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Month: June 2024

Learning Tree, The (1969)

Learning Tree, The (1969)

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“You just hate us colored kids, don’t you?”

Synopsis:
A young man (Kyle Johnson) coming of age in a racist 1920s Kansas town witnesses a robbery leading to the death of a white man; will he tell what he saw?

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Coming of Age
  • Historical Drama
  • Race Relations and Racism

Review:
Acclaimed photojournalist Gordon Parks became the first Black person to direct a major studio picture with this adaptation of his own semi-autobiographical novel about experiencing life, love, and racism in 1920s Kansas. The drama-filled storyline opens with a tornado, as Newt (Johnson) finds himself holed up in a shelter with the town prostitute (Carol Lamond):

… but emerges ready for church, where he meets a beautiful young teenager (Mira Waters) who has just moved to town with her family.

A gentle romance ensues, though it’s interrupted by racial- and gender-based violence (discreetly shown off-screen). Meanwhile, the crux of the narrative centers on Johnson’s friendship with other local boys — including the troubled son (Alex Clarke) of a local drunk (Richard Ward) — and their interactions with a white farmer (George Mitchell) whose apples they steal, as well as the town’s racist sheriff (Dana Elcar).

Johnson’s homelife with his mother (Estelle Evans):

… father (Felix Nelson), and sister provides him with plenty of solace in the midst of increasingly challenging situations, culminating in a dramatic court case.

Given this film’s historical precedence, it seems worth citing at length from TCM’s article:

Although he came to the project with a considerable reputation as an accomplished artist, Parks had to deal with the expected resistance to a black director helming a studio-financed film. One producer offered him major funding if he would change all the black characters to white, and another suggested silent film diva Gloria Swanson for the part of Newt’s mother. But Parks had a great ally in director-actor John Cassavetes, who introduced him to gutsy Warner Brothers producer Kenny Hyman. Not only did Hyman agree to let him direct, in quick succession Parks found himself assigned to writing the screenplay, producing the film and — after Hyman heard him play a song he had written on the piano — composing the score. Only a handful of filmmakers had been given such sweeping control; Chaplin and Welles are among the few that come to mind.

It’s too bad that the movie itself isn’t more compelling: the performances are stiff at best, and everything seems filmed with an eye towards dignity rather than raw emotion. To his credit, however, Parks doesn’t shy away from depicting racism in all its forms across this supposedly desegregated community, ranging from lowered expectations from Johnson’s teacher (Peggy Rea):

… to mob vitriol. This film is worth a look for its historical significance, but ultimately not must-see viewing.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Burnett Guffey’s cinematography

Must See?
No, though it’s recommended to watch once given its historical status as one of the first 25 films selected in 1989 by the Library of Congress for preservation in the National Film Registry.

Links:

Monitors, The (1969)

Monitors, The (1969)

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“The Monitors are your friends. Depend on the Monitors. Work for peace. Violence solves nothing. The Monitors bring peace. Peace brings happiness.”

Synopsis:
During a time when the Earth is ruled by benevolent aliens known as the Monitors — who suppress all negative impulses and force humans to reflect on how great their new lives are — an actress (Susan Oliver), a bi-plane pilot (Guy Stockwell), and the pilot’s brother (Avery Schreiber) join forces with an undercover operative (Larry Storch) and a Monitors-trainee (Sherry Jackson) in a group known as SCRAG (the Secret Counter Retaliatory Group).

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Aliens
  • Black Comedy
  • Ed Begley Sr. Films
  • Keenan Wynn Films
  • Revolutionaries
  • Science Fiction

Review:
This satirical sci-fi flick was made with cast members from Chicago’s Second City comedy troupe (their first feature together), and was explicitly designed to encourage more people to come and film in Chicago — which didn’t happen. The film itself starts off with a promising opening sequence and song, as synthesized voices intone: “We are here to serve humanity — here to reaffirm gentility, light the way from fear to sanity, carefully promote tranquility” while various silhouetted shots (we presume from the film itself) are circulated through in various colors.

As soon as we “land” on Earth, we see men in black coats and bowler hats walking around monitoring people and situations, with their oath and guidelines repeated ad nauseum, Big Brother-style.

Interspersed throughout the film are commercial-like snippets of citizens sharing why they believe life is better with the Monitors in control. (Below is Alan Arkin playing a sanitation worker with a heavy accent.)

