THE LOTTERY OF BIRTH Review - Documentary - Raindance Film Festival 2012

My brain hurts. It hurts because of how much this movie made me think. And it hurt even more when I began trying to figure out how I would review it. 

You have to be paying attention when you watch 'The Lottery of Birth'. There's no dumbing down, no spoon feeding you. It's a film that relentlessly sets out to challenge your perceptions and view of the world. It's a documentary that takes what you think you know and shows you how you know very little. It could so easily have been pretentious, or preachy, or boring-- yet somehow, it manages to tread that line perfectly. It doesn't make you feel dumb, it makes you feel enlightened - which is exactly what you want from a documentary.

So what is it about? Don't expect me to explain; my brain still hurts too much! Let's all watch the trailer to get a feel for it: 

Depending on where you're born, you have certain privileges, certain obstacles, certain opportunities. Your outlook, your inner state, your beliefs; they're shaped by the environment you're in. And we all conform to roles almost as quickly as we're born. And school drills into us a certain way of thinking, a way of viewing other nations, a way of perceiving history. One of the most startling moments in the film is when it lists fifty nations that the USA has tried to overthrow since World War 2-- and many of them were democracies. One of the big points the film makes is that, we all feel like we're on the side of the angels. We like to believe that our nation is the one in the right, the one with great values. 'The Lottery of Birth' takes a look at how our brains are wired to think in a certain way, based on the way we've been socialised. 

This film is a wake up call. 

And the interview subjects are fascinating. The late Howard Zinn is mesmerizing; as are all the others. 

This is a documentary that, with a mere establishing shot of a London city office or a New York City street, makes you realise how brainwashed we are, how easily we allow ourselves to be obedient. I related to this documentary in a big way because it voiced a feeling I've had eating away inside of me for a long time, that I've never been able to formulate into words or coherent thoughts. It just shows you how powerful a documentary can be. It's like a switch has been turned on, the electricity is flowing -- now I can begin to look at the world in a way that I've been working my way towards without direction. 'The Lottery of Birth' is the beginning of a new way of approaching things. 

Yesterday, during a screening of 'Loveless Zoritsa' I was getting pissed off with the woman next to me who was constantly scribbling notes --- it bugged the hell out of me! But today, as I watched 'The Lottery of Birth', I wanted to be taking notes so badly! There was so much to take in, so much to learn, endless things to ponder. 

I'll need to watch this film another three times to take it all in. Problem is, when, and where? Documentaries never have a certain path. After Raindance, we don't know when we'll see it again. Luckily, the filmmakers are intent on it reaching a wide audience. They said during the Q+A that the important thing is that it gets seen, even if people can't afford cinema tickets or to purchase it on demand. How refreshing! Film distribution is changing -- and it's very likely that the producers who are open to giving their films away for free may end up being the winners. 

The important thing is that 'The Lottery of Birth' gets seen. I'm fully aware that despite my praise, this review doesn't give much detail about the content of the film. I go back to my initial words -- my brain hurts. This is a talking heads documentary that takes up more neurons in your brain than a hundred Hollywood flicks combined. Sound like hard work? It is. But it's worth it. 

I don't know when you'll get a chance to see it, but when you do, make sure you don't miss it. 

Additional Notes: The film is directed by Raoul Martinez and Joshua Van Praag, and it's the first of a four-part 'Creating Freedom' documentary project. Keep an eye on this series, because it may end up changing your life. 

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HITLER'S CHILDREN - "You weren't there, you didn't do it."

One of my best friends, an English guy, is obsessed with Germany. He just loves it. He knows the language, he visits whenever he can. All his favourite bands are German.

I was telling a German friend about this. It was sometime last year, I think around September. We met up in Spain -- and we were talking about the war, about her being German and me being English. I guess we were trying to figure out what it means 70 years later. Anyway, she couldn't grasp the fact that my friend adores Germany. She was uncomfortable with it, she didn't believe it. When she thought of what legacies her country has left the world, the only thing that came to mind was the Nazis. 

