Film Number 14 The Vice Guide To The Balkans

Film Number: 14
Film Name: The Vice Guide To The Balkans
Source: Vice.com
Rating:

I have been a fan of Vice for a very long time.  You can learn a lot of great information about history and culture from their very hip Guides to Travel.  If you go to their site you can watch them for free which is a plus but you have to watch them in installments which is ok with me.  Their films usually move pretty fast and are easier to follow than a lot of other cultural documentaries because they speak just like we do and they are just learning too.  As far as being balanced and fair, I do one person that finds Vice to be much too modern and liberal for their liking so take that for what it is worth.

Guide To The Balkans, here we go......the summary of the break up of Yugoslavia is explained quickly and the movie is made ten years after war.  The crew begins their visit in Serbia to an amusement park called Yugoland.  This not like King's Island or Disney so much as a Serbian outdoor park that celebrates the beloved former leader Tito and the former way of life.  Old people dance to music and appear to have a great time reminiscing.  The founder of Yugoland explains that the USA is plagued by twisters due to the things we have done to the rest of the world and our capitalist ways.

On to Belgrade for part two where the focus is on TurboFolk music that is "made for criminals by criminals."  It is a really fast and loud kind of techno that some influences from older folk music.  It is fun to listen to put the scene is dangerous because all the money comes from organized crime.  The pop stars of Turbo Folk kind of sound vocally similar to Shakira and some of the song titles are "Panties" and "Sexy Businessmen."  Some of the funding from this music actually came from war criminals and one of it's biggest hit makers married a warlord. The female singers were tan and tall and silicone infused, but people partied to their music in dangerous clubs for hours and hours.

Kosovo is the focus of part three and the crew visits a bridge that separates Serbs from Albanians and there are bridge watchers on both sides who are ready to intimidate and beat the shit out of each other.  There is tension and violence nightly and it is ugly to see, kind of like a wilder and less organized Thirty Eighth Parallel.

Round four is the hardest of the segments to watch.  A displaced persons  camp in Kosovo for  Roma Gypsy, that is built on toxic waste, and oh yeah it was set up by the United Nations....wait, what? Yeah...... This is a sad place where children are born with brain and heart damage due to astronomical amounts of lead in their blood.  Paul Polonsky was brought here by the UN to advise them on setting up camps but saw the organization as corrupt and callous and doing a damn good job of their own kind of genocide on the Romas, by setting up their homes on dumps that poison them.  Polansky also accuses the UN of bringing in organized crime, brothels and AIDS to Kosova.  A very sick little girl lays in her mother's lap while her father explains what their lives are like in this hell hole.  It was staggering to see.

Bosnia is the focus of the fifth installment.  The focus is mostly on Islam in Bosnia, the only Muslim nation in Europe.  It is modern and fairly liberal and secular.  Some provocative questions are asked to locals about extremism. There is a tense confrontation in a small town that does not want to explain how their Muslim village works or the core of their beliefs.  I think it was mostly fear of Americans and their cameras.  Their neighbors defend them as respectful and kind people who are tolerant of others and have never seen any evidence of any training camps or illegal activity of any type.  Some footage of some kind of raid is shown and the outcome is revealed that authorities found nothing illegal in the village at all. 

I loved this travel guide!  It was super entertaining and I learned a ton about the history of the Balkans as well as modern life there.  I would recommend this film to anyone interested in the war, or travel.  It had a lot of humor and compassion, and moved quickly while presenting a good amount of information. 

Film Number 13 Siberian Adoption Story

Film Number: 13
Film Name: Siberian Adoption Story
Source: Snagfilms.com
Rating: 4/10


I decided to use a different source for a film today because not eveyone has access to Netflix, and I have used snagfilm in the past and I think it's a pretty impressive resource.  I chose this particular movie because I would love to visit Siberia one day.  It appeals to me and until I can go there I like to see movies and pictures about it.  There are a lot of social problems there and it is pretty isolated, if you don't know anything about it, you should google it, this region has a very interesting story and culture.

This movie tells the story of an American couple and a single woman who each adopt  from Siberia and the journey they make to meet their child. The couple is from Florida and they have two boys of their own but can not have anymore children, the single woman who is from Virginia has two much older sons.

This story took place in 2005 so I am not sure what has changed as far as Russian adoption, but at this time nothing was known to the adoptive parents regarding their child's health or even age, just an estimation.  People they encounter ask a lot of questions and one person even tells a prospective parent he hopes she does not have a baby that has any problems or fetal alcohol syndrome.

