politfilm Reviews

Lebensraum/Living Space (2010)

media activism at its best

[10/10 · 26 June 2020]

Media activism at its best. I highly recommend you to watch this movie.

The Victors (1963)

In clear contrast to big-budget WW2 epics this film shows the wartime atmosphere of pervasive emptiness and quiet desperation

[7/10 · 22 February 2020]

This movie follows a group of American soldiers through different European battlefields in World War II: Italy, France, Belgium, Germany. It is composed of several short stories that share the same theme and characters, divided by sequences of actual newsreels from the war. This creates a very strong contrast between the stories served to the movie theater audiences at home in which the soldiers were portrayed as optimistic heroes and the dark reality: brutal conditions, exhaustion, depression, futility, sexual exploitation, the black market, war profiteers...

It was made at the time when Second World War movies were still big-budget epics, with an atmosphere of heroism and optimism very similar to the wartime newsreels, and most of the action was limited to battle-scenes. In this film, the focus is on daily life, moreover there are no combat scenes, and short stories complement each other to create an atmosphere of pervasive emptiness and quiet desperation. A few weeks after its release the movie was briefly withdrawn to be modified, abridged and virtually censored. As far as I know, the original uncut version of the movie is still not available.

The Sorrow and the Pity (1969)

Film banned in France for more than ten years because it showed the extent of the collaboration and the burden of historical responsibility

[8/10 · 14 February 2020]

This two-part documentary analyzes the occupation of France in World War II through the example of a city with a population of approximately 100,000 people. The spirit of the time is quite well conveyed with the use of archive materials, as well as interviews with members of the resistance movement, collaborators with the occupying forces, and German soldiers who participated in the occupation. Everyone is given the space to express their views and explain the logic that guided them during the war. A side of French history, today mostly hidden, is presented: dark and shameful collaboration, but also the heroic resistance to the occupation - all this in the context of a true civilizational tragedy. The film has been banned in France for more than ten years (it wasn't aired on TV until 1981), supposedly because it was too one-sided, but in fact because it showed the extent of the collaboration and the burden of historical responsibility for the committed crimes - a history that was rushed to be forgotten, in order not to disturb the post-war social consensus and the re-established status quo.

The Promised Land (1975)

The realism with which Wajda shows early industrialization is worthy of Charles Dickens, Emile Zola or Maxim Gorky.

[10/10 · 7 February 2020]

Three young friends, a Pole, a German, and a Jew, decide to join forces and open a textile factory. Due to lack of money, they have to cope in various ways, at any cost, using all the means and without regard to social or moral norms, as well as the fate of other people, including those closest to them. The plot takes place in the last years of the XIX century, in the Polish industrial city of Lodz. The realism with which Wajda shows dirty, smoky city, dangerous factories, the brutal capitalist logic and wretched working class in poverty, on the verge of life and death, is worthy of Charles Dickens, Emile Zola or Maxim Gorky.

Fresh (1994)

Michael nderstands the importance of strategy and begins to lead his own personal micro-politics

[7/10 · 31 January 2020]

Michael is 12 years old, growing up in a poor housing project, selling drugs on the streets of New York before and after school. He periodically plays chess with his father, who is a chess master and an alcoholic living in a trailer. Through chess and conversations about chess, Michael realizes that many chess concepts are applicable in everyday life. He understands the importance of strategy and begins to lead his own personal micro-politics ...

Erasing David (2010)

Chilling documentary which raises awareness about the degree of control and the accumulation of personal information in the hands of the government and corporations

[9/10 · 24 January 2020]

British director David Bond decides to disappear, to "go underground", and hires top private investigators to find him within 30 days. On the first day of the pursuit he leaves the country and takes the opportunity to do interviews with various experts on surveillance and privacy. Meanwhile, the detectives, who at the beginning only had his name and photograph, by the end of the pursuit, collected a lot of publicly available information about him and his family. When, after 30 days, he goes into their office and sees what they know about him, he is shocked. This chilling documentary raises awareness about the degree of control and the accumulation of personal information in the hands of the government and corporations, and warns of the dangers of abuse of this information.

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)

If you don't see how the middle class is part of the problem, try watching Bunuel one more time

[10/10 · 17 January 2020]

The movie follows a group of friends from upper middle class and their consistently interrupted attempts to have a meal together. They are experts on expensive food and drinks, know how to enjoy without haste, can afford to have bizarre whims, and their problems are mostly banal. They are characterized by nonchalance of those who know that they can, the flexibility provided by wealth, and by labour of others, as well as monstrous casualness of those who know they have an irreplaceable advantage over ordinary people.

