War/Dance

Uganda is one of those countries in Africa that has been at war longer than most of it's residents have been alive. So this might have been just another documentary about Africa... the violence, the poverty, the inhumanity that just seems to ravage that continent like an airborne virus out of control. But War/Dance is a different documentary about Africa, and perhaps that is why it won so many awards including a nomination for an Oscar. War/Dance is a documentary about hope.

War/Dance tells the story of three Ugandan children and their remarkable journey from the Patongo refugee camp to the National Music Competition - where 20,000 schools compete to be the best of the best in music and dance. We meet Rose, Dominic and Nancy - all teenagers who have never known a life without war - all with a tragic story to tell of lost childhood and violence - and all with a passion for making music. As the kids prepare for the music festival, without instruments, without uniforms and costumes, the real underdogs going into the competition, their individual stories unfold. These stories may break your heart, but the kids will bring new meaning to the term "survivor."

Directors Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine made a documentary of amazing beauty; the cinematography and editing give a dreamy quality to the film that is hard to resist. The music is breathtaking. But the kids... well, what is there to say. I cried. But it will leave you in awe of the human spirit. See the excellent website here.

Murderball

Picture, if you will - young, testosterone laden, professional athletes. Piss and vinegar, ego driven muscle in laser-like pursuit of victory at any cost - ready and willing to lock horns with any buck that gets in the way - the steely gaze along the line, teeth clenched in effort, all mano e mano bravado - and may the best man win. All that's in play in Murderball; I mean we're dealing with rugby here, not some sport for girls. The fact that it's quadriplegic rugby and our rutting male athletes are in wheelchairs just makes it more interesting.

The film follows a number of players as they work toward the 2004 United States Rugby Team and the Paralympics in Athens, Greece, and along the way shines a light into life with disability. All these guys have suffered spinal cord injury or debilitating disease that has left them "incomplete quadriplegics" - they all have some use of upper body but are impaired in all four limbs. Quad rugby is full contact - players move a ball down court to score goals in specially made wheelchairs on steroids that would be Thunderdome appropriate. The opposing team tries to stop you. Any way they can. Padding and helmets are for sissies.

Dana Adam Shapiro and Henry-Alex Rubin have made a gem of a film, focused on a side of life few of us might have the chance to visit. They let the guys tell their stories; about coming to terms with life in a chair, about rivalry and loyalty, about sex (yes, they can!) and finding some dignity. Not every one of these guys is equally likable, but their fortitude and never say die attitude is refreshing in a world that tends to whine... Try watching this film before your next pity party. I double dog dare you. See the website here.

Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed

Ben Stein has apparently studied every Michael Moore movie ever produced and come to the conclusion that if Michael could do it, HE could do it. When I say studied, I mean with diligence - he copied the Hated Liberal so well that leaving Michael out of the credits should be cause for a lawsuit. Soundtrack, cheesy gimmicks, pacing, even monotonous voice over - everything smacks of Michael Moore. Too bad Ben didn't bother with the fact checking.

The premise of Expelled is that "Big Science" (unclear as to just who that is,) will not allow anyone to question evolution - that all scientists are godless atheists and dissent in the ranks will get you canned, blacklisted, and ridiculed. Ben, our freedom lovin' all American questioner, asks pointy questions of lots of the evil atheists, and less than pointy questions of the persecuted, interspersed with clever graphics and film clips and Ben's whiny, nasal voice telling us what is really being said. It's faulty logic that skims right over into offensive when he concludes that the Holocaust was the result of Hitler's belief in evolution.

I found the movie hard to swallow - I doubt that any serious evolutionary biologist is really satisfied that we know everything about the origin of life, however the concept of intelligent design assumes that since we don't know - then the answer MUST be God. Stein's arguments assume this. Furthermore, a little research will show that not only did the producers of this masterpiece outright LIE to obtain their interviews, they have a summarily religious agenda AND banned certain academics from their screenings. Interesting answer to their questions about freedom, don't you think? Check out the very well funded Expelled website here and the far more interesting Expelled: Exposed website here.

Sicko

It pleases me that Michael Moore has mellowed. He's not nearly as heavy handed as he used to be and I think he's learned that people may want to see the subject of his inquiry more than they wish to see his big, dumb guy shtick (even if big, dumb guy is why people always underestimate him and step in it.) If you hate him, go right ahead, but you have to admit he pokes his nose in some places that do deserve some poking. The health care system of the US of A is a train wreck that warrants some world class nose poking and he goes at it with his usual sarcastic gusto.

So Michael doesn't make his movie about the 50 million Americans who lack insurance altogether, but rather about the horror stories of those who do and are failed by a system rigged for profit. These stories will make you cry and he handles them with more courtesy and care than I could have imagined. He throws in a little trademark grandstanding for fun, but most of the film is real people who've lived the real tragedies of losing a loved one or the family home because of an inability to pay. He contrasts these stories with interviews with happy Europeans and Canadians who never have these worries. Okay, I didn't buy that either.

BUT, this is a film that makes one think. Maybe the fact that we have the world's most expensive health care system doesn't mean we have the best. Maybe socialized medicine is not something devised by Satan to deny people decent care. If you look at the systems of France (gasp) and the U.K. - there are some very viable solutions that we should be looking at and I had to wonder why we are so willing to believe that every other developed nation in the world has socialized medicine because it's such a terrible idea. Love him or hate him, Michael makes us reexamine ourselves. It's worth doing. Check his facts here.

Jesus Camp

Documentaries can be borrring. I can tell you that this one is anything but. It's harder to look away from than a train wreck and was rightfully nominated for Best Documentary. Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady, who admit to having no previous experience with the Evangelical movement, managed to make a film that walks the most incredible line ever imagined. The religious subjects of their film were delighted with it. And anyone not of that bent will be horrified. As I was.

Jesus Camp follows three intelligent, articulate children (Levi's 13, Rachel's 10 and Tory is 11) as they experience the "Kids on Fire" summer camp in Devil's Lake, North Dakota. Pastor Becky Fischer is the force behind the children's ministry where kids as young as 6 are taught to become dedicated soldiers for Christ. Becky shares, the kids share, their parents share the very passionate beliefs they hold about child rearing and the evils of the secular world(read abortion and Muslims.) The only voice of dissent present in the film is that of Mike Papantonio of Air America as he reiterates our rights of separation of church and state.

These brilliant filmmakers manage to remain completely neutral as they present this material for you. So much so, that of all the folks in the film, only Ted Haggard felt misrepresented (all this prior to his fall from grace.) You can call it what you like, but whipping 7 year olds into hysteria about their need to repent is child abuse in my opinion and was not easy to watch. Still this film puts a spotlight onto a movement in America that is moving more and more into the mainstream. This is an important little film. Official website here.