Change Your Image
ryankpersaud
Reviews
Mugabe and the White African (2009)
No defense of Mugabe, but terrible documentary
First and foremost, let me make this clear: Robert Mugabe's regime is in no way defensible or just. It is a cruel and brutal dictatorship responsible for devastating economic policies, a state of fear and incredible lawlessness.
BUT, this movie is incredible flawed and frankly, I'm appalled by the incredible reviews it has gotten. Mike Campbell is a white farmer in Zimbabwe whose farm, which employs 500, is soon to be taken from him by ZANU PF (Zimbabwe's governing party) milita men. The film follows him and his struggle to bring his case, and the land grabbing of the Mugabe regime to the South Africa Development Council Supreme Court.
While this man's tale is moving, it's hard to ignore (and frankly a little uncomfortable) to watch this film and not think of the historical and political context of the land reform policies. We get the idea from the doc that the white people of Zimbabwe are nothing but a peaceful, God fearing, loving community there to help the poor natives, and the racist government wants to harm them. The film completely IGNORES the colonial history, white minority rule, the fact that 70% of the land in the country used to be owned by 1% of the population etc.
The black people seem to hate white people for no reason. There's no history of oppression or injustice where whites are concerned, and if there is, the film makers don't want to tell it. The bias makes it difficult for me to really look at this film seriously. One of the main characters, Ben, a white man, says "if you ask can you be a white American or white Australian, the answer is of course. But if you ask can you be a white African, most nationalists will say no. I find something very wrong with that."
What is so disturbing about that comment is that both America and Australia are associated with white people because Europeans essentially wiped out entire native societies. I don't understand how he can even make a parallel. Europe's history in Africa is so ripe with violence, injustice and oppression that the documentary borders on insensitive. It's also worth noting that very few black people are actually speaking in this film, and if they are, it's nothing more than a reaction to a white person.
In all, Mugabe and the White African has an important story to tell, but tells it in an incredibly biased way that lacks any context and is incredibly insensitive to any realities in race relations in Africa. Zimbabwe is a wayward country and Mugabe's policies are destructive, but to act as if the natives have no reason to feel this way isn't helping the problem.
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull (2008)
Flawed but still entertaining
It's unfortunate that the Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is so deeply flawed. The acting, the script, the action, the music...everything is a little weaker than it was back in the day. However, that doesn't mean it doesn't entertain. The action is still superlative, especially the jungle chase scene. Suffice to say, it is a blast watching Indiana Jones escape from a US military base as Soviet forces chase after him. It's fun to see a massive jungle chase scene, complete with giants ants, sword fights, water falls, and lots of gunning. Another chase scene has Indiana and Mutt escaping from Soviet agents through University campuses. The action is still entertaining to watch. However, the film has no heart. None at all. It's not as funny as I thought as it would be, the characters never establish any real relationships, and they're all static personalities. George Lucas is a shell of the writer he once was and cannot capture genuine emotion without hammy dialogue. Spielberg's imagination can run free and wild, but his over does on CGI, which is usually pointless, (especially with CGI gophers and monkeys) dampens the movie's fun.
However, it is a trip back down nostalgic road, complete with over the top action sequences and genuine summer fun. Worth seeing, but keep your expectations grounded.