Posts with the tag 'Documentary/History'
BURIED PRAYERS- 2011. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “In April and May 1943, thousands of survivors of the Warsaw ghetto uprising were held in the Maidanek death camp. Realizing they were being selected for death, these innocent families chose to surreptitiously bury the personal objects in their possession six inches beneath the earth’s surface in a collective act of courage, defiance and hope. Based upon unique witness testimony, an international team of survivors and experts from Australia, USA, Germany, Israel, Italy, and England were able to organize an archeological expedition to unearth these relic keepsakes that have remained hidden for 63 years. Over 80 significant pieces of jewelry and other items were recovered and deposited with the Maidanek State Museum, making it the largest reported recovery of valuables in a death camp to date.”
11/18/11- A fairly good review in today’s NY Times and I’ve seen a few other good ones as well. TRDB.
Tags: Documentary/History
November 18th, 2011
GRANITO- 2011. Synopsis by Rotten Tomatoes. “Granito is a story of destinies joined by Guatemala’s past, and how a documentary film intertwined with a nation’s turbulent history emerges as an active player in the present. In Granito our characters sift for clues buried in archives of mind and place and historical memory, seeking to uncover a narrative that could unlock the past and settle matters of life and death in the present. Each of the five main characters whose destinies collide in Granito are connected by the Guatemala of 1982, then engulfed in a war where a genocidal scorched earth campaign by the military exterminated nearly 200,000 Maya people. Now, as if a watchful Maya god were weaving back together threads of a story unraveled by the passage of time, forgotten by most, our characters become integral to the overarching narrative of wrongs done and justice sought that they have pieced together, each adding their granito, their tiny grain of sand, to the epic tale.”
Tags: Documentary/History
November 6th, 2011
THE RESCUERS- 2011. Synopsis by Netflix. “This searing historical documentary reveals the little-recounted saga of a group of diplomats during World War II. Thanks to their efforts, thousands of Jews escaped capture and extermination via the Nazis’ chilling “final solution.”
Tags: Documentary/History
October 11th, 2011
UP THE YANGTZE- 2007. Synopsis by Netflix. “When the Three Gorges Dam makes life hard for the Yu family, daughter Yu Shui must take a job aboard a cruise ship, where she enters into a dizzying microcosm of modern China. Meanwhile, her parents face the rising waters of the Yangtze. Chinese Canadian filmmaker Yung Chang’s beautifully photographed film of China’s peasant life and cultural upheaval was nominated for Best Documentary for the Independent Spirit Awards.”
9/18/11- I saw this a few years ago and again yesterday. First time I loved it. Second time I liked it a lot. Beautiful scenery and well done movie. It bothered me that they made Western tourists look simplistic. TRDB. Netflix.
Tags: Documentary/History
September 19th, 2011
BERLIN 36- 2011. Synopsis by RottenTomatoes. “Based on the true story of Gretel Bergmann who unwittingly became the biggest threat to the Nazi Party in 1936. Berlin was hosting the summer Olympic Games and Gretel was one of Germany’s best gold medal contenders. She was also Jewish. Her skill and ethnicity undermined the Nazi belief that Aryans were the superior race, so the German authorities schemed to replace Gretel with another woman — but “she” had a secret that, if uncovered, could be even more embarrassing to the Nazis.”
9/16/11- Poor review in today’s NY Times but the premise, which includes some gender issues as well, did seem interesting. TRDB.
Tags: Documentary/History
September 16th, 2011
BACK DOOR CHANNELS: THE PRICE OF PEACE- 2009. “This provocative documentary draws back the curtain on the Camp David peace summit, which set the stage for the future of Middle East relations. Though each party had its own agenda, it remains a landmark confluence of modern leadership.” Sounds interesting but poor early reviews. TRDB.
9/16/11- OK review in today’s NY Times. TRDB.
Tags: Documentary/History
September 14th, 2011
THE OATH- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “Oscar-nominated director Laura Poitras’s documentary tells of two men whose fateful meeting in 1996 led them on a journey that would include Osama bin Laden, the horrific events of 9/11, Guantanamo Bay and a brush with the U.S. Supreme Court. Shot in Yemen, this intriguing film is the second installment — after My Country, My Country — of Poitras’s “The New American Century” trilogy about post-9/11 America.” Very good reviews.
10/10- Fascinating documentary about two men involved with Jihad, one who has foresworn 9/11 type violence and one who was imprisoned at Guantanamo. Very good. Netflix.
Tags: Documentary/History
September 1st, 2010
SOUNDTRACK FOR A REVOLUTION- 2009. By Bill Guttentag. Premise by Netflix. “Music was a powerful tool in the American civil rights movement, spreading a message that was difficult for many to hear and serving as an energizing force for nonviolent protest. This documentary celebrates that intersection of movement and music. Featuring new performances of freedom songs by artists such as Mary J. Blige, Wyclef Jean and John Legend, the film also includes archival footage and interviews with civil rights leaders.” Very good reviews.
10/10- Interesting documentary about the civil rights movement which would stand alone even without the music. TRDB. Netflix.
Tags: Documentary/History
September 1st, 2010
A FILM UNFINISHED- 2010. Premise by Netflix. “This potent documentary uses a long-lost film reel to illustrate how the Nazis controlled images of Jewish life during World War II. Though the Nazis made a propaganda movie of contented Jews in the Warsaw ghetto, the missing spool exposes the truth. Director Yael Hersonski shows how the imagery was staged to distort historical knowledge and, with the aid of Jewish survivors’ testimony, chronicles the horrifying reality of ghetto life.” A few reviews, all positive.
9/10- Yet one more piece of the most horrific time in history as shown by this revealing footage! Everyone should see this. TRDB. At the theater.
Tags: Documentary/History
August 8th, 2010
NESHOBA: THE PRICE OF FREEDOM- Premise by Zap2it. “Filmmakers Micki Dickoff and Tony Pagano chronicle the successful efforts to retry Edgar Ray Killen for masterminding the killing of three young civil-rights workers in 1964 Mississippi.” No reviews available now.
Tags: Documentary/History
August 8th, 2010
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