Change Your Image
kwugboots
Reviews
Criminal Minds (2005)
This show has more humanity than the other crime shows on TV
Why Criminal Minds is my favourite crime show on TV: 1. the investigators seem to have empathy, it's obvious that they are passionate about what they do. Even though they deal with horrific things all the time it still 'gets' to them. The investigators know that the victims are real people. 2. Occasionally more 'personal' elements get woven in to the plot & we find out more about each of the investigators. For instance, a lot happens with Spencer - in one episode we find out about a childhood trauma that he has repressed/forgotten that involves his father, and in another episode he gets kidnapped by a 'nerdy' guy who he has quite a lot in common with. The investigators in Criminal Minds are interesting three-dimensional characters who are portrayed with a lot of humanity. Bones is the only other crime show on TV that I sometimes watch - in some ways it is similar to criminal minds (eg. the investigators get personally involved in the plot, for instance in one episode Bones finds out about her parents). Other crime shows on TV are very boring & don't give the victims much respect. CSI and SVU spend too much time looking coldly at disfigured bodies, and too little time developing the human side of the show or the investigators. The investigators rarely seem moved by anything, and the victims are rarely shown as fully human before they are murdered. If they're going to have a person get murdered, they should at least show that person some respect before killing them off by taking care to portray them with compassion, and as fully human. Crime shows are a dodgy genre because they feed off of our desire to see the darkest parts of human experience. Crime programs that don't ask the viewer to really care about the victim before killing the victim off are simply uncomfortably voyeuristic & sadistic/dark.
Sacrifice (1998)
Eye opening, disturbing, important - a must see documentary
I saw this documentary a few years ago. It is the only documentary or film that I have seen that has shocked me so much that I couldn't stop myself from shaking. (The only other time in my life that I have found my body shaking like that was after a serious car crash).
This documentary was raw, the interviews and the girls interviewed were raw. It was difficult to listen to their stories and watch their faces as they spoke.
The film did lag in parts. If I made a criticism it would be that I wanted to hear more details about the girls interviewed, and about trafficked woman (from Burma to Thailand) in general. It would have been a better documentary had it included some "expert voices" - from the police, government officials, and people who work in organisations that try to free trafficking victims. An "update" on the whereabouts of the girls interviewed at the end of the documentary also would have been good. I was left wondering whether those girls were still locked in the brothels or if they had managed to escape. I presume a man went into the brothels, pretended he was a client, and interviewed these girls, then left them in the brothels at the end of the documentary - but this was not clarified at all in the film. Questioning the girls about what they wanted in their lives for the future, and where they wanted to work, what they wanted, would have been good also. I want to know what becomes of these girl prostitutes when they become women, when they become older, too old to work... where do they end up? A greater look into the corruption and greed of the police force would have made the documentary stronger also (the police were paid for their silence by the Madams). Parts of the documentary featured a girls voice saying things (via voice-over) that are 'typical' of what a trafficked girl might think - but these were not a trafficked girls own words, and these parts of the documentary were the weakest parts - the words felt less real and more contrived. They also felt less immediately raw and intense, in comparison with hearing and seeing 'real' victims.
This documentary scared and angered me. I have high praise for any documentary that shines a light on people who are extremely abused/vulnerable/needy yet are invisible to most of the world. Children like those in the documentary need their pain to be told, need their voices and stories to be heard. And we - all of us - absolutely need to listen to their stories, and feel their pain. Some people talk about whether a film or documentary is 'too disturbing' or not. I don't think that is the point. I think we all have an obligation to know other people's lives, to not block our eyes and ears just because we are uncomfortable. If we all watch and listen and bring into the light things that shouldn't be in the dark, our world can change. If we all harden our hearts and ignore the pain of others, then none of us will be motivated and impassioned to make changes in our world.
I commend Ellen Bruno for making this documentary, I look forward to more of her word. I thank her for telling the stories of these girls who are locked in rooms for years, and raped; these girls who otherwise have been silenced.