And she feels immensely guilty about it.

Not that she thinks about it all the time. But when you're a German and you visit another country, your accent is unmistakable. And I have to admit, the second I hear the German accent, I get a little trigger in my head, a little reminder, the thought of World War 2 flashes through my mind. Not in an angry way, not really in any way at all-- but it appears for a moment in my consciousness.

History takes a long time to process. People say "enough about the Holocaust already!" or "get over slavery, it was like 200 years ago!", but you can't put a time stamp on these things. The effects of history still play out in society in more ways than people realise.

"Hitler's Children" is a documentary that aired on the BBC a few weeks ago. A friend mentioned it yesterday, assuming I'd seen it, but I knew nothing of it. I did a quick search online and found it on YouTube.

It's about the direct descendants of some of the biggest Nazi war criminals, such as Rudolph Hoess' grandson Rainer and Amon Goethe's daughter, Monika. It's a very touching documentary, focusing on five individuals, all of whom seem like absolutely wonderful people, but they're burdened by the guilt of what their relatives did.

How do you deal with such a thing? Goering's Great Niece & Nephew decided to be sterilised. Their grandfather attempted to exterminate the Jewish race and now his descendants are exterminating their own family. It's the best answer they've come up with. Niklas Frank, the son of Hans Frank, tries to exorcise his guilt by writing about his evil parents and educating younger people by doing talks. But sometimes he tells people that he has no trust, especially in Germans. He thinks they have the potential to do the same again.

That's what always worries me. Not about Germans, but all of us. Because the people who worked in Auschwitz were normal people; doctors, farmers, artists, etc; they came from all over to work for a cause they BELIEVED IN.

Our brains are wired in strange ways. We conform. What if our iPhones suddenly started instructing us to kill people? What if the celebrities that flood our brains every day in tabloid newspapers started subtly pronouncing hateful ideology? How strong is our will? How certain are we we'll know what's right? The Goering's and Hitler's are scary; but the everyday accomplices are even scarier; because they're no different to any of us. 

I think I'm a good person in a good country, but then I look at the Iraqi civilian death count and realise I know nothing.

As for World War 2; I feel, as an individual, that I am still processing this part of history. My grandparents fought in the war, and I love them for it. But there is so much I don't know and will never know. When I meet a German person, if I'm honest with you; I really feel the urge to talk about it. And I mean it in the best possible way, I just want to TALK! To process what it means to us as human beings in the 21st century. Part of that is a fascination with that part of history, a deep interest; but also there's a feeling of hurt, of confusion, of still grappling with the past and what it means to us, what it means to me. I think it's the same for a lot of people, from all the nations involved. 

There's this beautiful moment in the documentary when a Jewish holocaust survivor meets Rainer Hoess, the grandson of the Auschwitz commandant, Rudolph Hoess. Seeing Rainer's deep pain and guilt, the survivor says to him, "You weren't there, you didn't do it." It's a beautiful moment. The most unlikely meeting you can imagine, but you feel the world getting healed a little just by the moment they shared together.

As the older generations come towards the end of their lives, it becomes a world where none of us were there to witness it, but many of us still need to talk about it. And I hope we do. History is our greatest teacher, with endless wisdom. I hope we can process it together.

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SENNA

"I was already on pole, and I just kept going. Suddenly I was nearly two seconds faster than anybody else, including my team mate with the same car. And suddenly I realised that I was no longer driving the car consciously. I was driving it by a kind of instinct, only I was in a different dimension. It was like I was in a tunnel."

I cannot put into words how I feel about this documentary. Ayrton Senna is more than just a man who drove cars. Go watch it. It'll inspire you. It'll break your heart. And it will change your life a little.

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I Need That Record!

I just watched the documentary I Need That Record! The Death (Or Possible Survival) Of The Independent Record Store. The film was full of great insight into the music industry, and art in general. Definitely worth checking out if you're into the things I'm into. Here are a few quotes that stuck out to me.

