy New Orleans, meanwhile, a year later, the Ninth Ward still looked like it had been through the wars. I wanted to poke her in the eye.