The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane (1976)
Irony of the directors pairing 14-year old Foster with a 21-year old boyfriend in a film about a pedophile
Overall an interesting and good film, with some pretty good acting from one of my favorite actors, Jodi Foster.
The film is a semi-thriller that deals with a 13 year old girl who provides for herself. No one in the village has seen her father for a while, but the girl keeps insisting that he is upstairs in the house, but sick/tired/working.
A local man attempts to sexually abuse her, and the local police officer tries to keep an eye out for her because he knows that this man has molested other children. His mother is a powerful and wealthy woman in the community, so thus far her son has been able to escape the law. The girl is resourceful, quick-witted, blunt, and can provide for herself.
She befriends a local crippled boy who is practicing to become a magician. He is a sweet, gentle and funny guy. When the molester man bursts uninvited into the girls house one night her boyfriend attempts to kick the man out of the house again to protect the girl. At the end of the film the man again creeps into the girls house one night, and it is up to the girl to try to ultimately outsmart him.
I have two problems with this film, which may be interconnected.
ONE: Jodi Foster didn't like making this film, this is her least favorite of the films that she has done, she did not like working with the 2 director men. I like Jodi Foster and I respect her so this makes me automatically feel some dislike towards this film. Jodi Foster didn't want to do the nude scene, so the director's got her older sister to do it instead of her. I don't think Jodi wanted that scene to be included in the movie when she was 14.
TWO: This film is about a pedophile. What is ironic is that the two (male) film directors paired Jodi Foster (aged 14 at the time of filming) up with a much older boy (aged 21ish at time of filming) and made them be boyfriend/girlfriend. The directors included a scene where Jodi (actually her sister) removes all of her clothes and climbs into her bed next to her seemingly naked older boyfriend (we don't see much nudity, only Jodi's sisters' naked back). It is ironic and creepy and just wrong that the directors would do a film about a pedophile, yet include a dodgy semi-naked scene involving a 14 year old girl (who is supposedly just-turned-13 in the movie). Directors need to be extra careful when they do films concerning child sexual abuse that they don't portray the child too sexually. It is ironic that in a film about a nasty pedophile the directors make the 14 year old girl get naked with a 21 year old man (if sex happened, that would be statutory rape) and treat it as innocent/normal. I got the uncomfortable impression that the directors may have had subconscious motives when they made this film. They certainly were not sensitive in their portrayal of child sexual activity/nudity.
Fran (1985)
A very realistic film dealing with the child welfare services; an irresponsible but loving mother (Fran); and her abusive boyfriend
I think this is a great movie. The film was very realistic & believable, nothing was sensationalized, and nothing was miraculously 'fixed'. The characters were real (flawed but mostly likable & loving) people throughout the film. Because I found the film and the characters so raw, normal and believable I really liked this film. The film is about an irresponsible but loving mother (Fran) who grew up in foster care and would hate the same thing to happen to her own children. Fran's eldest daughter is sexually abused by Fran's boyfriend, and despite Fran's desperate & angry protests, she does end up in foster care. The characters in the film and the daily-life events and interactions in the film all seemed very realistic to me & I felt like each character could be a real person, particularly the eldest daughter.
FULL PLOT: Fran is a woman who grew up being passed in and out of different foster homes. At her longest-term foster home her foster father attempted to sexually abuse her, and clearly did not love her. Fran grows into a needy adult who is searching for love and acceptance. She has low self-esteem and doesn't really believe in her own strength/power to sort out her life and to be a good mother.
The film starts with Fran's abusive husband leaving her. Fran is a very loving mother to her three children, yet she also acts very irresponsibly and selfishly, abandoning them when she gets a new boyfriend. Her next door neighbor is her best friend (both woman have come from abusive relationships) and this neighbor supports Fran, offers her wise advice, and looks after Fran's children when Fran forgets about them for days on end.
