Maybe you have to be Romanian to get this movie. A comedy, it focuses on two men who claim they were part of the revolution that brought down Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in December 1989. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/AZ7MfFB14xo” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] While being interviewed by a local TV personality, the pair face callers who claim […]
This is a rare glimpse into the life of North Korea. The report comes from journalist Lisa Ling, whose sister, Laura Ling, was recently released from prison there during a visit from former United States President Bill Clinton. Lisa Ling and her crew obtained access to the sealed country by following a Nepalese eye surgeon […]
This film is truly bleak. Set in 1987 Romania, it is a study of unhappiness and desperation. It shows a young woman who wants an abortion. Abortion is illegal in the country under the rule of dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu. She and her college roommate solicit the help of a black market doctor who will perform […]
This documentary is a love letter to Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Director Estela Bravo doesn’t try to hide her adoration of the man many in the developing world look up to. Using archival footage and interviews with friends, relatives, and celebrities, Bravo paints a picture of a person who has not lost his idealism. [kml_flashembed […]
This movie is hard to describe. It is in part a journey back in time for director Ari Folman, who is disturbed by the fact he cannot remember incidents that happened while he was in the Israeli army. Folman reconnects with others who were with him in 1982 when Bashir Gemayel, Lebanon’s newly elected president, […]
Why did we go to Vietnam? What did we do there? And what did going there do to us? Those are the questions asked by “Hearts and Minds” director Peter Davis. At first glance, “Hearts and Minds” is pure anti-war propaganda. Upon subsequent viewing, however, it shows itself to be a truly hands-off approach to […]
The World Food Program (WFP) has recently launched a video blog called On the Road – with the first series set in Tanzania looking at nutrition centers, giving the viewer a taste of Masai goat and follows school kids as they walk six kilometers to get water to cook their lunch. The WFP is the United […]
This is a riveting account of the arrest and prosecution of one of Nazi Germany’s biggest critics. Sophie Scholl was part of a group known as the White Rose, an organization bent on ending Hitler’s war machine (particularly on the eastern front). [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/XM5A4ETW_Io” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] It is 1943 and Scholl is arrested […]
This extraordinary documentary-like film covers all bases when dealing with a massacre that occurred in Iraq in 2005. The movie shows how United States marines handle a roadside bombing that kills one and injures two others. It is based on a true story. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/RPhhMh1p-Hc” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] The film portrays those who plant […]
What is a criminal act and what is standard operating procedure? That is the question asked again and again in this excellent documentary about the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Director Errol Morris (“The Fog of War”) does a wonderful job of showing the gray area of what happened there. He […]
This documentary style film keeps the viewer on the edge of his or her seat. It depicts the lives of Algerians who are fighting against French colonial power between 1954 and 1962. Banned in France when it was released, this film seems to side with the Algerians but provides a balanced approach to the problems […]
This documentary is unique in its approach because it provides what director Barbet Schroeder calls a self portrait of one of the most interesting leaders in modern times, Uganda’s Idi Amin. It shows how disarmingly charming Amin was. In fact it is hard to reconcile the almost childlike behavior of Amin with the fact that […]
This interesting documentary chronicles the life of Robert McNamara, who served as Secretary of Defense during the Cuban missile crisis and the Vietnam War. At 85 years old, McNamara comes off as a much younger person because of his energy and sharp observations. The segment dealing with the Cuban missile crisis is absolutely bone chilling […]
“They are truly evil, evil people.” That from U.S. Marine Captain Brian Steidle who spent 18 months in Sudan’s Darfur region as a ceasefire observer with the African Union. He was referring to the Janjaweed, militias funded by the government in Khartoum who regularly rape and pillage not only villages but also refugee camps. [kml_flashembed […]
Just the fact that Al-Jazeera angers westerners as well as Arabs is one indication it’s on the right track. “Control Room” follows the Arab news organization during the second Iraq war with the United States. It has been called Osama bin Laden’s mouthpiece by some in the United States but has also been banned by […]