Afrique 50 (1950)

Afrique 50 is considered to be the first French anti-colonial film - and it was banned for the next 40 years

[10/10 · 10 January 2020]

René Vautier went to West Africa to make a documentary for the French League of Schooling, but when he arrived there he was appalled by the colonial exploitation, brutal crimes of the French army and poverty people lived in. Although upon his return to the country, the police seized the filmed material, he managed to preserve enough footage to release this short film in 1950. Afrique 50 is considered to be the first French anti-colonial film. The film was immediately seized, the author tried on thirteen counts and sentenced to one year in prison, and the film was banned for the next 40 years.

The Confession (1970)

Movie about the 1952 process in Prague, against Rudolf Slánský and 13 other leading members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia

[10/10 · 3 January 2020]

The split between Tito and Stalin (1948), in the late 1940s and early 1950s, was followed by show trials of prominent Communists all over Eastern Europe and the wave of Stalinist purges in which tens of thousands suffered or lost their lives. This movie is about the 1952 process in Prague, conducted against Rudolf Slánský and 13 other leading members of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (KSC). The main protagonist - Anton Ludvik, aka Gerard, is based on Arthur London, veteran of the Spanish Civil War and the French resistance movement, who, at the time of the arrest, was vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of Czechoslovakia and a senior official of KSC. Display of Stalinist torture and interrogation process in preparation for rigged political trial is very realistic. Based on actual events.

Wasted Youth (2011)

This is not a story of one wasted youth, this is a story about wasted youths and lives of millions of people not only in Greece but worldwide

[10/10 · 27 December 2019]

Two parallel stories are developed in the course of one day in the streets of Athens, capital of Greece, which is deeply shaken by the world financial crisis and the economic collapse of the country that can be felt at every step, and in every conversation. Harris is a teenager who hangs around with friends, skateboards, goes to parties, drinks and chases girls, and all that is, of course, more important to him than finding a summer job. Vasilis is a middle-aged cop frustrated by the world he lives in. He fails to provide an additional source of income for his family, alienates from his wife, has very poor communication with daughter, and his boss makes him work three night shifts in a row. From the beginning, it is clear that these two stories will intersect at some point and it will not turn out well.

This is not a story of a wasted youth, this is a story about wasted youths - Harris' youth, his girlfriend's, his father's, his friends', Vasilis' youth, his wife's and daughter's, his mother's, his colleagues'. Wasted youths and lives of millions of people not only in Greece but worldwide, the vast majority that spend their lives in a spasm of an uncertain tomorrow, people who have no chance in a society that presents itself as a "society of opportunities". This movie is inspired by an actual event, which took place in Athens in December 2008 when a police officer killed a 15-year-old teenager Alexandros Grigoropoulos with several shots to the chest. This ignited the huge eruption of popular outrage and riots that lasted for several weeks, spreading out from Athens and many other cities, and marked the beginning of the social turmoil that is still going on in Greece.

Exit Through the Gift Shop (2010)

Very interesting way of dealing with the issues of authenticity and commercialization

[9/10 · 20 December 2019]

Thierry Guetta (born in Paris, lives in L.A) was for many years obsessed with video cameras and documenting every moment in his life, until he discovered street art which became his new obsession. Or maybe the whole thing was made up and planned by Banksy and Shepard Fairey, who wanted to express harsh criticism of the commercialization of street art? Regardless of whether this film is a genuine documentary or not, it presents a very interesting way of dealing with the issues of authenticity and commercialization, both of art and life.

The Strawberry Statement (1970)

Iconic movie about non-violent resistance and its violent consequences

[10/10 · 14 December 2019]

Students are rebelling against the war in Vietnam, against co-operation of their university with corporations from the military-industrial complex, but also against the university's appropriation of a playground in the poor African-American neighbourhood. The protesting students decide to occupy one of the university's buildings.

These rebellious students are mainly characterized by youthful enthusiasm and shallow analysis packed with common places. They are generally confused, being more liberals than revolutionaries, but even that is dangerous for the system in a situation of widespread social injustice and aggressive war, unfair even by the criteria of a government that started it, when proclaimed liberal values of democracy and freedom are openly diminished, and utter hypocrisy and corruption of the system become widely apparent.

The University authorities decide to call the police and the National Guard to intervene and remove the students from the occupied building, and these decide to engage in non-violent resistance. Based on actual events.

Rebellion in Patagonia (1974)

A must see film for Anarchists and all other leftists

[10/10 · 6 December 2019]

Rebellion in Patagonia is a name given to the turmoil during 1920 and 1921 in the province of Santa Cruz in Patagonia, a region at the southern tip of South America.