Fran's new boyfriend begins to sexually abuse the shy, sweet & initially trusting eldest daughter (who is about 12 years old). Fran and her boyfriend go away on a holiday (that gets longer and longer), leaving the children behind. When Fran comes back her children have been taken in by Social Welfare. Fran doesn't understand why, and is extremely upset because she loves her children and doesn't want them to have the same childhood that she had, being passed between various foster homes. The social welfare worker tells Fran that her daughter has disclosed the sexual abuse committed by Fran's boyfriend. At first Fran doesn't believe her daughter, and pressures her daughter to take it all back. Eventually Fran has to face the truth. Her boyfriend ends the relationship with Fran. The film finishes with Fran coming to collect her 2 youngest children, and saying goodbye to her eldest daughter. The final scene is the eldest daughter staring silently at her face in the mirror after her family have left the room (clearly she will be placed in foster care at least for the immediate future).
At the end of the film the viewer is left wondering what will become of the eldest daughter. Will she end up with a life similar to her mothers? How will she cope with the abuse, with ending up in a foster home, and with feeling abandoned by her mother? I left the film with a mix of frustration at, and understanding of, the mother. However irresponsible and immature she was, she still clearly loved her children and wanted to protect them from the tough childhood that she had had. I left the film with a lot of concern and empathy for the eldest daughter, and hope that she would be okay.
There are few films that I have seen that focus on the impact of difficult situations on children (ie. children are caught in the middle of a domestic violence relationship). Parents (and other adults) actions significantly affect children. I appreciate this film for making the children very visible and for keeping the camera on the children during their mother's erratic behavior, and the molestation. There are also very few films that deal with child sexual abuse. This film does so, very realistically, and very sensitively - and helps us to really understand what it would be like for the child, and why the child might not react much/fight against the adult (abuser) who they trust(ed). I would like to see more films like this. I would also like to see this film come out on DVD. The closest film I have seen to this one is 'This Boys Life' starring Leonardo Dicaprio (an excellent film, where DiCaprio plays the teenage son of a mother who marries a man who becomes very violent and abusive towards DiCaprio).
Lilja 4-ever (2002)
An important film that has humanity, cruelty, and hope
I loved this film. The acting & directing was excellent.
Most of the characters were three-dimensional, and portrayed with some humanity (even if they were the cruelest characters). Aunt Anna has a moment of empathy when she rests her hand gently on Lilja's shoulder after yelling at her. Lilja's boyfriend has a moment of sadness when he stares at her after giving her the passport. Lilja herself was generally kindhearted, yet also acted cruelly at times (eg. swearing at the shop keeper, and laughing at her elderly neighbour when she drops some potatoes). All the characters lived in a harsh, impoverished, cold place. Their attitudes towards each other reflected the callousness of their surroundings. It's hard to be kind when you're freezing, poor, lonely, abused/mistreated & miserable. Lilja's boyfriend encourages her to go to Sweden with him, saying, "They're kind in Sweden. It's not like here." After Lilya dies, she comes back as an angel and rewrites some of her last steps. She refuses to go to Sweden to 'pick vegetables' and tells her boyfriend, "I'm no fool, vegetables don't grow in winter!", and she kindly helps her horrible elderly neighbour pick up her dropped potatoes.
Aunt Anna was an interesting character. At the beginning of the film, she was living in a drafty shack while her sex worker sister was living in a flash apartment (with daughter Lilya). When her sister leaves for America (and abandons Lilya), Aunt Anna takes advantage by kicking Lilya into a horrible apartment, renting the fancy apartment out to someone else, and moving herself into a comfortable home. When Lilya runs out of food & has her power cut off, she begs her Aunt to help her, but her Aunt tells her, "I'm poor too. I'm an old woman, I'm sick, I'm tired, I just need to be comfortable." Aunt Anna seems to be jealous and bitter towards her sister (perhaps she believes that her sister has always had the 'easy' way out financially, by prostituting herself). When Lilya comes knocking on her door, Anna wants Lilya to find out the world is a tough place, and she wants to take her bitterness out on Lilya. She tells Lilya, "Do what your mother did. Go into town and spread your legs. Now leave me in peace." Lilya's mother is interesting, also. It's implied in the film that she became pregnant with Lilya to a man who abandoned her, then needed to prostitute herself in order to provide her herself & Lilya. Lilya's mother has a love-hate relationship with Lilya (perhaps blaming Lilya for everything bad in her life). There is a heart-breaking scene where the mother abandons Lilya to go to America with her boyfriend (both Lilya & her mother are sobbing their hearts out). After being abandoned, Lilya tears up the photo of her mother, then glues it back together. After receiving a letter from her mother (which says that Lilya was 'always an unwanted child'), Lilya burns the photo of her mother, then heads out to the bar and sells her body for the first time.
