jen-lynx

"The Force" is Peter Nicks second film in a trilogy of films in which he investigates the interaction between community and institution; the institutions that effect our daily lives, e.g., health, security, and education. In his first film, "The Waiting Room", Nicks portrayed a day and night in an Oakland hospital emergency room. In "The Force", Nicks and his team go inside the Oakland Police Department, investigating just how it is working to comply with a decade+ old federal oversight ruling, which was instigated after years of abuse and corruption.

The Oakland Police Department has made national headlines in recent years, yet it is not so dissimilar to other urban police departments, which is why "The Force" works as a documentary about the connection between community and it's protectors across the whole of the country. At the opening, when the new recruits gather to say a Christian prayer, I was skeptical. Would this be a love story to the police force? But once I settled in, this documentary proved it was attempting to show the facts, for good or ill. While I do believe that Nicks allowed the OPD to display their good side, he did not let them hide their dirt either. When emotions run high, it is difficult to stand back and show both sides fairly, but I think Nicks did just that.

In the Q&A following the film, Nicks explained that "The Force" had wrapped filming and even editing when the news broke that the OPD was involved in an underage prostitution scandal involving multiple officers and a massive cover-up. With little money and time, the entire crew decided to go back and film some more. They had to re-cut the film to include this latest information, which probably impacted the final film a bit for the worse, but added a twist that was absolutely necessary to the narrative. 13 years later, and the OPD is still fighting it's demons.

Like "The Waiting Room", I cannot recommend this film enough. It is a brilliant documentary. Because of the last minute changes, I think it got a bit muddled, but even so, it still managed to produce a stunning look at the relationship between police and community in an urban environment, in a time when we are struggling to find justice and peace. Not to mention, that today with Jeff Sessions vowing to remove these federal oversights, how relevant this movie becomes as we see first hand the importance such oversights have in protecting our most vulnerable people.

I had never heard of Atom Egoyan, a Canadian-Armenian director, when I bought a box set of his films from the UK because they were on sale and sounded cool. It has been sitting on my shelf for at least a year. The other night, I cracked it open, put "Next of Kin" on and was blown away. "Next of Kin" is an astonishing first feature length film, both in script (which Egoyan wrote) and direction.

It is a story of a rich young man trying to find purpose in life, much like "The Graduate" and "Harold and Maude". He is 23, lived at home his whole life, and amused himself by "watching my parents dislike each other." They take him to therapy, he plays with them psychologically, but then by chance discovers an Armenian family who lost a son and proceeds to contact them and pretend to be their long lost boy.

It is wacky, it is funny, it is weird, it is thought provoking. It is an insightful look at culture and family and our willingness to accept anything when in psychological need. There is some plot structure and cinematography that is amazing. A remarkable first film that is almost unknown. Delighted to have it my collection. I can't wait to see the rest of the films in the set.

I loved Andrea Arnold's film, "Fish Tank", so I made a point to check out her latest film, "American Honey". I was not disappointed. She did for American disaffected and often overlooked youth what she did for British youth in "Fish Tank", she gave them a voice. She did not put words in their mouths, she allowed them to find their own words. "American Honey" is a brilliant exploration of a subculture that is largely marginalized and ignored.

Arnold does not use big names in her films, despite the fact that Shia LeBoef has a star role here. She finds her muses in everyday encounters, literally approaching them on subway platforms and beaches. From what I understand, her films are shot sequentially and much of the dialog is improvised, in contrast to most major studio films today. Whatever she does, she does it brilliantly because in "American Honey", we can fully relate to a young woman trying to find her place in the world. Newcomer, Sasha Lane, is just mesmerizing as "Star", a young woman who sets off with a bunch of misfits because she has nothing left to lose. Truth be told, as much as Shia LeBoef annoys me with his off screen antics, he carries his role as suitor, love interest, downright bastard, well.

What angers me most is that I saw this film the first week it hit my local cinema, and discussed it with a friend just a few days later, wherein we discovered it left the theaters after only one week. What a travesty. It never even had a chance. I am so glad I went when I did. This is a film that I will gladly add to my collection.