Not one less (Mandarin)

Not one less is about a 13 year old girl who becomes a substitute teacher in rural China. In a very unconventional way the class learns from the inexperienced teacher. It is also about how close rural kids are to not getting a school education. Makes you realize if rural economy was accounted for in rural education the trip would have been a lot easier. Not one less is a powerful portrait of a young girl who goes beyond her call of duty. She goes to the city looking for a student who has left for the city to find work. Instead of finding work he is lost. Resources being limited it is grit that saves the day. Its a must watch.

War Child

War child is a documentary about the hip-hop star Emmanuel Jal's return to Sudan where he had to fight as a child soldier. His life as a child soldier is horrific to the point when he even had to resort to cannibalism. What people did to each other in that part of the world was inhuman. And now Jal's songs talk about his experiences but for many of us it sounds like horror fiction. You look at Africa and Africans and wonder why these docile people are forced to face and even indulge in so much violence. "Forced" being the key word here.

War dance

War dance is about a group of children living in a camp in the war torn region of Uganda preparing for a dance competition. They bring back a cup for the best traditional dance which means a lot to them. The children in the camp has seen unspeakable tragedies and horrors and yet they dance to win. Makes you realize that life is not about big victories and devastating wars. Really who is happy to win a war? But Life is about small victories like winning the best traditional dance cup for your tribe. Poignant.

Nuyorican dream

Nuyorican dream is about a Latino family in the US. Its a story of a woman who left Puerto rico to seek her fortune in US and her children have developed drug habits which they blame on the ghetto. In other words the system that did not treat them right. A point to be noted is that the woman is clean and does a lot for the children. She knows that she is better off than where she was. Now if the children do not like where they are they could move to somewhere better. That would be something they would have learned from their courageous mother we would think. But some like to wallow in their sorrow. You are left with disgust for the younger generation.

Lost son of Havana

Lost son of Havana is a documentary about the return of baseball player Luis Tiant to Cuba after 46 years. Politics prevents his return to home country for those many years. Baseball craze of Cubans tie their game playing dreams to playing for American teams making life hard. Because their heroes are American. Luis Tiant makes it to the big teams many times purely because he is too good to ignore. But then when the game is over what is left? In this documentary we sigh along with him for all those years lost when he could not go home.

Nobody knows (Japanese)

Nobody knows is a movie based on true life about 4 little children who takes care of themselves most of the times. Their mother is missing for long periods and they have no father. The mother thinks finding a husband will solve her family's financial problems and she can send her children to school. It is a sad situation about women and children having to take care of themselves without the advantages of survival kits in a man's world.

The documentaries Senator Obama in Africa and Dreams of Obama

The documentary Senator Obama in Africa is an eyeopener. It clearly shows that Obama recognizes the problem of corruption and the effects of Aids in Kenya his home country. He is ready to help shed light on these problems. How so many Africans got this disease is a million dollar question. The numbers seem like a hoax. But that is how Africa is projected today. As a region fighting aids and corruption. It is time for Africa to change that image. But Obama comes across as a man who understands the streets of Kenya and is someone who can connect to the people of Africa.

Dreams of Obama is a documentary that shows Obama as a politician who stands for what he believes. Perhaps that is true. The tasks Obama is faced with today are tough so its really difficult to judge him at this point. Dreams of Obama tells us a compelling story of how an unlikely candidate came to reside in the white house.

Nevertheless, these documentaries make you want to stand up and fight for what you believe in and what you desire. Because we must grant that Obama has traveled the road less traversed and come out flying so far.

Trudell

Trudell is a documentary about a native American leader and his fight for rights of his people. This is the 60s era and many conflicts get resolved by the US govt by handing out money. It was good times in America then. This documentary shows how treaties signed in the past cannot or will not be adhered to in the future. Can the native American culture survive in America is a big question. Trudell in fact would like to influence American culture at large and that in my mind is a good influence.

Fela Kuti - Music is the weapon

"Fela Kuti" is a documentary about a Nigerian musician and how he wants to form a third political party in his country. Nigeria is a country in Africa full of authors. The country however has always experienced political strife. Fela gets beaten up and his mother gets killed by political powers that be. Yet he continues his fight for Liberty and against corruption. It is a compulsion in him and we see it clearly. Sadly he is a figure who is against many things justifiably but he has few solutions to offer.

