Documentary of the Day – Waltz with Bashir

February 23, 2012 Leave a comment

Well this is my first and only, animated documentary selection.  Actually, this is the first and only documentary film out there.  I was fascinated with the premise of a documentary that utilizes animation to tell a story that is both harrowing and insightful, framing the atrocities and hardship that only existed in the experiences of one man.  A truly engaging documentary that takes the experiences and memories of one man, reflecting and searching for meaning during his time in the Lebanon War in 1982, and brings them to life through the use of animation.

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Documentary of the Day – Sans Soleil

February 22, 2012 4 Comments

I have been selecting documentaries that border on voyeuristic, but also more or less a social documentary.  There were a few films that I selected that were using the medium to showcase an existential point like, Man with a Movie Camera or The Up Series, which look to capture life and transcend the genre of documentary.  Today’s selection goes beyond the typical look at a social struggle or personal struggle, Sans Soleil is more of a film essay, positing about a fundamental question about life and how it is shaped by our memories, either effectively or altered by our recollection.

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Documentary of the Day – Dear Zachary

February 14, 2012 2 Comments

I realize that this isn’t probably the best documentary choose on such a day of love and affection.  But if you have ever seen this documentary, then you know that it is profoundly important and even proper for today’s post.  Being a guy, there are only a few instances when you are able to cry outright.  Funerals, your dog dying, and apparently sports films are instances when it’s cool to cry as a guy.  I have watched a lot of movies in my life and I will honestly tell you, this is one of 5 movies that will literally bring me to tears when watching it.

Documentaries are a chronicling of real life.  When you videotape the birth and life of a child, you engage in a form of documentary.  It’s a way to capture the essence of life, but also reveal how fragile it can be.  Documentaries also uncover the truth of life, either by piecing together memories or watching it unfold from the people involved with the subject.  While it can be used to capture and commemorate a life, it can also capture tragedy.

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Movie of the Day – The Memory of a Killer

January 5, 2012 Leave a comment

Time for  a little international flavor in today’s post and I decided to hit upon a film that I completely took a chance on one day at the local (no longer there) Blockbuster.  I don’t have a lot of experience with Dutch cinema or any cinema that resides near the Nordic crust of the world, so the only thing that I had to go off of for this movie was that it dealt with an aging assassin who is slowly losing his mind and taking on the traditional, “one last job”.  Billed as a police procedural thriller, with some elements of Memento, I must admit that I was hooked and glad that I decided to spend the 5 bucks to buy the movie.  I wouldn’t say this is my first foray into watching Dutch films, but in all honesty, this is a compelling story, even with the paint by numbers structure.

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