Etz Limon (2008)

A government official moves to the edge of one of Israel's borders with Palestine. One the Palestinian side, a lemon grove grows right to the border of the back yard and this is seen as a security risk by the Israeli government as a sniper could easily hide in the grove and harm the official. So the grove is ordered to be cut back with significant impact to the grove's owner, a Palestinian widow.

This David and Goliath battle happens in the press and in court.

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Midnight Express (1978)

Midnight Express is based on the true story of a man who was caught smuggling heroin out of Turkey in the 1970s. From the beginning we are shown that Billy's decision to board a plane with drugs strapped to his body was a clear mistake and not one he made of sound mind pushing us to want clemency for him. The Turkish authorities decide to use him as an example - I guess to keep the drugs in their own country? - and sentence him to over 30 years in prison.

Billy nearly goes insane in the harsh prison conditions and almost loses hope. The film seemed quite balanced in its approach to justice, American patronization, and freedom.

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Cairo Time (2009)

This drama tells the story of a woman who while stuck in Cairo as her husband is caught up in a UN mission in Palestine, inadvertently develops an intimate relationship with a kind Egyptian man. The emotional tension throughout the film is palpable and thoroughly believable as these two lonely people share their lives over several days.

Some solid acting from two tremendous veterans.

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Noam Chomsky: Rebel Without a Pause (2003)

This is a low-budget doc on the famed outspoken activist Noam Chomsky. It is a collection of clips from about five different talks/discussions Chomsky delivered in and around 2003 in Canada with some interview footage from a dozen people who have interacted with him.

The purpose of the film is to show what he has to say about a variety of current event topics as well as to show what his impact has been as a living legend (the seventh most cited source in research papers).

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Three Kings (1999)

This smart blend of black comedy, action and drama to depict the madness of war and both the clement and savage natures of man is an example of excellent cinema. Three US soldiers in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm decide to take advantage of their status and claim booty from Saddam Hussein. Their own mission is compromised and they end up using their power for good rather than selfishness.

We don't see unique characters from the 3 protagonists, but they consistently deliver intriguing characters - plus they can't go wrong with the great writing.

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Amreeka (2009)

Amreeka details the life of a mother and son as they emigrate from Palestine to the USA. It's a lovely story of resilience and pride, but at the same time it is formulaic and at times too predictable. It tries to teach about immigrant hardships more than it tries to tell a story I think. The most affecting parts of the film focus on the relationship between the son and his mother.

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Body of Lies (2008)

Ridley Scott delivers a spy/anti-terror/middle east film that puts the USA on top again, but does humble them a bit. DiCaprio and Crowe demonstrate their superior acting abilities again in a tenuous boss/field worker relationship.

It's a good movie, if only to shed light on the fact that we know very little about Middle Eastern customs and people.

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Standard Operating Procedure (2008)

The maker of The Fog of War brings another personal interview based documentary focusing on the abuses of prisoners in the Abu Ghraib. Errol Morris points the camera at the people charged with mistreatment of prisoners and the people charged with investigating the matter. We get an inside look into the minds that were demonized in the media and the policies that allowed the abuses.

The film is affecting and enraging.

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Bikur Ha-Tizmoret (2007)

The Band's Visit is a beautiful contrast of Arab and Jewish culture, urban and rural life.

Tewfiq is the leader of the Alexandria Police Orchestra a 10 piece band on a trip to Israel from Egypt. Some miscommunication about place names guides the band to a remote Israeli town where they must spend the night before catching the next bus. A diner owner named Dina offers them hospitality and the cultures relax together.

When the culture is set aside, we see the humanity bleed through the uniforms and the prejudices and the common struggles and desires are exposed. When we finally hear the band play at the end however, we can see that culture is beautiful too.

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Year One (2009)

Harold Ramis (a Ghostbuster and former SCTV member) directs this ridiculous comedy which blends biblical early history with cavemen.