The high point of the film was the friendship & kindness between 16-year old Lilja & 12-year old Volodya. After Lilya is forced to prostitute herself to make ends meet, there is a sweet moment where she gives Volodya a basketball for his birthday, the best present he's ever received. After she is gang raped by some of the neighbourhood boys (who think she deserves it because she's a prostitute), Volodya gathers her clothes for her, sits next to her and rests his head on her shoulder (after offering her some glue). Volodya doesn't trust her boyfriend and repeatedly tells her, "He just wants to sleep with you." After Volodya commits suicide, he turns into an angel and visits Lilya several times (she is now a sex slave in Sweden), trying to comfort her.
INTERVIEW WITH THE DIRECTOR: On the DVD there is a fantastic 90-minute interview with the director. He says that: 1. He wanted to protect both the character of Lilja & the actress who plays her. He didn't want to exploit them or expose them in any way (author note: that is fantastic, but unusual. I can't tell you how many times I've seen women sexualised but not humanised on a program like CSI, before being murdered. I end up thinking, "Wait, that was supposed to be a real woman! Her life was important", yet I couldn't care less about her because I don't know anything about her (other than that the cameraman thinks that she is a waste of a hot body). If I have to watch a rape scene, I want to see it through the victim's eyes, not through the rapist's eyes (voyeurism, and objectifying/sexualizing the victim). 2. The director wanted the film to be portrayed through Lilja's eyes, so in the rape/prostitution scenes, often Lilja is not even there – the camera is positioned as if looking through Lilja's eyes. It was so difficult for the cameraman to film some of the scenes, that at one point he couldn't go on, and handed the camera over to the director Lukas – so Lukas was fully clothed, holding the camera, and filming this (semi) naked man on top of him. He said that that was an extremely uncomfortable, difficult moment (he could feel the man's breath on himself). He said, "I was going through, maybe 0.1% of what the Lilja's of this world are going through." 3. Initially the director planned to have Jesus literally beside Lilya throughout the movie (in retrospect he wonders if Volodya was a metaphor for Jesus). 4. The gender split is usually quite marked in terms of who likes the film & who hates it (the people who really love the film are almost always women, the people who hate the film are almost always men).
Kisses (2008)
A very enjoyable film, beautiful friendship between the two children
I enjoyed this film. I love watching films about the darker sides of human experience, about poverty, about children living through tough times, and films about overcoming, hope, survival & fighting.
This was not a sentimental film, which was great. It didn't have a tidy Hollywood ending, it had a realistic ending. The film carried a sense of being just a short glimpse into the lives of these two children, and in that sense the ending of the film didn't seem like a real ending. The film ended with a bit of hope for the future, mostly because the two children (neighbours) knew each others secrets and were going to look out for each other (and also because both children were clearly resourceful & were fighters). The two children were great together, and Dylan really sold the film to me with his quiet, gloomy, blank/hardened & almost hopeless expressions.
My main critique of the film is that crazy car-chase bit. That seemed very concocted and not realistic. I don't think that she would have just stood there while the creepy men were asking her questions from their car, she would have moved away from the car to be with Dylan. I also struggled to believe that 2 men would attempt to abduct an 11 year old girl wearing a fluffy pink jacket, who clearly did not look like a street kid - and that they would do so in front of a witness (Dylan) who could describe them, their car, and their numberplate. More realistic would be if someone tried to abduct her if she got separated from Dylan (however, even then, she really does not look like a street kid with no family to miss her).
