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Reviews
Song of the South (1946)
Historical Value
The social status of African-American people was kept artificially low by social conservatives for reasons of Tradition. "Song of the South" reminds us, as do many theatrical cartoons of the period, of attitudes among social conservatives and, in fact, others as well, at that time. It is well to have available, for reference, works of art that were created in that milieu. I'm sure Disney executives could couch the re-release in genuine terms that acknowledge the historically perceived offensive nature of "Song of the South," with commentary from prominent African-Americans. The thing is charming, with pleasant songs, and the film itself evokes a time of movie making unlike that which exists today. The TV series "Amos & Andy" suffered a similar fate during the 1960s when black activists insisted that the show instructed white people how black people behave. Yet, that show exhibited outstanding performances by many African-American actors. Nowadays, the races mingle freely. Everybody knows how everybody else behaves. We don't need media to instruct us. And ancient films and TV shows will do no harm.
12:01 PM (1990)
Fascinating Take on What It Would Be Like to Repeat the Same Hour
This short picture stars Kurtwood Smith as Myron Castleman, a drone in an engineering firm, who is so insignificant that even the office manager treats him like dirt. At the start of each repeated hour, Castleman finds himself standing on an island in the middle of a heavily traveled city street. He's carrying a briefcase. Apparently, he's out to lunch. A series of set pieces ensue: a man holds a wet bag of groceries that weakens and dumps its load, a man tells a lame joke while waiting for his "lunch" order at a hot dog stand in a park, a man sitting on a bench gets a fecal gift from a bird, and a pleasant woman sitting on another bench strikes up an acquaintanceship. There is an impressive audio and visual effect that signifies the moment that the hour is about to repeat. As in "Groundhog Day," it is entertaining to watch Castleman play with the unusual situation by putting himself in grave danger, knowing full well that any damage done will be erased when the hour repeats. The rude physicist at the Tempus Institute finally believes Myron Castleman because Myron describes the transition event, that only he can experience, which exactly corresponds to the physicist's predictions. Castleman is in quite a fix. Only he is able to perceive that time is repeating like a stuck record.
The Road to Wellville (1994)
A Comedy Concerning A Popular Historical Health Through Eating Fadist
I rate the picture highly simply because it evokes the period and attitudes so interestingly. The tongue-in-cheek narrative follows the experiences of several people in and around the Battle Creek (Michigan) Sanitarium, that was operated as a health spa by Dr. John Harvey Kellogg. A member of the Seventh-Day Adventist Church, Dr. Kellogg was a firm believer in vegetarianism, no smoking, no drinking, regular exercise and abstinence from sexual activity as the roadmap to a healthy life. Much of what he was peddling was unscientific bushwa. But he did invent the breakfast cornflake, although it was his brother who successfully marketed it. The movie is set just after the turn of the 20th century, when the town of Battle Creek was host to dozens of wannabees who attempted to develop and market their own vegetarian breakfast foods. A well-meaning but gullible young man arrives to cash in on the breakfast food craze. A troubled young married couple visit the "San" to cure the man of his bowel troubles. Both find gratification not of the kind generally permissible under Dr. Kellogg's regime. The Dr.'s own family, that consists of he, his wife, and dozens of adopted children, is uniquely dysfunctional. One uncooperative child opposes the Dr. early on and later demonstrates peculiarly and emphatically what, exactly, in Dr. Kellogg he found repulsive. The movie is about sex. The regime is sexually repressive yet one finds sexual tension relieved at every turn. But, alas, there are no car chases.