Movies Blog : documentary

To Be and To Have

wag.mado@evpl — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 19:38:00 GMT

Recently, I revisited some of my favorite movies – ones that stayed with me for weeks after seeing them. Here’s what I had to say following my first viewing of To Be and To Have in 2005. It still holds true today.

If you shy away from subtitles, take this one home anyway. French director Nicholas Philibert brings us this enchanting documentary about a one room school house set in the French countryside. The film gives us an inside look into the lives of children ages 4 through 10 and the interactions with their devoted teacher, Georges Lopez. It was shot during a six month period, starting in mid-winter and ending with the retirement of Lopez in the spring. The connection between Lopez and his students is strong, as he has been the only teacher they have ever known. Watching this film brings up many emotions, as scenes were shot in the classroom, at home, and on a fieldtrip. In the end, one realizes how remarkable this teacher is as he guides his students through all varieties of life lessons.

Watch it and let me know what you think.

The Heart of the Game: Basketball on the screen

kiya@evpl — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 18:13:00 GMT

My favorite basketball movie is The Heart of the Game. By the end of this documentary, I felt like the Roosevelt Roughriders of Seattle were my team. I was cheering for these high school girls through tough practices and tougher games. Their coach is Bill Resler, a moonlighting tax law professor with an unusual style and great respect for the girls he coaches. Directed by Ward Serrill, who followed the team for six years, this film held my attention and taught me a few things about basketball.

The Heart of the Game's official website
Check out the video at EVPL
Bill Resler's book: The Heart of the Team

So what's your favorite basketball movie?

"Air Guitar Nation" cranks the make-believe volume up to 11

professor.knowsitall@evpl — Fri, 28 Nov 2008 17:58:00 GMT

How many times has this happened to you...you're listening to music and an epic guitar solo comes on. What do you do?!? You bust out the air guitar, showing onlookers the musical virtuoso you are.

Apparently, air guitar is bigger than I realized. Since 1996, Oulu, Finland has been the home of the Air Guitar World Championships. Essentially the Olympics of air guitar, contestants from all around the world compete to bring this coveted trophy back to their home country. Competitions consist of two rounds: in the first, contestants perform a song of their choosing. The second round is a song picked by the judges, not revealed until the competition, that contestants have to improv. Contestants are judged based on their "airness" and pure rock-ness.

Sadly, the US did not participate on this world stage until 2003. It was then that Americans realized what a travesty this was and the US Air Guitar Championships were founded. After a series of regional competitions, the best performers go to Finland to represent the US.

Air Guitar Nation is a documentary (more along the lines of This is Spinal Tap than a traditional documentary) about the founding of the US Air Guitar Championships, the first competitions in the US, and the journey to the 2003 World Championships (including an air guitar training camp!) in Finland. You'll meet many of the zany US performers, including C. Diddy and Björn Türoque, whose fierce rivalry becomes a central focus of the film.

Air Guitar Nation is extremely entertaining, hilarious, and very well made. How does the US fare in their first outing in the World Championships? Watch the movie and find out for yourself!

Movie Trailer

(Please visit the site to view this media)

More Information

EVPL Catalog: Check availability of Air Guitar Nation at EVPL libraries.
Amazon.com: Buy the movie using this link, and the Public Library Friends will receive a portion of your purchase!
AirGuitarNation.com: Official website of the movie.
AirGuitarUSA.com: Official website of the US Air Guitar Championships.
AirGuitarWorldChampionships.com: Official website of the Air Guitar World Championships.

War Heroes and Their Families

wag.mado@evpl — Thu, 11 Sep 2008 20:37:00 GMT

I guess most of us know of someone who lost their life in a war. The documentary, Be Good, Smile Pretty, takes an emotional look at the personal story of one child who was left fatherless by the Vietnam War. Tracy Droz Tragos' lets us in on her journey to discover who her father, U.S. Naval Soldier Don Droz really was, before he was killed leaving her behind as an infant. She follows her heart and interviews those that knew her father in the military, his family members, and her own mother who lived through the tragic loss of her husband. Many emotions are brought to the surface and revealed, resulting in a powerfully touching documentary.

More information can be found at the PBS website, Independent Lens.

EVPL and Purdue's Military Family Research Institute are honoring local war heroes with a program called Heroes' Tree. Don't let this Veterans Day go by without remembering those who served or paid the ultimate price for our country.

Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?

HoodooVoodoo@evpl — Tue, 09 Sep 2008 20:28:00 GMT

Morgan Spurlock, director of Super Size Me and the creator of the FX series 30 Days, tries to answer this question by traveling to the Middle East in search of the most wanted man in the world. After Spurlock finds out his girlfriend is pregnant, he must do whatever is possible for his child to grow up in safe and peaceful world. This means only one thing, finding Osama Bin Laden (or OBL as Spurlock calls him). The catch is that he only has seven weeks to complete his mission before his child's birth.

Spurlock travels to Egypt, Morocco, Israel, Syria, Saudi Arabia, and finally Afghanistan in his search for OBL. Along the way he encounters everyday people from the region who are more than willing to help him (most of them anyways) in his search and offer their views on terrorism, the United States (it's not as bad as you think), and what they want in their lives and for their children.

Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden is funny and educational. I highly recommend this film. I have to give credit to Spurlock, he went where most never would and got closer than most have. He's the Grizzly Man of the Middle East, only with a better ending (of course I think Grizzly Man got what he asked for).

For more information check out the following:

The movie's official website

The companion book to the movie

Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden? Trailer

(Please visit the site to view this media)

Don't forget you can put holds on documentary DVDs. Reserve your copy today!

We are all brethern of the kernel. It sounds corny, but it's the truth.

HoodooVoodoo@evpl — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 17:15:00 GMT

King Corn (2007) is documentary that starts with two recent college graduates from Boston finding out (through hair testing) that their body mainly consists of corn. This discovery leads them to relocate to Iowa and convince a farmer to let them grow one acre of corn all by themselves in hopes of finding how their corn makes it from the field to the body.

This entertaining documentary includes facets of the history of corn, farm life today, implications of corn on livestock production, and how corn goes from the field to almost everything we eat today. Even if you didn't grow up on a farm like I did, you will find this very interesting (and probably disturbing). Check it out today!

EVPL's Catalog Entry

King Corn Website