Fields of Fuel

It's hard to come in to a documentary about such an important and interesting subject and be so badly disappointed. Bio-fuels have a nearly endless amount of material to talk about, but from the first minute Fields of Fuel launched head-on into a glowing biopic of "a lone bio-fuels champion fighting against corporate America." Which might not be too bad, except the lone hero is also the director of the film. Ridiculously indulgent scenes such as staring straight into the camera and exclaiming in a shocked voice, "I'd been back and forth across the country educating people, and nothing had changed!" made me want to throw things at the screen.

The focus broadened out a bit in the second half, but never seemed to get beyond "Documentary Light." Easy on the facts, heavy on the "think of the children" rhetoric, and not particularly good at either. Since the director was present people had a chance to ask about the recent media backlash against bio-fuels, and his responses to those questions were far more interesting than anything in the film itself, which is really a shame.

Tulia, Texas

Fortunately the documentary genre quickly redeemed itself with Tulia. A fascinating and personal account of a DEA "special task force" in a small Texas town which demonstrably falsified evidence against black suspects.

The directors were undoubtedly lucky that events played out so well, as they arrived very early in what could have been another bland fuckup of the American justice system. Fortunately they arrived before the undercover agent was revealed to have outstanding warrants for theft, and a number of convictions were overturned.

The direction itself is quite good, leaving out narration and outside opinion, and letting the people involved speak for themselves. Each participant is featured in a series of interviews as the events progress, and it's pretty shocking to see the disconnect between the people being charged and the undercover agent, and an interview with one of the members of the jury is even better.

There's not much balance in the story they tell, but then it's hard to see how there could be much balance in the actual events. And it's extremely entertaining to see some smug racist southerners get their plans turned upside down, even if it's obvious that the directors had picked a side from the start.

Stalags - Holocaust and Pornography in Israel

You'd think there would be some easy subject material in the fact that for 30 years the only pornographic literature you could buy in Israel was Nazi dominatrix themed. And while there are a couple interesting interviews, this documentary mostly falls flat.

The main problem seems to be a lack of focus. The film jumps around to different events and time periods in direct contradiction of basic causation, leaving the viewer disoriented. Even worse, the subject of the film seems to switch halfway through from the Stalag publications of the title to a since dis-proven account of sexual slavery of Jewish women in concentration camps.

Both potentially interesting subjects, but the change in subject is jarring and disorienting, and the film seems to make no point upon reaching its conclusion, nor even really provide the raw material with which the viewer can draw their own moral.

Stranded: I've Come From a Plane that Crashed on the Mountains

You'd think a plane crash in the Andes, cannibalism, and a daring escape against all odds would be a slam dunk as the subject for a documentary. And while this one is reasonably well done, it manages to fall flat in several ways.

There are some amazing present-day interviews with the survivors of the event, conducted during a pilgrimage to the actual spot of the wreck. But these are interspersed with faux-grainy footage of re-enactments that are muddled and confusing. Combined with a sparse and airy soundtrack that ends up trying too hard to be other-worldly, much of the documentary feels too dreamlike to give the full impact of the events. The artistic choices work to remove the viewer from the events on the screen, rather than make them more immediate.

The story is fascinating, but the full effect is missing, and there's probably a book out there that does a better job of telling it.

Call Me Troy

Billed as a biography of Reverend Troy Perry, Call Me Troy encompasses a huge amount of civil rights history, due in large part to the amazing life of its subject.

Troy Perry was the founder of the first openly gay Christian church, as well as a leader of the Gay Rights movement. Due to his role in the public spotlight the filmmakers have plenty of archival footage, which is mixed with some great present-day interviews with Troy, and his friends and family.

The pacing is good, and the subject is fascinating. There's much more political and historical content than I expected going into the film, and it's put together very well. It manages to give a great sense of the time without losing touch with the central characters. It's hard to say whether the end effect is due to expert direction or the charismatic and entertaining character of the subjects, but it works fantastically well.

