Bobby Fischer Against the World (2011)

Chess legend Bobby Fischer's rise to the game's crest is tragically undergirded by his own unaddressed mental illness. This documentary juxtaposes Fischer's fame with his perceived antagonism by his handlers, the chess establishment, and ultimately by his own country.

IMDB

An Unreasonable Man (2006)

Ralph Nader's independent presidential runs in 2000 and 2004 are regarded by many as having given George W. Bush the elections in both those years because he drew Democrat votes away from the Gore, then Kerry.

This documentary handily lays out the controversies that surround Nader's unwillingness to compromise and support those he shares some values with.

IMDB

Deep Water (2006)

Deep Water is such a compassionate account of a cornered man who disgraces himself. This documentary follows a competitor in a solo yacht circumnavigation of the globe back in 1968. It is a gripping story told with passion and balance. Highly recommended.

IMDB

The Christians (1977)

 One of my recent interests has been church history. A long standing passion of mine is Christian theology, which is illuminated by church history. Documentarian Bamber Gascoigne produced this 13-part made-for-TV series on the history of Christians. Stylistically, it is marked by the era in which it is made (the 1970s), but the era also impacts the approach that Gascoigne takes in presenting the Christians. In recent decades we have seen the emergence of a rather vocal Christian right in the United States, a steep decline in the practice of Christianity in Europe, and the renewed popularity of atheism and interest in other world religions. This has led to Christianity being looked down upon by the popular culture (I just heard a man singing on the radio about how Christianity makes no sense to him, so he's picking hell - yes, it is ironic). When Gascoigne makes this 11 hour documentary, Christianity is still has a strong western presence and it is treated with respect.

The series begins in first century Jerusalem and follows the gradual geographic, cultural, political, and theological iterations over the next 20 centuries. Mr. Gascoigne narrates throughout and does a remarkable job presenting each major change in Christian culture by highlighting both the remnant architectural and artistic features from each era and the denominational representations from those changes (ie. the Amish are portrayed when speaking about Anabaptist history or Guatemalan Catholics are portrayed to show the colonial missions in Central and South America).

Because of its length, the series ensures that adequate depth is allocated since the breadth of the story is so great.

I highly rate this intricate telling of Christians' story. I would gladly watch the series several more times.

More Info

Blaise Pascal (1972)

As my son is named after this theologian/philosopher/scientist, a work buddy lent me this made for TV bio-pic, now a part of the Criterion Collection. The production is both elaborate in its sets and costumes, and yet quite simple in its script. The film essentially follows Blaise Pascal from his late teens through to his death giving him opportunity to speak some of his writings out loud and with props. There is little story or character development. In fact the setting draws the viewer in most as we are exposed to Catholic politics, scientific rivalries, provincial taxation, and superstitions.

The movie is slow, but full of Pascal's genius, so it's well worth the 2+ hours of view time.

IMDB

J. Edgar (2011)

I saw this movie because Clint Eastwood directed and Leonardo DiCaprio starred, not so much because I have a fascination with J. Edgar Hoover. Apparently, critics have disliked the movie for all that it left out of this iconic and powerful figure of the 20th century. My hunch was that the film makers didn't want to overshadow the story of the man with details of the FBI - I was right.

J. Edgar traces a couple strands of the first and long lasting FBI director's life. His relationships with his mother and two very close secretaries combined with his determination to both keep the FBI funded and in his complete control. There are plenty of references to some of the defining events in his career (Lindberg kidnapping, Dr. King, and the communist pogroms), but the focus of the film is his obsessions, indiscretions and desire for defining his own legacy.

An intricate and detailed film with a steady pace and tremendous acting.

Official Site | IMDB

TRON: Legacy (2010)

Oh Tron. So unbelievable, but oh, so luminescent. Disney cashes in on 3D, Jeff Bridges popularity, and a cult classic by releasing this souped up version of a movie based on an arcade game.

