SEARCHING FOR PINOCHET
And aside from the new Star Trek film, I have seen these.
Searching For Sugar Man
The documentary about how two South African fans of Rodriguez - an obscure American singer-songwriter who recorded two unsuccessful albums in the early 70s - managed to track him down and meet their hero.
I can see why it has won awards, but the hype surrounding it has kind of blown its importance out of proportion. The way it’s been marketed, you’d think no one knew where Rodriguez was until the film came out, but the events of the film actually took place in the late 90s. So when watching it, it’s important to keep in mind that this isn't a documentary about Rodriguez himself so much as it is about how much he meant so much to his South African fanbase - who were isolated from the world because of the apartheid regime - that some were moved to solve the mystery of whatever happened to him.
There have been complaints that the filmmakers stacked the deck in their favor by (1) exaggerating the impact of Rodriguez’s music on the anti-apartheid movement, and (2) leaving out the fact that Rodriguez didn’t quite drop out of the music business after two albums - he toured in Australia and New Zealand (where he also had a sizable following) in the late 70s and early 80s. The former is hard to quantify, but the latter is not.
Still, as a music fan, I get the sentiment of tracking down yr criminally underrated heroes and giving them the recognition they deserve. It’s not an objective film, but it never really pretends to be, so it’s hard to hold that against them. And as someone who never heard of Rodriguez until this film came out - and has since heard his music - I’m grateful for the intro.
No
Chilean film about the 1988 plebiscite in Chile in which the govt, under increasing international pressure, asked people to vote on whether fascist dictator Augusto Pinochet should be given another eight years of power. The “Yes” and “No” camps were given 15 minutes of TV air time for 27 days to make their case.
The film’s narrative focus is on René Saavedra, a fictional advertising executive recruited to advise the “No” TV campaign. He convinces them to ditch the usual angry political rhetoric about Pinochet’s various atrocities in favor of commercial advertising tactics that paint a more positive message. (Sound familiar?)
Like most films that blend fact and fiction, No’s main weakness is simplifying the events surrounding both the plebiscite and the advertising campaigns. On the other hand, it does convey the danger of campaigning against the dictator of a ruthless military junta (especially when you fully expect him to rig the results anyway) and explores the relationship between political propaganda and marketing. Also, I’m a sucker for films about life under dictatorships. At times No is a little too dry and understated, but I prefer that to the melodramatic approach other filmmakers would take.
No means no,
This is dF
This entry was originally posted at http://defrog.dreamwidth.org/1400997.html. Please comment there using OpenID.
Searching For Sugar Man
The documentary about how two South African fans of Rodriguez - an obscure American singer-songwriter who recorded two unsuccessful albums in the early 70s - managed to track him down and meet their hero.
I can see why it has won awards, but the hype surrounding it has kind of blown its importance out of proportion. The way it’s been marketed, you’d think no one knew where Rodriguez was until the film came out, but the events of the film actually took place in the late 90s. So when watching it, it’s important to keep in mind that this isn't a documentary about Rodriguez himself so much as it is about how much he meant so much to his South African fanbase - who were isolated from the world because of the apartheid regime - that some were moved to solve the mystery of whatever happened to him.
There have been complaints that the filmmakers stacked the deck in their favor by (1) exaggerating the impact of Rodriguez’s music on the anti-apartheid movement, and (2) leaving out the fact that Rodriguez didn’t quite drop out of the music business after two albums - he toured in Australia and New Zealand (where he also had a sizable following) in the late 70s and early 80s. The former is hard to quantify, but the latter is not.
Still, as a music fan, I get the sentiment of tracking down yr criminally underrated heroes and giving them the recognition they deserve. It’s not an objective film, but it never really pretends to be, so it’s hard to hold that against them. And as someone who never heard of Rodriguez until this film came out - and has since heard his music - I’m grateful for the intro.
No
Chilean film about the 1988 plebiscite in Chile in which the govt, under increasing international pressure, asked people to vote on whether fascist dictator Augusto Pinochet should be given another eight years of power. The “Yes” and “No” camps were given 15 minutes of TV air time for 27 days to make their case.
The film’s narrative focus is on René Saavedra, a fictional advertising executive recruited to advise the “No” TV campaign. He convinces them to ditch the usual angry political rhetoric about Pinochet’s various atrocities in favor of commercial advertising tactics that paint a more positive message. (Sound familiar?)
Like most films that blend fact and fiction, No’s main weakness is simplifying the events surrounding both the plebiscite and the advertising campaigns. On the other hand, it does convey the danger of campaigning against the dictator of a ruthless military junta (especially when you fully expect him to rig the results anyway) and explores the relationship between political propaganda and marketing. Also, I’m a sucker for films about life under dictatorships. At times No is a little too dry and understated, but I prefer that to the melodramatic approach other filmmakers would take.
No means no,
This is dF
This entry was originally posted at http://defrog.dreamwidth.org/1400997.html. Please comment there using OpenID.