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Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World

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The search for truth is at the heart of Hans Pools documentary Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World. It tells the story of a group that searches out the truth in news stories, even when powerful nations seek to hide behind lies.

Bellingcat is a multi-national collective of citizen open-source investigative journalists. They are people with expertise in various subjects. They use online information in amazing ways to ferret out the truth of world events. This ranges from identification of perpetrators of violence in Charlottesville, verifying bombings in Syria, the poisoning of a Russian dissident, and more.

Much of the film involves Bellingcat’s investigation of the 2014 downing of Malaysia Airline flight MH-17 by Russian (or pro-Russian) forces in Ukraine. It is amazing the amount of evidence about the incident and the weapons systems involved  these people were able to find online, such as seeing the movement of the convoy the day of the attack. But it is not just finding the information, it is also a matter of interpreting the information.

As professional journalism continues to struggle to stay afloat, the role of citizen journalist is expanding. Of course, that raises questions of professional standards and reputation. For professional journalism, trust is often based in the institution and our perception of its reliability, whether that is BBC, Fox News, or the New York Times. But citizen journalists establish trust through transparency, showing the evidence they have accumulated and verifying its accuracy.

Much of the work of Bellingcat deals with the disinformation that is spread by official and unofficial channels. It is more than just fact-checking. It often means that they have to find evidence that disputes the message that is being sent out. We see the results of some of the investigations they have done, but we need to realize that it is because of long, complicated investigations. Watching them explain where they found all the evidence is impressive, but more impressive is how hard it must have been to find it all in the enormous cyber universe. At times Bellingcat has determined things to be fact before official investigators have.

We are bombarded by news and fake news every day. It can be difficult to wade through it all and judge where the truth lies. This film takes us inside a group that is working to overcome the lies with truth that they can back up.

Bellingcat: Truth in a Post-Truth World is available on DVD.

Enter the Fat Dragon: Learning Who You Are

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In an obvious homage to Bruce Lee’s classic film, Enter the Dragon, Donnie Yen stars in Enter the Fat Dragon. In this action comedy, Yen stars as Fallon Zhu, a ripped hardcore action cop who doesn’t play by the rules. Millions caused in property damage? No problem. Though his bosses may hate him cause he’s reckless, he gets the job done. Hong Kong calls him by many names “Jackass of the century” and “reincarnation of Bruce Lee” but, after being demoted and losing the love of his life, he becomes a washed-up deadbeat, inflating from a tight 145lbs to 250 lbs. When he finds himself entangled in a case that could make or break his career, Zhu must fight those in his way and, maybe, win back the girl as well. 

Donnie Yen as an actor has had many successes over his career, but he can’t help be compared to Bruce Lee’s success and achievements and continues to be viewed as a less talented version of the martial arts icon. In this way, Enter the Fat Dragon feels like this may be Yen’s way of addressing the shadow of Lee’s that he has lived in throughout his entire life. (Even the title of the film is a self-mocking parody of Bruce Lee’s most famous film, Enter the Dragon.)  With this in mind, the film speaks to the theme of accepting one’s true self and being who you are. When Fallon becomes overweight and loses his girlfriend Chloe, they fight about the career paths they’ve taken and who they are as people. He is constantly ridiculed for his weight (even by Chloe). Later in the film, as he gets his confidence back, he begins to fight like he once did, he realizes who he is and gains new perspective on his identity (and his relationship with Chloe as well). Similarly, Chloe also begins to have the same realization about her own life. Looking back on the path that she’s had to take to reach success as a second-rate actress, she begins to have an identity crisis and questions her decisions along the way. Both Zhu and Chloe must decide whether to accept each other’s paths and who they are, flaws and all.

In the same way, this also seems symbolic of Yen’s journey of having to accept being his own person as well. He will never be the next Bruce Lee but he doesn’t need to be. Clearly, Yen has accepted the career path he’s had and who he is and he as a person.

Once again, Yen is able to bring the action we’ve seen with previous movies hits of his career. The comedy works really well with the contrast of super choregraphed intense action that makes great use of their environments. The characters are also very endearing, and even relatable with their struggles. All around, Enter the Fat Dragon is a hilarious action comedy that does the martial arts genre justice. As always, Yen pops off the screen and long-time fans of his will truly appreciate the story played out through the film. 

