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irisgouldianfinch
Reviews
Advocate (2019)
Portrait of Lea Tsemel let down by one sided reporting and a single viewpoint
Advocate is a documentary about Lea Tsemel, an Israeli human-rights lawyer, and follows her as she defends Palestinian political prisoners, one a 13 year old and the other a young married woman. The film also explores Tsemel's career as a young university student and then as a lawyer. Tsemel is introduced as a very controversial person in Israel but the film doesn't give much information about why people find her controversial aside from the fact she defends Palestinian political prisoners. The film doesn't contain very much information about the legal system in Israel or the history of the Occupation. It's revealed that Tsemel, as a volunteer with the Israeli army, was one of the first Israelis to reach the Western Wall during the 1967 War. The significance of this isn't explained to the audience: if you don't know that Jordan annexed East Jerusalem and the West Bank after the 1948 War and wouldn't allow Jews to enter East Jerusalem to pray at the Western Wall, the holiest site in Judaism, you won't understand the impact of this on Tsemel and the other Israelis to be the first to reach the Wall. Tsemel relates that she condemned the Occupation immediately after the 1967 War, but Tsemel is never asked in the film how she felt about the Palestinians' lives under Jordan rule when Jordan oppressed Palestinian nationalism (just to note that Tsemel wonders in one scene why some houses near the Wall were later torn down by Israel. It's not mentioned that Jordan desecrated many Jewish and Christian holy sites in Jerusalem during their 19 year long reign. Some were turned into pens for animals) . The film would have been more persuasive if it included more context and background about the legal situation in the West Bank and Jerusalem. It doesn't provide details about other cases in the Israeli system aside from Tsemel's: I would have liked to know how many cases per year in the Israeli jural system involve Palestinian political prisoners, how many of these cases involve violent attacks, and how other lawyers who defend these cases regard Tsemel. The film didn't include the viewpoint of anyone in the Israel legal system aside from Tsemel, such as the judges or other lawyers in her cases.
Tsemel states early in the documentary that Palestinians who carry out "armed resistance" are "freedom fighters". Advocate doesn't raise any questions about "resisting the occupation" by stabbing innocent people aside from an brief one by a news cameraman who cries out during Tsemel's TV interview if "resisting the occupation" justifies murdering innocent people. No viewpoints were given about people who have been affected by the two people Tsemel was defending- we were told the boy said "sorry" to the boy who was stabbed but we didn't hear from the victim's family. In one scene Tsemel proclaims in an aside about a legal precedent of Israeli settlers attacking Palestinians, but this is never explored.
Advocate is very one sided documentary which sets out from the start to show the Occupation is oppressive. Ultimately it shows that the Israeli system and Israeli society includes people like Tsemel who are fighting for change and fighting for the human rights of those who attack it. The film would be more persuasive it included challenging Tsemel's viewpoint and asking the question posed by the news cameraman.
Hand in Hand (1961)
One of the best movies I've ever seen about tolerance and being Jewish
I saw Hand in Hand yesterday on the Talking Pictures channel in the UK and I was deeply impressed by it. It's one of the best movies I've ever seen about tolerance. The acting of Rachel and Mike is completely natural. The movie's depiction of their innocence is never cloying or sentimental. I thought it was particularly interesting showing Shabbat services in the UK at the time (I'm not sure if the synagogue is modern Orthodox or another group.)
I agree with the reviewer who pointed out that the movie doesn't warn children about the dangers of getting into cars with strangers. I said to my husband while watching that times really have changed since the picture was made. It was a treat to see Sybil Thorndike as the Lady who gives the children tea and fulfills their wish to visit a royal household (complete with corgis). The man who plays the scary newsagent also gives a good performance as an adult fulfilling the children's wish for adventure; like Sybil Thorndike he doesn't slip into sentimentality or corniness.
Hand in Hand is a gem. I wish it were more widely shown. As Mike writes about Hector the mouse, it is a noble film.
