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My pick for the 2021 best documentary Oscar

Thanks to on-demand video and streaming, I’ve been able to see all five of the Oscar-nominated feature documentaries. I’m a fan of documentaries, but had these films not been nominated, I might not have sought them out. The one documentary that I felt should have been nominated but wasn’t was the film A Thousand Cuts, about a journalist’s efforts to expose Duterte’s human rights violations.

Here are the five nominated films:

Collective – A story about corruption and dysfunction with the healthcare system in Romania. After a nightclub fire kills 27 and injures hundreds more, preventable deaths of some of the survivors expose numerous problems with Romania’s healthcare system. Politics, graft, corruption, and outright fraud are exposed by a team of journalists. The real power of the story takes hold when a new health minister is appointed and he is forced to grapple with a broken system that has been in place for decades. This film had English language subtitles. I watched this on-demand from my cable provider.

The Mole Agent – When the daughter of a nursing home resident believes that items are being stolen from her mother, she enlists the help of a firm to expose potential elder abuse. That firm hires an eighty-year-old man to live in the nursing home for three months to see what he can uncover. What he finds is a nursing home that has some forty women residents and just four male residents. The eighty-year-old spy soon finds himself having to fend off amorous old ladies. The film is a humorous and also sad look at life in a nursing home. This film also has English subtitles. I caught this one on Amazon Prime.

Time – This film looks at the impact of a long prison sentence on one particular family. My feeling after watching this documentary was that it was a story that involved a long string of very bad decisions. The first bad decision was getting married at a young age. It goes downhill from there. One bad decision leads to the next: starting a family at a young age, starting a business destined to fail, deciding that the solution to all of their problems was to rob a bank, bad legal advice that led to one parent not accepting a plea deal that would have had him serve less than twelve years instead of the sixty-year sentence he received, agreeing to pay another lawyer $15,000 that resulted in that lawyer writing a letter saying that there was nothing he could do. There’s a lot going on here: the depressing life of being incarcerated, the impact on the wife and children forced to move on without a husband and father, sentencing disparities. If there is a message to take from this documentary, it is to not repeat the same mistakes. Another film covering a similar topic is the film Forty Years a Prisoner.

Crip Camp – A summer camp in the seventies for kids with disabilities. Former campers look back on their time bonding with staff and fellow campers. Catch this one on Netflix.

My Octopus Teacher – A diver forms a relationship with an octopus. Now here is a film that I can guarantee you I would not have sought out unless I was totally desperate for something to watch. Instead, I discovered a film that changed my view of other living beings. This film is so unusual that it commands your attention. It is beautifully filmed, emotionally narrated, and has a great soundtrack. Who knew that an octopus could be so intelligent? This documentary is available on Netflix.

My pick for best documentary (so far I’m about 0 for 10) is My Octopus Teacher.

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Review of Murder Among the Mormons

Review of Murder Among the Mormons
Rating *****

Murder Among The Mormons is a story about greed, deception, and self-preservation. It all starts when a man named Mark Hofmann announces the discovery of a historical document that calls into question the beginnings of the Morman church. The document, later known as the salamander letter, goes through a rigorous analysis by church historians and is determined to be authentic. It’s the beginning of a long string of discoveries of rare documents by Mark Hofmann.

Mark’s uncanny ability to find rare and valuable documents raises suspicions, but the worn and tattered letters and papers he brings forward all pass inspection by numerous experts. As you might inspect, there are plenty of buyers for such material, and Mark starts a thriving rare documents business.

Things start to unravel for Mark when the police charge him for the deaths of two individuals with whom Mark had done business. The storyline is remarkably similar to the one covered in the rare art documentaries in my previous post on abstract art.

This three-part docuseries covers the story from all angles: the victims, the experts, the people who knew and trusted Mark and finally Mark himself through audio from interviews done shortly after his conviction. The audio interviews provide a rare look inside the mind of a psychopath.

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All about abstract art

A little over a year ago I purchased a 27-inch digital picture frame by Meural. I love the versatility of this frame. I take a lot of pictures. The Meural allows me to create playlists of my images. But that’s not all I use it for. I also use to display images from other sources, such as the Hubble space telescope and from other photographers. Additionally, I use it to display artwork. It’s like having an art museum in my home. Here’s a sample of some of the artists and artwork I have viewed over the past year: Van Gogh, Picasso, Leonardo Da Vinci, Monet, Rembrandt, Jackson Pollock, and many more. Additionally, every week Mueral, through a yearly subscription, sends me artwork and playlists from various artists around the world as well as museum curated picks. There’s more you can do with this frame, but that’s not what this post is about. I want to talk about abstract art.