Enter the Fat Dragon is available on VOD and DVD/Blu-Ray now.

Valley of the Gods: At the Feet of Power

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It can be easy for us to think so highly of ourselves that we ought.

In this latest film from acclaimed director Lech Majewski, Valley of the Gods explores the nature of power vs. poverty through three separate yet intrinsically-linked narratives. Grappling with his recent divorce, John Ecas (Josh Hartnett) is a struggling writer who is searching for peace. After meeting a homeless man on the street, Ecas is unaware that the man is actually Wes Taurus (John Malkovich), the wealthiest man in the world. Taurus has been posing as a homeless man in order to feel connected to the world around and invites Ecas to write his biography. As the world only trillionaire Taurus is a recluse from society yet is determined to mine on the sacred lands of the Navajo for uranium, upsetting the people of the community.

Beautifully shot by Majewski and Pawel Tybora, Gods is often an overwhelming visual treat. Featuring vast desert landscapes and daunting palacial rooms, the film’s images force the viewer to feel small, as if they are pawns to some otherworldly game of chess. Intentionally linking Taurus’ mansion to Citizen Kane’s Xanadu, there is a cinematic opulence to this trillionaire’s estate unlike anything we’ve seen onscreen in ages. From tennis courts that resemble the Sistine Chapel to operas performed standing in an enormous fountain, every shot within its walls speaks to the incredible power (and loneliness) of vast wealth and creates a gut-wrenching fear towards its enigmatic owner.

Meanwhile, this life of remarkable luxury is held in direct contrast to the awe-inspiring natural world of the Navajo community. Although just as daunting as cool isolation of Taurus’ world, the dry heat of the desert carries an intensely spiritual warmth to the landscapes and carry a deep connection to those that hold them in reverence. As a result, the nervousness that one feels in these scenes is not for a man who lives in a castle but rather for the mysterious power of nature that is rarely taken seriously by outsiders.

By juxtaposing these two diametrically opposed spaces, Majewski puts his emphasis on the emptiness of wealth. In Gods, Majewski understands that that which is deeply spiritual trumps financial fortune, not only in importance but also in power (an idea which comes to literal fruition at the film’s finale). However, what’s most interesting about the film is Malkovich’s Taurus (Isn’t Malkovich almost always the most interesting part of anything he’s in?), who seems to recognize that he’s missing something and looks to feel alive. 

Unlike the Navajo who may live in poverty yet maintain their souls, Taurus’ life remains empty. As the world’s richest man, he literally controls everyone and everything at his disposal yet he remains spiritually poor. Disguised as a homeless man, Taurus honours the poor and the impoverished and moves around the city below in plain sight, yearning for the simplicity of life that has been lost. Though he lives his life like a secluded god in the heavens, he literally descends from on high in order to feel connected to the world around him. Despite his vast fortune, his wealth has become a prison for him and he longs to be set free. 

By recognizing the power of the healthy soul and the value of the impoverished in the face of corporate wealth, there are times when Majewski’s film borders on the profound. Though the story can be difficult to follow because of his staggered and non-traditional use of narrative devices, Valley of the Gods does come together through its thematic and visual beauty. Engulfing the viewer with the sheer magnitude of their surroundings, Majewski shifts their perspective away from themselves and towards something greater.

Because, to him, recognizing that there is something greater helps remind us that we are something less.

Valley of the Gods premieres on Blu-Ray and VOD on August 11th, 2020.

Dateline-Saigon – Fighting the Lie Machine

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“There are these two armies that are going to meet: this tiny little army of journalists—five, or six, seven—and this army of policy.”

The role of a journalist is to share the truth. During the early years of the Vietnam War, a small group of young journalists who were assigned to Vietnam recognized that the official government statements about American involvement were not the truth. Dateline-Saigon provides a history of that early period of American involvement as we hear some of these reporters recall their time reporting from Vietnam.

