Storm That Drowned A City, 2005 (Grade B+)

Written Directed and Produced by Caroline Penry-Davey and Peter Chinn
Topic: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans, Geography & Politics

sez says: This is well done. It was helpful to at last get a full understanding of the exact geography of the area hit by Katrina--and to see where, how and why the levies failed. It all could be predicted--and it was predicted--so you have to realize we don't always do what we know we should do and we pay the consequence. Or, in this case the people of New Orleans paid the consequence of inadequate levies. Is anyone checking to make sure the new ones are being done right? (grade B+) 

A Walk to Beautiful, 2008 Grade A+

Producer  Mary Olive Smith
Topic: African Women with Obstetric Fistula

Awards: This film took top honors at the 2007 International Documentary Association Awards Competition, where it was named Best Feature Documentary. It also won the People's Choice Award for Best Documentary at the Starz Denver Film Festival, the Audience Award at both the San Francisco and St. Louis international film festivals, and the Best Human Rights Film Award at the International Documentary Festival of Barcelona.

sez says: this is as perfect of a documentary as I have ever seen. There is no hyped-up dialogue. It is just a straight forward telling of a story about people facing an horrendous problem and good people trying to help those people.  It is about African women who, due to malnourishment, stunted growth, early child bearing, and lack of medical facilities, develop fistula while they are in labor.  They are then outcast.  There is a small clinic they can go to the get the fistula repaired--and the operation is generally helpful--but it can only help a very few of the large number of women with the problem. This is heartbreaking and uplifting at the same time. Grade A for perfect job.

Martin Scorsese Presents: The Blues: A Musical Journey Vol 6, Red, White & Blue- Grade A

Director Mike Figgis
Producer Martin Scorsese
Topic The Blues -- British Impact

sez says --this is the best in the series (so far) It includes people like Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Jeff Beck and Tom Jones who perform and talk about how American Blues came to England, the impact it had there and how it morphed and than returned to the USA as part of the wave of British blues music that hit the United States in the '60s. These are mostly talking head interviews--interspersed with some fine music. It gave a strong sense of time and place and personality. John Mayall, Steve Winwood. Georgie Fame, Albert Lee,  Mick Fleetwood, Humphrey Lyttleton, Lonnie Donnegan, Chris Farlowe,  and John Porter, plus some very special foot age of performances by Cream, the Mick Jagger / The Rolling Stones and more.  The point that is made, is that Black Blues Music was introduced to  American White Audiences via English performers.  Had they not 'discovered the blues' we Americans might have continued to ignore it. (Grade A)

This So Called Disaster: (Grade B)

Director: Michael Almereyda
Cast: Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Cheech Marin, Sheila Tousey, T-Bone Burnett, Sam Shepard, Woody Harrelson
Topic: Theater --producing a Sam Shepard Play

sez says: fun to watch these actor at work --it gives you a sense of what it takes to produce a play. The relationship between the writer-director and the actors is had to describe in words--but it is something you can watch and  pick up clues about. It sure entertained me... but I have to wonder what kind of mass appeal it might have.  (Grade B)

The Sucide Tourist (Grade A)

Director: John ZaritskyProducer FRONTLINE
Topic: Right to Die / Sucide

sez sys: I thought this was a perfectly crafted documentary. We follow a man with Lou Gehrig's Disease as he decides to take action and bring on own death before he has to experience extreme suffering--and then die anyway.   Dignatis, a Swiss Organization, aids him and his wife, providing the assistance they need.  It is a strong piece for anyone, both those who are pro-and those who are cob assisted suicide-- to observe and consider the issues at hand.  We all will die: Some of us will travel the hard road to making a decision about when and how.  This is a helpful perspective. (Grade A)

Trudell: Independent Lens, 2006 (Grade C)

Director: Heather Rae
Awards? None that I know of
Cast: Robert Redford; Kris Kristofferson; Bonnie Raitt; Jackson Brown; John Trudell; Wilma Mankiller

sez says: If you know noting of the AMERICAN INDIAN MOVEMENT --aks AIM --you might find this really interesting,  The backdrop to this man's story is the history of that movement:  It is something we should all know about. And Trudell is an interesting man. He has led a life of commitment to making the world a more fair and equitable place for all.  He speaks loudly and clearly about the contradiction that we all live with--and we can never be reminded enough of that. He has many admirable qualities.  He has also suffered great loss and tragedy--which is told about in this film.  But here is my gripe.  Once the tragedy is told -- the documentary wants to lift him into a god-like status and super poet.  That is a shame. It is quite enough that he survived and continues to engage the world  with a passion to be heard. That is an accomplishment and it is a worthy story on its own--and it seems more respectful to me than making a pedestal for him stand on.  People can be pushed off pedestals--and if what he is supposed to be remember for is his poetry--well ,I think he will be forgotten. What we need to remember him for is his passion, his commitment his accomplishments in the name of justice and that should have remained the focus of the documentary.  Grade C