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Reviews
Tears of Gaza (2010)
Great but Profoundly Disturbing
I saw this film at the Toronto Film Festival and was very moved by it. There's nothing happy about it, though, so be warned that it is an exhausting emotional experience that will leave you feeling somewhat angry and helpless.
The likelihood of this film ever seeing a general release in the US is remote to non-existent. It's just too politically charged and will probably be viewed as anti-Israel (which I don't think it is). I'm hoping that at the very least it will be available for download on the internet or, heaven forbid, it will be released on DVD. I think this is a very important film for the general public to see because it looks at the conflict between Jews and Palestinians in very human terms. Yes, it's true that the perspective we see is that of the Palestinians, but what's wrong with that? It's called "Point of View" filmmaking. Not everything has to be a balanced piece of journalism, especially when deeply human stories are involved. Anyway, I hope you get a chance to see it.
Lake of Fire (2006)
Brilliant Documentary
I saw this film at a Toronto Int'l Film Festival industry screening and thought it was one of best documentaries I have EVER seen! I've read a couple of reviews that have called it the definitive film of the subject of abortion - I completely agree. I've never seen anything so complex, complete and emotionally wrenching as this epic work. It stayed with me long after the screening. In fact, roughly 10 days have passed since I saw the film and it continues to haunt my thoughts. I weeped at the end. My only criticisms are it's length (far too long) and it's use of music, which often bordered on excessive and manipulative. But, those are relatively small concerns when weighed against the film's many positives.
I LOVE documentaries and have seen nearly every major work produced in the past 20 to 30 years (as well as not so major films). "Lake of Fire" may well be my favorite - I'm still deciding if any of the other films I've loved delivered the same unrelenting, yet profoundly emotional punch to the gut that this one did.