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"Many endeavored in vain joyfully to express profoundest joy;
Here at last in the tragic, I see it expressed."

Friedrich Holderlin





"THE DEER HUNTER"

Now here is a true American tragedy, and probably the best movie made about the Vietnam War. The way in which the film shifts back and forth between an industrial town in the North East (where the main characters are from) and the battlefields of Vietnam, is what gives the movie such depth and breadth in its depiction of struggling, suffering humanity. The climax of the film is heart-breaking and yet all in all is one of the greatest testimonies to friendship that I know. I almost guaruntee you'll cry.

Check out a "Deer Hunter" tribute site here.



"CRUMB"

"Crumb" is a haunting documentary about the life and career of the successful underground comic-book artist, Robert Crumb. Examining Crumb through his dysfunctional fifties childhood, his artistic blosssoming in the psychedelic sixties, success in the 70's, and his current exile in France, the movie consists mostly of interviews of him and his family, as well as generous footage of his bizarre, misogynistic, and yet beautiful art. Even more impressive than the film's portraiture of this neurotic, though wealthy and famous misanthrope, is the glimpse it gives into the personalities of his still living, but completely obscure family members. His older brother Charles, who apparently was the greater artist and had first inspired Robert to draw, is shown to be living in almost total solitude with his mother. Crippled psychologically by an unhealthy attraction to young boys, Charles barely staves off insanity through heavy medication and continual reading of classic literature. Without spoiling the ending, I'll simply conclude that director Terry Zwigoff has proven that life is more disturbing and unbelievable than art. The little world one enters in the documentary "Crumb" will never be forgotten.

Take a look inside the "Crumb Museum". There's a chance you'll be offended.



"ROGER AND ME"

This is the first film by Michael Moore I ever saw, and it left a significant impression on my consciousness. I was in the 6th or 7th grade when I watched this stunning documentary which at the time was being aired on PBS. Most definitely an American tragedy, this film is unique in that it depicts the suffering not just of a few individuals, but of an entire city. When General Motors, one of the richest companies in the world, decides to shut down its plants in Flint, Michigan and move them overseas, the result is catastrophic unemployment for this hapless blue collar community. With both wit and pathos, Moore chronicles his home town's steady demise, all the while interviewing obtuse civil servants and GM representatives. The film turns into a quest to speak with Roger Smith himself, the elusive chairman of GM, and Moore becomes something of a David slinging stones at the arrogant Goliath of corporate irresponsibility. If you're a liberal populist, you'll be deeply stirred by this movie. If you're a neoconservative capitalist, you'll see your rosy vision of unfettered economic progress reveal itself as a nightmare of exploited and neglected humanity.

Rent this movie today, and be sure to check out "Bowling for Columbine"
as well as his new blockbuster "Fahrenheit 9/11"



"THE MISSION"

"The Mission" was released in the mid 1980's, a time when Reagan's aggressive policies in Latin America were igniting controversy everywhere, when countless indigenous priests and nuns were clashing with right-wing U.S. supported regimes, and when the left-wing "theology of liberation" was coming under censure by the Vatican. Amid this tense climate (four American missionaries had been raped and killed by National Guardsmen of the U.S. backed Salvadoran government) Roland Joffe directed a film which, through transporting us several centuries back in South American history, provided a parable through which to morally assess the contemporary crisis. "The Mission" tells the story of the reduciones, Jesuit colonies set up in Paraguay to educate, convert, and protect the Indians of that region. The film is given great power by the dramatic transformations of two of its main characters. Rodrigo Mendoza (played by Robert De Niro) begins the film as a callous and prideful mercenary and slave-trader. Put into chains for the murder of his brother, a crime of passion resulting from a love triangle, the now pitiful and desperate Mendoza is given over to the spiritual counsel of the Jesuits. Father Gabriel (Jeremy Irons) gives him the choice of wallowing in his cell forever, or of accompanying him to the Jesuit mission above the falls, a place where he would have to serve the Indians he had formerly kidnapped. Mendoza begins a journey of deep penitence and conversion, culminating eventually in his becoming himself a Jesuit brother. No sooner does Mendoza establish a deep bond of reconciliation with his former victims, than the forces of International politics place everything the Jesuit fathers have accomplished into frightful jeopardy. Mission lands are set to be transferred from the control of the Spanish (who have abolished slavery) to the Portuguese (who still permit it). Desperate not to have their Indian flocks cast into bondage, the Jesuits sue for the mediation of the hierarchical Church. An important prelate arrives (played by Ray McAnally), and within his soul develops the other great personal drama of the tale. Caught between the moving plight of the idyllic mission lands and immense pressure from the corrupt government of Portugal (intent on ruining the Jesuit order), this cleric is in the end forced by the neccessities of the world to capitulate to power and might. The Jesuits are unwilling to abandon the Indians, and the murderous conflagration that results forever deprives the high-ranking churchman of peace of soul. Cardinal Ratzinger, the Vatican's chief critic of populist movements in Latin America, once said that "what we need is not a theology of liberation, but a theology of martyrdom." Perhaps Joffe's "The Mission", and the late 20th century events it was meant to comment on, suggest that it is often precisely those who promote life and liberation for the weakest among us who do so at the price of giving themselves over to martyrdom and death.

