Her soundtrack

It’s so good! Although listening to it while writing sad things = being sad and holding in tears. You have been warned.

Saturday Morning Documentary: If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front

When I hear the term “eco-terrorism”, I can’t help but laugh.  It’s a word that seems like such an oxymoron that I don’t take it seriously because the meanest thing I have seen environmental protesters do is to block roads by sitting on them, or chaining themselves to trees so prevent them from being cut down.  This eco-terrorism is nothing compared to, for example, the terrorists connected to 9/11.  Right?

If a Tree Falls: A Story of the Earth Liberation Front is a documentary by Marshall Curry (who also did the fantastic documentary Street Fight) which examines a so-called eco-terrorist group called the ELF.  Founded in Eugene, Oregon, the film follows one of the ex-members, Daniel McGowen, as he first waits out his home arrest time and then his legal proceedings.  From there, Curry intersperses interviews with McGowen and a few other ex-members of the ELF about the beginnings of the group, and some of their plans, including the arson of a slaughterhouse for horses.  A lot of people on the boards on imdb have commented how remarkably balanced the film is: it also features interviews of the company owners of the burned buildings, an ex-police chief who had to deal with “violent” protesters, which is cleverly juxtaposed with archival footage of police beating and attacking quite peaceful protesters, including deliberately pepperspraying some people simply doing a sit-in.  “You can’t help but take it personal when someone throws a rock at you,” says the police chief, as the officers smear pepperspray into screaming protesters– both in pain, and at the authorities for doing such an unwarranted act.  Through explanations as to why the ELF began doing the things they did, mainly out of frustration that nothing was being done through the peaceful ways they had always been doing, the film really does a good job at creating sympathy then for McGowen and the possibility that he will spend the rest of his life not just in jail, but in a special jail created for terrorists (created after 9/11).

There are some very affecting moments in the film, and I do wish that this film was more widely known/distributed.  It did manage to get nominated for Best Documentary at the Oscars, which always helps. I think Curry knows what a good documentary is all about, and I wouldn’t doubt that he’ll get his Oscar one of these days.  Though not a flawless film, If a Tree Falls handles a tricky and controversial subject that, ultimately, has its roots in something deeper: as Daniel McGowen puts it in the film, if no one hears you screaming, what’re you supposed to do?

The ELF graffiti some words after an arson.

“Loin De Paname” — Paris 36

Puisque je dois pratiquer mon français plus, et même si j’ai déjà un blog de français, je vais créer un article, um, anyway.  Voilà une chanson du film, Paris 36, que je veux regarder un de ces jours.  Elle a été nominéé pour un Oscar il y a quelques années (mais la chanson du film Crazy Heart, “The Weary Kind”, a gangé le prix).  Néanmoins, j’adore cette chanson et la mélodie beaucoup.

Enjoy!

Saturday Morning Documentary: Sound and Fury

“If you could make your deaf children hear, would you do it?”  That’s the tagline and the question posed in the 2000 documentary Sound and Fury.  Though the choice may seem clear at first, the film explores the complex questions that also arise when deaf children have the opportunity for cochlear implants that would allow them to hear like regular hearing kids.  Two sets of parents who both have kids are both contemplating the implants– one thinking yes and the other on the fence– and debates and arguments ensue.

“If your child was blind, wouldn’t you want them to see?” asks the mother who is for the surgery, and it’s a convincing argument.  She argues that it would be a setback for her child if he were to be deaf, that he would be missing out on so much in the world like music, the sound of rain; other aspects of life, like finding a job, would also be a lot harder, she says.  On the other hand, the mother who is investigating both sides of the situation says that by giving her child an implant, they would be missing out on deaf culture and may not learn and use sign with other deaf people, and that the deaf world and culture may be wiped out completely if all deaf people were given implants.  “I’m proud to be deaf,” says her husband, and you see from the way he signs that he really means it.

I don’t think I’ve seen a documentary on deafness before but this was really insightful.  It did seem a little outdated with the choice of music and the way it was shot but the film was pretty interesting nonetheless.  A provocative film about a sense that most people take for granted.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 20: Movie with your favourite actress

Two words: Meryl Streep.

30 Day Movie Challenge: Day 14: Favourite documentary

Those who read my blog know that I have my own category dedicated to documentaries, so picking one out of everything I’ve seen was difficult.  My first thought was something from Michael Moore, either Fahrenheit 9/11 or Bowling For Columbine as they are up there on my list of favourite docs.  But I had to go with the truly affecting Hearts and Minds.