Last Holiday (2006)
Charming and entertaining movie, great for a miserable afternoon or evening
I decided to watch Last Holiday after watching the original film with Alec Guinness. I saw the Alec Guinness Last Holiday as a child and was very moved by it. Watching it again a few months ago I still found it moving. I was curious to see how Hollywood remade it with an American setting. I was pleasantly surprised. Guinness' everyman travelling salesman George Bird is turned into Georgia Bird, a department store cookware saleswoman in New Orleans who pays for her groceries with coupons and cooks meals she doesn't allow herself to eat (slight quibble here with the script: if Georgia is scrimping why is she cooking gourmet meals that her young neighbour eats but she doesn't allow herself to eat, presumably because she's worried about her figure? How does she afford eating Lean Cuisine while buying the ingredients for the fancy dishes she sees on TV cooking shows?) Queen Latifah's performance is warm and along with the characters in the film I was utterly convinced by Georgia's full heart and her resolution to live life to the full. I cheered when she told off her repulsive self absorbed boss and flew to Europe to live out the dreams she kept in her private journal. Last Holiday is a charming holiday film that celebrates friendship and people being kind and compassionate to one another without being cloying or syrupy. The original film is telling in that its portrayals of what was luxury in post War Britain is dwarfed by Georgia's $4000 a night presidential suite in a hotel with crystal chandeliers, historic painted ceilings, internationally famous chefs and helicopter service. I would have liked to see Georgia help her new friends more like how Alec's George gave money to a couple to help them pay off their debts to a criminal gang and start a new honest life. Still, this is a great movie for a miserable winter afternoon or evening, full of beautiful scenery, stunning locations and delightful moments. I loved Georgia's shopping for a new wardrobe at the hoity toity boutique and I laughed when Georgia ordered all ten dishes on the menu. I thought of my parents who used to indulge themselves on cruises and order three desserts at dinner. I expected that Hollywood would change the bittersweet ending of the original film but I didn't mind. I was scared for Georgia at the end when she climbed out on the ledge to talk the tycoon out of jumping and I was terrified that she would fall or hit her head. I was relieved to see the happy ending the film gave her. Last Holiday may not be as revealing as social commentary and a portrait of an era as the original film, but stands up on its own as enjoyable entertainment.
Meet Mr. Lucifer (1953)
Fun look at television in its early days in Britain
When I read the description of "Meet Mr. Lucifer" on our onscreen TV listings guide I knew I wanted to watch it. I saw it on the Talking Pictures Channel, which was appropriate as the channel features British films and documentaries about life in Britain in the past decades. "Meet Mr. Lucifer" is a delightful satire on television in the days when the new medium was beginning to make an impact and helping to dwindle audiences for cinemas and variety theaters. I imagine the screenwriter and the producers enjoyed making barbs at their new rival including showing television as the actual work of the Devil, Lucifer's latest device to make people miserable. The film also explores how people are affected by new technology. One major character, Mr Pedelty, doesn't even own a radio. A spellbound drinker at the pub marvels that the miracle of television makes it possible for him to see a famous person live while his sister in Eastbourne can also see the famous person live at the same time, so surely he can see the spirits of his late father and other relatives, as they are also apparitions. American viewers may wonder why the satire doesn't include spoofs of the constant TV commercials that are sent up in movies of the 1950s such as The Seven Year Itch and Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter. "Meet Mr Lucifer" was made before the advent of commercial television in the UK; ITV, the country's first commercial television provider, began in 1955. The film captures a period when the BBC had no rival stations and literally was the only show in town. The Lonely Hearts singer can only hint at a product that is paying her for her endorsement elsewhere, as the BBC prohibits advertising. The reactions of the characters to Mr Pedelty's set show how novel the programmes must have appeared, even genres that were long established on radio, such as horse racing, panel games, and variety musical programmes. Mr Pedelty replies "good night" to the news announcer as he bids the viewers good night, the young married woman from upstairs and her friends sit spellbound through a lecture about physics and gasp in wonder at the shots of hand drawn graphics, when a square dancing programme starts they stand up and begin to dance along, accompanied by children on the street who watch the screen through a window. One of the film's funniest and most touching sequences show a bachelor becoming so infatuated with the "lonely hearts" singer he hangs her portrait on his bedroom wall and at work, then when his enjoyment of the programme is interrupted by noises outside his room, seizes his landlady's offending vacuum cleaner, his neighbour's hammer, and part of the motor of a motorcycle revving in the street outside. The shots of the huge offices full of clerks typing and sending seemingly personal responses from the singer to fans of the show are a nice look at how TV was already hatching schemes to increase ratings. I also smiled when the young husband objected at the idea of having the TV in the bedroom- there were already quips back then that having a set in the bedroom wasn't good for a marriage. I agree with the reviewer who said the film needed to have more scenes with Stanley Holloway. It would have benefited from showing a larger range of characters than the residents of a single London house, and would have been much sharper if its satire was more stinging. The man running the show was Lucifer, after all. Overall it's a gentle satire of the days when people were amazed at pictures in their living room and the new medium was beginning to take form.