To learn more about clergy and laity who continue to risk their lives seeking justice visit The Religious Task Force on Central America and Mexico.



"CITY OF GOD"

The Brazilian street-epic "City of God" is by far one of the most powerful and enthralling movies I have ever seen. Set in Cidade de Deus (the City of God), an infamous slum of Rio De Janeiro, this portuguese language film is relentless in its action and intrigue, and is definitely not for the faint of heart. Narrated by a street-kid, Rocket, who aspires to be a photographer, "City of God" follows the true story of a war between rival drug gangs-- a conflict which gradually draws into its orbit nearly the entire slum. The narrator is able to use his connections and creative talent to escape, and even profit from the hideous realities of slum-existence. Most of the other characters depicted, however, prove true the notion that those who live by the sword shall surely die by it. The film actually provides a historical setup for the tragedy of Brazilian police engaging in massacres of street urchins in the early 90's. As I said, "City of God" is not for the faint of heart. With brilliant cinematography as well as casting that drew on real slum dwellers, the result is a movie that leaves one with the feeling of having lived through a minor apocalypse.

Here is the "City of God" website.



"THE SEVENTH SEAL"

One of the most famous movies made outside the United States, "The Seventh Seal" is Ingmar Bergman's attempt to express man's anguished condition of having to live with the twin realities of God's silence and the continually mocking presence of Death. Antonius Block (Max von Sydow) is a crusader knight returning along with his squire to his native Denmark. The Bubonic plague has stricken the land and the terrified, superstitious populace have taken to engaging in flagellants processions and the burning of scapegoats. Though aloof from the popular hysteria, the knight Block is no less troubled. Haunting him, in fact, is an extremely vivid manifestation of Death-- the grim reaper himself! The reaper beckons the angst-wridden knight to cross over into absolute darkness. The defiant Block, however, attempts to gamble for more life and more answers to his existential questions. His strategy for defeating, or rather cheating, Death, is a game of chess, drawn out between him and the reaper over the course of the movie. As Block struggles passionately to find the meaning of life and its negation, his squire comments cynically on the sad events surrounding them, and the futility of his master's quest. Set apart from both the tormented existential searching of the knight, as well as the nauseated indifference of his squire, are the traveling minstrels Jof and Maria, carrying with them an infant son (their very names and situation are suggestive of the Holy Family). Jof and Maria are certainly aware of, and frightened by the hideous realities surrounding them, but they are neither obsessed by death nor disgusted by life. In contrast with Antonius Block's struggling with God and destiny, Jof has a warm religious faith, including beautiful, if sometimes questionable, pious visions. Most of all, the small, humble family have love for each other, something which makes the horrors passing over Denmark not so overwhelming. If you don't have the time or energy to read volumes of Kierkegaard or Dostoevsky, then invest a couple hours in watching this true existentialist work of art.

Go to this site to learn about The Magic Works of Ingmar Berman.



"KURT AND COURTNEY"

It's been a while since I've watched this documentary on Nirvana's deceased lead singer, and in fact it's been a while since I've been a hard-core fan of Nirvana. I'm pretty sure, though, that this film would pull some heart-strings if I watched it right now, and I would definitely be reminded of why so many people continue to adore and revere Kurt Cobain, while dismissing or reviling his wife. "Kurt and Courtney" is a fairly sober look at the quite controversial evidence that Courtney Love murdered her rock-star husband and staged it as a suicide. The film might or might not convince you of Love's guilt in her husband's death. The best reason to watch it, however, is the sensitive portrait it gives of this same man's life, starting poignantly with early childhood, passing into his troubled teenage years, and finally examining his tormented young adulthood, the creativity and ambition of which catapulted him to the stardom he could neither escape nor become reconciled to. Whatever way you look at it, Cobain's life and death were a tragedy, and the responsibility for this tragedy will probably never be fully clarified till the Last Judgment. A remarkable gleam of purity and benevolence in the film is provided by Kurt Cobain's aunt, a born again Christian who now visits schools to talk about her famous nephew and the dangers of drug abuse. Hopefully, in her humble way, she will be able to reduce the number young people who follow in her desperate nephew's footsteps.

Here is a memorial to the Life of Kurt Cobain, and elsewhere, a full blown conspiracy site.



"DRUGSTORE COWBOY"

Based on a true account written by a convicted drug-thief, "Drugstore Cowboy" is a poetic, humane, and humorous depiction of one of the most desperate lifestyles posible in our society. Under the direction of Gus Van Sant, Matt Dillon plays Bob Hughes, the charismatic leader of a drug gang comprising his hard-talking, sensual wife and two younger and more naive thieves. A minor-league Barrow gang of the 1970's Pacific Northwest, the four criminals rob pharmacy after pharmacy in a quest to stay continually high on opiates. With an embittered police detective on his heels, and facing a terrible reversal of his usual good luck, Bob is eventually forced to choose between his wife and their shared lifestyle, or his own survival as a sane human being. Though lacking much of the fearsome grit of that other great junkie movie- "Trainspotting", the wit, wisdom, and humanity of Van Sant's picture give it a mellow, tragic beauty lacking in the other druggie films of our time.

Check out this online page on "Drugstore Cowboy"