Le Grand Voyage (French)

Le Grand Voyage is about a son who drives his father across Europe for a pilgrimage to Mecca. It clearly reflects the divide between the cultures of the father and son. A well made movie about the tolerance two very different people who live under the same roof have for each other.

500 years later

"500 years later" is a documentary mostly about the enslavement of African people and how it has affected the way they live now. Slavery is an awful thing no doubt but in history there is always injustice.

How does an individual identify with a group and feel proud? For example, Indians find a pride in their culture and no one has to force them to feel that. India was among the first countries to get colonized and yet an Indian woman loves her sari, her bindi, and even the food. As an individual you can always acquire a skill and feel pride and forget all about your history. The Jewish people have not suffered only the holocaust but they suffered discrimination much longer than Africans. And yet today as a group they are influential to a point that they can punish German nazis. But they cannot punish European people who discriminated against them way before nazis. The documentary talks about imposing a pay back for injustices rendered and it is not clear how this can be done. No, not even for the Jewish people.

The African people according to this documentary are still searching for an anchor to pride and this documentary is a good beginning. But if I were to make a documentary about African pride it would not be about the pyramids which only Egyptians identify with or about Martin Luther King who only Americans identify with. Since Africa is such a diverse place not every African feels a connection to these events.

On the other hand Africans are one with nature and have learned to coexist with the abundance around them with little disturbance. A rich flora and fauna of a region is a triumph of its people. This every person of African origin can identify with. In other words a documentary that searches for the quintessential African is yet to be made.

This documentary is one where my review tends to get long. Its funny how the people in this documentary want a different school system for African Americans when a few years back they fought against segregation of schools. The many paradoxes such as these define the documentary and the African people who I think are still searching to find themselves and what they really want.

Without the King

This documentary is about the ruling family of Swaziland in Africa. It throws light on the gentle nature of the people of Swaziland. Be it the king or the people seeking democracy no one is overtly aggressive or pushy. Even people who are jailed for attacking the king is set free on bail and the police never hurt protesting people. We are left wishing that Aids and poverty that plague the country will soon be abolished.

No end in sight

No end in sight is an honest look at the Iraq war and how it was conducted. It talks about how close the US army and personnel came to bringing this expedition to a satisfactory conclusion in 2003 even with the minimal planning of the Bush administration. It clearly shows how some wrong decisions dragged Iraq in to sectarian and insurgent violence. This documentary is a must watch for every one. It shows how inefficient the Bush administration had to become to mess up the Iraq operations.

Fear and trembling (French)

The movie "Fear and trembling" is about a French woman working for a Japanese company and is bullied by a Japanese woman who is her superior in the company. The justification for the bad behavior of the Japanese woman is that she suffered a lot in the company so she did not want the newcomer to have it easy. Makes you think about how every one is willing to fit in to a standard frame work whether it is right or wrong or even necessary. Its an amusing movie I must say where a french interpreter ends up working as a janitor for most part of her contract period with the company.

Bless you prison (Romanian)

Bless you prison is about women political prisoners. There are times when law and order go missing. Perhaps for some people its always missing. This movie is about how a woman finds strength in religion to face the horrible circumstances she is in. Makes you think how a sense of righteousness is a source of big strength. This movie stays with you for a long time after it ends.

Innocent voices (Spanish)

Innocent voices is about the true experiences of a little boy during the civil war in Salvador. Very powerful depiction of the waste of violence and the innocent people pulled in to it. Nothing says it better than a movie and particularly this movie.

The song of the sparrows (Persian)

Its about a man who works in an ostrich farm. There are not much lessons to be learned in this movie yet its a fascinating watch about how interesting regular domestic life can be.

The Overture (Thai)

The overture is about a Thai classical musician's life. Musicians, artists, and scientists have a little world of themselves where they compete and appreciate. War mongers on the other hand understand nothing and easily destroy these delicate worlds. Since many wars are based on some kind of stupid theme in this movie the musician is faced with the army propagating modernity and throwing out everything old to get ready for the enemy. Needless to say the musicians will not give up an art that they carefully nurtured all their lives and tended with care through generations. Also makes you wonder about why some people want musicians to stop playing music? I can understand if it is bad music but these folks have problems with good music. Its a crazy world. Nevertheless awesome movie and Thailand is really beautiful.