Jack Black and Michael Cera are banished from their cave men tribe and journey to the end of the world (a nearby cliff) only to discover characters from Genesis (Cain & Abel, Adam & Eve, Abraham and Isaac, the city of Sodom, etc.). Every opportunity to weave in some sort of sexual deviancy (which isn't necessarily out of place in the Genesis story) is taken in this farce.

There are some wonderfully funny moments in the film, but it is still a "dumb comedy" and the few times when they try to make a great point, it has little meaning against its dopey backdrop.

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The Fall (2006)

This is a gorgeous film using a child's viewpoint to interpret the pain of an adult.

I sanitarium in early 20th century California houses an injured stuntman whose lover left him and a young girl who has a broken leg. She has a vivid imagination and he has some pain to release which he does by recounting his story as an epic with outlandish heroes playing their parts in outlandish landscapes.

There is plenty of comedy to juxtapose the drama - and there is some heavy drama to be sure. The cinematography and design makes the film more like an art gallery of primary colours and texture.

I only critique the pacing. It was held up at some spots. Thoroughly an extraordinary work.

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Taxi to the Dark Side (2007)

It is rather difficult not to become upset while watching this documentary. It exposes the roots of torture used by American forces since the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. From Bagram to Abu Ghraib to Guantanamo, both innocent and guilty prisoners (I refuse to call prisoners "detainees") have suffered humiliation, sensory deprivation, and flat out torture in the name of national security. Incredibly enough, the higher ups in the U.S. government, Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Gonzales, . . ., have flatly supported such techniques and even won over the American public.

The film centres on and circles around the tragic story of an Afghan taxi driver, Dilawar, who gets picked up and turned over to U.S. forces and imprisoned. He is immediately tortured and interrogated for several days and then dies in custody. His torturers end up taking the fall for the whole military leadership and end up in military prisons themselves.

Watch this film. It won an Oscar!

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Charlie Wilson's War (2007)

A feel good CIA movie - yowsers, those are rare! I must say, I wasn't too hopeful for a true story about subversive military action perpetrated by a superpower. Thankfully, it was an honest show.

The story involves a congressman who raises a budget for a CIA project to effectively arm Afghanis against invading Soviets in the 1980's. The Soviet attack is rightfully portrayed as beyond brutal and the CIA is portrayed as disorganized and disinterested until the right people get on the case. We get a behind the scenes look at covert operations that ultimately succeed in bouncing the Red Army out of Afghanistan.

Of course, this would be just another red white and blue movie without a smart twist, something I'm sure Tom Hanks requires for any film he makes (quite literally as he produces as much as he acts). We get to see the CIA and a congressional house committee humbled as we see the aftermath in Afghanistan.

Acting in this film is genuinely grand. Awkward moments are central and the story is told very well as the characters push through taboos and political tape. Charlie Wilson doesn't as much go through a transformation as much as he wakes up and acts. His story is told efficiently through brief and sometimes crude language.

Truth: Good intentions that include fervent action can still yield mixed results when there isn't a bit of good forethought.

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Osama (2003)

A girl is forced to assume the identity of a boy in Taliban controlled Afghanistan. Women can not walk the streets without a male relative, but many male relatives have died in the many recent armed conflicts. Neither can they work, leaving women to literally starve.

Though there is a coherent story, the film is clearly meant to educate. We learn of some recent history. We learn what a Taliban-controlled area looks like. We even get inside looks at a Taliban school and the home of a mullah (Islamic academic and law expert) who has many wives. Most poignantly though, we learn why women are/were not happy in Afghanistan.

The girl is very alone and carries the weight of providing for her mother and grandmother who have complex feelings toward their daughter because of the extreme condition they have been forced into.

This joyless film affects its viewer and does not present a hopeful picture. The one exception to the desolation is the beautiful fabric that we see from time to time, hailing to a time when culture and joy were able to flourish.


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Syriana (2005)

Two Clooney films in a row. This one is by far the more intelligent one, though perhaps not as accessible to all of its viewers.

