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.

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The Way Back (2010)

I often fear that film interpretations of fact based epics will default towards the emotional rather than take pains to help the viewer enter the pain of the protagonist. The Way Back tackles the incredible trek of gulag escapees from the Soviet north down into northern India. It becomes clear that while they can not spend time on each of the characters, they do not default to a soft retelling. The harsh realities are depicted unfettered by too much orchestral dazzle.

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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.

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Doctor Zhivago (1965)

This is the first time watching Doctor Zhivago and what surprised me (and pleased me) the most was the genuinely flawed nature of the characters. While I despised some characters, they held my sympathy and while I loved other characters, I hated some of their decisions. Its tragedy and epic portrayal of the Russian revolution bring the film to an even greater height. It won't be the last time I watch it!

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Prestuplenie i nakazanie (1970)

This Russian adaptation of Dostoevsky's Crime and Punishment paces itself like the book, taking ample time inside protagonist Rodya Raskolnikov's head. It is done in black and white and the lack of colour adds the only other real joyless feature to the film beyond the glorious performances by the actors - who are unknown to the west.

Raskolnikov is pained by the conflict of his philosophical conclusion, that great men can accomplish whatever they like and should live without guilt and with impunity by virtue of the fact that they are great! He can not justify his philosophy because in his mind he himself is greater than his ignorant peers, but he and his mother and sister live in abject poverty. He decides to live out his philosophy by murdering a pawn broker, someone he views as a leech of society. The story plays out from here demonstrating his struggle to mute his conscience.

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Ningen No Jôken (1959)

The Human Condition, a Japanese saga lasting 9 hours 39 minutes, gives a sobering look at empirialism, socialism, and humanism.

It is set during the 2nd World War in Manchuria where the Japanese have set up labour camps among the Manchus. Kaji, the lead character, is young and idealistic believing that the world can be better and people will respond well if they are only treated with basic dignity. He is placed as a supervisor over a team of coal miners and is continually at odds with his fellow supervisors. As such, he makes several enemies. The epic story takes Kaji away from his wife and into the infantry where he is put into training, then battle. The story spirals into despair as the Japanese lose ground and later the war. Kaji struggles with his ideals and how they collide with the brutality surrounding him.

The film is black and white and could be accused of being a little melodramatic, but the story and struggle is superb giving the viewer a lot to mull over.

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Cold Souls (2009)

This film begins with the assumption that the soul is a small, physical gland at the base of the skull. It then takes the viewer on a wild ride about what it means to be alive.

A fictional version of Paul Giamatti (played by Paul Giamatti) feels stiffled in his performances as an actor and jumps at the chance of having a new operation done that unburdens the patient of their cumbersome soul. His life becomes devoid of passion when his soul is removed and it becomes even more odder when he has a different soul implanted.

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Transsiberian (2008)

There were two reasons I wanted to watch this film: 1. great cast and 2. Brad Anderson directed it (also directed one of my favorites The Machinist).

An American couple leaves China after a mission trip to take the train through Siberia to Moscow on their way home. They are innocent enough. The story turns quickly as they befriend a young American woman and her boyfriend, a Spaniard. 

Without unravelling the story, I can say that the perils and redemptive qualities of humanity are explored in a tense and nerve tingling way. Despite its horror, we see tremendous light.

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Burn After Reading (2008)

It was the Coen brothers turn to make a goofy violent comedy again (Intolerable Cruelty, The Ladykillers). But who can resist their Oscar-winning wit?

Two worlds collide: a fired CIA agent and his governmental circle with a couple gym employees bound to capitalize on a found CD with classified secrets. They bumble and they lie and they ultimately, well, you'll have to watch the movie.

For a long time now, the Ethan and Joel Coen have been able to pretty much handpick their actors. Frances McDormand makes her seventh film with them; George Clooney makes his third. Along with newbies Brad Pitt, Tilda Swinton and John Malkovich, they all nail the comic timing in this rather gruesome tale.

Truth: Greed blinds our sense of justice.

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Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)

Number four. It didn't top number three in my opinion, but it was a great ride.

World War II is finally over for Dr. Jones and he works for the CIA now as he searches for relics that the Soviets covet. In this episode, he must prevent a psychic spy from discovering the lost city of El Dorado in South America. He is joined by a teenager, Mutt, and the leading lady of Raiders.

The stunts continue as normal with plenty of new ones to please the appetite. Indiana is clearly superhuman and he's fun to watch. I did notice that Harrison Ford's voice faltered quite a bit, it's not as commanding as it used to be.

Spielberg clearly knows what he's doing: no sex, hardly any profanity, the violence is fake, it's only a little scary, but it's edge of your seat cinema.

