"Life in a Day" - Feature Documentary

 “Life in a Day” is wonderful creative piece that takes us to a day July 24th, 2010. Through it we see how life is for people from all over the world and from different backgrounds. It’s impressive how much footage was acquired for this documentary alone. The variety of content in the videos is also amazing. There is footage about fear, hope, happiness, wants, dreams, horrific figures, love, etc. Just about anything under the sun. Truly a time capsule that can be shown to generations to come about a time that is just as regular as any other day, yet, it is a time to capture what makes us individuals. This is an opportunity for people to show what makes them unique and what makes them interesting to get to know for that matter. It is a celebration of people and of life lived in one day and in one movie. There are no differences in race, religion, or orientation. Everyone is the same in showing who they are. Where they live. Who they interact with. Some of these people do not think their lives are worthy of praise. Some of these people do. Some do not even think of it. Yet, this film brings them all together and helps us get a sense of unity. I was truly moved by some of these people in the film. Some of them have dreams of doing great things, others just want to take care of unfinished businesses. I felt so connected to the different individuals in this piece. I got to appreciate the various cultures and beliefs of others. This is truly a wonderful concept for a documentary. No one is regarded as a minority or a majority. Nothing is biased. Everything is captured as it is. Adults, children, and animals all are protagonists of this inventive work.

"The Silverlake Life" - Feature Documentary

In “The Silverlake Life”  two gay men’s relationship is explored in such a way that the viewer does not feel like they cannot watch through the beginning. The beginning is not biased but rather shows one of them talking about the complication. One is left wondering whether this story will take a different turn. If this is a story about other matters other than gay rights or health concerns like AIDS. It was essentially that, it was about two human beings and their love for one another. Before I treated the matter with respect. I did not interfere and neither would the topic. I just let it be. They have their life and I have mine. Indifference is what it was. But this documentary puts the subject in a way people could possibly relate to in the sense that when you get to know someone you have an appreciation for them. These men were very devoted to one another and even though it might be manifested in a way that is not to our preference that does not mean people have the right to judge one another. One cannot except for God. One cannot judge whether or not these men loved each other. They were together for many years and  such devotion proves the point. It is admirable that one of them was able to record his battle with AIDS. It is a tough thing to let the audience into such a personal issue in a person’s life and have to live through that daily. The audience is definitely taken to his journey until the very end. The scene of death was a shocking one and resembled a horrific scene that is similar to one found during the Holocaust. A man’s life can end in the most gruesome of ways, yet he died knowing that someone loved him for who he truly was as a person. Anyone can only hope to have that in their lives. 

"The Exiles" - Feature Documentary

“The Exiles” was a film that really got my attention in the way it was filmed and portrayed by the people involved on screen. The protagonist was seen in situations that somehow resembled a fiction film. Sometimes I forgot whether I was watching a documentary or a narrative film.  It was as if some of the situations were staged. It might not have been the case entirely or portion of the film was that way. However, it was certainly successful in capturing the emotions with voiceovers. Usually too many voiceovers are suggested to be one of those things to be avoided in film. Yet, it really served it’s purpose with the woman. The audience could sense her emotions even more and feel the struggle she was going through. I did not realize that a lot of Native Americans went through that… they feel like going into the cities to be “better” members of society.  That is the case that they would like to find a better future for their families, it is a similarity to the immigrant experience yet the Native American feels like a stranger in their own land. Which is an interesting thought that came to mind as I watched this. I realized about the discussion that was going on about feeling like a minority within a majority. I have felt one time or another like that, because of my background.  I`m originally from a different country and that is something I come to terms with with time and do not mind it. I can’t imagine feeling like a foreigner/outsider in my own country as some of the people felt in this movie. 

"Elgar Love" - Feature Documentary

This movie was very enjoyable. I liked the style of story-telling that this doc had. It was straightforward but I liked that it had the music in the background as it was going through the story of this man’s music composition career. It had the various pictures to go along with it. Almost like a Ken Burn’s type of approach, yet, this was more personal and centered on one man. I liked how at the beginning it did not seem like such a big deal concerning this man. If they would have said something along the lines “this is the story of the guy who composed this song that is famous” I would not have been too interested in paying too much attention to it.  I already would know the purpose for the movie and that just does not make the rest that important. There is no doubt, however, that this man’s life is one of inspiration. It is very much a story of not giving up on your dreams, as cheesy as that sounds. But I think that it is a reminder of how we should just follow what we think is right not by what others might think we should make of our lives. He had the added bonus of having his wife support him along with his character to be successful later on. It took a lot of years, too many it seems. It was all-worthwhile though. He had worked very hard on that dream and he finally accomplished it and would be heard for generations to come.

"Wet Earth and Warm People" - Feature Documentary

I thought  “Wet Earth and Warm People” was a great representation of a documentary that portrays the people of a certain society. It does have it biases in opinion; yet, it does not hold back on the happenings, like for example, what the authorities do. Even though the authorities prohibited some of the filming operations the filmmaker continued to make his documentary. The people presented in this documentary were those of Indonesia. Most of them live a simple life. The filmmaker made them seem that they were pretty content with what they had. They were overall genuinely happy people. Even if they did not have enough for their families they still seemed like the world was to be welcomed with a smile and some enthusiasm. The way they welcomed this filmmaker and his crew is impressive and makes me think of that innocence and naïve nature is still engrained in these people. This is mostly seen in a very memorable scene where the filmmaker shows a village their first film. They all stare in amazement and pure wonder at the documentary he presents about an igloo and some eskimos. It is a land far beyond their reach, yet, they see it for all that it is worth. Sometimes those little moments we take for granted. Like watching movies, eating, playing, etc. We do not really savor it sometimes. We think about what we will do tomorrow or what worries will come after. I feel like maybe I should be more like these people and enjoy the moment more.

"Valley Curtain" - Short Documentary

In “Valley Curtain” the artist works hard alongside his crew to create a work of art that at first seems quite impossible to the people around him. Throughout the process there are various complications that come along as to why this project would have to be postponed. Yet, through all the turmoil he was able to get that orange curtain up and all the valley could admire its greatness. There were scenes of people in the country club curious to see that this person they thought was not going to make it actually did go through with his vision. Just like this artist I think that a person’s ideas are always of value and should be welcomed no matter what they are. At the beginning we might not see the potential in that idea. Later on, we discover that maybe we were wrong and that what they came up with was something far better than we could imagine. It is a film that goes into following our ideas and just doing whatever we can to see them realized. With the support of people that are helping us and depositing our trust in them we can make it happen. The artist sometimes could not trust them but when he did he was able to get his work through to the masses. The crew there that helped him were very strong-willed people that did whatever they could to see this come to pass. It is such a good short that had my interest.

"Christmas Eve" - Short Documentary

In my TMA 293 class we watched a short “Christmas Eve” filmed at my professor Dean Duncan’s kitchen. This is only setting the short takes place. He is never in the shots though, if he ever is he covers up the camera. That makes the film even more interesting. The filmmaker is not to alter the picture but let everything else happen before our eyes and to trust the camera, as I said before in one of my other posts. But I think that even of the hecticness of Christmas Eve and people (other than the mom) doing nothing but stuffing themselves, it is great to see people being together as a family to share in that time. There seem to be a lot of extended family present. It fast paces through to get to the idea that the people individually do not really matter in times like Christmas Eve. It is people together. Since people remember more of times spent with others during the Holidays especially, they want to have a place they can call home at least for that time. The mom was the only one during the course that was doing most of the cooking and did not seem to whine about it. That's how moms usually are and can have that genuine desire to entertain others through the joys of food. It is such a beautiful thing.