I have seen more documentaries than usual this year and this is a really good batch since I'm not a fan of documentaries. So, basically what I've posted are in mini-reviews of the documentaries I have seen this year (good and bad):
The Act of Killing (2013), Unrated, 4 stars
It is the September Movement in 1965 and gangsters Anwar Congo and Adi Zulkadry in Medan are promoted from selling tickets to leading a death squad in North Sumatra as part of the Indonesian killings of 1965 and 1966. The real-life death squad members re-enact their mass killings and scenes depicting their emotions and feelings about the killings. The scenes are produced in their own favorite genres: westerns, musicals, gangster pictures, etc. The documentary shows what Anwar is really depicting behind the scenes.
This is a fascinating documentary of how Anwar and his friends feel about their crimes and murders back then, especially, when it is disturbing. I can assure that it is a difficult documentary to watch, but this documentary explores the painful and raw talents of producing nightmarish images onto their own movie as entertainment. This would be a great psychological documentary to explore how mass murderers think before they commit their crime. Do they miss killing people viciously?
****
Blackfish (2013), PG-13, 3.5 stars
This documentary shows what it is like to put a whale in captivity at SeaWorld for quite a long time. So long, that the killer whale, Tilikum, is the animal killing 3 people, including a top killer whale trainer. It explores how Tilikum was captured in 1983 in Iceland and how the whalers mistreat the captured victims in such a way that viewers are horrified to see and feel sorry to the whales being held in SeaWorld all this time.
If you are an animal lover or a whale lover, this documentary is going to be hard to watch as footage is shown how the whalers put up with the captured creatures. But, this is gripping and disturbing material that people will be interested to watch and then sit down and discuss about the animal rights in America especially whether or not to keep the species as entertainment. This documentary did make me depressed and angry and whether or not I want to go back to SeaWorld again. But, hey, many generations of families do go there regardless of what they do the animals. My only quibble with the documentary is that the music is really bad and doesn't do the material any better.
***1/2
Dirty Wars (2013), Unrated, 2 stars
Investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill is sent down to Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and other countries to explore behind the covert operations of the United States. He investigates the cover-up of some civilians' deaths, including two pregnant women killed by the U.S. soldiers. Viewers would listens on what these victims have to say about the covert operations and the horrible experiences. We also hear testimonies from CIA agents, military generals and other government people backed by the United States.
That's it? I mean, just more and more investigating from Scahill. This documentary did not work despite the good job that Scahill did to find out the truths behind these covert wars. But, blame it on the director, Richard Rowley, who seems to really focus on how much these victims miss their families and putting a shot of Scahill on scribbling notes down. This is a self-indulgent and contrived documentary that does not make me learn too much about what really happened down in Afghanistan and other countries. The testimonies helped a little bit, but, I was just a little too bored.
**
God Loves Uganda (2013), Unrated, 3 stars
This is basically a recount of the American Evangelical movement in usurping Uganda's biblical law and turn the tide of the death penalty for homosexuality in a sprawling mess of controversy and gay rights. Because of a well-financed campaign and support from religious leaders, the new laws are really winning the Ugandan public. But the money is not coming from Africa and the other nations, they are coming from the United States from other religious leaders.
This is basically not a fresh or compelling documentary to say the least because some of the religious documentaries seemed to get too carried away with their beliefs. But, it is a well-told, straight forward documentary about the intersection between faith and politics that really are subject to debate about the anti-gay movement in Uganda. I mean, this was fine to say the least.
***
Stories We Tell (2013), PG-13, 3.5 stars
This documentary explores Sarah Polley's family secrets, maybe, one involving an extramarital affair. She explores the relationship between Sarah's parents, but it is revealed that she was given birth by her mother and someone else, other than her father. So, the affair is true. Polley interviews her two siblings from the mother's two marriages, other relatives and family friends, and we get to look at some super-8 material of home movies in her historical family life.
This is a moving and affecting documentary that has many layers of what Polley is trying to figure out behind her family's history of values and myths. Everybody is telling different truths about what happened. I cannot dare myself to reveal the concluding information regarding Sarah but it is intriguing. This is a very interesting, but not overwhelming documentary about a family's secret world of information.
***1/2
The Act of Killing (2013), Unrated, 4 stars
 |
| The filmmakers putting "bloody" makeup on the actors. |
It is the September Movement in 1965 and gangsters Anwar Congo and Adi Zulkadry in Medan are promoted from selling tickets to leading a death squad in North Sumatra as part of the Indonesian killings of 1965 and 1966. The real-life death squad members re-enact their mass killings and scenes depicting their emotions and feelings about the killings. The scenes are produced in their own favorite genres: westerns, musicals, gangster pictures, etc. The documentary shows what Anwar is really depicting behind the scenes.
This is a fascinating documentary of how Anwar and his friends feel about their crimes and murders back then, especially, when it is disturbing. I can assure that it is a difficult documentary to watch, but this documentary explores the painful and raw talents of producing nightmarish images onto their own movie as entertainment. This would be a great psychological documentary to explore how mass murderers think before they commit their crime. Do they miss killing people viciously?
****
Blackfish (2013), PG-13, 3.5 stars
 |
| Tilikum putting on a show at SeaWorld. |
If you are an animal lover or a whale lover, this documentary is going to be hard to watch as footage is shown how the whalers put up with the captured creatures. But, this is gripping and disturbing material that people will be interested to watch and then sit down and discuss about the animal rights in America especially whether or not to keep the species as entertainment. This documentary did make me depressed and angry and whether or not I want to go back to SeaWorld again. But, hey, many generations of families do go there regardless of what they do the animals. My only quibble with the documentary is that the music is really bad and doesn't do the material any better.
***1/2
Dirty Wars (2013), Unrated, 2 stars
Investigative reporter Jeremy Scahill is sent down to Afghanistan, Yemen, Somalia and other countries to explore behind the covert operations of the United States. He investigates the cover-up of some civilians' deaths, including two pregnant women killed by the U.S. soldiers. Viewers would listens on what these victims have to say about the covert operations and the horrible experiences. We also hear testimonies from CIA agents, military generals and other government people backed by the United States.
That's it? I mean, just more and more investigating from Scahill. This documentary did not work despite the good job that Scahill did to find out the truths behind these covert wars. But, blame it on the director, Richard Rowley, who seems to really focus on how much these victims miss their families and putting a shot of Scahill on scribbling notes down. This is a self-indulgent and contrived documentary that does not make me learn too much about what really happened down in Afghanistan and other countries. The testimonies helped a little bit, but, I was just a little too bored.
**
God Loves Uganda (2013), Unrated, 3 stars
This is basically a recount of the American Evangelical movement in usurping Uganda's biblical law and turn the tide of the death penalty for homosexuality in a sprawling mess of controversy and gay rights. Because of a well-financed campaign and support from religious leaders, the new laws are really winning the Ugandan public. But the money is not coming from Africa and the other nations, they are coming from the United States from other religious leaders.
This is basically not a fresh or compelling documentary to say the least because some of the religious documentaries seemed to get too carried away with their beliefs. But, it is a well-told, straight forward documentary about the intersection between faith and politics that really are subject to debate about the anti-gay movement in Uganda. I mean, this was fine to say the least.
***
Stories We Tell (2013), PG-13, 3.5 stars
 |
| Sarah Polley making the camera work. |
This is a moving and affecting documentary that has many layers of what Polley is trying to figure out behind her family's history of values and myths. Everybody is telling different truths about what happened. I cannot dare myself to reveal the concluding information regarding Sarah but it is intriguing. This is a very interesting, but not overwhelming documentary about a family's secret world of information.
***1/2
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