Taxi to the Dark Side

2007
Directed by: Alex Gibney

Create this Picture in your mind: You are driving your car to a large city along some rural road to pick up some people in the next town. All of a sudden you are stopped along a road because there was a tip that terrorists might be on the move after setting off a bomb. The police do a routine checkup and find a strange wire in your trunk which could have been used to trigger a bomb. You are quickly taken away to a jail where you aren’t told why you are arrested or given a lawyer. You are interrogated but pronounce you know nothing of what you have been accused of. New clothes are given to you and your arms are shackled to an iron mesh above your prison cell. You aren’t allowed to rest more than a few hours and even then you can’t sleep because if you doze off the handcuffs dig into your wrists and burn with pain. Later guards kick at your legs until they are pulverized. In a few days you are dead from your internal injuries.
This is a nightmare to most people - but this actually happened to one young taxi driver named Dilawar in Afghanistan. It was the first day of his job as a taxi driver and he was just driving some people he picked up in another town. He was later proven to be innocent as were the people he drove. This was unfortunately after he was beaten to death.
The film, though is not just about this one man but the many others who were incarcerated with little more against them than being at the wrong place at the wrong time. Of all those sent to bases to be interrogated , less than 5 percent were actually guilty of anything.
Taxi to the Dark Side details the mistreatment of prisoners under U.S. forces from Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan to the Abu Graib prison and Guatanamo Bay in Cuba. There is no embellishment in this film. It does not try to sway the viewer to any particular opinion. But it doesn’t need to either since the truth is right there for us to see in the degrading photos we see and from what we hear from actual prison guards at these locations.
The guards were told to think of the men there as less than human & they did a pretty good job of it - almost too good as many died from the inhumane treatment that is in total disregard to the Geneva Convention.
Taxi to the Dark Side really made me consider our foreign policy in harsher light. I had heard of the prisoner abuse scandals before and had seen pictures but to be reminded that it was our troops & most of all our leaders who had done this was especially hurtful. There was an interesting point brought up and one I’ld like to mention here. We Americans pride ourselves in belonging to a free country with inalienable rights for all mankind, where everyone under American protection can count on fairness and justice, do we not? If so, then how can we treat other human beings in such an inhumane way? It sends the opinion that if you are foreign you can be treated as: A) subhuman, B) a terrorist, C) unjustly, D) all of the above. I do wonder how many innocent prisoners became terrorists later after they were let out - only time will tell.
4 stars

Our Daily Bread

Directed by: Nikolaus Geyrhalter

Do you ever wonder where your food comes from? Sometimes I think part of the joy in eating comes from the fact that you don’t have to. Lets face it, most of us would rather not know that our burger came from cud-chewing Betsy only a few days ago or that our eggs came from chickens who exist in towers of cages that would make crowded Tokyo seem like Lincoln, Nebraska. Oh, and don’t get me started on the bacon. All of it (at least a great many food items) is presented here in its glory, uncut and unglamourized. The only sounds we hear are the sounds of conveyor belts or the sound of a saw slicing through bone and tissue. The atomization is quite spectacular and even amusing in some scenes - like a machine that propels chicks into trays like they were feathered ping pong balls (I am surprised the chicks don’t get concussions). But not all of Our Daily Bread shows the atomization of the food industry. There is a person behind that salami to be sure. Often we see them go through their daily tasks with all the exuberance of, well, aging cheese. There are a few takes to the workers taking their lunch break showing us that they eat too and their food is no doubt prepared by people like them. The real question is the woman who is putting bands on chickens all day having a chicken sandwich? I think not. Or at least I wouldn’t.
Cinemagraphically there are some great shots that give us the idea of the scope and scale of what it takes to feed billions of people whether it be rows of greenhouses or thousands of olive trees. When you think about it is quite amazing.
Many of the images are graphic and not for the faint of heart (or stomach). In Our Daily Bread the processes are shown in full detail from artificial insemination to the slaughterhouse. Everything is precisely controlled and maintained. If you are familiar with The Matrix then you will remember a scene where there are towers of human beings being produced for the specific purpose of providing energy to the machines that have taken over the earth. I wonder how the animals reaction would be if they knew they were that to us? But then again part of the joy of being an animal must be not knowing such things.
A good film and A good look for anyone who wants to see our food from the other side of the counter.
2 stars

