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richardchenca
Reviews
Living in Emergency (2008)
Is there a more important movie out there about humanity?
What's the goal of a documentary? If it's to capture the truth that the principals face, then this movie succeeds greatly. That's not quite enough for me - maybe I've watched too many normal movies. I wish the narrative had been a little stronger, for the last 10-15 minutes dragged, as maybe filming had to end, but no real event dovetailed with that. So the story such as it is ends in a very real way, but it's not memorably climactic or moving, especially compared to the events depicted earlier, which are stunning, shocking, moving.
This is an extremely graphic movie. I can't imagine anyone not turning away during at least two scenes. And it's emotionally raw - I have never seen anything so honest or devastating as this one person's pain. I'd sit through a bad movie just to watch that minute, and I thank the filmmakers for not building up that moment with music or (hopefully) other manipulations.
Jerusalema (2008)
Johannesberg's such a rat hole?
If this movie were shot in America, I'd give it a 7/10 because too many things are simply formulaic and not done very well. The main guy turns to the criminal life a little too easily. What happens to sidekicks #1 and #2 could come from a McBain (Simpsons) movie. The woman's explanation for why her brother is there is embarrassingly simple - wouldn't it have been better for the brother to say, "hey, this sh*t is real" to convey the same idiot attraction? Most importantly, where did the lead's main criminal idea come from? I believe something like that really happened, but there's so little hint of it earlier in the movie that it's just confusing when it happens. How could anyone come up with such a complex scheme that relies on the actions and inactions of various government agencies simply by reading very general self-help books? I'll have it both ways - I did like this movie. The points above are nits, some bigger than others. I love the depiction of Johannesberg as this crime-ridden, divided city, like "the Wire" squared. I'll stick with the 7/10, though that's unfair given IMDb's general grade inflation.