Kevin Flynn's son enters the videogame a couple decades after his father disappeared only to find that the dominant microchip force is bad and is looking for a way out of the videogame world and into the real world where they can take over! Yikes!

Not a great film. Probably fun to watch on the big screen with glasses.

Official Site | IMDB

The Seventh Continent (1989)

Yet another bleak contemplation on violence, hopelessness, and the inexplicable nature of what causes people to give up and how it must be linked to our increasingly secluded society from Michael Haneke.

The Seventh Continent - literally Australia, but symbolically it is death - follows the unceremonious daily routine of a family of three, then it shows their deliberate march into oblivion.

Not a picker upper. About as haunting as they come.

IMDB

The Unforeseen (2007)

This film focuses on the conflict between development projects and the protection of a water table in Austin Texas. The Edwards Aquifer becomes under threat when huge suburban subdivisions are planned. Civic minded residents and aquifer appreciators go into battle on behalf of the land and water and wildlife.

I picked this documentary up because Terrence Malick (The Thin Red Line, The Tree of Life) was listed as a producer. I'm guessing Malick's involvement is based on the overt environmental message.

Official Site | IMDB

The Marc Pease Experience (2009)

You know, I've warmed up to this movie since I saw it last spring. The story is pretty ridiculous: a mid-twenties man tries to build on his high school dream of having an a cappella group record an album despite his abysmal failure in his high school musical (The Wiz as Tin Man - a role I had in high school!!). But the point that students are told how amazing they are and how much potential they have and that they can achieve their dreams when they are in high school, yet they are told something very different when they hit the real world is cleverly explored in this quirky flick.

You just probably won't enjoy it much...

IMDB

Unmistaken Child (2008)

When a lama dies in central Asia, one of his disciples seeks out his reincarnated image in this fascinating documentary.

The film outlines the process of selecting a successor to a Buddhist spiritual leader and demonstrates the care and faith required to do so. The disciple becomes convinced that a toddler in a mountain village clearly demonstrates his master's qualities and presents him as the heir to this spiritual power. The child is presented with several objects, some belonging to the deceased lama, and if he can pick the right ones, he is clearly the new lama.

There are some rather heart breaking scenes - and perhaps they would be euphoric to a Buddhist.

IMDB

Easy Virtue (2008)

This is another variation on a popular British theme, that of reserved stiff upper lip vs carefree libertine. While much of the acting is very, very good, the lead female - American Jessica Biel - is about as wooden as you can get which is disappointing as she is supposed to be the contrast to the stiff Brits.

The only son of a British gentry family brings home a wildly independent American woman who unsettles the status quo, despite noble efforts to fit in.

The sharp, witty dialogue truly saves the film.

Official Site | IMDB

The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005)

While Daniel Day Lewis is a great actor (as are many of the characters in Ballad), he can't redeem a film that is just a bit too preachy and over the top. He plays a rich hippy on an abandoned commune who tries to revitalize it before he dies so his daughter will have a place to continue living. He has to fight an encroaching developer and keep everything together though. It's a moral tale about living close to the land and the important things in life.

IMDB

Être et Avoir (2002)

This little French documentary is a lovely étude on patience, love, and the rewards they bring.

Teaching a one-room schoolhouse in a tiny farming village in France, M. Lopez treats his students with tenderness even though they aren't really academic by nature. He deals with student apathy, schoolyard skirmishes, and concerned parents. His students reveal how much he means to them when they learn he will be retiring in a couple years.

If you catch this movie, you won't soon forget some of the touching stories of the boy whose father is undergoing a laryngectomy or Jojo, the kindergartener who really doesn't want to be there. As a teacher, I can certainly relate to the title (which are two verbs that are often helping verb) To Be and To Have; teaching is an identity and it offers intrinsic rewards.

IMDB

Amarcord (1973)

Federico Fellini is one of those filmmakers that I am not allowed to avoid as an enthusiast, and while I can certainly appreciate his otherworldly genre and his profound effect on cinema, his films can be rather tedious to watch.