The storyline itself loosely follows Oliver, Stockwell, Schreiber, Storch, and Jackson as they navigate romance with one another alongside learning more about the Monitors — including meeting the head operational manager (Shepperd Strudwick):

… and/or revealing themselves to hold different identities and allegiances; unfortunately, little of this coheres or is very funny.

Howard Thompson of the New York Times referred to the film as “a one-joke warning that states its case and asks where we go from here,” which just about sums up my impression as well. In his review for Moria, Richard Scheib elaborates a bit more on what doesn’t work:

Much of the film feels like it is trying to be hip and improvisational. It has no real plot, just lots of scenes with the characters running around. It seems to be trying to tap an anti-establishment vibe without actually finding it has anything to say. There is no clear idea in the script what the characters are trying to achieve, what they are running from or even the sense you get in comedies of characters stumbling/bumbling from scene to scene in a haphazard way.

It’s too bad, because the premise is quite intriguing: if well-meaning forces offered to oversee our planet and ensure peace and goodwill, but at the loss of our freedoms and more complex emotions, would we take it? It seems pretty clear that the answer is “no” — but a different film would need to take this up to sufficiently explore it. Watch for bit cameos by Keenan Wynn as The General:

… and Ed Begley as The President (without nearly enough to do in such a peaceful and boring world).

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • The opening sequence
  • Some creative imagery

Must See?
No; you can skip this one unless you’re curious.

Links:

Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)

Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)

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“Nobody gives a damn what Indians do — nobody.”

Synopsis:
In early 20th century California, a sheriff (Robert Redford) searches for a young Pauite man (Robert Blake) who has killed the father of his girlfriend (Katharine Ross) in self-defense after returning to be with her.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Fugitives
  • Katharine Ross Films
  • Native Americans
  • Race Relations and Racism
  • Robert Blake Films
  • Robert Redford Films
  • Sheriffs and Marshals
  • Susan Clark Films
  • Westerns

Review:
Black-listed writer-director Abraham Polonsky finally returned (legally and formally) to his craft with this adaptation of Harry Lawton’s novel — based on a real-life event — about a “Native American named Willie Boy and his run-in with the [white man’s] law in 1909 in Banning, California, United States.”

The fact that neither New Jersey-born Blake (nee Michael Gubitosi) nor Katharine Ross are Native actors is clearly problematic; within those constraints, however, Polonsky and his team do a reasonably good job presenting ongoing power tensions between Indians and white people, including white saviorism as embodied by Susan Clark’s do-gooding “reservation superintendent”.

Unfortunately, Redford apparently did not have a good experience on set; according to TCM’s article:

He had issues with both the direction and the script, which he felt portrayed Indians unrealistically. “Polonsky had Indians talking like characters out of some of his thirties films,” Redford said. “Some of it really made me cringe when I read it.” Polonsky counter-attacked by claiming Redford’s emerging star ego made him take unfair swipes at the picture. “Redford was a big supporter of my movie until everyone started saying how wonderful Robert Blake was,” the director said, ignoring the fact that Redford had fought for Blake to play the part when it became obvious that the studio would not hire a real Native American. “He was jealous of the Indian, so now he hates the movie.”

Ah, Hollywood drama. The resulting film is nonetheless a compelling story attempting to show “The West’s Last Famous Manhunt” — and while the factual outcomes are contested (this video provides an alternative, Native-centered account of how things actually transpired), Blake’s performance is top notch and well worth a look.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Robert Blake as Willie
  • Conrad Hall’s cinematography

  • Dave Grusin’s score

Must See?
Yes, for Blake’s performance and as one of far-too-few films by Polonsky.

Categories

  • Important Director
  • Noteworthy Performance(s)

Links:

Putney Swope (1969)

Putney Swope (1969)

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“There are no losers — every product has potential!”

Synopsis:
After the death of the chairman (David Kirk) of an advertising board, the sole Black member, Putney Swope (Arnold Johnson), is accidentally put in charge and renames the organization Truth and Soul, Inc., populating it with primarily Black employees and making increasingly erratic creative decisions.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Advertising
  • Race Relations and Racism
  • Satires and Spoofs

Response to Peary’s Review:
In his description of this “infamous, irreverent cult comedy from writer-director Robert Downey” — yes, the “Sr.” father to Robert Downey, Jr. — Peary notes it’s “about a ruthless, opportunistic, gravel-voiced black man” (Downey subbed Johnson’s voice) “who is accidentally elected head of a Madison Avenue ad agency” and “fires or demotes all the whites on the board of directors, hires a staff of black militants, and renames the agency Truth and Soul, Inc.”:

… getting “scores of rich white clients because his obscene commercials prove extremely effective” — “no matter that he steals the ideas for the ads.”