Their trip is stunning, they arrive in Red Square and take another flight to Siberia and the travel looks exhausting to me.  The families are introduced to their very cute and cuddly potential daughters.  The single mother seems to bond immediately with the child she is introduced to, the other family seems indecisive and they have twenty four hours to to make a decision on weather or not they will take this little girl to be their child or not.

After a specialist reviews digital photos they have emailed of the baby and says she is developed nicely and does not seem to have an FAS issues, Grant and Amy decide to move ahead with their adoption and name their sweet baby Ava.  But both families must return home to the US, Russian law mandates one trip to meet the child and then a month later a return trip to take adopted children home.  It was an emotional roller coaster just watching families be created, feelings develop, the parents return home with out their newest addition.

Economically, the price of rescuing an institutionalized child and giving them a new life, is staggering and I have to believe this is a huge reason why more families are not created in this way.  On the second trip one mom admits to traveling with sixteen thousand dollars, but is glad to be able to do that for her little girl.  Both families sweat the slow court processes and await the whole process to be over.

This story seemed like a long and emotional journey that was told in a very short movie.  There were a few comments people made that were not likeable but it was reality I suppose and not scripted to please me. It was an interesting movie and informative with regard to travel and culture and law, but the presentation was a bit lacking but it was somewhat enjoyable and joyful.


If you would like to view this movie yourself, you can find it for free on snagfilms.com.

Film Number 12 Exit Through The Giftshop

Film Number: 12
Film Name: Exit Through The Gift Shop
Source: Netflix Instant Watch
Rating: 8/10

My husband mentioned this movie to me this morning and urged me to watch it, I did know a bit about Banksy so I thought it would be a good fit.  I am interested in art anyway.  My husband makes awesome comics and would be happiest to do that full time for a living, I like so sculpt a bit and knit and embroider and sew too.  I have known some tattoo guys, and I even had a friend that painted the singing weiners mural at the now defunct Hot Dog's and Karaoke on Cleveland's West side.  Clearly I am an expert......

Theiry Gueatta lives his entire life with his video camera, he tapes all aspects of his life relentlessly. Guetta starts taping his cousin "Space Invader" an artist who assembles tiles into a mosaics of the creatures from Space Invader, and then installs them in public spaces.  Gueatta begins to document other street artists who are sneaking around anonymously displaying their stuff.


  I am a big fan of this sort of thing.  I love that people can create something great that is NOT an advertisement for any bullshit crap and share it with everyone.  I love Toynbee Tiles and yarn bombed trees and graffiti. Someone has been going around spray painting large colorful murals of my maiden name on trains, and it makes me really happy to find their work online.  They are really talented and it is something meaningful to me because my grandpa worked for the rail road his whole adult life. 

 A chance meeting with artist Shepherd Fairy, who did the famous Obey pictures of Andre the Giant, leads to Gueatta traveling with Fairy and filming him installing his stuff all over the world and actively assists Fairy in climbing rooftops and carrying his supplies around with him.

Renowned street artist Banksy comes to Theiry's attention.  Banksy is anonymous guy who has done some really well known stenciling around London, including the well recognised picture of two male cops kissing.  Banksy started to become very well known for huge installations in public and even displaying his work in art galleries that did not want him in there.  But he really became internationally known when he succeeded in tagging the Wall in the West Bank.

Banksy and Guetta meet in LA and Banksy allows Guetta to film his work with out his voice distorted and his face obscured.  They work together to hit up the best places to art bomb.  Banksy seems very humble and down to earth during his interviews , but Guetta seems very earnest and sincere and honest.  The majority of the interviews are of Guetta rather than Banksy, and they both have a mutual admiration for eachother's talents and works.

I knew about Banksy already and I thought he was very talented and clever, but I was really interested in Thierry and how this all came to be.  He had alot of appeal and his film making phiosophy of "I don't know how to stop, I don't know how to stop",  was intriguing.

This was a very fun and hip watch that entertained a lot, but is definitely an education in modern art, and modern film making.  I would highly recommend this movie, and I am glad my husband mentioned it.

Film Number 11 The Richie Boys

Film Number:11
Film Name: The Richie Boys
Source: Netflix Instant Watch
Rating:

I came across The Richie Boys on my Netflix page and decided to give it a watch, because I have not spent much time learning about World War 2 and the premise seemed very intriguing to me.  I love when movies tell real stories that we are not familiar with.  And after watching this one I am disappointed that more people do not know this story and that I myself had never even heard of it.  How many other stories are out there about very brave individuals who helped turn the tides during the war?  We can never know all of them but this one deserved to see the light of the day.

