Day: July 24, 2015

By Joe Bendel. Dr. Haing S. Ngor had a reasonable productive film career, but he never landed a role that equaled his Oscar winning debut in Roland Jaffe’s The Killing Fields (although Oliver Stone’s Heaven & Earth will have its champions). Yet, the platform it provided Ngor to keep the memory of the Khmer Rouge genocide alive and to criticize the current undemocratic regime was far more important. It might have even been the reason why the actor and activist was murdered in 1996. The late Ngor will offer his survivor’s testimony once again in The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor, which screens as part of a sidebar tribute to documentarian Arthur Dong at the 2015 Asian American International Film Festival in New York.

Rarely is an actor so closely identified with a film as Dr. Ngor and The Killing Fields. He was not a professional actor when he was cast to play Cambodian journalist Dith Pran, but he could identify with the role only too well. Ngor barely survived the Communist re-education camps, but his pregnant common law (formal marriage having been abolished) wife did not. In an environment of horrific deaths, hers was particularly haunting.

You might think you understand the Communist massacre, chapter and verse, but the experiences Ngor describes in his autobiography (extracts of which are read by his nephew, Wayne Ngor) will shock you nonetheless. For instance, even table utensils were banned (on pain of death) as the decadent tools of western capitalism. To illustrate his experiences during the genocide, Dong often relies on Wilson Wu’s dramatic black-and-white animation that starkly reflects the tenor of the times. These are not things we want to see, but they are necessary to understand Ngor’s life and the utopian ideology he fled.

Dong is an experienced filmmaker, who crafts Ngor’s story with great sensitivity, but also with an eye towards the needs of history. Fortunately, Ngor’s life in America was quite well documented. He assembles quite a bit of primary footage of Ngor, including some unusually heavy commencement speeches. The close participation of Ngor’s surrogate daughter-niece Sophia Ngor and his friend, Iron Triangle co-star, and non-profit foundation executive director Jack Ong also inspire confidence. Of course, high level Khmer Rouge officials were not available for comment, but the allegations of Kaing Guek Eav (a.k.a. “Comrade Duch”) that Ngor was assassinated by the Khmer Rouge are given due consideration.

Dong’s film is both inspiring and horrifying, showing both sides of an incredible life cut short under mysterious circumstances. It never peddles in conspiracy theories, but it makes one wonder nonetheless. It is also something of a wake-up call, especially when it addresses Ngor’s opinions on the not-so untainted regime of today. Timely, moving, and even infuriating, The Killing Fields of Dr. Haing S. Ngor is a truly important film, highly recommended for the socially and historically conscious when it screens this Saturday (7/25) at the Village East, as part of this year’s AAIFF.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on July 24th, 2015 at 12:43pm.

By Joe Bendel. Sophie Tucker once called up JFK in the Oval Office, was immediately connected, and successful convinced him to veto pending stock dividend taxation legislation. If that does not duly impress you, keep in mind she also sang—for decades, as one of the top speakeasy and night club attractions in the country. Filmmaker William Gazecki and producer-Tucker biographers Susan & Lloyd Ecker chronicle her bawdy, trailblazing career in The Outrageous Sophie Tucker, which opens this Friday in New York.

Tucker’s career spanned six decades and just about every Twentieth Century form of media. She was tough and shrewd, but also loyal and generous. She made her debut in the Ziegfeld Follies at twenty-two, but she was too much of a smashing success, at least from the star diva’s vantage point. Before Mae West, she became a sensation suggestively interpreting double entendre-laden lyrics. She was still a household name well into the 1960s, thanks in part to her old crony, Ed Sullivan, but she has largely slipped into the memory hole of a collective cultural memory that barely reaches back to Madonna.

Fortunately, this is where the Eckers come in, burnishing her legacy and promoting awareness. For their books, website, and work on this film, the Eckers were invaluably assisted by the exhaustive multi-volume scrapbooks Tucker maintained, recording her career almost day-for-day. They also serve as time-capsules, capturing the state of show business from 1907 to 1964.

Tucker had such a strong sense of syncopation and a flair for giving lyrics her own unique twist, she could have easily billed herself as a jazz artist, if she had wanted to be paid less. Yet, what is most striking is how far ahead of the curve she was when it came fan outreach. She probably had a MySpace page ready to go, just waiting for the internet to get created.

Tucker’s music and her tart-tongued Horatio Alger story are wildly entertaining. However, despite some creative use of graphics, Outrageous does not look very cinematic. In fact, many of the talking head segments (featuring 1st class artists like Tony Bennett, Carol Channing, and Michael Feinstein) feel very TV-ish. The Eckers (especially Lloyd) are clearly determined to explain just how much Tucker means to them, whether we are interested or not. Nevertheless, it must be granted, they have become the definitive authorities on all things Tucker.

Even if it is not as aesthetically polished as top-notch music docs, like This is Gary McFarland and Searching for Sugar Man, Outrageous does right by its subject and star. Gazecki and company maintain a high energy level and display a deep understanding of Tucker’s many complicated relationships. Recommended for fans of Tucker and the Great American Songbook, The Outrageous Sophie Tucker opens this Friday (7/24) in New York, at the Cinema Village.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on July 24th, 2015 at 12:43pm.