Peary points out that Swope “is as money-hungry and unscrupulous as his white predecessors (although he refuses to run ads that promote war toys, alcohol or cigarettes)” — and, in a telling early scene, he “rips down a poster of Sidney Poitier,” revealing that “Downey has no intention of populating his picture with blacks whom the white male audience will feel comfortable watching.”

“Indeed,” Peary says, “Downey’s film was designed both to satirize those black militant prototypes he regarded as politically insincere and to present the bigoted white viewer’s nightmare vision of what would happen if black militants came into power.”

Peary asserts that the picture is “dated (the once hilarious color commercials now seem trite)”:

… it “hasn’t two funny lines in a row,” and it “has an end that foolishly undermines Swope’s character.” However, he notes that “while it’s overrated, it’s certainly unique, if only because it attacks most everyone, even midgets.”

I agree the film isn’t funny, and that it’s quite “dated” — but in precisely the way it should be, given it was intended as a disruptive cinematic experiment which Downey himself noted he didn’t necessarily think people should try to make sense of. It’s primarily of interest these days for its historical relevance within late-1960s underground cinema. Check out the DVD extras, and/or Criterion’s essay, for more on the experimental work that preceded this most enduring facet of Downey’s output.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Some creative cinematography

  • Several amusing advertising sequences

Must See?
Yes, once, but simply for its cult status; I can’t guarantee you’ll get much out of it.

Categories

  • Cult Movie

Links:

Death of a Gunfighter (1969)

Death of a Gunfighter (1969)

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“I tried my damnedest to not kill him!”

Synopsis:
When a marshal (Richard Widmark) kills a drunken civilian (Jimmy Lydon) in self-defense, the entire town decides to fire him from his job — but Widmark isn’t interested in leaving town.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Don Siegel Films
  • John Saxon Films
  • Lena Horne Films
  • Richard Widmark Films
  • Sheriffs and Marshals
  • Westerns

Review:
This decent if uneven western is primarily notable for what it prompted: the creation of “Alan Smithee” as a pseudonym for a director whose actual director (or some other key player) doesn’t want to be associated with the film. In this case, Widmark didn’t get along with the original director, Robert Totten (who primarily worked in television), so Don Siegel was brought in to finish up the job — but he didn’t want to take credit for work mostly completed by someone else, so “Alan Smithee” (a creative variation on the too-simple first pass try of “Al Smith”) was the result.

(I find it interesting that this film is about attempting to fire someone perceived as incompetent in his job given what it became known for.)

Perhaps I was unduly biased, but as soon as I saw Smithee’s name flashing across the screen, I started noticing the film’s clunkiness; indeed, many wonder what this film could have been like with Siegel at the helm the entire way.

The storyline — hinging on an entire town feeling resentment for Widmark’s character, for no clear reason — doesn’t quite hold its weight; though Kent Smith, who film fanatics should fairly quickly recognize from Cat People (1942), plays the role of a desperately ashamed lawyer quite well.

The film is also notable for featuring Lena Horne in a supporting role as Widmark’s girlfriend, without any comment on her race.

Watch for Royal Dano hovering menacingly (what else?) around the periphery:

… and John Saxon as a county sheriff brought in to help mediate the situation.

Note: Subtle yet overt antisemitism is briefly shown through the treatment of the town’s “peddler,” Mr. Rosenbloom (David Opatoshu) — though it’s simply included without any explanation or resolution.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Richard Widmark as the Marshal
  • Kent Smith as Andrew Oxley
  • Fine Technicolor cinematography

Must See?
No, though it’s worth a look for curiosity’s sake (and of course Siegel completists will want to check it out).

Links:

Coming Apart (1969)

Coming Apart (1969)

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“I like to photograph things as they happen; I’m interested in reality.”

Synopsis:
A self-absorbed, soon-to-be-divorced psychotherapist (Rip Torn) on the verge of a mental breakdown places a video camera in his office and secretly records his interactions (primarily sexual) with a variety of neurotic women.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Mental Breakdown
  • Peeping Toms
  • Psychotherapy
  • Rip Torn Films
  • Womanizers

Review:
Made in a similar vein as Jim McBride’s David Holzman’s Diary (1968), this faux documentary by writer-director Milton Moses Ginsberg was filmed in one room at Kips Bay Towers in New York City, and seems explicitly designed to exploit both a narcissist’s interest in chronicling their every move — welcome to the 21st century! — and the depravity of non-consenting voyeurism. It’s a laborious affair to sit through, for all sorts of reasons — primarily Torn’s character (Joe) being such an ass, but also because so much of what we see and hear is either boring and/or demeaning — and only rarely mildly amusing.

