Category: Documentary

By Joe Bendel. It is sort of like Shaolin’s Tibetan Buddhist cousin, but it is not called Esoteric Kung Fu for nothing. Practitioners are few and far between, but it might be just the discipline to take on the savage tiger claw. Regardless, vengeance will not be denied in Feng Huang’s The Himalayan, which is included in The Angela Mao Ying Collection now available from Shout Factory.

In the high Himalayas, a martial arts competition is a fine place for a courtship. As it happens, when Ceng Ching-lan faces Gao I Fan, they make more of an impression on her father, Lord Ceng and his older brother, Gao Zhen, than on each other. An arrangement is quickly struck, but when I Fan expresses reservations, the devious Gao Zhen permanently dispatches his brother, replacing him with a more compliant look-a-like. He was adopted anyway.

It quickly becomes apparent Gao has designs to take over the power and wealth of the Ceng house. Through his dreaded tiger claw kung fu, Gao incapacitates Lan, framing her for the murder of the latest I Fan. Fortunately, her boyhood chum Xu saves her from the ritual cast-off-into-the-river form of execution. Together they will regroup in the Eagle Lama’s monastery, hoping to be deemed worthy of learning his rare Esoteric Kung Fu.

With its wide mountain vistas and Tibetan-Nepalese locations, The Himalayan is an unusually visually striking martial arts film, much in the King Hu tradition. Similarly, it also has some highly cinematic fight scenes choreographed by Sammo Hung (sharing duties with Han Ying-chieh). However, since it was produced by Golden Harvest in the 1970s there are also the requisite nude scenes featuring Angela Wang En-chi as Gao’s vixen accomplice, Man. Genre fans will also want to keep their eyes peeled for Hung, Jackie Chan, and Corey Yuen, who pop up briefly as fight extras.

While Mao is not always front and center, she still takes a strong and steely star turn as the wronged Lan. She meets one of her best antagonists in the form of Chan Sing, who truly looks like he enjoys evil scheming more than any Bond villain. His tiger claw moves are also suitably fierce. Yet, it is Han, the co-action director, who nearly steals the show as Uncle Qu, Lord Ceng’s wise but surprisingly spry old advisor.

Altogether, The Himalayan is a winning blend of Buddhist wisdom and exploitation goodies. It is a great showcase for Mao, while getting the most from a talented supporting ensemble. Enthusiastically recommended, The Himalayan is now available on DVD as part of Shout Factory’s Angela Mao Ying Collection.

LFM GRADE: A-

Posted on June 26th, 2014 at 6:03pm.

By Joe Bendel. Between James J. “Whitey” Bulger, the leader of the Winter Hill Gang and his brother, former Massachusetts Senate President William M. Bulger, the Brothers Bulger long ruled Boston from both ends of the law. Bulger the politician was never implicated in his brothers crimes, but his refusal to reveal communications received from the fugitive James J. effectively ended his public career. However, it now seems Whitey Bulger had such highly placed protectors in the FBI he would not have needed much help from his brother. Joe Berlinger documents the revelations and controversies that emerged during Bulger’s highly anticipated trial in WHITEY: United States of America v. James J. Bulger, which opens this Friday in New York.

You will not hear the name William Bulger much in Berlinger’s WHITEY, nor hear from probably the brothers’ greatest media critic, the defiant radio talk show host, Howie Carr. However, viewers will hear an awful lot from the titular Bulger. Indeed, Berlinger features extensive telephone interviews with the convicted murderer, presented sans rebuttal. Frankly, it is rather strange the extent to which Berlinger adopts Bulger’s narrative as the film’s own—so much so, one almost expect him to receive a writing credit.

Of course, Bulger’s guilt is never in question. Instead, Bulger’s general defense strategy is to cloud the issue as much as possible, while causing maximum discomfort for the Feds. The central issue is whether Bulger really served as a government informant, dropping dimes on the competition, or if the late U.S. Attorney granted him immunity in exchange for protection from the Italian mafia instead.