The best way to describe abstract art is that it’s all in the eye of the beholder. It’s subjective. I’m no art expert. I couldn’t paint a telephone pole standing in an open field. But I’m pretty sure that I could create a painting that looks a lot like a Jackson Pollock. Give me a large canvas and a couple buckets of paint, and I could create a masterpiece.

This brings me to the real reason for this post, my recommendation for three excellent documentaries that deal with the subject of abstract art.

First up is the Netflix documentary Made You Look: A True Story About Fake Art. This excellent documentary tells the story of how an art studio, its owner, and one particular art dealer, managed to sell nearly 80 million dollars of fake art to unsuspecting art enthusiasts. It turns into a massive white-collar crime where no one is really held accountable. Watching it unravel is worth your time.

The next documentary to add to your list is Who The &%$# is Jackson Pollock. You can find this one on Amazon Prime. This is a story about a painting bought for a few dollars that just might be a real Jackson Pollock painting worth millions.

The last of this three-film abstract art trilogy is the documentary My Kid Could Paint That. You can find this one on Amazon Prime also. This film tells the story of how a four-year-old girl, with a little assistance from her father, created paintings that would eventually sell for thousands of dollars. Is she an art prodigy? Or is she just a young child slapping paint on a canvas? Is she creating the work on her own, or is her father the real artist? This film was released in 2007. The little girl in the film, Marla Olmstead, is all grown up. She’s still painting. You can view her paintings at www.marlaolmstead.com.

Take the time to watch these three documentaries. Maybe you’ll have a whole new appreciation of abstract art.

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Review of A Thousand Cuts

Review of A Thousand Cuts written and directed by Ramona S Diaz Rating *****

What if Donald Trump had won a second term? What if, feeling emboldened and surrounded by loyalists, he started to round up his opponents and have them sent to prison on trumped-up charges? That is what happens with authoritarian leaders who have no checks and balances. Putin has his political opponents assassinated or jailed.

Trump’s ascension coincided with a wave of authoritarian leaders: Putin, Kim Jong-un, Jair Bolsonaro, Bashar al-Assad, Nicolas Maduro, and Tayyip Erdogan to name a few. But none of those narcissistic leaders compare to President Rodrigo Duterte of the Philippines. Here is a man whose solution to the drug problem is to murder anyone tied to the drug trade, including users. More than 27,000 Philippians have been murdered. No trial. No arrest. No opportunity to defend oneself.

Duterte is Trump times ten. He is a misogynistic, narcissistic psychopath. Yet, he remains popular in the Philippines. That is not to say that he does not have critics. The problem is that those who criticize him face repercussions ranging from imprisonment to assassination.

One such critic is journalist Maria Ressa. Maria is the head of a news site critical of Duterte and his policies of fear. She has published stories about the killings and the spread of disinformation on social media. As a result of her efforts, she has faced death threats via social media and condemnation by Duterte.

The documentary follows Maria as she travels around the world, warning about the rise of authoritarian leaders and the spread of misinformation through social media. A parallel story covers the election of Senate candidates, including the political rise of Duterte’s daughter.

The film shows the dire effects that fear and misinformation have on the daily lives of Filipinos. The streets at night are mostly vacant. That’s when most of the murders take place.

The filmmakers finished the film before the pandemic. The Philippines currently have the second-highest number of Covid cases in the region.

The film ends with Maria being tried and convicted on charges of an attempted coup. She is currently serving a six-year prison sentence.

Donald Trump’s defeat may give hope to people under authoritarian leadership. We have shown that democracy can work. Duterte will eventually be held accountable for his disastrous policies. He will be tried and convicted for human rights violations. Perhaps his successor will be Maria Ressa.

You can watch the entire film, if not taken down by Youtube, below.

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How to fix climate change and eat healthier all at the same time

Review of Kiss the Ground
Rating *****

What if you could make a serious dent in reversing climate change while at the same time improve the quality of the food we eat? That’s the promise that is explored in the revealing Netflix documentary narrated by Woody Harrelson.

