The Territory | From the Hood to the Holler | Beloved

Brazilian Chainsaw Massacre

How entirely coincidental that on the same day as Pope Francis wings his way to Canada in an attempt to make amends for the horrendous residential school atrocities brought about by his “ministers” and the unrepentant Putin continuing to attempt “Nazi” genocides in a country led by a Jewish leader, that this documentary encapsulates both of those atrocities in the Amazon region.

Indigenous people (Uru-eu-wau-wau—just 200 of them left after years of their “masters” despoiling their land) are facing the unrelenting overrun by Brazilian loggers and land grabbers (happily backed by President Jair Bolsonaro, who like a former president in the United States, values cash before protecting the planet and its inhabitants from ruin) is led by the very-wise-before-his-years, 18-year-old Bitaté, who, nonetheless, gives this unwinnable battle his all (very similar to the early days of Guo Jing in Jin Yong’s epic series, Legends of the Condor Heroes).

It's a well-balanced documentary visiting the repressed (defending their centuries-old heritage) and their oppressors (eager to improve the lot—mostly of themselves—and Brazilians far, far away).

But it’s really the camera that speaks louder than agreements, arguments or actions (one Indigenous murder, Eric, remaining unsolved).

The lush, towering rainforest, with numerous closeups of the insects who keep it going, being systematically raped with every felled tree and countless brush fires paving the way for crops and cattle that can only further ruin the ecosystem and add to murderous greenhouse gases, is simultaneously beautifully and devastatingly portrayed with images that can, once again, prove how the greedy amongst may well end the life as we know it for us all.

Another important wake-up call told with candor, but, as always it seems, those who should see it and act, never will. They’re too busy feathering their own nests while others are being pushed out of theirs. JWR

From the Hood to the Holler
102 minutes
Pat McGee

“Justice is not a destination, it’s a journey”

Just minutes away from the release of the DOJ’s warrant and related documents to the FBI’s search of Mar-a-Lago, it was fascinating indeed to follow Charles Booker’s quest to become the Democrat nominee in the Kentucky race to replace Mitch McConnell (shallow opportunist extraordinaire).

Of course, as is widely known before the film came out, Amy McGrath managed to squeak through with a 2% plurality (aided and abetted by millions of dollars compared to Booker’s hundreds of thousands), only to be crushed by the Kentucky gentleman who talks out of both sides of his mouth: “There’s no question—none—that President Trump is practically and morally responsible for provoking the events of the day.” Then he failed to vote to impeach liar-in-chief.

McGee’s portrait shows us a morally focussed family man who truly believes that truth will triumph over too much money and overt lies. Doesn’t seem to be happening anytime soon as the land of the free and the home of the naive slips further and further into the morass of power, greed and corruption. JWR

Beloved
92 minutes
Bishrel Mashbatt

Married and Miserable

So unlike Immoral Beloved (the never-solved mystery of Beethoven’s secret paramour, cross-reference below), here’s a story of a marriage on the rocks (neither are blameless) that will appeal to anyone who has taken the oath, but, nonetheless walked covertly on the wild side.

Fine performances from Iveel Mashbat and Jana Milley as the doomed lovers who try and fail to resurrect their initial passion.

Music from Chopin, Camile Saint-Saëns, and Eric Satie helps to fill in the many silent blanks. But the pace is so slow that too many will move on before the dénouement arrives. That’s their pity as the director has crafted a film that will give all serious lovers and philanderers a few moments pause before moving on to their next conquest. JWR