While Berlinger’s editorial tone almost slides into Bulger apologetics, he is always scrupulously sensitive when dealing with victims and their family members. Tragically, the filmmakers faced a shocking challenge when Stephen Rakes, one of the potential witnesses they were following through the trial, was dramatically murdered. Supposedly, it turned out to be an unrelated case, but there is a note of skepticism detectable in the doc—for good reason.

Berlinger and his assembled talking heads leave no doubt in viewers’ mind that a corrupt echelon in the FBI protected Bulger for no legitimate law enforcement reason. They are morally complicit in several murders—and perhaps legally complicit too. They also helped ruin the sport of Jai Alai for the rest of us, which is one of the film’s most intriguing episodes that could have  been explored further (and perhaps was in the longer Sundance cut). In fact, Berlinger’s WHITEY somewhat rights itself when it becomes a conscious and deliberate vindication of Special Agent Robert Fitzpatrick, who tried to sever agency ties to the mobster. (Full disclosure, my house published Fitzpatrick’s book, but we have never met.)

WHITEY will once more shake viewers’ depleted faith in the Federal government, while chronicling some morbidly fascinating criminal history. However, it has a tendency to lose sight of the forest for the trees. The actions of Bulger’s handlers were badly misguided and downright criminal, but he remains the worst of the lot. The resulting doc holds one’s rapt attention, but leaves you feeling a little queasy, as if you have been getting an earful from Bulger himself (which is sort of the case). Recommended mainly for true crime fans, WHITEY opens this Friday (6/27) in New York at the IFC Center.

LFM GRADE: B-

Posted on June 26th, 2014 at 5:58pm.

To Breathe as One – Film Trailer from Maureen Tusty on Vimeo.

By Joe Bendel. Every five years, Estonia mounts a massive chorale festival called Laulupidu. Do not expect to hear “The Internationale” on the program anytime soon. Traditionally more than a concert, Laulipidu provided a venue for several extraordinary spontaneous acts of defiance during the Soviet years. Today, it continues as a symbol of Estonian freedom and a celebration of its culture. It is a big deal for the small number of international choirs that are invited to participate. For the Piedmont Children’s Choir, it will also be a world-expanding learning experience. With co-directors Bestor Cram and Mike Majoros, Singing Revolution filmmakers James and Maureen Castle Tusty return to Laulupido to follow the Piedmont choir’s journey in To Breathe as One, which premieres on PBS World Channel this Friday.

As the Tustys documented in their previous film, even a heavily armed police state cannot silence thirty thousand voices singing in harmony. Frankly, the Estonians never fully submitted to their Communist occupiers. When cracks started appearing in the Iron Curtain, Estonia’s chorale tradition played a critical role in unifying the renewed resistance. It is an inspiring story chronicled with sensitivity and authority in the Tustys’ The Singing Revolution, but they also provide a fine abridgment in Breathe.

The members of the Piedmont performance ensemble (predominantly high school and perhaps some middle school students) will come to appreciate that history as they learn their Estonian repertoire. The conscientious efforts of their director Robert Geary to connect the difficult pronunciations to their deeper cultural and historic meanings clearly bear fruit. In fact, they probably understand Baltic history better than most of our current foreign policy decision-makers (sadly, a pathetically low bar to clear).

A great deal of Breathe captures the Piedmont Choir’s person-to-person diplomacy, as they befriend and perform with their Estonian counterparts rather easily. It might sound pleasant but rather precious, in a “human interest” kind of way. However, the striking scale of the Laulupidu backdrop is not just photogenic. It provides a constant reminder of the wider significance of the festival.

Even if you do not think chorale music is your bag, the performances at Laulupidu will make the hair on the back of your neck stand on end. You can literally hear one hundred fifty years of tumultuous history crescendoing in triumph over their Czarist and Communist oppressors. It is also a timely reminder of the precariousness of liberty, particularly in light of Putin’s expansionist ambitions. Does anyone seriously think the Obama administration has a plan of response should the Russians move against our Baltic NATO allies?