Another critique of the film is that the children rarely look scared or anxious or cautious about trusting an adult. They are on the streets of Dublin by themselves late at night. At 11 years old I would have been terrified to be in their shoes in an unfamiliar (at least at night) place among strangers. Even after she is almost abducted Kylie does not look very scared. She lies down & goes to sleep instantly, and Dylan soon follows - obviously neither are afraid of the kidnappers returning or of other men attacking them (if they were, Dylan would have tried to stay awake). Kylie looked far more afraid after she found the dead man then she looked after she was abducted.
I didn't like black woman's reasons for kissing the old man. She said, "when you kiss, you either give or you take", but when he kissed her he took something from her, and when she kissed him sexually it wasn't because she wanted to, or because she liked him sexually. She felt felt like she owed him, she wanted to do something for him, so she gave him the only thing she could - sex/kisses - even though she was not attracted to him & even though he was her father's age. I'm disappointed that the director chose this morally questionable scene to be the moral highpoint and moral message of the film. I don't see how the film's message, "when you kiss, you either give or you take," is exemplified by this woman's semi-prostitution.
One more small criticism: the fight scene in Dylan's house didn't seem very realistic. I wanted Dylan's dad to be more threatening, intimidating, dominating than he was; I thought it would have looked scarier to the viewers if he had really got in her face, backed her into the wall or loomed over her (like the abusive husband did in the "Burning Bed" film). There should have been a film shot of Dylan's face looking worried/indecisive about how to act before he lunged at his father. Also, his father should have been still attacking the mother at the time Dylan attacked.
The acting & the directing is not amazing, but for the most part I was really captivated by Dylan's performance, by the children's friendship, and by the basic storyline. There are few films about children, particularly about children from tough environments/abuse/poverty, particularly about street children or children surviving on their own. There should be more films about children like this one.
Hounddog (2007)
Dakota's friend 'Buddy' (Cody Hanford) is the most interesting character of the film
I have to give this film a 7 because it really got me thinking, particularly the character "Buddy" that Cody Hanford (a fantastic actor) played. I didn't fully buy the radical character change that Buddy apparently went through half way through the film, the director did not really show any gradual change in Buddy, and we are left wondering how such a caring, sweet boy can behave so callously and maliciously. I think that the film-maker portrayed Buddy far too simplistically, and this was a failing point of the film because to me Buddy's complex character and actions - and guilt - were the most interesting parts of the film. Although Buddy's character change seemed too extreme (or at least too unexplained)to be believable, Cody Hanford did a great job and his character really interested me. I keep thinking about the guilt that a young sensitive 10-ish year old boy would have to deal with and live with, after acting the way that he did. He was trying to fit in with the cruel older guys, and supported them after the rape rather than Dakota even though he clearly felt guilty for making a deal with the milk boy (rapist). Part of Buddy's harsh treatment of Dakota after the rape was probably because he felt so guilty.
SPOILER: Buddy is a sweet and very sensitive, caring 10ish year old boy who is best friends with Dakota early in the film. His dad beats him up. He doesn't seem to have other friends. He almost drowns in the lake, Dakota rescues him, and he makes her promise not to tell anyone that he can't swim. Buddy later sees Dakota crying because she has no money for Elvis tickets and he begs Dakota, "don't cry, please don't cry. I will get you those tickets, I promise". She is mean to him & tells him that she doesn't have time to play with him until he gets her those tickets.
Buddy makes a deal with an older teenage boy, who promises to give him 2 tickets if he can get Dakota to do her 'Hounddog' song in front of him, naked. Dakota agrees to do this in exchange for a 'Hounddog' ticket, but the teenage boy rapes her (in front of a shocked/traumatized Buddy).