Pose (2018)
The category is: great television
When I saw trailers for Pose on the BBC channels I knew I wanted to watch it. I finished watching episodes 7 and 8 last night. It's unusual for me to bingewatch a box set (The BBC Iplayer featured Pose as a boxset as well as broadcasting an episode once a week). Pose gripped me and blew me away. The costumes were fabulous, the acting superb. Some of the moments were the best I've seen on TV for years. I cried when Pray Tell and Blanca sang For All We Know and Home. I'll never forget Angel and Stan's faces when the partition came up in the peep show, showing Stan sitting in the red light, and putting his hand on the glass to reach out to Angel. I grew up in the 70s and 80s and I wasn't much of a fan of the music back then, but I have to say the use of songs was outstanding. I'm giving the show a 9 because I found the last episode's final sequence and a few scenes a little too sugary: Blanca was shown a little too much as a saint at the end. Pose didn't hold back from difficult topics: it was a stomach punch when Stan's wife dragged him to a therapist's office and announced she knew he was cheating on her with a transsexual hooker and she was dumping him. All the characters' facets were explored, including Stan's shallowness and his boss' sleazy narcissism. I can't recommend the show enough. I'd give it a trophy even bigger than the ones in Electra's apartment.
The Plough and the Stars (1936)
To fully appreciate the movie, read about the events of 1916 before watching
I looked forward to watching "The Plough and the Stars" when I saw it listed on the schedule of the Talking Pictures cable channel here in the UK. I was impressed that many of the cast from the Abbey Theatre in Dublin appeared in the film. I was disappointed however by the screenplay and the filming. The Plough and the Stars tries to pay tribute to the Uprising, particularly by looking at its effects on the residents of one building. The movie shows its theatrical origins: its very stagey, and its evident that it was shot on a Hollywood backlot. I haven't read Seán O'Casey's original play, but I can see that the screenplay concentrated on the last two acts of the play, set during the Easter Rising, in April 1916. It's left to a few brief title cards to narrate that the events take place in Dublin during World War I. There's little information about what has led to the Rebellion: in the play the first two acts are set in November 1915, looking forward to the liberation of Ireland from centuries of British rule. The movie, like the play, focuses on the residents of a Dublin tenement house. There are some fine performances from the Abbey Theatre players. But the film is let down by telling too little about the historical events and the focus on Barbara Stanwyck's Nora Clitheroe and her appeals to her husband, Jack, not to join the fighting. Stanwyck tries her best but as other reviewers have noted, her Brooklyn accent is more apparent than her attempt at an Irish one. The 1930s fashions the women wear added to my feeling that the film's setting is more reminiscent of an Irish neighbourhood in 1930s New York rather than 1916 Dublin. I agree with the reviewers who have noted that the film gives little context for why Nora so desperately wants Jack to stay out of political activities she has burned the note that names him a commander. Her character comes off as a clingy young wife who isn't concerned by what is happening to Dublin and her country; she's consumed with her husband and her "own personal happiness". The script emphasises to the end that men do the fighting while the women love, then suffer. The conditions of ordinary life in Dublin are touched upon: poverty, alcoholism, disease, as in the death of the young girl from tuberculosis. The conflicts of Irish citizens over the destiny of their country aren't very deeply explored. People with different viewpoints are shown bickering, getting into fist fights in pubs and in the streets, and very little is revealed about the rebelling forces who take control of the post office, announce the forming of the Irish republic, and fight the British in doomed but legendary battles.
I said to my husband when the post office was shown, "I've been there". I studied the events of the Uprising to appreciate Yeats' poem Easter 1916. I traveled to Dublin for the 100th anniversary of Bloomsday in 2004 and while I was there visited Kilmainham Gaol. Even though I used to have a poster of the Proclamation of the Republic on my wall and I could remember some of the signators, I was a little confused following the movie's portrayal of the Uprising. I thought Arthur Shields was playing James Connolly, but some reviewers said he's meant to be Patrick Pearse. I remembered however that Connolly was severely injured during the siege on the Post Office and was executed tied to a chair: Shields' character is injured and carried to his execution on a stretcher. I didn't know that there was looting during the fighting, and snipers on rooftops who tried to fight on despite the defeat of the Irish forces. I wish there were more revelations of how Dubliners reacted to the Uprising and the resulting retributions by the British.
The film would have been much more powerful if it revealed more about the build up to the Uprising, more about the people who fought in it, and more about the conflicts of Nora, Jack, and their neighbours. It's a shame that the film attempts to make the events of 1916 and the people caught up in a turbulent moment of history a universal message about war, painted in gender roles of men doing the fighting and women paying the price in grief and sorrow.
Saints and Sinners: New Lead Berlin (1963)
Tense, well written episode with good acting.
This episode about Berlin surprised me because the show's star Nick Adams was hardly in it, just at the start and the end. Still, it's a suspenseful drama and I very much enjoyed it. Good acting from Barbara Rush and the rest of the cast, and interesting use of news footage from then current events in Berlin.