"In the space of the time we talked today, there'll be so much music made in the world, it'd be enough for us to listen to for the rest of our lives. So, if you have such a vast pool-- if you think about the history of music, how much music has been made-- you have such a vast pool of music to select from, to listen to, why leave it to people who have only their own profits at heart, to decide what you hear. So I just turn that shit right off."
-Ian Mackaye
Dischord Records

"Art has never been about mass culture - ever!"
-Glen Branca
Composer/Guitarist

"To me, when you're dealing with art, you have to remember that some of the things that run the deepest in the human psyche are the ones that take the longest to nurture."
-Lenny Kaye
Patti Smith Group
Guitarist

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10 For The Weekend

1. Alex Gibney is a great documentary filmmaker. "Client 9: The Rise And Fall Of Eliot Spitzer" is a telling documentary about politics, the banks, and how men throw away everything for high price call girls. The film will definitely get you thinking.

Today I watched "Taxi To The Dark Side," the film he won the Oscar for. It's a film about the brutality used by American forces towards terrorism suspects since the Iraq war. The more you watch things, or read things or investigate things; the harder it is to have any sense of who the good guys are in the world. Maybe that's always been the case. Remember in school? Nazi Germany was bad and everyone else was good. Now everybody's bad and nobody's good.

2. Mariah Carey has been irrelevant for years. Nobody listens to her music anymore. But in "Precious" she drops the big breasted diva act and does something incredibly human. Amazing.

3. I met Bill Nighy a few weeks back. I was sitting in the front row of the cinema and spotted him two seats away from me. At the end of the film we chatted for a bit. If you think I'm name dropping you should see the way he casually mentioned Judi Dench.

4. I still haven't seen "Black Swan."

5. When was the last time you watched a movie without a physical or psychological problem? Most of the time we're stressed because of our day, or worrying about tomorrow's meeting, or shifting awkwardly because of a back pain, or feeling restless because of hunger. When is it ever perfect?

6. Does your girlfriend/boyfriend understand your creativity and career choices? Can they support it? Do they know when to leave you alone? Or are you single because of these very difficulties?

7. Have you noticed how your favourite TV shows always have the best theme tunes? Its impossible to love a show and hate the music.

8. You ever been caught between creativity and laziness? You can't be lazy cause you wanna be creative.. But it's not there, not happening. So you don't create, and you don't chill, instead you aggressively log in and out of your emails and make five coffees an hour; the purpose being 'to get working as soon as the coffee is made.'

9. I won a bloggie award last year and It'd be incredible to win for the second year in a row. The realistic part of me says a blog is just a blog. But the ideological side of me says that this blog represents an idea. It represents and champions stories and independence and passion and pure enjoyment of the cinema. And when something represents those things, it needs support; because the other side are over-represented. They have money, advertising budgets, hundreds of staff; and they advertise brands; and they wipe outanyone with a unique voice. So these little awards and links from people, plus the positive word of mouth -- they really mean everything. You can vote for me in the best entertainment blog category here.

10. And point 9 matters and is worth believing in because things are changing. We're in control now, not the big corporate guys. Nobody knows how the future will play out. They're hoping 3D lasts forever, but it won't. The future is being decided by fifteen year olds with flipcams. We can hold on to old ideas of filmmaking and distribution, or we can reinvent things ourselves. The playing field is getting more even. If your video is genius; three million people on YouTube will see it. if you make a second one that's just as good, another two million will see that.

You created them videos. You own them. Some corporate guy will offer you a big cheque to make a commercial or to write a screenplay for the studios. But it's up to you now, not them. You're the kid with the camera. The corporate guy wants money, you want a career. You're in the driving seat. Don't forget that. Nobody knows anything. If you have the talent: keep making stuff until you're so brilliant that they'll be asking YOU how the future will look.

Do you have 10 for me?

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'Benda Bilili!' Documentary, MUST-SEE!!!

I'm not sure where or when you're going to be able to see it, but if you EVER get the chance, then you really MUST. 'Benda Bilini' is one of the most inspiring documentaries I've ever seen. It's about a group of mostly disabled Congolese musicans who; in the midst of abject poverty, crime & corruption in the heart of the Congo; manage to keep going by being creative and following what they believe and know to be their destiny: that they will be known as the world's greatest disabled band.

