Change Your Image
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Reviews
American Blackout (2006)
Excellent
This was one of the best documentaries I've seen in a while. I missed it at Sundance and sat between two people on the plane who had seen it and were having a lively conversation about it, which only furthered my interest. When I saw that it would be showing at the San Francisco International Film Festival, I went into it thinking, OK, I'm finally going to see what this is all about, and I came out totally blown away.
Going into this, I knew about the Florida voter fraud in the 2000 election, I had a slight understanding of who Cynthia McKinney was, and I knew less about the Ohio voter fraud in the 2004 election. Wow, I was really missing out on some serious issues that were taking place in this country -- issues that get to the absolute root of who and what we are as a quote-unquote democratic country. Our elections are being rigged as badly as any un-democratic country out there.
The film itself is very well done, as is the music. Nice job all around.
China Blue (2005)
Very well done.
What I loved most about this movie was the diversity and balance of its coverage -- from the issues of globalization, labor laws, and the impacts of rampant consumerism to the colors and flavors of Chinese culture, family issues, relationships, and the ups and downs of life. This is a very rare glimpse into the lives of young women working in a jeans making factory. The filmmaker does an excellent job conveying their exhaustion and the pressure to keep up with production. The viewer can feel their pain. Through it, one sees the need to improve labor conditions not only in China, but in other parts of the world where such demands on workers are unfair and inhumane. It definitely makes one think about where their jeans came from, and where we're going in a world that allows such wonderful young women to work under such horrible circumstances.