Category: Documentary

By Joe Bendel. Algeria’s In Amenas gasoline processing facility would be the perfect setting for a Die Hard movie. It is an isolated spot, surrounded by vast stretches of the Sahara Desert in every direction. That is why many survivors wonder how several truckloads of al-Qaeda affiliated terrorists could launch a ground assault on the facility without the Algerian authorities noticing. Not surprisingly, many in the Algerian government would prefer to forget the embarrassing international incident. Fortunately, director Bruce Goodison and his team have assembled a comprehensive tick-tock history of the In Amenas hostage crisis. Their revealing look at contemporary Islamist terrorism, Held Hostage, airs on most PBS outlets tomorrow.

With al-Qaeda reportedly operating freely to the south and east of In Amenas in Mali and Libya, security was obviously a concern for the expat workers long before January 16th, 2013. Paul Morgan, the British security chief, had actually tendered his resignation out of frustration with lax plant security days before the attack. (Tragically, he would not survive to be vindicated by events.) While military and gendarmerie escorted workers on and off the premises, no facility personnel were allowed to carry arms. That meant once Mokhtar Belmokhtar’s band of terrorist-brigands reached the plant, there would be no means of organizing any resistance.

Securing the first on-camera interviews of many survivors and victims’ family members, Held Hostage provides a very personal perspective on the terrorist attack. Perhaps the report’s most shocking moment involves the circumstances surrounding the truly cruel and senseless murder of Filipino expat Angelito Manaois, Jr. Three Americans died at In Amenas, which should concern us all, but the losses were greater for Britain, Norway, Japan, and the Philippines. Regardless, the crimes committed in In Amenas warranted far greater attention than they received from the traditional old media.

Goodison’s team broaches a number of inconvenient questions throughout the program, particularly with respect to the conduct of the Algerian military. Granted, refusal to negotiate with terrorists is a defensible position, but it rather looks better if there is some attempt to stall for time while organizing a rescue operation. Whereas, strafing carloads of hostages is just hard to defend from any standpoint.

Held Hostage is technically quite well constructed, instilling a full sense of the factors that contributed to the desert calamity in just under an hour. Viewers will have the sense they could lead their own briefing session after watching it—and perhaps they should. It a real expose and a wake-up call, but its warning is likely to fall on deaf ears. Easily the most important television of the week, Held Hostage airs on most PBS stations tomorrow (10/22).

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on October 21st, 2013 at 12:02pm.

By Joe Bendel. Jazz musicians are forward-looking by temperament, constantly anticipating the next gig or recording. For a group of elderly Chinese swing musicians who endured the Cultural Revolution, living in the here-and-now rather than the past is not merely an aesthetic choice, it is a survival strategy. The Peace Old Jazz Band is Guinness-certified as the oldest continually performing band and they will finally have their spotlight moment in Uli Gaulke’s As Time Goes By in Shanghai, which screens during the 2013 Margaret Mead Film Festival at the American Museum of Natural History.

When five out of six band members are nicknamed “Old” (as in “Old Sun” or “Old Li”), it is pretty clear what you’ve got here. For the last twenty years, they have hit nightly at Shanghai’s Peace Hotel, following in the grand tradition of the big bands of the Swing Era. Accustomed to playing for dancers, most of the band is not inclined to start experimenting now. They might sound like “moldy figs,” but they have a right to stick to their thing. After all, the Cultural Revolution was a living nightmare for any musician performing decadent jazz and Western classical music.

When booked to play the North Sea Jazz Festival in Rotterdam, the Peace Old recruits a younger vocalist to perform standards as well as a few jazz renditions of traditional Chinese songs. Naturally, they shamelessly flirt with Yin “Yasmin” Chen—we would worry about them if they didn’t. Clearly, this gig will be a career zenith for the band, but they seem to take it in stride.

At first, As Time Goes By seems to be another documentary chronicling the late life triumphs of a group of plucky oldsters. However, it progressively deepens over time. The Peace Old musicians are understandably reluctant to talk about their experiences during the Cultural Revolution (after all, it never officially happened), but when Gaulke catches them alone, they start to open up and when they do it is heavy.

Frankly, the Peace Old’s technique is just kind of okay overall, but Holy Cats, do they play with feeling. While it is difficult for them to talk about their experiences verbally, it all comes out through their instruments. Gaulke mostly has the good sense to focus on the band and stay out of the way, but his transition shots capture a sense of the less affluent side of go-go Shanghai. The Peace Old can relate to both worlds, but do not quit fit into either.

