riaz-zaman Reviews

Animalia (2023)

Intriguing look social norms

[8/10 · 3 February 2023]

The sci-fi element remains in the background of this film. The focus of the story relates to how the priveleged in Moroccan society (the 1%) experience reality differently from the majority, to the point of even percieving spiritual life differently. The director uses the sci-fi element to create an existential threat to society, forcing people to confront their beliefs about the unseen world and even other people. Overall, it was a suspenseful and interesting story, with beautiful shots of Moroccan deserts and rural life. Through this story of a young, pregnant woman separated from her upper class family, the director hints at deeper questions: Is religion a luxury most can't afford?

What is our connection to the unseen world, even for those that don't really believe in it?

Is It Really So Strange? (2004)

A subtle documentary raising some interesting points

[6/10 · 9 February 2009]

As a fan of the Smiths, I still found this documentary a bit slow to watch. If I had seen this at a film festival, like some of the other commentators, I may have been a little put off by the length, and the type of interviews.

However, I saw this subtly charming documentary on a quiet Sunday evening. Through interviews and his perceptive commentary, the director managed to convey a thoughtful analysis of a pure pop-culture phenomenon. That's important. As the movie emphasizes, this is a real pop cultural phenomenon, not something manufactured and marketed by a company.

The documentary is told from the perspective of someone who heard the Smiths before they were legends. Someone who picked up the first single, "Hand in Glove," as a teenager, fell in love with the group, but at some point went on to live his life and do other things. After having not kept up with Morrissey for years, the filmmaker notices this cult of Morrissey loving latinos, and at the same time discovers a Morrissey that's transformed from the rail thin, alienated, poetic working-class English youth of the first Smiths album. The film-maker aims to explore this transformation that relates to cultural iconography as well as a geographical shift.

The filmmaker explores the cultural setting of the eastern suburbs of L.A., a largely latino, working class area where the older buildings, industrial complexes and homes have not been erased for newer developments. The filmmaker also notes the cultural similarities between working class Irish immigrants and the working class latino immigrants.

Although, this is a small part of the film, it's important. The majority of the film is interviews with people talking about what Morrissey means or has meant to them. Through these interviews, the filmmaker paints a picture of a cultural phenomenon through the lives of real people.

One interviewee notes the common identification latinos share with 50's iconography, James Dean, hot rods, etc. incorporated by Morrissey. Of course, a series of interviews can get a little tedious, but for the most part the filmmaker kept them at a short enough length. The cast of characters were almost always "marginal" by societal standards, but that's what makes them interesting. One young tragic young man was a male prostitute who found solace in the Smiths during this very confusing time in his life. The subjects also comment on what it means to be a "greaser," and other such fashion oriented phenomenon that developed peripherally to the Morrissey phenomenon.

Underlying all this, of course, is a statement about the power that music, particularly the music of Morrissey, can play in peoples lives. Overall, I found this documentary to be an interesting exploration of culture and the role it plays in giving people's lives meaning, as it relates to Morrissey and latinos in L.A.