Writing about this film for the SF Gate in 1999, Edward Guthmann noted:

Time capsules can be embarrassing things. What once seemed hip and cutting-edge can reveal, after 30 years, a naivete and smug narcissism that wasn’t apparent at the time. That’s certainly the case with “Coming Apart,” an underground film that broke new ground with nudity and raw language and attempted to say something about the fallout of the sexual revolution. Starring Rip Torn and Sally Kirkland, “Coming Apart” opened in 1969 — the same year as “Easy Rider,” “Medium Cool” and “Midnight Cowboy” — but disappeared after the critics ground it up into pieces.

Rightfully so; check out Andrew Harris’s review in The Village Voice for a particularly lambasting take. For the record, notable supporting actors in this film include Viveca Lindfors as Joe’s former lover (trying to remind him about the “former” part):

…. and Sally Kirkland as an unhinged and exhibitionist former patient.

Note: Ginsberg’s only other film was The Werewolf of Washington (1973).

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Occasionally creative cinematic moves

Must See?
Nope; skip this one unless you’re curious. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

That Cold Day in the Park (1969)

That Cold Day in the Park (1969)

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“I saw you from my apartment; I’ve been watching you in the rain.”

Synopsis:
When a wealthy spinster (Sandy Dennis) invites a shivering young man (Michael Burns) she sees in the park over to her apartment, a bizarre relationship quickly ensues.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Michael Murphy Films
  • Obsessive Love
  • Psychological Horror Films
  • Robert Altman Films
  • Sandy Dennis Films

Review:
Robert Altman’s final early feature before his breakthrough success with M*A*S*H (1970) — after helming The James Dean Story (1957), The Delinquents (1957), Countdown (1968), and quite a few TV episodes and industrial flicks — was this adaptation of an unpublished novel by Peter Miles, about a lonely woman whose concern for a bedraggled young man she sees outside her apartment window:

… turns into a most unusual series of events and circumstances. To the immense credit of the screenplay, we are kept on our toes throughout, sincerely wondering where in the world things will lead — and it’s most often not where we expected.

Dennis seems perfectly content simply caring for Burns, not minding too much that he is completely mute; indeed, this provides the perfect opportunity to bare her soul.

Horror-like elements are introduced from fairly early on (about 25 minutes in), when Dennis first locks Burns into his room:

… though as soon as he easily slips outside the window, we breathe a sigh of relief for him. We quickly realize, however, that he is not at all what he seems — or what Dennis believes him to be.

The mystery continues, as we’re introduced to Burns’s sister (Susanne Benton) and her boyfriend (John Garfield, Jr.), and learn why he was out there on that bench during that rainy, cold day.

Suspense continues, and Altman’s confident hand with his camera and actors ensures we are kept engaged — up until the disappointing final five minutes or so. Watch for Michael Murphy in a bit part as a man who helps Dennis procure services in a seedy area of town:

… and Luana Anders — from Dementia 13 (1963) — as a prostitute.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Sandy Dennis as Frances
  • Laszlo Kovacs’ cinematography

Must See?
No, but it’s strongly recommended for one-time viewing. Listed as a Cult Movie in the back of Peary’s book.

Links:

Reflections on Must-See Films From 1968

Reflections on Must-See Films From 1968

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I just watched the final title from 1968 listed in Peary’s Guide for the Film Fanatic, and am ready to reflect and share my thoughts. Thankfully, it was another good year for movies!