While they stand alone, the macro Singing Revolution and micro Breathe would be even better viewed in tandem. Both films are highly recommended for students, but Breathe will likely be somewhat more accessible for young viewers. A must-see for lovers of freedom and chorale music, To Breathe as One airs this Friday (6/27) on PBS World Channel.

LFM GRADE: B+

Posted on June 23rd, 2014 at 11:00pm.

Sriracha, the movie! – Trailer from Griffin Hammond on Vimeo.

By Joe Bendel. Help yourself to some spicy hot and sweet entrepreneurship. When Saigon fell, the enterprisingly minded ethnic Chinese David Tran understood he had to get out of Vietnam while he still could. Arriving in America completely destitute, he would develop and market one of the most popular hot sauces going. Despite recessions and national contractions, his condiment has consistently enjoyed twenty percent annual sales growth, without any advertising. Griffin Hammond provides the commercial Tran never produced with his affectionate short documentary Sriracha, which screened this weekend during the 2014 Houston Asian Pacific American Film Festival, following its Los Angeles premiere at the recent Dances With Films.

Sriracha is not nearly as readily available as ketchup, but if you dig it, you probably put it on everything. While Sriracha was initially embraced by the Vietnamese immigrant community, it was derived from a well known regional Thai sauce known as Sriraja Panich. It might be a Pan-Asian culinary phenomenon, but it is an American success story. Named after the Panamanian freighter that ferried Tran to America, his Huy Fong Foods Company is constantly expanding. Still run as a family business, they have one very fortunate farmer harvesting peppers round the clock for their “rooster” sauce.

Frankly, Hammond spends a little too much time exploring hipster foodie love for Sriracha, but his profile of Tran is terrific and timely. Tran’s success is an inspiring example of the transforming power of capitalism and freedom combined with hard work and family support—and he rather seems to see it that way, too. He has created something special, yet in recent weeks, the local Irwindale, California bureaucrats jeopardized the considerable jobs and cool cache he brings to town with their suits and regulatory hassles. Tran and his company deserve better treatment.

Fortunately, they mostly get it in Hammond’s thirty-three minute documentary. He captures Tran’s passion and modesty and also provides an interesting chronicle of Sriracha’s evolution. Upbeat and entertaining, Sriracha is recommended for fans of hot sauce and start-ups, along with the wholly satisfying feature documentaries Linsanity and Jake Shimabukuro: Life on Four Strings, as part of the Houston Asian Pacific American Film Fest.

LFM GRADE: B

Posted on June 23rd, 2014 at 9:34pm.

By Joe Bendel. For Westerners, the story of Poland’s defiance of Communist tyranny almost exclusively focuses on Gdansk, but events in Warsaw also played a critical role. While Lech Wałęsa co-founded Solidarity and led the striking shipyard workers in the north, Father Jerzy Popieluszko fortified the nation’s spirit from his small pulpit in the capitol. Eventually Wałęsa was elected president, but the good Father never lived to see that day. The life and legacy of the Blessed priest is stirringly chronicled in Jerzy Popieluszko Messenger of the Truth, which airs this Wednesday night on New York’s Thirteen.

The general outline of Bl Jerzy’s life and martyrdom will be familiar to cineastes who have seen Agnieszka Holland’s To Kill a Priest, a film transparently based on the case that has both its considerable flaws and merits. Frankly, the documented circumstances of his murder are far more brutal than anything Holland depicted. Christopher Lambert, the former Tarzan, is not exactly a dead ringer for the unassuming Popieluszko, either.

Bl Jerzy recognized his calling at a young age and he suffered greatly for it during his compulsory military service, but he never compromised his principles. As a result of regular beatings, his health was already weakened before he was ever assigned to a parish. He was not the Church’s most charismatic preacher, but the Primate recognized his potential to serve as the spiritual shepherd to Solidarity and their allies. Before long, his monthly sermons at St. Stanislaus Kostka were drawing tens of thousands of people to the tiny Warsaw church. Needless to say, the Communists were quite alarmed by all this, especially when their masters in Moscow started taking note.