Great World of Sound

2006
Directed By: Craig Zobel
Written By: Craig Zobel
Co-Writer: George Smith

Cast:
Martin - Pat Healy
Clarence - Kene Holiday
Layton - Robert Longstreet
Shank - John Baker
Pam - Rebecca Mader
Gloria - Tricia Paolucio
There are two types of people in the world: Those who want to be stars and those who want to make money off of those people. This may be a gross generalization of course but reflecting on Great World of Sound I couldn't help but feel that way. The movie follows two upcoming talent scouts (producers) working for Great World of Sound Recordings. Martin (Pat Healy) is an unasuming man who is devoted to his girlfriend and a self proclaimed "idea" man (his girlfriend derives much of her inspiration from he, so he says). His partner, Clarence, a father of six children is much less afraid to say what is on his mind.
They are both soon sent out on the road to gather talent. Whether that talent is good or bad, they try to make them put money up front as "assurance" that they are genuinly interested in making a record. Despite being sent to cheesy hotels where they interview the candidates in their room, they make off pretty good to begin with. There are quite a few bad singers and not many good ones. Clarence does a fantastic job of buttering them up and making them believe they actually do have talent. But then again Clarence doesn't have much of a choice. He has a family to feed. On the other hand we see Martin's morality starting to weigh heavy on him. A little girl from a poor background is led to believe that she has a chance with a song that Frank Sinatra himself couldn't turn around.
He knows that not everyone will get a chance to get a make a record even though they put their money in like everyone else. Like their boss points out, you wouldn't be able to afford college if colleges accepted only the best and brightest students - there would be far too few. It doesn't sound fair but it is true.
The cinematography and acting in this Film I thought was mediocre, but what I liked best was the story and oddly enough the ending. It seemed very sad and yet very true and thus real at the same time.
2 1/2 Stars

The Bicycle Thief

Directed By: Vittorio De Sica

Cast:
Lomberto Maggiorani - Antonio Ricci
Enzo Staiola - Bruno
Lianella Carell - Maria

In postwar Italy life is not easy for most. Men who fought in the war are fighting now just to put food on the table. Work is not easy to come by and Antonio feels like his misfortunes have made a turn for the better when he gets a job putting ads around a large city. It has fairly good pay and it pays extra for his family of four. Trouble is, he will need a bicycle for the job. He bartered his last bicycle for bread money and now his wife has to sell their bed sheets so he can get the job.
All seems fine on the first day of work until a young man steals his bike away. In that instant his hopes fall through the floor. The company that employs him won’t get another bike. He asks some friends to help look but it is a daunting task. In the marketplace we glimpse row after row of bicycles. When they all look so similar I have no idea how they can tell a certain model apart from any other. The search ends up being useless and right when he is about to give up hope he spots the thief and his bike but can’t catch him. No one seems to help stop the thief either and no one is very willing to help. When he finds the thief later the entire neighborhood speaks up for him - now he is up against no less than a local mob. There are no witnesses and the bike is nowhere in the thief’s house.
At this point we can’t help but feel the father’s feelings of despair and failure. Right beside him is his son and everything comes to climactic low when Antonio resorts to stealing another bicycle - one of hundreds just left there in the open. This time of course there are plenty of people that come after Antonio. Right when he is being taken to the police the person who’s bike he stole sees Bruno, his young son, and decides not to press charges. The worst thing is that Bruno, his son witnesses this. In the end it is his young son that comforts his father.
In the final analysis I wouldn’t say this is not a feel-good movie but it is definitely a star in the Neo-realist films that were produced by Italy after the war. Unlike American films which always tended to have happy endings - with a soldier coming home to his sweetheart or a cowboy riding off into the sunset - these films painted a grimmer more true-to-life portrait of the working man’s struggle to live in a harsh and unforgiving world. In a country like Italy - on the losing end of WWII this was unfortunately, all too apparent.
The Bicycle Thief, to its credit doesn’t try to hide anything in a sugar coated façade. It drives its point home directly and repeatedly. Gone are the external enemies from other countries - now the only enemies are our own country men.
3 stars

