It is no shock that many people try desperately to reach the United States to attain a better quality of life for themselves and their families in their home countries. This documentary focuses on children who ride atop a train they call “The Beast” in order to reach their “Promised Land.” Some of the kids […]
This film paints a grim picture of life in Afghanistan. It starts with Naqshbandi’s relationship with American journalist Christian Parenti. Naqshbandi is also a journalist and is called a “fixer” because he facilitates interviews and translates for foreign journalists. Naqshbandi is later kidnapped by Taliban forces along with Italian journalist Daniele Mastrogiacomo and a driver. […]
Maybe you have to be Romanian to get this movie. A comedy, it focuses on two men who claim they were part of the revolution that brought down Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceausescu in December 1989. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/AZ7MfFB14xo” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] While being interviewed by a local TV personality, the pair face callers who claim […]
This is a rare glimpse into the life of North Korea. The report comes from journalist Lisa Ling, whose sister, Laura Ling, was recently released from prison there during a visit from former United States President Bill Clinton. Lisa Ling and her crew obtained access to the sealed country by following a Nepalese eye surgeon […]
This film is truly bleak. Set in 1987 Romania, it is a study of unhappiness and desperation. It shows a young woman who wants an abortion. Abortion is illegal in the country under the rule of dictator Nicolae Ceaucescu. She and her college roommate solicit the help of a black market doctor who will perform […]
This documentary is a love letter to Cuban leader Fidel Castro. Director Estela Bravo doesn’t try to hide her adoration of the man many in the developing world look up to. Using archival footage and interviews with friends, relatives, and celebrities, Bravo paints a picture of a person who has not lost his idealism. [kml_flashembed […]
This movie is hard to describe. It is in part a journey back in time for director Ari Folman, who is disturbed by the fact he cannot remember incidents that happened while he was in the Israeli army. Folman reconnects with others who were with him in 1982 when Bashir Gemayel, Lebanon’s newly elected president, […]
Why did we go to Vietnam? What did we do there? And what did going there do to us? Those are the questions asked by “Hearts and Minds” director Peter Davis. At first glance, “Hearts and Minds” is pure anti-war propaganda. Upon subsequent viewing, however, it shows itself to be a truly hands-off approach to […]
The World Food Program (WFP) has recently launched a video blog called On the Road – with the first series set in Tanzania looking at nutrition centers, giving the viewer a taste of Masai goat and follows school kids as they walk six kilometers to get water to cook their lunch. The WFP is the United […]
This is a riveting account of the arrest and prosecution of one of Nazi Germany’s biggest critics. Sophie Scholl was part of a group known as the White Rose, an organization bent on ending Hitler’s war machine (particularly on the eastern front). [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/XM5A4ETW_Io” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] It is 1943 and Scholl is arrested […]
This extraordinary documentary-like film covers all bases when dealing with a massacre that occurred in Iraq in 2005. The movie shows how United States marines handle a roadside bombing that kills one and injures two others. It is based on a true story. [kml_flashembed movie=”http://www.youtube.com/v/RPhhMh1p-Hc” width=”425″ height=”350″ wmode=”transparent” /] The film portrays those who plant […]
What is a criminal act and what is standard operating procedure? That is the question asked again and again in this excellent documentary about the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq. Director Errol Morris (“The Fog of War”) does a wonderful job of showing the gray area of what happened there. He […]
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