RBG (Cohen, West, 2018)
It's always good to be reminded that there are some decent human beings in America.
7/10
Documentaries seen in 2020
Mostly art-related docs that I've seen on TV.
Full Tilt Boogie (Sarah Kelly, 1997) 7/10
The Vatican Museums (Marco Pianigiani, 2014) 6/10
Hitler versus Picasso and the Others (Claudio Poli, 2018) 7/10
The Prado Museum: A Collection of Wonders (Valeria Parisi, 2019) 6/10
Frontline - The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden (Michael Kirk, 2020) 7/10
Full Tilt Boogie (Sarah Kelly, 1997) 7/10
The Vatican Museums (Marco Pianigiani, 2014) 6/10
Hitler versus Picasso and the Others (Claudio Poli, 2018) 7/10
The Prado Museum: A Collection of Wonders (Valeria Parisi, 2019) 6/10
Frontline - The Choice 2020: Trump vs. Biden (Michael Kirk, 2020) 7/10
Greece: The Hidden War (Jane Gabriel, 1986) - Very controversial documentary this, it only aired once on Channel 4 before being banned with all but one copy destroyed. Doesn't even have an imdb page!
It detailed the disruptive influence the British had on Greece during/after WWII that would eventually lead to the first battleground of the Cold War, the Greek Civil war. Before the Nazi occupation the country had been ruled by an unpopular dictatorship supported by the monarchy and the largest, most popular resistance group during the occupation was the left-wing, republican EAM. The British however decided to support the smaller right wing groups and even convinced them of becoming monarchists in exchange for supplies. After the liberation of Greece, a period of right-wing terror supported by the British followed, with EAM members targeted, leading to the final phase of the Civil War in which the UK/US backed government defeated the Communist party supported by Tito (Stalin had agreed earlier not to intervene).
After decades of oppression of left-wing politics, exiled EAM members were finally able to return to Greece in the 1970's after the fall of the military junta and the abolishment of the monarchy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yehd3tVkJNI
It detailed the disruptive influence the British had on Greece during/after WWII that would eventually lead to the first battleground of the Cold War, the Greek Civil war. Before the Nazi occupation the country had been ruled by an unpopular dictatorship supported by the monarchy and the largest, most popular resistance group during the occupation was the left-wing, republican EAM. The British however decided to support the smaller right wing groups and even convinced them of becoming monarchists in exchange for supplies. After the liberation of Greece, a period of right-wing terror supported by the British followed, with EAM members targeted, leading to the final phase of the Civil War in which the UK/US backed government defeated the Communist party supported by Tito (Stalin had agreed earlier not to intervene).
After decades of oppression of left-wing politics, exiled EAM members were finally able to return to Greece in the 1970's after the fall of the military junta and the abolishment of the monarchy.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yehd3tVkJNI
Public Housing (Wiseman, 1997) 7/10
Wiseman is remarkable, best fly-on-the-wall observer of things social ever! (Thanks go to Matias for sharing it on here!)
The Kingmaker (Greenfield, 2019) 7
This is a scary doco about Imelda Marcos. It's scary because she's completely unaware of the damage she and her family have done and continue to do to the Philippines. It's also scary because she acts so entitled and has no idea how evil she is and how entitled she acts. No self-awareness at all, just like the Trump family members. She believes she is adored by the people because she is so good and pure of heart, even after she pilfered her nation's treasury to spend lavishly on herself (palaces, Picasso paintings, a zoo with imported wild African animals for which they had an entire community evicted from their ancestral farms on an island, etc, etc. ) She truly is the heartless Wicked Witch of the East. An absolute monster.
The doco follows her around and lets her talk about her wonderful life and family, of how unfairly she and her looting family were treated, and of how she believes she is loved by the poor (and unfortunately a lot of them DO love her). She and her family (her son is an elected politician who might one day be president) are the most despicable, dishonest thieves. This has to be seen to be believed. It's the equivalent of the Trump crime family again, and making a big comeback in 2024 and 2028. There are some good interviews with survivors of torture under the despotic Marcos regime. This is what could happen to you, America, in a few years if you're not careful.
If anyone wants to see it I'll upload it.
Wiseman is remarkable, best fly-on-the-wall observer of things social ever! (Thanks go to Matias for sharing it on here!)