Reporters, from left, David Halberstam of the New York Times, AP Saigon Correspondent Malcolm Brown and Neil Sheehan of UPI, and later the New York Times, chat beside a helicopter in Vietnam, ca. 1964. (AP Photo)

The journalists involved are Malcolm Browne and Peter Arnett of Associated Press, Neil Sheehan of United Press International, David Halberstam of the New York Times, and photographer Horst Faas of Associated Press. These young men (in their twenties while on their assignments in Vietnam) were perhaps a bit naïve when they arrived. They soon learned that many of their sources in the military and governments would exaggerate claims of victory and damage done to the enemy. They would see Americans involved in combat while the American and Vietnam governments claimed that they were only advisors.

Vietnam 1967 — AP photographer Horst Faas, with his Leica cameras around his neck, accompanies U.S. troops in War Zone C.

Because they worked for different outlets, there was great competition between them, but also a comradery built on their common understanding of their task. They exposed the lies. They were a voice calling out in a world that was dominated by what Halberstam calls “a large lie machine”.

Nearly the entire film is set during the Kennedy Administration. There are only a few thousands American troops in Vietnam. The escalation of the war came later. But even at this point we note that the government was being very dishonest about what was happening. (For those who recall that time as an age of Camelot, this may be a bit of a shock.)

These young journalists did not go there trying to destroy American policy. As Sheehan says, “At this point, we were young Americans who were filled with all the myths of the Cold War. We thought this was the right war, the right time, the right place.” But they understood their jobs to be to bring the truth to the world. However, it wasn’t until TV began covering the war, and bringing these issues into homes through that more powerful medium, that the truth became recognized by the world.

Peter Arnett in the field, 1965

In today’s news environment of claims about “fake news” and near real-time fact-checking, I think it is important to take a look at journalistic ideals. The journalists we meet in this film (all of whom went on to win Pulitzer Prizes) were, I think, a bit idealistic about their role. But that idealism served them well as they all looked for the truth of what was happening. In time it would become clear that the way the policy was being presented through the government was indeed “a lie machine”. We continue to rely on journalists of integrity to protect us from the lie machines that continue today.

Dateline-Saigon is available on VOD and DVD.

Photos courtesy of First Run Features

Suzi Q – A Rock Trailblazer

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Suzi Quatro is for some a rock and roll icon. She was one of the first women in rock to play bass and be the front person. Before Deborah Harry or Joan Jett (both of whom we hear from), there was Suzi. But at least in North America, her fame is a bit tempered. Suzi Q, a new documentary from Australian director Liam Firmager, follows her career from growing up in Detroit to continuing to record and tour today as she enters her 70s.

She came from a pleasant suburban home in Grosse Point, Michigan. She and her siblings were all encouraged musically and given a good amount of freedom to do the things they liked. In the aftermath of the Beatles, her sisters and friends noted the lack of female bands. With an older sister and friends, she became part of The Pleasure Seekers. Even as a teen, Suzi was on the road with the music she loved.

When an English producer chose to sign Suzi, but not the others, her life changed. She was off to England alone to establish herself in the music industry, but it was not without resentment from her family.

One of the interesting things we note as we see Quatro’s career expand is that while she was a great success in Europe and Australia, her music failed to gain traction in the US. Even when she would come home and tour as an opener for Alice Cooper (another of the interviewees), she wasn’t able to find the key to radio play that is so important for US musical success. She is perhaps better known in North America for her TV role of Leather Tuscadero on Happy Days.

The film effectively chronicles Quatro’s career, focusing mostly on the music. It brings in comments from a number of her contemporaries in the business to make clear that she was a talent that deserves recognition. Quatro eventually branched out into other areas, including musical theater and her own television show, but those parts of her career are only touched on briefly. I’d have been interested in a bit more time on those, and how she dealt with the successes and failures she encountered there.

The films also gives us enough of her own reflection on her music and her life to add a bit of depth. The most notable examples of this deal with her relationship with her family. There were clearly resentments on both sides. Those feelings may have softened through the years, but at times we can still hear the echoes of past pains.

Suzi Q is available on Virtual Cinema, DVD and VOD.

Photos courtesy of Sicily Publicity