The solution to reducing the ill-effects of climate change lies in not just reducing the amount of carbon we put into the atmosphere but also in improving the quality of our soil. Turns out that quality soil, soil that contains cover vegetation and microbes, captures huge amounts of carbon. The process is known as regenerative agriculture.

History has plenty of examples of societies that have abused their natural resources and faltered as a result. Our own country experienced the devastating consequences of poor land management during the dust bowl. What we have now is not much better. The soil that produces our food is devoid of natural minerals and microbes. Instead, farmers are forced to use ever more pesticides and weed killers to grow anything. The result is dry, arid land; food that is saturated with chemicals; and livestock that is fed unnatural, poor quality feed.

The filmmakers give example after example of the right way to grow food. They give examples of bare landmasses that were transformed into vibrant greenspaces after just a few short years. And they highlight farmers who use the principles of regenerative agriculture to not only improve the soil but their profits as well.

If we continue along the current path of growing the same three subsidized crops of corn, soy, and hay, and continue the inhumane, unhealthy practice of industrialized meat production, we are doomed. We will grow sicker as a society. The planet will continue to warm, costing money and lives in countless ways.

This film shows us what we need to do. We can’t let the big ag companies determine our future. We have to put smart people in charge. We have to change the way we do things. We have to let science, not politics guide us. Watch this film.


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Review of Room 2806

Review of Room 2806: The Accusation rating *****

Nafissatou Diallo

An uneducated immigrant brings down one of the most powerful men in the world. That is the theme in this excellent four-part Netflix docuseries.

Before Harvey Weinstein, Bill Cosby, R Kelly, and a host of other powerful men brought down by women in sexual assault cases, there was the story Dominique Strauss-Kahn (also referred to as DSK). Dominique Strauss-Kahn was the head of the International Monetary Fund (IMF); he was also on track to become France’s next president.

On May 14, 2011, police arrested Dominique Strauss-Kahn for the alleged sexual assault of a hotel maid named Nafissatou Diallo. The incident occurred at the Sofitel hotel in New York City. The documentary lays out the facts of the case against DSK, the subsequent investigations, and the efforts by DSK’s legal team to discredit the victim. While you might expect that a man with the resources of DSK would try to discredit the accuser, you wouldn’t expect that the New York prosecutor’s office would be the ones doing the discrediting. But that’s what happened in this case.

DSK’s arrest was a big story at the time. The filmmakers show how the story was covered by the media both here and in France. As is the case with almost all sexual assault cases, it is a he said she said type of crime. Who are you going to believe? A man destined to become the president of France? Or a low-wage worker who can’t read or write?

The New York prosecutor hires an ex-New York-detective to dig into the backgrounds of both individuals. He does not have any experience investigating sexual assault cases. He forms an impression early on that something isn’t right. He uncovers the fact that Nafissatou lied on her application for asylum, claiming sexual assault in her home country. That lie plays a factor in the outcome. If she lied about sexual assault then, how can you believe her now?

It’s easy to see how the defense could use that single lie to discredit the victim. But as the lawyers representing Nafissatou point out, the facts of the case don’t support DSK’s version of events. For one thing, DSK is the one who has a history of deviant sexual behavior. The entire incident took just nine minutes. No jury would conclude that Nafissatou Diallo entered a man’s hotel suite and consensually agree to a sexual encounter that lasted nine minutes, and then only admit to what happened after being pressed by a supervisor.

Then there were the conspiracy theories. The whole thing was a setup. Nafissatou Diallo was part of a plot to bring down DSK. She was a prostitute. The Sofitel hotel, where the incident took place, was nothing more than a high-priced prostitution ring, where all the maids were prostitutes. Nafissatou Diallo planned the whole thing to extort money from DSK.

On top of these ridiculous claims, were the many people who tried to dismiss the whole thing as much to do about nothing. So what if he had sex with a maid? He has a strong sexual appetite. He likes women.

In the end, Nafissatou Diallo came out victorious despite the absence of a criminal trial. Dominique Strauss-Kahn is a failed politician who thought he was above the law. His wife divorced him. His political career crashed and burned. His two defense lawyers Benjamin Brafman and William W. Taylor III came across as arrogant and clueless. And Nafissatou Diallo came out with enough money to keep her and her daughter financially independent.