  • Out of 89 total titles, I voted 44 (or ~50%) must-see. Of these, 10 are in a language other than English: one is in Japanese, one is in Wolof-and-French, two (both by Ingmar Bergman) are in Swedish, three are in Spanish, and three are in French (one by Demy, one by Truffaut, and one by Chabrol). We definitely see the strong emergence of Third Cinema (i.e., non-Hollywood and European movies) this year — specifically Ousmane Sembane’s relentlessly depressing Senegalese film Mandabi (1968) and all three of the Spanish-language titles: two from Cuba — Memories of Underdevelopment and Lucia — and one, The Hour of the Furnaces, from Argentina.
  • Sergio Leone’s most epic spaghetti western was Once Upon a Time in the West, which I recently revisited and reviewed. It features a wonderfully villainous turn by Henry Fonda, and a powerful portrayal by Claudia Cardinale as a savvy whore-turned-businesswoman who kicks ass as soon as she shows up on her new home-front. It’s a beautifully shot film with numerous memorable sequences, and another essential score by Ennio Morricone.
  • I also fairly recently rewatched George Romero’s Night of the Living Dead (with my son, to help prepare him for performing in a play adaptation). We both agreed it remains top-notch, and viewers who aren’t too jaded by the many horror films that have come in its wake “will surely find themselves genuinely frightened, at least during the third section of the film, when the situation builds to a feverish pitch, and it becomes increasingly clear that most members of our ensemble cast are not long for this (living) world.”
  • Roman Polanski’s Rosemary’s Baby simply never gets old. As I noted in my review, “Each element of this masterfully constructed psychological horror film ‘works’ — from William Fraker’s cinematography, to Polanski’s unusual camera placements (he often films scenes through doorways), to fine use of sound and music, to judicious set designs and strategic use of outdoor New York locales, to the perfect casting of each character.”
  • Rosemary’s Baby co-star John Cassavetes was just breaking through with a shift in his own iconic directorial career that year, as seen in Faces — an “utterly bleak yet cinematically groundbreaking look at a bourgeois marriage in decay,” featuring “fine, natural performances by everyone involved, and provid[ing] a daringly unfiltered look at class and gender relations in 1960s America.”
  • I’m excited to revisit The Yellow Submarine for the first time with my teenage son (I’ll report back on how that goes). As I noted in my review from back in 2006 (four years before he was born): “The Beatles’ only animated film — featuring their music and their cartoon likenesses but not their actual voices — remains as enjoyable and mind-blowing today as it was 30+ years ago… The sheer variety of animation techniques in Yellow Submarine is blissfully overwhelming,” and “it’s enormously satisfying to see the Beatles immortalized as cartoon caricatures” with “just a few strategically drawn lines mak[ing] each of them instantly recognizable.”
  • Of course, in 1968 one must give a shout-out to Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey, which earned Peary’s vote as Best Picture of the Year and remains an enduring cautionary tale now more than ever, in the age of proliferating AI. (“I’m sorry, Dave. I’m afraid I can’t do that.”)
  • A must-see cult favorite from 1968 is Michael Reeves’ The Conqueror’s Worm, a.k.a. The Witchfinder General, featuring Vincent Price as infamous witchfinder Matthew Hopkins in a horrific tale of “relentless violence [which] has a (sadly relevant) purpose, showing how easily mankind can descend into joy of torture — or at least mindless acceptance of it as commonplace and necessary.” Also noteworthy is “the film’s gorgeous cinematography, showcasing real-life horror taking place in an atmospheric landscape of Gothic forests, meadows, village squares, and dank interiors.”
  • Speaking of satanism, a personal favorite is Hammer Studios’ The Devil’s Bride a.k.a. The Devil Rides Out, in which “the script, musical score, acting, and set designs all contribute towards the creation of a suspenseful, sometimes humorous tale of demonic possession in our midst,” and the special effects “convey a frighteningly believable alternate universe.”
  • Peter Yates’s action-packed crime drama Bullitt, starring Steve McQueen in the title role, remains well worth a look. Interestingly, as I noted in my review, it’s “so closely associated with McQueen’s [Ford Mustang GT Fastback] (and the justifiably lauded car chase it’s involved in) that it’s easy to overlook how enjoyable the film is as a police procedural and character study.”
  • A dark comedy classic from that year also worth a revisit is The Odd Couple, based on Neal Simon’s play and starring a perfectly cast Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau “as the title ‘couple’; their comedic timing and rapport is impeccable.”
  • Finally, there were several highly memorable matriarchal performances that year by aging Hollywood divas. Be sure to check out Bette Davis in Roy Ward Baker’s The Anniversary (though be forewarned that “the words coming out of this anti-mother’s mouth are almost beyond belief”):

    … Katharine Hepburn as savvy Elinor of Aquitane in The Lion in Winter, also telling it like it is (“Oh, my piglets, we are the origins of war… We are the killers. We breed wars — we carry it like syphilis inside.”):

    … and Shelley Winters as a “hypocritical, brown-nosing mother” in Wild in the Streets, a biting political satire about “Age Police” who’ve “managed to take over the White House and imprison anyone over 35 in LSD ‘concentration camps’.”

Super trippy (literally).