Truth: Greed kills. Knowledge is better than money.

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Crime and Punishment (1998)

There have been many film adaptations to Fyodor Dostoevsky's classic book, and this low budget one could probably rank as the briefest.

Rodya Romanovich Raskolnikov, a student in St. Petersburgh, finds himself penniless and with obscure ideas on the nature of man. He decides to commit murder and theft to address both issues only to find that it compounds his problems, even to eternal consequences. The people around him seek to help him, but his pride and fear push them away, all except one.

The acting isn't so bad, despite the inexpensive set pieces, but the accents are weak and the extras stepped out of a TV movie (but I guess that's what this is). Ben Kinsley is particularly good as Porfiri, the chief inspector.

The story is intact however and that's what matters. I read the book 7 years ago and the film brought it all back.

Truth: Salvation comes both as a gift of love and through confession.

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Fidel (2002)

This is the most comprehensive and balanced dramatic film about political icon Fidel Castro that exists and it is well worth a look despite its seemingly prohibitive 3 1/2 hour length.

Beginning in the 1950's we see how a young and charismatic lawyer begins a political career. The smooth talking Fidel wins followers against the corrupt, American-backed government of Batista; a country ripe for revolution if ever there was one. In the second third of the film, he is joined by a group of ragtag political discontents and the real revolution begins in the mountains and sweeps across the island.

What was most striking for me was watching the beginning of the final chapter of the film as Castro takes the reins of power and really doesn't know what to do. No one has thought of what to do after power is seized and this is really the true weakness of Castro's legacy. Because of a lack of direction, he feels threatened and imprisons anyone who dares question his authority or intentions. Ché Guevara and Raul Castro play prominent roles and we see where they disagreed on policy.

After a shaky introduction, the English speaking Latino actors give you an admirable sense of how life in Cuba was like before, during, and after the revolution. Because the film was made for TV, it surely did not have a suitable budget for such a large scale film, but by focusing on the story rather than offering sweeping battle scenes it doesn't have a cheap feel in the least.

The viewer comes face to face with what Cuba could have been and also a respect for the revolution as it was rather than what it became.

Truth: Absolute power corrupts absolutely. When political ideals are sought with all ones might, many virtues are sacrificed.

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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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We Own the Night (2007)

Here, we watch some 1988 NYC cops collide with a Russian drug cartel that operates out of a popular night club.

The drug thing is really secondary to the compelling story of brothers on both sides of the law and a father who approves of one. The not so much lawless, but rather selfish and rebellious brother faces his underworld entourage and the brotherhood of policemen and must make a choice.

The earthy nature of the film really works. This isn't glamourous NYC. This is working class NYC. The characters don't know what to do. They can't communicate very well. They are tough, but they're mortal too.

Something doesn't work in this film, but I can't identify what it is exactly. It may be that the inner transformation of the characters is so invisible throughout the film, that we lose a bit of interest. It's a minor flaw.

Truth: It is both unlikely and pointless to avoid choosing between a life of service and a life of self-service. Fathers' words have weight.

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Eastern Promises (2007)

David Cronenberg, a fellow Canadian, delivers his follow-up film to A History of Violence with an even more violent film and with the same lead actor, Viggo Mortensen. (Mortensen lost the Oscar for lead actor to Daniel Day-Lewis in There Will Be Blood)

A midwife comes across the diary of a Russian teenage mother who dies in the hospital while giving birth. She seeks help in translating the diary which indites various people in the local Russian mob for unspeakable acts. Her searching embroils her into dangerous relationships and puts the baby's life at risk.

It would make sense that Mortensen delivers the film in a state that is palpable to audiences. Cronenberg's films tend to be wooden, overly crafted, and slightly contrived to make a point. Mortensen brings a fluidity, power and depth of character that is easily lost in Cronenberg's scripts. The story sort of peters out as the ending climax doesn't match the climax a couple scenes earlier.

If the film wasn't shot mostly on location, they did a superb job on the set. Having a rainy London as the backdrop for the criminal activities of the Russian mob is very poetic as East meets West.

Truth: Only courageous people can truly be an effective force against those who do evil without restraint.

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Dnevnoy Dozor (2006)

I highly anticipated watching the sequel to the tremendously original Night Watch. I'm not a vampire movie fan, but this one took the battle of good vs. evil and the determinism vs. choice discussion to a great visual height.

Day Watch turns the page of our protagonist's understanding of his choice to abort his son in the first film. We see the consequences on both parties and we can appreciate a broader view of how decisions based on self affect others. The new characters are only slightly more compelling than the first movie's cast. The story is just as multifaceted, relying more on sensitive intuition than overt exposition.