The Richie Boys is about a group of heroic men that were Jewish immigrants.  Instead of breathing a sigh of relief that had escaped pogroms all over Europe, ghettos or ovens and starting new safe lives, they chose to enlist in the US Armed Forces.  Their fortitude was admirable and understandable. Not all of these men enlisted on their own accord however.  At least one was drafted and classified as an "Enemy Alien" that could not even be trusted with a weapon despite his outspoken desire to kill Nazis.  But when they were taken to Camp Richie for training they undertook a noble and unbelievable task of returning to Germany to interrogate German POW's. They would be highly trained in psychological operations and they became dedicated to serving a country that not all were treated fairly in but they were simply "permitted to live" in and they felt a deep commitment to ending the Nazi regime in any way they could.

Most of these men were intellectuals with terrific imaginations and instincts, but were unwanted and undesirables in their homelands.  They were not "fighters" or typical soldiers at all, but they came together and used every ounce of their talents and knowledge to develop impeccable interrogation techniques.  And off they went, back to the Germany that wanted to wipe them and their families off the face of the Earth. Some of these courageous men even parachuted into enemy territory and found themselves utterly alone.


As Interrogators of Prisoners of War, they exploited German's biggest fears that they would sent to Russia as prisoners and trophies.  In their old age these men are finally enjoying a bit of long over due gratitude and attention for their courage and commitment.  They laugh at at their cleverness and openly enjoy each others company on camera.

The IPW's would use psychological tactics to intimidate and extract information from the the prisoners and I found their restraint to be amazing!  The Nazi's would have hunted them like someone hunting down rabbits, but now the tables were turned and these men showed so much restraint it is commendable.  

This production was so interesting and educational it was a terrific watch and entertaining and endearing as well.  This is one of my new favorites and I will be spouting off about it for some time.  The only thing that offended me deeply was the fact that this story had not been told over the past sixty years.  I think there are probably so many other men and women who helped steer the course of history and yesterday should have been the time to hear their stories before it gets too late. 

Film Number 10 Buck

Film Number:10
Film Name: Buck
Source: Netflix Instant Watch
Rating:8/10

Buck is a documentary about the so called real life "horse whisperer".  This movie was highly recommended to me by my husband's coworkers.  I am not sure if I would have watched it otherwise to be honest because it just did not sound appealing to me and I did not think it would be very educational.

Well, I feel really stupid admitting that now.  Buck was extremely educational.  He was a really likeable man too, not like any of the obnoxious tv dog trainers.  Buck Brannaman has devoted his life completely to horses and follows a philosophy that people are their problems.  He is so passionate about his work that he travels all over the United States to help these animals.  He trains people and not horses and I really respect that attitude, in another life I worked at a school and saw a lot of childhood issues and families with crises, everyone there respected counselors and therapists who trained the parents to behave rather than the child.

The movie Horsewhisperer was already in the works before Buck was tapped to be an advisor so it is not actually based on Brannaman's real life experiences.  In my opinion Buck is much more appealing and charismatic than Robert Redford, but that's just me.

I like animals a lot but I never paid much attention to horses in the past.  I was amazed at how intelligent and sensitive they actually are.   They have much more charisma then I ever imagined and they want to bond with people and work and serve and be loved and cared for.  Brannaman himself wants to work hard and serve them in return, I'm sure it comes from his sad and abusive early childhood  that has made him a so called "wounded healer."  He misses his family terribly while he travels but is making a living and serving his calling.

The scenery was absolutely beautiful and the story was compelling.  The movie was so well made I felt I got to know Buck pretty well, and I did not have the need to supplement the movie by visiting Wikipedia.  Some of the interviews were disturbing with regard to Buck's traumatic childhood but overall it was a very pleasant and noble story of people and animals resiliency and strength and ability to heal each other.  This confirmed my belief that animals and their silent ears make the best therapists.

Film number 9 The Hollywood Complex

Film number: 9
Film name: The Hollywood Complex
Source:  Netflix Instant Watch
Rating: 6/10

The Hollywood Complex is a movie about children who aspire to be on television and their famililes that follow their dreams to Hollywood and take up residence in The Oakwood Apartments, during pilot season.  The children and families that were featured were all very different despite their common goals.  Most of the families are rather eccentric and "just know" that their little one is going to be the biggest star in the world.  While the photographers, agents and certainly leasing agents at The Oakwood all welcome them, the callbacks just don't come.