Just shy of ninety minutes, Messenger overflows with history that fascinates and shocks in equal measure. Few non-Poles truly realize the extent of the dirty war the Communist security apparatus waged against Solidarity and its supporters, such as Bl Jerzy. The pattern of its crimes, from the murder of Grzegorz Przemyk, the son of one of Father Popieluszko’s aides, to his incomprehensibly violent martyrdom, rivals anything ever perpetrated by the worst backwater despot.

Director-editor Tony Haines and writer-producer Paul C. Hensler also incorporate some extraordinary on-camera testimony from Solidarity veterans, including Wałęsa. However, the most moving sequences feature the Father’s gruff former fire-fighter bodyguard, who is clearly still haunted by his friend’s assassination.

Even though we must understand how Bl Jerzy’s story will end (nobody is ever beautified if they peacefully retire to a gated community in Florida), Haines and Hensler tell it in a manner that maximizes the tension and telling details. It is also timely and inspiring, coming at a time when a free and prosperous Poland can credibly aspire to become a world power, while Russia continues to demonstrate militarily aggressive designs on its former captive nations. Highly recommended for general audiences (particularly students), Jerzy Popieluszko Messenger of the Truth airs this Wednesday (6/18) on New York’s PBS station, WNET 13. It is also available on DVD from the film’s website.

LFM GRADE: A-

Posted on June 17th, 2014 at 4:55pm.

By Joe Bendel. He was known as QZR—was known. Now the Taliban militant is simply the late Qari Ziaur Rahman. The civilized world can thank the troops of the No Slack Battalion 2/327 and their 2nd Battalion 8th Regiment Marine Regiment and 3BCT “Rakkasan” Airborne colleagues. Embedded journalists Mike Boettcher and his son Carlos followed the No Slack Task Force on a series of dangerous missions, culminating with a strike against Rahman on his home turf. Shot by the Boettchers, the action is as real as it gets in David Salzberg & Christian Tureaud’s The Hornet’s Nest, which opens tomorrow in New York.

Credited as producers and cinematographers, the Boettchers were deeply embedded with the No Slack troops, very much in the line of Taliban fire. A veteran war correspondent, Mike Boettcher had done this sort of thing before, serving as a fulltime embed for Nightline. This was Carlos Boettcher’s first time covering a war zone, but his father reluctantly agreed to let him share his assignment. Despite his concern, he hoped the same forces that bound the troops together would help repair their somewhat estranged relationship.

It probably is not much of a spoiler to report that much proceeded as planned. The real point to Nest is the footage they jointly recorded, which is absolutely incredible. Remarkable for their clarity of sound and visuals, Nest’s warfighting incidents are even more intense and far easier to follow than anything seen in Junger’s Korengal films or Brothers at War and Severe Clear, documenting the Iraq War experience. At times, Salzberg & Tureaud are able to shift between each embed’s footage for multiple vantage points on the chaotic battles.

Frankly, Nest probably realizes the worst fears of several Columbia School of Journalism faculty members regarding embedded reporters. While the senior Emmy winning Boettcher scrupulously avoids political judgments, he makes no secret of his deep emotional involvement in the events he covers. It is easy to understand why, because the audience sees what he sees. It is tough to stay neutral watching Afghan children fall victim to IEDs or medivac helicopters take fire from Taliban forces, but the Boettchers witness it all in the heat and smoke of real-time war.

For obvious reasons, Nest has followed an unconventional distribution strategy, releasing in markets with large military populations before its New York run. As it happens, it opens here the same day as Junger’s Korengal. Both films are well worth seeing, but Nest is in fact the more powerful of the two. No other contemporary war doc so eerily captures the whistling sound of bullets whizzing overhead and when No Slack soldiers mourn their fallen brothers, Nest packs a greater punch to the emotional solar plexus. Very highly recommended, The Hornet’s Nest opens tomorrow (5/30) in New York at the AMC Empire and Village 7 theaters.

LFM GRADE: A

Posted on May 29th, 2014 at 9:32pm.