The export price of wool and other commodities fell drastically after the First World War, which led to a reduction in the already meager wages to workers and peasants. In Río Gallegos, Antonio Soto, a Spanish anarchist, organised workers as a part of the Argentine Regional Workers' Federation (FORA). After the association of landowners rejected the workers' demands (which among other things were for Saturdays off, higher wages, better food, etc.) FORA responded by calling for a general strike in the whole province of Santa Cruz. The tension between workers and landowners escalated to hostage-taking and sporadic armed clashes between workers and police. As a result of this, the Governor was dismissed and troops from Buenos Aires were deployed. Eventually, a compromise was reached - the workers surrendered their weapons and the landowners accepted their demands. The situation didn't calm down after this, on the contrary, conflict deepened through police repression, the landowners' retaliation, political manipulation and conflicts within the workers' ranks between the anarchists and reformists. Repression intensified with arrests, torture and deportation of workers' delegates and prominent syndicalists, and eventually escalated into a new general strike accompanied by robberies, hostage taking and armed conflict. Again, the army is sent, this time not to resolve the conflict peacefully but to drown the workers' revolt in blood. Colonel Benigno Héctor Varela introduced the execution by firing squad as punishment for the strikers. FORA members were killed on the spot. By the end of the intervention the army killed 1500 workers. This movie is about their struggle. Based on actual events.

Convoy (1978)

The movie captures original spirit of independent truckers culture in the US

[10/10 · 29 November 2019]

After the incident with the police in Arizona, a group of truck drivers flee across the state border to New Mexico, where they are joined by a large number of colleagues in support and solidarity. Truckers form a protest convoy that succeeds in drawing attention to the police harassment and other problems they face. The movie was made during the peak of independent truckers culture in the United States. After the film's release, thousands of independent truck drivers went on strike and participated in violent protests during the 1979 energy crisis.

Counter Intelligence (2017– )

Exceptional in-depth analysis how the current world order is maintained primarily by organized violence of huge proportions

[10/10 · 22 November 2019]

Exceptional five-part documentary series which aims to show through in-depth analysis how the current world order, dominated by the USA as an imperial power, is maintained primarily by (public or concealed) organized violence of huge proportions and the threat of violence, destruction, torture and death of a large number of those who would potentially rebel or resist against it.

The focus is primarily put on the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and black operations it has carried out for decades around the world, ignoring all laws and without any real control. This documentary wants to show how the entire U.S. (and global) system is structured according to the interests of big business, which always aspires towards ever-larger profits, how political authority is tasked with obtaining legitimacy and consent of the citizens, or, if unable to do so, ensuring the internal stability of the system with the aid of various intelligence agencies, while the CIA is present and active around world.

This documentary deals with the creation of the CIA and its development to the world's most powerful secret service, as well as the development of other U.S. intelligence agencies that now make up the U.S. "Intelligence community". In the first years of the Cold War, the CIA was formed by intelligence officers from World War II - mostly powerful lawyers, bankers and other members of the elite, while new operatives were recruited from elite U.S. universities. Its main task was the fight against communism and the defense of American "national interests".

The CIA has adopted the doctrine of "plausible deniability" which means that politicians are not familiar with its black operations, so that they could avoid any liability, while operatives themselves are given only the most essential information, on a need-to-know basis, so that as few people as possible could bear any potential responsibility. The next step were operations carried out with no name at all or under a false flag so it becomes possible to deny any accusations, or operations in which other agencies, groups, organizations are used. These operations included support of authoritarian regimes in different countries, training of death squads, organizing coups d'etat, military coups, kidnappings, killings, etc. In the event that something gets out to the public, a simple formula is applied: deny everything, admit nothing and make counter accusations. Another topic are operations that were organized with the intention of blaming someone else for crimes, murders and terrorist attacks - usually the left and social movements within some country or inconvenient government, etc.

Considerable attention is devoted to the collusion of organized crime and intelligence services, as well as the highest levels of government and business. From the fact that the agencies use organized crime to crackdown on their political opponents, to other deals. Since the business can be divided into legal and illegal, it is obvious that the biggest players that are above the law, such as intelligence agencies, some corporations and banks, can cooperate unchecked with players who work illegally, in order to make profit from the trafficking, money laundering, and so on. The question of using illicit profits to finance many of the CIA operations is particularly interesting. The issue at hand is primarily heroin and cocaine trafficking, or to be more precise - control of the majority of the world's drug market. If we bear in mind that the annual revenue of global drug trafficking is valued at 320 billion dollars, which is more than the annual budgets of countries like Sweden or Norway, or which is more than the sum of the total gross domestic product of over 80 of the world's poorest countries. And, if bear in mind that today more than 90% of all heroin comes from Afghanistan, and that during the 1960s and 1970s a similar amount of heroin was produced in Southeast Asia, where at that time there was a strong presence of U.S. forces and the CIA, it is not difficult to connect the dots and realize from which sources the CIA provided the money for some of its black operations. In addition, there are also various financial machinations with huge military and security budgets, from falsifying the costs made by private security companies, to money that no one can account for.