Amarcord - one of his best known films - portrays a small Italian town as fascism and World War II pass by. The town is steeped in legend and crawling with wild-eyed characters, not the least of whom is Volpina the prostitute who swaggers in and out of scenes in her red dress. The town is the protagonist and a narrator shares tales with the viewer.

I enjoyed the film for its historical portrayal of Italy and the moments of comedy. Felllini's assertion that Italy's innocence and character remained despite Mussolini and having foreign military forces on their soil is clearly the message. I did not find myself overly drawn into the characters however and the music, as immortalized as it is, was awfully repetitive.

IMDB

RKO 281 (1999)

Liev Schreiber plays a great Orson Welles in this true story about the making of Citizen Kane.

When William Randolph Hearst ran the newspapers in the United States, there were few people that would dare question, let alone insult him. Orson Welles, with his writer friend Herman J. Mankiewicz, decide to make a film loosely depicting Hearst's life, but they have to do so secretly in order to avoid persecution from Hearst's empire. RKO 281 is the code name for what becomes Citizen Kane.

The film tells the story well and not without a little bittersweetness at the end.

IMDB

The Strangest Dream (2008)

I watched this documentary at the Marda Loop Justice Film Festival in Calgary.

Joseph Rotblat is the only scientist to question the morality of his role in the Manhattan Project and leave the research site during the development of the atomic bomb. Shortly after the bombs were dropped on Japan and the arms race began, Rotblat begins to organize a peace organization with other scientists to promote nuclear disarmament around the world. It begins with a conference in Pugwash, Nova Scotia and spreads around the world with Pugwash chapters almost everywhere a notable physicist is present.

While the nuclear threats of the Cold War are over, weapons are still present, wanted and being developed. The Pugwash Conference still plays an important role in educating the public, influencing governments, and promoting peace.

Official Site

Frost/Nixon (2008)

A more personal Nixon is revealed in this drama based on the historical interviews conducted by David Frost.

Ron Howard directs behind the scenes stories as both Frost and Nixon vie for popularity. The only way they will win the hearts of Americans is if the other capitulates during the taping of the interviews - Frost wins if Nixon confesses and Nixon wins if he can keep Frost from asking the right questions.

The acting in the film is superb, Frank Langella's Nixon especially. We get a dramatized version of the icon that still represents corruption and self-interest on the grandest scale. The film is stylistically done to keep the flavour of the era strong.

Official Site | IMDB

W. (2008)

Oliver Stone follows up depictions of JFK and Nixon with this two termer and his pappy. George W. Bush gets a fair treatment on the big screen.

We cover a period of 40 years spanning W.'s university, marriage, career and presidency. The two greatest impacts on his personal life (which then spilled into his professional life) are his father's approval and his faith. 

The acting in the film is superb, especially Josh Brolin's title character, Jeffrey Wright's Powell, and Richard Dreyfuss's Cheney. There seems to have been a concerted effort to replicate the events as accurately as possible and then edit them together out of sequence to tell the desired story.

It's no secret that I dislike Bush and even more so his policies, but this film drew some humanity out and I felt bad for him, a little. Just a tiny bit. I still have more sympathy for his international victims than for him though.

Official Site | IMDB

L'Homme Qui Plantait des Arbres (1987)

This beautiful, award-winning, animated short film should be seen by everyone. Really, there are few films like this one that can speak so much and affect the heart of man.

A French hiker wandering through barren lands in the early 20th century discovers a lone shepherd. The quiet hermit has been systematically planting acorns for three years. Upon further visits over the next 30 years, we see the land transformed as forests grow and bring all kinds of life to the wastelands.

The animation is superb using what looks like pastels or pencil crayons and very fluid landscapes and characters.

The film promotes not only environmental ideals, but the very basic life force nature has and the purpose of humankind.

IMDB