I don't need to see any kind of tarring and feathering of kids and their parents, but it kind of happens here.  Most of these princesses are "dethroned" so to speak when they are not scooped by Ron Reiner within the first half hour of arrival in Hollywood.  We see a mother and daughter sleeping on the floor in an overpriced unit while dad is back home working himself, most likely to an early grave to finance their dreams.  We are introduced to a really attractive young lady and her mother, who both seem intelligent and down to earth, so I am still wondering what the hell they were possibly doing there!  And last but not least a mom that homeschools the kids she is trying to break down the Hollywood doors for while dad is in the military.  She picks bottles from the trash to make ends meet and espouses that Jesus has put here because she was able to talk a another stage mommy out of letting her eight year old wear a leather bra for a part?!  I just couldn't make this shit up!

It was an interesting concept to see all these hopefuls in one place and I learned about tv pilots, and online schooling I guess.  But the rest of it was just so sad to me.  No one should put their kids down or really mock their aspirations, but stop all this over the top enthusiasm and dedication for something that is not going to happen!  It takes years to be an "overnight success"  and if you doubt that watch this movie.  It was kind of a tamer version of the show Showbiz Moms and Dads from the back in the day.  Even after being featured in the documentary, I haven't seen anything more from any of these people.  Who wants to sleep on the ground and live in some sort of Hollywood mommy commune even if the Oakwood did turn out Hilary Duff and Zach Efron.  That is two out of thousands and thousands and thousands.  It was really gross to watch two middle aged casting directors scan through thousands of tapes of kids and make rude remarks, and even grosser when one of them kept insisting they not hire any girl who had "titties"............This is the world the parents wanted for their kids and it is appalling to the rest of us.

Film number 8 Unforgotten:Twenty-Five Years After Willowbrook

Film number:8
Film name: Unforotten: Twenty-Five Years After Willowbrook
Source: Netflixe Instant Watch
Rating: 8/10


If I deprived a dog or cat in then United States right now of love, and food and water or cleanliness I would be in jail and rightfully so, but no so long ago in the United States it was OK to deprive the mentally or physically challenged American Citizens of all their basic rights and needs.  We are not talking about the 1900's, we are talking about the 1970's!  I watched this movie and felt shame and sadness.

Back in the day doctors pressured parents and families to abandon all hope for any child born with any mental handicaps that made them "not easy to care for".  This includes down syndrome, retardation or any mental challenge that left children with special needs.  This film that chronicled one so called "school" on Staten Island that housed thousands of the mentally or physically handicapped with out dignity is very infamous.  RFK visited this home and had a lot of questions about it's lack of care or concern or even staff, was also exposed years later by a very young reporter name Geraldo Rivera.  Seriously?  It took that long to expose child abuse of the most vulnerable?  We are pathetic if we think this is ok.

This movie chronicles several families of the disabled and their experiences, talked into placing their loved ones into institutions, where care and compassion were not present even in the most mundane activities, ie patients who could not feed themselves had their food slopped on a tray and if they did not get any into their mouths within an allotted time went hungry as well as dirty. 

I can not say I enjoyed watching this movie at all. When I received a text while watching this film, and was asked how I was doing, my response was "I want to punch very bad people to death."   It was gut wrenching to hear stories about humans being sensory deprived and tortured due to lack of staff and compassion.  But it was also life affirming to see families come back together after being hoodwinked out of loving their child or sibling in their daily lives for so many years come back together and rally around someone who is vulnerable or not considered healthy or cute by a lot of other people.  They all focused on how far the individual had come since Willowbrook and how much more potential lay inside them.  

Danny Aiello  narrated and appeared in this movie and he looked just like he did in Madonna's "Papa Don't Preach" video, concerned, disappointed and sad.  How did we waste a whole generation because they might not be attractive when they grew up?  But they could be joyful, and loving and stimulated by things we take for granted.  The most upsetting tale was told by the man who lived it.  Bernard was thought to be retarded and left to to rot at Willowbrook, but was merely physically slowed down by Cerebral Palsy.  I am not even kidding you, years ago I worked with a guy with CP who was smarter than I will ever be, by far, but moved his body differently and spoke a bit slurred.  This is what was done to a person with all their wits about them, because it took them longer to get their words out! 

We just have to do better!  We have to.  No one should be set aside like trash because of their IQ, and no parent should be pressured to give their baby away due to the body they were born into.  I hope just like concentration camps, that these ideas are far in the past and that although they are crimes against all of humanity they will not happen again because we have learned so much and come so far.