In church soon after Buddy looks at Dakota then whispers to his new (girl)friend, and they both laugh at her. After church Buddy's new girlfriend tells Dakota that she and Buddy are going to go see Elvis perform that night. Buddy looks guilty & ashamed. Later that night, Dakota watches them exit the Elvis performance. Buddy waves goodbye to his girlfriend and hops happily into the truck of the older teenage boy who raped Dakota, who drives him home.
Buddy plays pool with the older teenage boys later that night, including the rapist, and seems happy (until Dakota's mentally impaired father wanders into the room naked and the boys poke him with pool sticks; Buddy is terrified & hides under the table, indicating he has been traumatized from watching Dakota's earlier rape).
Dakota is very ill & Buddy overhears her grandmother worry that Dakota might be dying. In the final film scene that involves Buddy, Buddy brings up his worries with the teenager who raped Dakota, saying "if she dies, it will be our fault" and "you might have broken something inside of her". His fears are dismissed by the older teenagers who just joke about the rape. Buddy clearly feels guilty about betraying Dakota.
I think that Buddy changed far too drastically in the film, and with no warning. How could such a sensitive, caring boy turn into such a revenge-seeking callous child?
There should have been a scene showing Buddy hanging out with the older boys after Dakota refused to play with him (before the rape) as the boys talked about sex/drank beer (we needed a pre-rape scene showing that Buddy was becoming friends with the older boys, and moving his loyalty from Dakota to them instead).
Also, Buddy should have seemed more worried/guilty/afraid when making the deal, or when telling Dakota what she had to do to earn her ticket.
I think there should have been a tense scene of Buddy & the milk boy (the rapist) interacting after the rape, exploring how Buddy responded to what the milk boy did. All we see after the rape is Buddy hanging out with & having fun with the milk boy. We know that Buddy feels very guilty and ashamed for his part in the rape, but he never turns his anger/hostility/fear onto the milk boy.
War Zone (1998)
a disturbing documentary: I felt like Maggie was my 'voice'
As someone who has always been encouraged to just ignore sexual harassment I found watching this documentary empowering, it made me very happy to see a woman taking the power back and turning the objectification and invasion of space onto the men who cat-called her. I liked the anger and incredulence/bewilderment of the girl Natasha towards guys who street harass, the interview with Natasha & her mother was my favorite part of this film. I also liked the irony and obvious inappropriateness of stranger guys cat-calling a lesbian girl.
Did I feel sorry for the men Maggie interviewed? If those men were embarrassed through her camera & questions, they were only embarrassed because of their own behaviour. If they were embarrassed that they were on film then that's their problem, they were behaving that way in public. I felt a bit sorry for them but I think they got what they deserved; they got a taste of having their space invaded by a stranger on the street; and they wouldn't have been embarrassed by her filming their public behaviour if they knew they had done nothing wrong.
The question that is most important for men in this documentary is, "would you want strangers to behave like that towards your sister or your mother?" Most guys don't sexually harass, but enough do so that almost every women is the victim of sexual harassment on the street - usually starting from when they are quite young (10-14 years old). I had a friend who (like that 14yo girl who was interviewed) was stalked by a man on the street when she was about 12, she escaped but it really terrified her. It must be particularly hard for women/girls who are very attractive, they must get constant sexual harassment on the street. Street harassment that I have experienced has made me have my guard up all the time now when I walk past men. I am less trusting. I've prepared myself to be someone who does NOT look around if anyone calls out to me (because I don't want to be embarrassed, I don't want them to 'make me look'). Maybe I am extra-sensitive to street harassment compared to most women, but so what.
Being sexually harassed by men on the street makes me feel embarrassed, insecure, disrespected & like the men view me the same way they view women in strip clubs (but I don't get paid to be eye candy). It's been odd for me to be told on my way to school or university by complete stranger men that I'm valuable because I look good. I've always felt safer at University or school because there I was valued for the work I did & who I was (not for my body).