My absolute favorite part about this film is that it doesn't cater to any other culture's sensitivity (particularly western ones). It is flat out Russian and if a viewer doesn't understand some cultural nuance or historical nod, so what. They aren't out to please everyone, they are out to make a great film - and a great film it is.

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The Peacemaker (1997)

This was an intelligent thriller with some over the top action. It was interesting watching an attempted terrorist attack on NYC that still had the twin towers though.

George Clooney and Nicole Kidman team up as counter-terrorists for the United States. In this world, the USA is watching out for the earth, so when a nuke goes missing in Russia (and one is detonated too), they have the responsibility to catch it. In this film, the United States are nearly flawless and all the motivations are altruistic. It is the rest of the world that has fallen prey to becoming terrorists and using the bomb for their own purposes.

The action in the film was suspenseful and the acting was enjoyable. An inevitable romance didn't develop, so that was refreshing. The film takes you around the world as though it were a Bourne film - Russia, Austria, New York, Bosnia, Azerbaijan, Turkey.

The terrorist is made to be sympathetic, but his motives, losing his wife and daughter, ultimately don't tug too strongly at your heartstrings... after all, several tens of thousands of people are killed in the first 15 minutes of the film.

The procedures seem well researched and you have the sense throughout the entire film that there is always someone higher up that they need to get permission from in order to carry out an operation, so it's not Rambo. The story is contrived and the characters a little to superhuman for my liking when the film isn't as entertaining and far-fetched as Die Hard. It's fun. It's just not that great.

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Cast Away (2000)

Having spent 10 months of my life living on Pacific Islands, I relate to this movie better than most I imagine. The night scenes especially take me back to my days in the Marshall Islands with the bright dark blue sky and the glistening ocean and the shadows on the beach. The coconuts and coral reef are so far removed from our lives in North America, but a part of life in the islands.

This has the scariest plane crash sequence I have ever seen. Even after watching this movie 4 or 5 times, I get very tense. This also has some of the most heartbreaking scenes I have ever seen. The characters' loss is so pronounced in their eyes and in the writing.

With Robinson Crusoe being the legend it is, this movie attempts to explore what a real life island survival would look like. I think it makes an honest effort, though some of the elements might be contrived (if only to propel the story ahead). It really makes you wonder what it would be like. I've wanted to be a competitor on Survivor just for the experience - forget the $1,000,000 prize.

The substance of the film is survival and what keeps a person alive. Is it Duty? Destiny? Love? Fear? Curiosity? Cast Away really captures the essence of all of these and is a poetic saga speaking to each of these. Without these forces, there really isn't much to live for.

The film is quite long, but just right for those who like to immerse themselves into a story. This one is told in 4 parts and it lingers for much longer than it takes to watch it.

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Enemy at the Gates (2001)

Life and death are in a day's work for two snipers in the Battle Stalingrad. Set in World War II with a very strong German offensive attacking ill-equipped, but numerous Soviet foot soldiers, this film focuses on the propaganda effort surrounding the two top snipers.

Since neither side is really "good" per se, the task of becoming the hero lies with Jude Law's character: a shepherd boy from the Urals with a great shot. If he fails, he could be killed by the sharp shooting German or else possibly be executed in shame by the Soviet side.

The film is a study in jealousy, fame, survival, and morale. Though the acting is substantial and the sets, soundtrack and costumes are premium, there just seems to be a little missing in substance. Even with plenty of grime, blood and unshaven scruff, the film just feels a bit to sanitized, a bit too British like the accents the Russian side bears. The characters are a little too good looking and it's easy to dismiss it all as make believe - though the film is based on real characters and events.

It is enjoyable to watch and there are moments of tension. The most memorable scenes are those in which unarmed retreating Soviet soldiers are shot by their own officers at the start of the movie - really a benchmark the rest of the film fails to reach.

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Everything is Illuminated (2005)

This quirky film about a young Jewish collector researching his grandfather's story in Ukraine is quite a joy to watch.

I wasn't completely keen on seeing Elijah Wood. Something about him throws me off guard, like he knows that I know that he's acting. But this film really changed my mind. The two central Ukrainian actors (I'm guessing their nationality here) are really inspiring. Their gruffness juxtaposed with their tenderness is beautiful.

This film is actually very funny. Example: the "seeing-eye-bitch" for the grandfather who pretends that he's blind is labelled demented, but really is quite normal for a dog, which makes the family more demented than the dog. The dialogue perfectly and hilariously defines the characters, who are refreshingly original.

The swirling themes of memory and family and heritage and journey are poignantly depicted among sweeping Ukrainian fields (though it was all shot in Czech Republic) and a stuffy car.

The ending is pleasantly surreal and eases us from some of the sorrow we witnessed.

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