Panic Room

Directed By: David Fincher
Written By: David Koepp
2002

Jodi Foster - Meg Altman
Kristen Stewart - Sarah

The uneasiness in this movie is felt from the very opening credits when large letters hover menacingly over the Manhattan skyline. The characters themselves seem ready to crack. For instance, Jodi Foster plays Meg Altman, the recently divorced wife to a pharmaceutical specialist. She is the awkwardly overbearing mother to Sarah who is at that age where she thinks she doesn’t need her mom yet knows she still does.
The movie opens up with the two of them being shown a brownstone house in Manhattan’s northwest side. It has everything you could want, lots of space a decent backyard (sort of) and even more - a safe room, a room where the residents can go if they are being burglarized and call the police. Being the overprotective mom she is this is probably the selling point. They move in and are promptly - you guessed it - burglarized. After they go to bed three men break in looking to crack open a safe in the panic room. They are an odd bunch to say the least and the oddest one has to be Raul who plays himself up to be a real hotshot. Mrs. Altman hears them downstairs and rushes both her daughter and herself into the panic room before the buglers can catch them. Unfortunately the panic room becomes more of a tomb than a refuge for her and her daughter as she didn’t connect the room’s phone line. Meg has seen their faces so she knows her and her daughter will most likely be killed. The burglars know there is at least three million dollars in the Panic Room and they will stop at nothing to get it. There are two very strong forces battling each other here - the will to live and greed. They are all desperate emotions and only one side can win. Which will it be?
Cinematically this film is superb. The camera goes anywhere. With a clever mix of good footage and computer-generated effects we don’t go around corners, we go through them. It adds a disquieting feeling to the movie and only increases our participation as spectators to the events that unfold.
The suspense certainly doesn’t lack either. When Mrs. Altman must rush to get the cell phone while the burglars are bickering downstairs we see everything in slow motion and desperately hope she’ll get it in time.
The characters are well done as well. You may be surprised to find that the burglars in particular aren’t cookie-cutter robbers but rather are very distinct and believable
Overall a great suspense film that leaves a lasting impression.
3 stars

No Direction Home: Bob Dylan

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

This is fitting tribute by one of the greatest filmmakers to one the greatest musicians. In its two parts we are taken from Dylan’s Humble beginnings in Hibbing, Minnesota to his tours in Europe. To someone who has heard of Dylan and only vaguely has heard his music or discounted him because he doesn’t carry a tune as well as most other singers I would say take a look at this documentary and you will gain a whole new understanding on the life and times of this artist. To those who have heard and enjoy his music, such as myself, this film only gave me new understanding of Dylan and a deeper appreciation of his talent.
What is used to tell the story of Bob Dylan is not only Dylan’s own accounts and thoughts but also archival footage as well as the people he sang with or worked with. We learn he (his real name was Robert Zimmerman) had a knack for music from an early age and was most influenced by topical singers like Woody Guthre. Though many people say he was a topical singer Dylan himself opposes that label.
His town of Hibbing in Minnesota was a Mining town and it really isn’t any place to be for a young man interested in pursuing a career in music. For a while he thought about going into Military School but eventually decided to go to New York City which at that time was the center of everything both new and old in America. He plays at bars in Greenwich Village and eventually rises in popularity. It is certainly not his voice that has started making him sell records like practically every singer of that time. Rather it is what he had to say. What he writes seems to resonate with America’s youth and culture even though he claims he didn’t know why he wrote what he did or even what the inspiration for it was. The “biography” continues to go on about Dylan and how as his fame grew he resisted the attempt made on him by others to conform him to a particular cause or movement. It has been said that this ability for Dylan to be his own person was the reason why people where so strongly attracted to him. The same I think can be said for his music, the best of which is his original work and that is that it is authentic.
Scorsese for his part has done a good job of telling Dylan’s story. He has interwoven interviews, archival footage and performances into a mosaic that starts at the end in the beginning goes to the beginning and then comes full circle at the end. He doesn’t take really any artististic liberties with the film and it is good that he doesn’t. After all it is Dylan’s story and as artist he is no more than a mirror for reflecting the truth around him…I think Dylan would agree.
4 stars