The Kingmaker (Greenfield, 2019) 7
This is a scary doco about Imelda Marcos. It's scary because she's completely unaware of the damage she and her family have done and continue to do to the Philippines. It's also scary because she acts so entitled and has no idea how evil she is and how entitled she acts. No self-awareness at all, just like the Trump family members. She believes she is adored by the people because she is so good and pure of heart, even after she pilfered her nation's treasury to spend lavishly on herself (palaces, Picasso paintings, a zoo with imported wild African animals for which they had an entire community evicted from their ancestral farms on an island, etc, etc. ) She truly is the heartless Wicked Witch of the East. An absolute monster.
The doco follows her around and lets her talk about her wonderful life and family, of how unfairly she and her looting family were treated, and of how she believes she is loved by the poor (and unfortunately a lot of them DO love her). She and her family (her son is an elected politician who might one day be president) are the most despicable, dishonest thieves. This has to be seen to be believed. It's the equivalent of the Trump crime family again, and making a big comeback in 2024 and 2028. There are some good interviews with survivors of torture under the despotic Marcos regime. This is what could happen to you, America, in a few years if you're not careful.
If anyone wants to see it I'll upload it.
-
Holdrüholoheuho
- Posts: 3200
- Joined: Sat Sep 05, 2020 12:30 am
- Location: Prague, Bohemia
THE RITMAN LIBRARY: AMSTERDAM (Sara Ferro, Chris Weil, 2017)
https://letterboxd.com/film/the-ritman- ... amsterdam/
from a cinematic point of view, a non-interesting talking heads documentary.
HOWEVER, the subject of the doc is a highly interesting institution called "The Ritman Library" or "Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica"...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliothe ... _Hermetica
it is situated in Amsterdam and was founded in 1957 (opened for the public in 1984) by Joost Ritman (*1941)...
according to its founder, it contains about 1/3 of all the essential books ever published dealing with hermetic, esoteric, alchemic, occult.
names one encounters in the doc are Hermes Trismegistos, Basil Valentine, Paracelsus, Jakob Böhme, Robert Fludd, Giordano Bruno, Heinrich Khunrath, Michael Maier, John Amos Comenius, Emanuel Swedenborg, Arthur Edward Waite, etc., etc.
i am not primarily interested in hermetic, esoteric, alchemic, or occult teachings, but i have a weakness for illustrations usually accompanying such texts — they were shown in the film extensively (many of them were marvelous)...
while watching this movie, i also made a charming & revelatory detour.
one of the ppl speaking in the doc (an employee of the library) was Marco Pasi.
somehow, i googled if he wrote any book and this was the result (co-editor)...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/295 ... a-houghton
so, i searched who (the heck) is Georgiana Houghton...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgiana_Houghton
she was a British lady (1814-1884), mediumistic painter, and (to quote wiki)...
https://letterboxd.com/film/the-ritman- ... amsterdam/
from a cinematic point of view, a non-interesting talking heads documentary.
HOWEVER, the subject of the doc is a highly interesting institution called "The Ritman Library" or "Bibliotheca Philosophica Hermetica"...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bibliothe ... _Hermetica
it is situated in Amsterdam and was founded in 1957 (opened for the public in 1984) by Joost Ritman (*1941)...
according to its founder, it contains about 1/3 of all the essential books ever published dealing with hermetic, esoteric, alchemic, occult.
names one encounters in the doc are Hermes Trismegistos, Basil Valentine, Paracelsus, Jakob Böhme, Robert Fludd, Giordano Bruno, Heinrich Khunrath, Michael Maier, John Amos Comenius, Emanuel Swedenborg, Arthur Edward Waite, etc., etc.
i am not primarily interested in hermetic, esoteric, alchemic, or occult teachings, but i have a weakness for illustrations usually accompanying such texts — they were shown in the film extensively (many of them were marvelous)...
while watching this movie, i also made a charming & revelatory detour.
one of the ppl speaking in the doc (an employee of the library) was Marco Pasi.
somehow, i googled if he wrote any book and this was the result (co-editor)...
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/295 ... a-houghton
so, i searched who (the heck) is Georgiana Houghton...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Georgiana_Houghton
she was a British lady (1814-1884), mediumistic painter, and (to quote wiki)...
developed a completely abstract or non-objective style, at least 40 years before Kandinsky, Malevich, František Kupka and Piet Mondrian. (current debate on the question of gender bias in the traditional history of modern abstraction increasingly centers on the persistent neglect of Houghton's achievement.)
Looks interesting! And thanks for those interesting diversions too. Like you, I often go hunting for more info and end up finding other interesting things all over the place. It's a wonderful way to lose oneself for hours.
My Octopus Teacher (Ehrlich, Reed, 2020) 7/10
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (Samuels, 2005) 7
Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (Samuels, 2005) 7