The music is INCREDIBLE, the camaraderie of the band is INCREDIBLE, the strength and resolve of the Congolese is INCREDIBLE. These are guys who've spent most of their lives sleeping outdoors on cardboard boxes. They would spend their days in a center for disabled people and when that place got burned down, they carried on as normal, because it's part of life in the Congo. These musicians literally had NOTHING, except each other and their instruments-- instruments that were often broken, or custom-made/invented by themselves. With passion, hope, and some help from French filmmaker Renaud Barret and a record company, they went on to record their inspired music, and then take it on tour to Paris, and then this year--- around the World.

I cannot really explain what is great about this documentary and what it meant to me, I don't have the words; I can only recommend you see it. On the one hand, it makes you realize how difficult life in the Congo really is, it makes you realize just how privileged we are. But on the other hand, you realize, Staff Benda Bilini don't want our sympathy, they just want us to hear their music, to appreciate their remarkable talent, and we really should.

Below is a YouTube video of one of Benda Bilini's songs-- unfortunately, there's not a great deal of them on the net, at least; not with subtitles. You can appreciate their talent without knowing the lyrics, but seeing them adds something because you get to see the depth of what they're singing about. Luckily, all the songs in the documentary 'Benda Bilini!' are subtitled.

The film is being released in France in September, and hopefully in the rest of the world soon after. I write this today not expecting that you'll see the documentary in your multiplex any time soon, but just in case you do, or if you see a band called 'Staff Benda Bilini' touring near you- then you should check them out. These are a group of people who have had tough, tough lives; living in poverty, with no money, on the streets, for pretty much their whole lives. But rather than bitterness, anger and resentment; they come at us instead with beautiful music. Inspirational in the extreme.

"My instrument is made from a tin can that held fish, and one single guitar string, and some wood. There's nothing else."
-Roger Landu

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Mugabe and the White African - An Oscar Worthy Documentary - and something everyone should watch.

'Mugabe and the White African' is a documentary that everyone should watch. You might, like me, not have put much thought into Zimbabwe. You may, like me, have found yourself skimming over articles about Mugabe in the papers as you flick to the pages where some blonde girl is getting her breasts out or some golfer is fucking cocktail waitresses. But sometimes something comes along that really hits you in the gut, in the head, in the heart and in the mind. If any film is going to do that, it's going to be this one. I can't remember the last time I felt so aware of my privileges. Namely, the privilege of being in England, of being white, of having the rule of law, of having freedom. And yes, I know, you all know of a million reasons why we don't have actual freedom, but when you look closely at a place like Zimbabwe, you realize we're doing pretty well.

This is a very personal story. It's the story of Mike Campbell, a white South African, and his family. They purchased a farm in Zimbabwe after independence, when Mugabe and the government had little use for it, and then in the proceeding years the government wanted it back - and went to disturbing means to do so.

I absolutely stink at summarizing films, that's not what I do, so here's a word from Variety.

"Mugabe and the White African" compellingly documents the struggles of Mike Campbell and his brood to hang on to their Zimbabwe farm in the face of President Mugabe's "land reform," which apparently consists of kicking out whites and redistributing their property to his ministers, cronies and relatives. Braving intimidation and beatings, Campbell and his son-in-law, Ben Freeth, take their case to the international African court, charging racism and violation of human rights. Potent mix of suspense, pathos and indignation"

From the minute this film starts; you realize how at risk everyone is. Mainly, of course, the family who the doc focuses on are majorly at risk-- they're wanted out of their country. White farmers had been fleeing or forced out of their farms all around the region - the intimidation and threats being far too much for them to handle. How Mike Campbell and Ben Freeth managed to stay for so long, and remain so level-headed about what they were doing, and the reasons why, is truly remarkable. It's even more tense when you realize the black farmers they employ, are even more at risk - which is why you see so little of them in the documentary. To be giving information to the outside world would get them beaten or murdered -- in fact, one of the black farmers featured in the documentary has since been killed.