Shadow of The Holy Book

There are some crazy things in government, but I don't know that I'd heard of anything as crazy as the subject of this documentary. The Turkmen dictator wrote a rambling book called The Ruhmana, full of bad poetry, inaccurate history, and philosophical musings, and then made it required reading in all grades of school, a requirement for public office, and part of the drivers license exam. He erected statues of the book, ran television programs featuring readings, and outlawed criticisms of the work.

The documentary follows the two film-makers as they investigate the effects of The Ruhmana, and as they try to get corporations to comment on the habit of sponsoring translations into their native languages in exchange for business favors in Turkmenistan.

Not surprisingly the companies give them the runaround, and the Turkmen citizenry come off as ignorant and misled. And while their point is a good one (that corporations will happily lend support to fascist dictators in exchange for profit), it's a point that doesn't necessarily need to be made again. The sheer number of companies who have paid lip service to the dictator is certainly disturbing, but their failed attempts to confront CEOs and marketing departments come off as a low rent attempt at the Michael Moore school of documentary. It's entertaining, and there's plenty of stuff worth seeing, but I found myself wishing they'd replaced the dozens of clips of them failing to get comments with something a bit more forceful.

American Teen

I'd heard beforehand that American Teen would be interesting, but I wasn't prepared for how completely fascinating this documentary turned out to be. A lot of it has to do with how close they got to the subjects, and I suspect they got lucky with the amount of drama in the school they chose, but whatever the reason this is a great film.

Focusing on four students with no real connection aside from the town they live in, the movie chronicles a year in a senior class in a small Tennessee town. There's the usual high school drama of dating, sports, outcasts, and college applications, and none of it is particularly unique. The special thing about it is how close they got to the students: cameras follow them on their most awkward social encounters, and during vandalism. Candid statements are plentiful, and give the director plenty of raw material with which to build a compelling narrative.

That's not to say that this is necessarily a likable movie. Aside from one or two participants, everyone depicted is irritatingly self-centered and oblivious to how ridiculous their actions appear. And in case that sounds like an average high school, remember that it applies more to the parents than to the students.

Still, it's a fascinating look at small-town America from an unusual perspective, and well done in every way.

Ask Not

I have a couple criteria for good documentaries. The biggest one is, show, don't tell. We don't need some narrator reciting facts at us, no matter how relevant the imagery you put under it. Let us see the opinion of the people involved, not your pet statistics.

Ask Not does this maybe 3/4ths of the time. They certainly found an interesting subject in the Don't Ask Don't Tell policy of the US military, which is currently discharging and turning away thousands of homosexual soldiers a year while at the same time failing to meet enlistment quotas. And they found two activist groups whose activities provide a decent narrative for the documentary.

Unfortunately, they also give in to the temptation to splash title cards up on the screen with "startling statistics" about homosexuals in the military, complete with dramatically blurred out flags waving in the background. They couldn't find someone in all their interviews who mentioned those facts?

In addition, it seemed that a bit too much time was spent on the activists, and not enough on the people who oppose the movement. I wouldn't care as much, except they took the time to show them saying the same thing verbatim a number of times, which seems like it could have been better used to elaborate on the mindset of the people they're up against.

There are several sit-ins at military recruitment centers that are well worth seeing, though. This is definitely a valuable documentary, despite any shortcomings in the presentation.

Gonzo

I thought I knew a fair bit about Hunter S. Thompson. I've read a fair number of things both by him and about him. I've heard the stories, like how he ran for mayor of Aspen in the late '60s on a platform consisting of legalizing marijuana and renaming the town "Fat City". But this documentary / biography had loads of fascinating stuff that I'd never seen.

For one thing, Thompson apparently kept a ton of audio tapes and archival footage, and they're used heavily throughout this piece. It's absolutely fantastic to see him sitting in city hall wearing cargo shorts and debating his opponent in the electoral race, or hear the late-night phone messages he'd leave for friends. And for the bits that don't have direct recorded pieces, readings of Thompson's own writing by long-time friend Johnny Depp work nearly as well.

The film is mainly about Thompson's early work, from Hell's Angels through Fear And Loathing on The Campaign Trail. The political and cultural aspects are heavily emphasized, and the work offers a tangible feeling of the society at the time which anyone should appreciate, HST fan or no.