The film focuses on three American men who are deeply involved, though amazingly indirectly, in the global oil business. The film brings these three innocents to task and we end up sharing in the culpability that ultimately consumes them from within and without.

None of the players in the story are vilified, except perhaps the spoiled Arab prince. The purpose of the film is to expose how we share in the atrocities committed in the name of global energy production because we demand low prices and we demand that our governments ensure that our domestic economy has enough "grease" to compete (dominate) internationally.

The writing, acting (both American and foreign), camera work, and directing is superb. We are whisked around the world from Washington DC to Switzerland to the Middle East to Spain and Lebanon and Iran. It captures an essential truth that in today's world we are deeply interconnected.

A must.

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Islam: Empire of Faith (2000)

This 160 minute, three-part documentary tracks the rise of Islam in the 7th century through to the rise and fall of the Ottoman Empire of the 16th century. It is produced for PBS and narrated by Muslim Ben Kingsley.

The film really only follows the achievements in empire building, the arts and sciences, commerce, architecture, and society. It nearly altogether ignores the dogma of Islam and how it has evolved from it's not so humble beginnings in Saudi Arabia. It focuses on the initial spread of the religion and then how commerce kept the people relatively united and how this brought about a cultural revolution and awakening to the arts and sciences. Leaders of the various dynasties are spotlighted as were major events like the Mongol invasions and the Christian crusades.

The visual scenes are as authentic as they can be with countless mosques, palaces, and cities being featured from Cordoba, Spain to Persia. The architecture that dots the empire of Islam is truly magnificent and the film is worth watching if only to watch the lavish buildings.

I was disappointed that there didn't appear to be any actual Muslims interviewed as experts in the roots and beginnings of Islam in part one. There was one Muslim expert among the several American and British commentators, but I would have liked to have heard from Turkish experts during the Ottoman chapter and Spanish experts during the Cordoba chapter and Iraqi experts during the Baghdad chapter. Overall, the comments were very positive about the empire, often juxtaposing the clean and advanced culture of Islam with the sickly and barbaric Christians in Europe.

My primary complaint is that it doesn't propose any reasons for the current state of Muslim affairs. It doesn't correlate any of Islamic beliefs with much of anything. It is like having an encyclopedia being read to you.

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The War Within (2005)

The second film by Joseph Castelo follows a suicide bomber to the moment of detonation (or not?) at Grand Central Station. For a low budget, independent film, it has remarkable acting, writing, cinematography and soundtrack. It is too bad that there probably wasn't enough money to promote it in a big way.

I was particularly struck by the frankness of the film. All the characters are strikingly flawed, no heros - including the character nations. Motive for violence is analyzed, but left open for the viewer to decide whether it is a valid reason or not. The three layers of conflict - personal, interpersonal, and global - are superbly depicted.

The protagonist, Hassan, grew up in Pakistan and lived as a liberal Muslim for many years, studying in the USA and France. A life transforming experience occurs and he becomes a radical with a single purpose. He is juxtaposed with a moderate family in NYC, old friends from Pakistan, who have integrated themselves in America.

The most powerful point in the film for me is not the end where he decides whether or not to go through with the bombing. It is when he expresses his faith in a way that severely hurts a friend. The judgement he passes is stark and honest, yet so hurtful and insensitive. To me this was challenging because I tend to make quick judgements (though I don't usually speak them as Hassan does). Reminds me of Jesus's words in Matthew 7:1-5

“Do not judge, so that you may not be judged. For with the judgment you make you will be judged, and the measure you give will be the measure you get. Why do you see the speck in your neighbor’s eye, but do not notice the log in your own eye? Or how can you say to your neighbor, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while the log is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your neighbor’s eye.

It was an interesting experience watching a film about religious fundamentalism with out being a member of that particular religion, in this case Islam. I was able to objectively view the characters, yet at the same time, I was able draw parallels with Christianity and my own unique fundamentalism and absolutes. I really enjoyed the explanation of the Arabic word jihad by an imam in the middle film.

Oh, and Canada gets a nod, sort of...

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