MIFF Day 12
Che Part 2: Guerrilla
Well, I've got my answer on how to do an uncritical film about the life of Che, you skip from just prior to the successful takeover of Cuba to his last year in Bolivia. While part 1 was a story of idealism and success, part 2 is a story of idealism and failure. Unlike the Cuban revolution, the Bolivians didn't want foreigners to come in, start a revolution and liberate them. The driving force of Che's philosophy, namely that if revolution is absent in the people, you jumpstart it by going in, isn't really critically examined, but it is acknowledged. There are even vague references to Che's participation in the execution of Cubans as one of the Bolivian soldiers, a Cuban, says Che executed his father. Both films are based on Che's diaries, so it's a bit much to expect a film that delves into the setting and backstory. The human rights abuses in Cuba aren't mentioned, and Che is portrayed as a fairly noble man who wants to better the lives of the people he fights for. And the people are definitely shown to be oppressed, but simply unwilling as yet to fight for their rights. It's a beautifully shot film, less interested in Che himself this time around as with the collapse of his revolutionary expedition, but it's a great story of failure. I mean that in the best way possible. Where everything went right in Cuba, it goes wrong in Bolivia. I just wish there were also Parts 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, telling the stories of his actions in Castro's Cuba, in the Congo and in Venezuela. I haven't heard much about them, and I'd love to know more.
Morphia
Requiem for a Dream, set in revolutionary Russia. A doctor in the middle of nowhere becomes addicted to morphine and does all manner of great and terrible things along the way. He saves lives, wrecks lives and slowly descends further and further into a hell of his own making. It's not the cheeriest film around, and the end is striking and sad. Then again, could anything else be expected from the director of Cargo 200, one of the most depressing (and impressive) films of last year's festival.
I Need That Record!
A lament for the passing of the independent record store, this doco features a number of interviews with store owners, musicians and suprisingly(?), Noam Chomsky. It charts the rise and fall of the local record store, the competition from big chain stores and their "loss-leader" selling strategy (one classic line mentions stores buying their CDs from Best Buy because they could get them cheaper there than from the label itself) and online piracy. There's a great bit of archival footage showing Chuck D and Lars Ulrich arguing about Napster. Lars actually makes some good points, which is interesting given the vilification Metallica got for going after Napster. It's also a lament for the passing of small local stores in general, with Chomsky connecting it to a lowering in civic involvement. Without small local places where people meet, community dies. But it's not all doom and gloom. There's stories of owners who've found ways to continue trading, and new stores that open up. In the end, it's a very balanced documentary about our changing times and the impact it's had on music retailing.
Well, I've got my answer on how to do an uncritical film about the life of Che, you skip from just prior to the successful takeover of Cuba to his last year in Bolivia. While part 1 was a story of idealism and success, part 2 is a story of idealism and failure. Unlike the Cuban revolution, the Bolivians didn't want foreigners to come in, start a revolution and liberate them. The driving force of Che's philosophy, namely that if revolution is absent in the people, you jumpstart it by going in, isn't really critically examined, but it is acknowledged. There are even vague references to Che's participation in the execution of Cubans as one of the Bolivian soldiers, a Cuban, says Che executed his father. Both films are based on Che's diaries, so it's a bit much to expect a film that delves into the setting and backstory. The human rights abuses in Cuba aren't mentioned, and Che is portrayed as a fairly noble man who wants to better the lives of the people he fights for. And the people are definitely shown to be oppressed, but simply unwilling as yet to fight for their rights. It's a beautifully shot film, less interested in Che himself this time around as with the collapse of his revolutionary expedition, but it's a great story of failure. I mean that in the best way possible. Where everything went right in Cuba, it goes wrong in Bolivia. I just wish there were also Parts 1.1, 1.2 and 1.3, telling the stories of his actions in Castro's Cuba, in the Congo and in Venezuela. I haven't heard much about them, and I'd love to know more.
Morphia
Requiem for a Dream, set in revolutionary Russia. A doctor in the middle of nowhere becomes addicted to morphine and does all manner of great and terrible things along the way. He saves lives, wrecks lives and slowly descends further and further into a hell of his own making. It's not the cheeriest film around, and the end is striking and sad. Then again, could anything else be expected from the director of Cargo 200, one of the most depressing (and impressive) films of last year's festival.
I Need That Record!
A lament for the passing of the independent record store, this doco features a number of interviews with store owners, musicians and suprisingly(?), Noam Chomsky. It charts the rise and fall of the local record store, the competition from big chain stores and their "loss-leader" selling strategy (one classic line mentions stores buying their CDs from Best Buy because they could get them cheaper there than from the label itself) and online piracy. There's a great bit of archival footage showing Chuck D and Lars Ulrich arguing about Napster. Lars actually makes some good points, which is interesting given the vilification Metallica got for going after Napster. It's also a lament for the passing of small local stores in general, with Chomsky connecting it to a lowering in civic involvement. Without small local places where people meet, community dies. But it's not all doom and gloom. There's stories of owners who've found ways to continue trading, and new stores that open up. In the end, it's a very balanced documentary about our changing times and the impact it's had on music retailing.
posted by Andrew Lee at 11:52 PM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home