I think part of the reason Hearts and Minds was more affecting for me was because I was learning about the Vietnam War in my History class so I was better able to grasp everyone involved and the background of how it all developed.  There’s a scene in the film that really disturbs me: a solider is in the street in Vietnam and he shoots a man in the head.  As the man collapses on the ground, blood releases from his head like a fountain, and at the time, I was in so much shock because I had seen this happen in Hollywood movies before but this was real — a man just got shot in the head.  There was no special effects, no pouch of blood exploding.  It was all real.  This was reality.

It still haunts me today.  Reality is horrific.  Take a lesson from that, modern horror movie makers.

Saturday Morning Documentary: Winged Migration

Yes, this film is about birds and them flying around the world.  What the film makes up in lack of plot or story is done with fantastic, gorgeous cinematography.  Climbing great heights to fly alongside or even below the birds, this documentary that took 3 years to film was nominated for an Oscar in 2003.  Produced in France, Winged Migration follows several species of birds as they, well, migrate over vast distances all around the world.  Their difficult and arduous journeys make you — or at least me — see birds in a different light; they are really tough creatures, arguably tougher than humans.

A must-see for all nature lovers or if you want to have a new respect for our feathered friends.

Birds in Winged Migration

Saturday Morning Documentary: Freeheld

Laurel and Stacie

At first, I thought watching a documentary short would be cheating for my documentary mornings on the weekend, but now that I think about it, it’s not the length that counts, it’s the fact that it is a documentary — a film that shows real life.  I was randomly scouring the pages on imdb like I do sometimes, aimlessly clicking on link after link of things.  I think I started off with Christopher Nolan’s Inception since it’s coming out this weekend, then clicked on Ellen Page, then clicked on one of her upcoming movies, titled Freeheld.  The synopsis was intriguing enough, about a lesbian couple trying to obtain pension benefits when before one of them dies from lung cancer.  As I scrolled down the page, I noticed it was a remake of a 2007 film of the same name, and instinctively thinking, “Oh god.  Another crappy remake”, I clicked on the original title.  What surprised me what that 1) the original is a 38 minute documentary short and 2) it won an Oscar.  More intrigued than ever and being very interested in social issues like this, I decided to Freeheld my film for this morning.

“You have denied Lieutenant Hester a pension she worked hard for.  A pension, that like every other officer who worked, derserves.  And you’re denying those benefits to her partner because her partner is not a man.”

The Freeholders

This is the opening line of the film, spoken by George Farrugia, part of the Gay Officers Action League (I didn’t know there was such a thing but I’m not really surprised).  Laurel Hester, a former Lieutenant of Ocean County, New Jersey, is dying from lung cancer.  She wants to pass on pension benefits to her partner, Stacie Andree but of course, there’s a problem — the county won’t allow it, that it only applies to hetersexual couples.  The film chronicles Laurel and Stacie’s fight for justice not only for themselves and their situation, but for same-sex couples in the county and in New Jersey.  What surprised me was how many people supported Hester and Andree.  Perhaps I’m merely pessimistic when it comes to gay rights and issues and assume that there must be opposition ALWAYS but I was pleasantly surprised.  The only people that were holding back were the Freeholders, the county officials who determine whether or not the benefits can be passed on; they are the people who can change the life for the couple.  As Hester’s health worsens, time slowly runs out for the couple to get permission from the Freeholders, who are hesitant to allow them the pension benefits.  Although the reasons behind their denial are only speculative (someone in the film suggests why they’re reluctant to say yes, but I won’t spoil it), they can’t ignore the voices of people in the room, powerfully chanting,”You have the power!  You have the power!”

There are few documentaries (and films, for that matter) that really resonate with me and make me cry.  But this little film does that.  It made me think of what would happen if I were in Laurel and Stacie’s situation, and made me very, very glad to be living here in Canada.  There are some powerful words spoken in the film, like this one by Joan Hervey, of the Garden State Equality: “Please don’t let her die.  Don’t let her die remembering you saying ‘No.  No, you’re not good enough; your 25 years of service was not good enough.  The criminals you put away, the lives you saved was not worth our time.'”

Thank you to Laurel Hester for such a compelling and moving story, and to Cynthia Wade for directing and making this film available to people.  It really touched me, and I’m willing to bet it did with plenty of other people.  Perhaps Laurel herself sums everything she goes through in the film thebest: “We’re just average people that have a home and a couple dogs and pay our taxes.  And we just wanted everything to be… equal.”

Supporters of Laurel and Stacie