As Time Goes By is deeply moving, both in musical and personal terms. It is rare to find a film that speaks so directly to both the gigging life and the residual collective emotional baggage of the Cultural Revolution, but it certainly does. Gulke’s doc should particularly resonate with working musicians in any major city. Wonderfully wise and bittersweet, As Time Goes By in Shanghai is very highly recommended.  A highlight of this year’s Margaret Mead Fest, it screens this Saturday (10/19) at the AMNH.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on October 16th, 2013 at 10:25am.

By Joe Bendel. Chris Strachwitz was born to an aristocratic family in Lower Silesia, but WWII drastically altered his destiny, turning him into the song-hunting heir of Alan Lomax. News that the advancing Soviet army was summarily executing “capitalists” convinced his family to emigrate west. Encountering New Orleans Jazz and Delta Blues as an American teen, he subsequently founded Arhoolie Records (named after a form of field holler Lomax recorded) to seek out and preserve the earthy sounds that spoke to him. Fifty years later, Strachwitz looks back on it all in Chris Simon & Maureen Gosling’s This Ain’t No Mouse Music, which screens during the 2013 Margaret Mead Film Festival at the American Museum of Natural History.

“Mouse Music” is a vague term Strachwitz uses for the sort of slick, mass produced music he can’t abide. His musician friends cannot really define it either, but they know you don’t want to be it. Like Lomax, Strachwitz did much of his recording in the field, tracking down many of the real deal Blues, Cajun, Creole, Cajunto, and Appalachian musicians that had slipped through the modern world’s cracks. The first time out, he hit major pay dirt, “discovering” Mance Lipscomb. Thanks to Arhoolie, artists like Big Joe Williams, post-“Hound Dog” Big Mama Thornton, Mississippi Fred McDowell, Michael Doucet, and Clifton Chenier would find a dedicated national audience.

During his travels, Strachwitz met and collaborated with filmmaker Les Blank (to whom Mouse Music is dedicated) and became a family friend to scores of musicians. Evidently, Strachwitz largely picked up the Bay Area politics surrounding him, but Simon and Gosling mostly steer clear of potentially divisive subjects. However, they cannot resist including the story of how Strachwitz obtained publishing rights to Country Joe McDonald’s “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag.” Evidently, the folk-rocker needed to lay down the future Woodstock ditty quickly and was referred to Strachwitz’ living room-studio by friends. In lieu of payment, Strachwitz accepted publishing rights, proving former Silesian aristocrats are better businessmen than hippies.

Simon and Gosling keep up with the only slightly manic Strachwitz quite well, conveying a good sense of the man and his label’s roster of artists.  While not everything Arhoolie releases will be to everyone’s tastes, the depth and breadth of it is quite impressive. Indeed, there is something very Whitman-esque about Strachwitz’s far-ranging pursuit of this roots music. The doc also provides a nice Blues fix, which is tough to get through mainstream media outlets. Recommended for fans of unvarnished musical Americana, This Ain’t No Mouse Music screens this Friday (10/18) as part of this year’s Margaret Mead Film Festival at the AMNH.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on October 15th, 2013 at 12:14pm.

By Joe Bendel. It is not sufficient to merely declare yourself a would-be state. Any governing authority must establish the rule of law. This was never a problem for the State of Israel (its neighbors are a different story). It started at the top, with Prime Ministers who guided the fledgling nation through periods of profound crisis. Ambassador Yehuda Avner witnessed this tumultuous history first hand as a trusted aide to Prime Ministers Levi Eshkol, Golda Meir, Yitzhak Rabin, Menachem Begin, and Shimon Peres. Drawing upon Avner’s insider history, Richard Trank chronicles the Eshkol and Meir years in The Prime Ministers: The Pioneers, which opens this Friday in New York.

Given the wit and verve Avner shows during his interview segments, viewers might assume he was in grade school when he served as Eshkol’s speech writer and English correspondent. However, he was there, in the field, when the State of Israel was first declared. Becoming a young but trusted member of Eshkol’s inner circle, Avner was on-hand for the planning sessions during the Six Days War. Begin was also present, forcefully advocating that Israel take advantage of the crisis to liberate the Old City of Jerusalem. Although cautious, Eshkol recognized the historic opportunity presenting itself and acted decisively.