Fifty-six years later, we’re battling different sets of societal and personal demons than in 1968 — yet the films outlined here continue to offer up plenty of compelling and relevant dramas, performances, and insights. The following year (1969) would once again bring cinematic innovations and many noteworthy titles, so — I’ll be back!

Camille 2000 (1969)

Camille 2000 (1969)

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“Love me now — and let that be enough.”

Synopsis:
A drug-addicted woman (Danièle Gaubert) financially supported by a count (Roberto Bisacco) must confront her priorities when she falls in love with a man (Nino Castelnuovo) who wants to be with her exclusively.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Love Triangle
  • Radley Metzger Films
  • Romance

Review:
Radley Metzger’s follow-up to Therese and Isabelle (1968) was this updated adaptation of Alexandre Dumas fils‘ 1848 novel — a convenient opportunity to wrap a softcore story around an established set of characters and circumstances. Changes include Marguerite (Gaubert) suffering from drug addiction rather than TB, and the entire affair taking place in 1960s swinging Rome:

… but otherwise the inherent melodrama is all there (alongside plenty of explicit sexual encounters). The characters are shallow and the acting is poor, but the sets and costumes are pretty groovy:

… and as always, Metzger uses creative camerawork.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Ennio Guarnieri’s cinematography
  • Good use of location shooting in Rome

Must See?
No; you can definitely skip this one.

Links:

Hour of the Furnaces, The (1968)

Hour of the Furnaces, The (1968)

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“Revolutionary violence will put an end to imperialist crimes. Liberation or death!”

Synopsis:
Argentina’s neo-colonialist and revolutionary histories are explored as part of a call for national liberation.

Genres, Themes, Actors, and Directors:

  • Documentary
  • Revolutionaries
  • South and Central American Films

Review:
Octavio Getino and Fernando Solanas co-directed this four hour and 20 minute political documentary about Argentina, which was shown in extremely limited release in its home country given its incendiary content. It is considered a key entry in the Third Cinema movement (so called as a response to Hollywood films as First Cinema, and European art/auteur films as Second Cinema), and it specifically “rejects the view of cinema as a vehicle for personal expression, seeing the director instead as part of a collective; it appeals to the masses by presenting the truth and inspiring revolutionary activism.”

The Hour of the Furnaces is comprised of diverse historical footage alongside current “stealth” footage and interviews with key players, and is divided into three parts of unequal lengths with intentional time built in for discussion. As one set of title cards tell us:

“This film is a pretext for dialogue, for the search, for different wills to meet. It’s an open report that we offer for your consideration, for you to discuss after the screening is over. The most important thing is to create this unitary space, this dialogue for liberation. Our opinions are as valuable as yours, and you can add to this action any other view or experience.”

In segment one — titled “Neo-Colonialism and Violence” (1 hour and 25 minutes long) — we are informed in all caps:

WE HAVE BEEN TAUGHT A FALSE HISTORY, FALSE HOPES OF WEALTH, A FALSE INTERNATIONAL VIEWPOINT, FALSE ECONOMIC BELIEFS, A FALSE FREEDOM. TO BE FREE, THERE IS ONLY ONE CHOICE: PUT THE PEOPLE IN POWER.

We are given an overview of Argentina’s history of oppression and imperialism by Spain and England:

… and then shown how the hegemonic forces of global capitalism are still at play, with one particularly notable extended sequence intercutting the slaughter of cattle with facile advertisements.


We see and are told that native peoples have been dehumanized (“The Indian was worthless; only a Christian had value”) and are living in poverty:

… while “50% of the land is in the hands of 1.5% of the landowners.”

Segment two (“Act for Liberation”) is the lengthiest at nearly two hours, and includes a more detailed overview of Argentina’s 20th century political history, including Peronism:

… and activist resistance.

Segment three (the shortest at just over 30 minutes) is entitled “Violence and Liberation,” and includes an interview with a political dissident (“Comrade Troxler”) who was tortured and meant to be assassinated but escaped with his life through sheer luck.

We are shown imagery of liberation movements taking place across the globe:

… and reminded that “peaceful coexistence is just opium that permits imperialism.” While this lengthy, history-intensive, no-holds-barred political rejoinder is certainly not for all tastes, it represents a unique moment in cinematic history and will likely be of interest to film fanatics.

Notable Performances, Qualities, and Moments:

  • Highly effective “guerrilla” filmmaking

Must See?
Yes, for its importance in international cinema.

Categories

  • Historically Relevant

Links: