Soldier Child

Solider Child is definitely an emotional piece. Neil Abramson’s focuses on the amalgamation of an army of brainwashed young children who are kidnapped and tortured as they are trained to become child soldiers. Since 1990, Kony has ammassed close to 12000 young children who is has brainwashed to do unmistakable things. The story revolves around Ugandan children in remote villages where they live in fear of being forcibly removed form their homes to serve in the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The documentary documents certain victims, social workers and medical doctors who relate to the viewer how the children are brainwashed and forced to kill. Young girls are also at risk as they are raped and beaten.
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Bowling for Columbine

Are we a nation of gun nuts- or are we just plain nuts?” asks American Michael Moore as he embarks into his new feature-length documentary. The answer -which becomes apparent minutes into the film- is without a doubt ‘both’. Bowling for Columbine sees Moore seeking to find out the reasons behind America’s violent gun culture. Why, he asks, are gun-related crimes so prevalent in the USA? And more specifically, what led to the Columbine massacre? Bowling for Columbine tells the story of “America’s love affair with guns and violence”. The Columbine High School massacre, which occurred in 1999 was used by Moore as the central theme to his documentary. In his documentary Moore manages to speak to a variety of different people, including South Park creator Matt Stone, rock star Marilyn Manson. Columbine survivors and Charlton Heston (NRA).

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City of God

Located in what can only be called a ‘ghetto’ in the deepest part of Brazils capital- Rio de Janeiro, sets the scene of Rocket. A young Brazilian growing up around ‘hoodlums’. His only dream- to become a photographer. From beginning to end, the viewer is captured in what can only be explained as a movie for South America as Tsotsi is to South Africa. A movie showing how the youths can so easily be caught up in the tragedies of a life less than ordinary. A life where around every corner you’re watching to see if someone might want to kill you, a life where drugs are the name of the game and the loser simply dies. No questions asked. You screw around with the wrong people and you find yourself six feet under.

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Capturing the Friedmans

A documentary about one of the most talked about American trials of the last few decades. An interesting and sometimes well-filmed documentary in which only at some points kept my interest but at others I felt myself drifting off into wonderland. I was unfortunately only subjected to the first half of the ‘doccie’, in which I only saw the lead up to the Friedman trial and then the night before he pleaded guilty.

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Angola Saudedas

He wrote, “Angola is hungry for a new future. After 27 years of war there’s been peace for 3 years now.”
He wrote, “Around here people ask, “Will Angola rise from the ashes and be rebuilt again?” ”

An unknown voice reads letters which take the viewer on a journey across different realities of Angola. Between street boys and fashion models we encounter a kaleidoscope of characters and colours that turn around the striking contradictions of poverty and plenty in one of Africa’s largest producers of oil and diamonds.
Poetry and musical lyrics are used in conjunction with each other and together, film and music create poems and fragments out of the enigma that is Angola. Angola Saudades from the one who loves you seems to be a people’s story told from the street up, one which captures a unique moment in Angola’s history, a country just coming to terms with the reality of peace.
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Fast, Cheap and out of Control

After being subjected to just over an hours worth of watching this interesting and yet quite disturbing documentary I was quite baffled as to what it was about. I left the room still insure of what to write about and then after taking a few days to let the documentary set into my brain- I still wasn’t sure what it was about. One thing is for sure, unlike the rest of the class I was some-what drawn to keep watching.

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