Where the Six Days War was an unqualified triumph for the Israeli military, the Yom Kippur War initially threatened the very existence of Israel. Yet, Golda Meir rallied the country. In desperate need of military aid, she turned to the Watergate-embroiled Richard Nixon, who authorized a massive emergency airlift. The Western European parties in the Socialist International were not so responsive, refusing to allow the American transports to refuel en-route to their embattled fellow member state. Fortunately, Israel survived, allowing Meir to publicly shame her socialist colleagues.

As the first of a two part documentary series (co-produced by Trank and Rabbi Marvin Heir), Pioneers focuses on Eshkol and Meir, but Begin and Rabin appear in brief but significant supporting roles. Considering Gravity’s continuing box-office dominance, a new Sandra Bullock movie ought to be major news, but her voice-over work as Meir is probably not likely to get the attention it deserves. Regardless, she well captures the Prime Minister’s humanity and resoluteness.

Likewise, it is great to at least hear Leonard Nimoy again, vividly bringing Eshkol’s words to life. Christoph Waltz, who narrated the writings of Theodor Herzl in Trank’s valuable It is No Dream, also nicely gives voice to Begin. Frankly, Pioneers is quite a big name production, with Michael Douglas rounding out the voice cast as Rabin and Emmy winning composer Lee Holdridge penning and conducting the score.

As a subsidiary of the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Moriah Films is a film production company parents and teachers can trust to portray history accurately. Like their previous productions, Pioneers is authoritative yet acutely aware of the human element underlying great geo-political events. One hopes Pioneers and Trank’s promised follow-up will eventually be widely available for high school and college viewing, because it provides the sort of comprehensive history of Israel students deserve, but are not getting from today’s media or academia. Yet, thanks to Trank’s brisk pacing and Avner’s engaging personality, Pioneers is never a dry or distancing viewing experience. Highly recommended for anyone fascinated by the great leaders of the Twentieth Century, The Prime Ministers: the Pioneers opens this Friday (10/18) in New York at the Quad Cinema.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on October 14th, 2013 at 2:14pm.

By Joe Bendel. What chance does “Girl Power” have in a country where “people power” has yet to take hold? Myanmar’s first girl group will find out. As the military government slowly and ever so reluctantly releases its hold on the country, the music of Me N Ma Girls might perfectly underscore the changing times. The growing pains of the girl group and their nation are captured in Juliet Lamont’s Miss Nikki and the Tiger Girls, which screens during the 2013 Margaret Mead Film Festival at the American Museum of Natural History.

Australian expat Nicole “Nikki” May came to Burma with her oil-and-gas man significant other seeking adventure. The former dancer’s plan to form a group loosely modeled on the Spice Girls would take on wider cultural significance than she originally realized. It is hard to imagine the climate in which the group now known as Me N Ma Girls was assembled. Colored wigs were outlawed by the government and the only songs that could be legally performed were adapted western imports. Essentially, creativity was forbidden. The mere act of performance was considered closely akin to working in a go-go bar. Yet, somehow the five young women got the gist of May’s vision.

You might think a country without freedom of speech would not have to worry about scum-sucking agent-producers, but you would be wrong. His name is Peter Thein and after dropping the fab five for not being “pretty enough” (huh?) he threatened to sue the women if they continued to use the name “Tiger Girls.” They are so better off without him.

Lamont nicely establishes the personalities of each of the former Tiger Girls: Wai Hnin, Kimmy, Ah Moon, Htike Htike, and Cha Cha. They include devout Buddhists and Christians, as well as one representative of the northern Chin minority. One even happens to be the daughter of a retired senior officer. Arguably, they are a microcosm of Burmese society and they become more outspoken in their music following the release of Aung San Suu Kyi.

By documentary standards, MN & TG is practically a movie musical. Lamont often incorporates music video style interludes that are rather catchy and shrewdly convey the individual struggles of each woman featured. Indeed, the film starkly defines the very real stakes for the group. This is not Fame in Myanmar, with five plucky kids following their dreams. For most of Me N Ma Girls, it is about providing for families on the brink of ruin.