It's also incredible how brave the directors are (Andrew Jackson and Lucy Bailey). When you meet Lucy Bailey, she's a small, energetic and delightful woman who you wouldn't imagine being someone who would film without permission or safety in a country where all international media is banned. If that seems like an assumption or sexism on my part -- I guess it is -- but my point being, she's got more balls than I will ever have. It's inspiring and incredible what her team has achieved.

A criticism that this film will get is that it is not level handed. It does very little to provide general audiences with a wide understanding of the historical background to this conflict. And the film has a tendency to make you feel that Whites in the region are being oppressed by black people for completely wrong reasons. This is true, but-- at the same time, there is a lot of history and a lot of feelings, and at the very-base of what's going on, there are very legitimate regions why poor black people in the region feel oppressed and angry, and more could have been explored as to why people were acting the way they were to Campbell and his family.

But this film isn't a historical document, nor should it be- it's a startling, thought-provoking and important documentary about what is happening right now. And if the Academy recognizes what a huge achievement this film is - it could propel it internationally in a way that NEEDS to be done.

It's time to take down the curtains covering Zimbabwe. The film has the potential to have a huge impact on the country, and it is something that the World would no longer be able to ignore if this reaches the audiences it deserves, and NEEDS. Zimbabwe is a place without democracy, and more importantly - without the rule of law. As someone in the film mentions (I think Ben Freeth) - Zimbabwe is like a football or rugby match without a referee. It's a free for all, and innocent South Africans, of all colours, are in a game with no rules, except- it's not a game at all. There is violence, corruption and death in a way that myself and most of the people reading this could never imagine. We all have a duty, I feel, to be more aware of what is happening. We have the privilege of sitting here with a nice cup of tea and a sandwich, whereas the people portrayed in 'Mugabe and the White African' don't have that privilege - and I feel, at the very least, we should all watch this stirring, emotional and heartbreaking documentary - I have never been this moved by a documentary, nor more sickened.

Let's hope it gets the Academy Award Nomination it deserves. And let's hope it has the impact on the World that it is aiming for.

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What do you want Mary, you want the moon?

"We came out of the cave. And we looked over the hill, and we saw fire. And we crossed the ocean, and we pioneered the West, and we took to the sky. The history of man is hung on a timeline of exploration, and this is what's next"

-Sam Seaborn, 'The West Wing'.

'In The Shadow Of The Moon' is a very simple documentary about something that to this day is still incomprehensible and unbelievable to most of us. It's about going to the moon.

I don't really want to say too much about it, and I certainly don't want to review it - I just want you to watch it. It's an inspiring documentary. Not only does it remind you of the most incredible achievement of mankind, but it makes you aware of many things you may have not given thought to before; how it happened because of the big dreams of John F. Kennedy, how the Astronauts felt guilt that they weren't in Vietnam because they were instead heading to the moon.. and many other fascinating insights into this small, incredible group of men who proved that anything in life is possible.

What I love about the documentary is how it doesn't over sentimentalise, nor is it too congratulatory; it just does what it should -- it documents.

It's really touching to hear the stories of this select group of men who are the only people in history to have seen the planet Earth in its wholeness from an alien land. What touched me most was Apollo 11 crew member Michael Collins talking about how fragile the Earth looked from space; how it's just this tiny circle hanging there in the middle of blackness, and also Jim Lovell talking about how you could hide the Earth with your thumb (as we see Tom Hanks do in the film 'Apollo 13', as Lovell) and you see the whole of life as you know it just disappear; Lovell realised doing this how incredibly insignificant we all are.
It's no surprise that the astronauts are all heavily religious or spiritual people. They have left the earth and adventured out into space -- and nobody has been back to the moon since. What an incredible group of people. 'In The Shadow Of The Moon' is a documentary that I definitely recommend; filled with archive footage and informative interviews with the people who were there, the people who made history.

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