There is a lot of serious drama in MN & TG, but there is also some optimism and a lot of upbeat pop music. May certainly learns more than she bargained for, but her notion Burma could use the energy and idealism of a group like Me N Ma Girls has been vindicated by time. It is a fascinating story Lamont documents with unflinching honesty. To see what the band has since produced, check out the aptly titled “Girl Strong” on YouTube or iTunes. For a vivid sense of where they came from, seek out Lamont’s Miss Nikki and the Tiger Girls. Highly recommended, it screens Thursday (10/17) as part of this year’s Margaret Mead Film Festival at the AMNH.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on October 14th, 2013 at 2:11pm.

By Joe Bendel. For many kids, comic book collecting provided lessons in duty and sacrifice as well as their first practical experience with the laws of supply and demand. Ironically, just as the bottom fell out of the collectible market, the intellectual property value of Superhero franchises climbed to all time highs. This Tuesday, PBS chronicles the development of the costumed crime fighter in American culture with the three-part, one-night special broadcast of Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle, co-written by Michael Kantor & Laurence Maslon.

There will always be a demand for Action Comics #1. In fitting superhero style, part one, Truth, Justice, and the American Way begins with the origin story: the first proper comic book appearance of Superman. Created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster, the Man of Steel almost immediately captured the public imagination. Siegel and Shuster churned out adventures like assembly line employees, with all rights to their iconic creation retained by the company, DC Comics. Eventually, Siegel and Shuster will re-enter the narrative, like long lost characters resurrected to shake up the heroes’ universe.

Without question, part one is dominated by DC. This is the Golden Age of comics, when patriotic superheroes like Wonder Woman and Captain America brought the full force of their powers to bear against the National Socialist war menace. There was no question whose side they were on.

However, superheroes face an identity crisis in part two, Great Power, Great Responsibility. After pulling no punches against America’s enemies, do-gooder child psychologists started a hand-wringing campaign against comic book violence. The majors formed the self-regulating Comics Code Authority and watered down their content to conform to the new guidelines. Still, an upstart company was able to appeal to a new generation with a roster of characters who had to navigate real world problems as well as battle super villains. That would be Marvel.

Naturally, Stan the Man Lee is a prominent presence throughout Never-Ending. He was a game-changer. However, Steve Ditko is given rather short shrift for his contributions, including co-creating Spiderman and Doctor Strange. (It is an unfortunate omission many might suspect is motivated by the Objectivist influence reflected in Ditko’s later work). On the other hand, Great Power pays proper homage to the bold modernist style of Jim Steranko that re-invigorated the pages of Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Superheroes truly arrive when technology can finally do them justice on the big screen. Part three, Anyone Can Be a Hero, identifies Richard Donner’s Superman as the first and still perhaps the best-realized example. It also celebrates edgier storylines while dismissing the recent decline in comic book sales as an unavoidable consequence of the E-Book age. Yet, the comic industry’s rather Hollywood like agnostic response to post-September 11 terrorism, which part three covers in extensive detail, could just as easily be depressing single copy sales. Would Captain America have been as popular in the 1940’s if he never fought the Axis?

It is not an idle question. As one commentator argues, it is the regularity of comics that prevents these characters from becoming ossified artifacts, like The Shadow or Mandrake the Magician. Ironically, the movie business seems to get the appeal of these characters today better than many of their daily custodians.

Breezily directed by Kantor, Never-Ending is like a greatest hit package, delivering plenty of television and film clips for fans. It features a first class battery of expert talking heads, including many of the medium’s most influential artists and writers, including Steranko, Joe Simon, Len Wein, Louise Simonson, Jim Lee, Denny O’Neil, Todd McFarlane, Jerry Robinson, and Chris Claremont. Liev Schreiber is also a perfect choice to narrate, as an experienced voice-over performer and an alumnus of the Wolverine series, but the video-backdrops he periodically strolls through looks like the old In Search of show’s set updated for the Comic-Con crowd.

Obviously, Superheroes: A Never-Ending Battle is an attempt to broaden PBS’s audience. It hits all the necessary bases, but its biases periodically peak through. It is cool to hear from so many comic luminaries on national television, but there is still room for a definitive Ken Burns-style history of the American superhero. Recommended for casual fans looking for something easy to digest (and diehards eager to pick it apart), all three installments of Superheroes air this Tuesday (10/15) on most PBS stations nationwide.

LFM GRADE: C+

Posted on October 14th, 2013 at 2:06pm.