The topic of public and hidden ideological or political motivation is discussed thoroughly in each segment of the film, and specific mechanisms are drawn to the light of day. In the end, we are warned about the drastic restrictions of human rights in the United States, which in some respects have gone as far as the abolition of certain human rights, as well as huge technological advancement that is placed in the service of monitoring, controlling and killing, primarily through unmanned aerial vehicles, armed with machine guns and rockets.

All in all, this is a very, very interesting documentary that everyone should watch. You could find yourself, as I have, cursing and swearing out loud as you rewind the video to make sure that some of the things are actually being said. And, as the quote from the Bible written on the entrance to the first CIA headquarters says: "And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." John VIII-XXXII

Now & Later (2011)

A sexually repressed society will resort to violence

[10/10 · 30 August 2019]

At the very beginning we are welcomed with Wilhelm Reich's quote: "A sexually repressed society will resort to violence". He is an international trader - a speculator who grew up in a typical American family devoted to power and success. She is an illegal immigrant from Nicaragua, and works as a volunteer in a free clinic. When they meet it's a collision of worlds (quite literally) with plenty of sex and conversations about politics, philosophy, and other worldly pleasures. This movie very effectively raises its voice against the culture in which violence is considered to be top-notch entertainment, while sex is taboo and shame.

Amanece, que no es poco (1989)

A must see Spanish surrealist comedy

[10/10 · 23 August 2019]

A very intelligent Spanish surrealist comedy from the late 1980s that simply can't be retold. Surrealism distorts reality to breaking point, to the absurd and impossible, and puts us in position to laugh at ourselves while at the same time exposing stereotypes, questioning accepted norms and shows the suppressed truth behind the official stories. On every step this movie is a fierce critique of Spain under the dictatorship of General Franco (1939-1976), but equally a sharp in-depth critique of contemporary Spain in which everything changed in order for nothing to change. Everything is the same as before, but with other names. Even if we disregard the level of political and social criticism, this is a very funny, and sadly underrated, comedy with countless insane turns, surreal situations and universal analogies that can be applied to many contemporary societies. Those who do not speak Spanish will be pressed to comprehend all word games, and those who are not familiar with the situation and developments in Spain will be challenged to understand all the metaphors, analogies, hyperboles and sarcastic jokes related to the Spanish context. Regardless, this movie is worth a look because it is far beyond any usual comedy.

Il camorrista (1986)

Rise and fall of the Nuova Camorra Organizzata

[10/10 · 16 August 2019]

Outstanding movie about the Mafia in southern Italy at the end of the 1970s. In the beginning of the movie, the authors say they hope that viewers will strengthen their belief in the necessity of the state and laws as the only true protector of civil life. However, watching the movie raises the thought that differences between illegal Mafia and legal authorities are not so great. The Mafia does not question the government, but rather competes with it, trying to imitate certain features of the government such as collecting taxes, providing safety and regulating business. The government relies heavily on the ruling ideology and consent, but is more than willing to resort to violence when threatened, and in the southern Italy government has often used the Mafia to do their dirty work, especially against labor unions, and other attempts to organize the working class.

The Camorra, a criminal organization/secret society founded in Campania in the 17th century, has developed into independent clans who cooperated or were feuding with each other. During the 1970s, Raffaele Cutolo, a charismatic crime boss in the Neapolitan region, formed a new criminal organization modeled on the traditional Camorra from the 19th century, and soon came into conflict with the existing camorrist groups. The New Organized Camorra (Nuova Camorra Organizzata) recruited its members in prisons and among unemployed youth, was very aggressive and had a strong hierarchical structure, with ideological stronghold in the code of silence, local patriotism, remarkable mutual solidarity, Catholicism and political conservatism. This film is about the rise and fall of the reformed Camorra, which spread rapidly due to its structure and ruthlessness but ultimately failed due to a lack of understanding of the broader political picture, very bad political assessments, unfounded megalomania and general loss of contact with reality. Based on actual events.

Syriana (2005)

Syriana is a term used by Washington think-tanks to describe a hypothetical re-shaping of the Middle East

[10/10 · 9 August 2019]

A movie about the impact of the oil industry and petroleum politics on the Middle East, but also on world politics. Syriana is a term used by Washington think-tanks to describe a hypothetical re-shaping of the Middle East. The structure of the film is complex and dynamic, with several parallel storylines developing simultaneously and intersecting in various ways. It is well shown how the system works, especially certain of its aspects. The difference between publicly proclaimed values and what is actually carried out in practice. The difference between the lower and upper echelons of the corporate and government hierarchies, not only in terms of how well-informed each level is, but also the absence of any system or belief that is not directly related to money. Corruption is OK if it is in the national interest, between democracy and profit they will naturally choose profit, and loyalty or human life are just empty words that mean nothing. This is quite an informative, balanced, well-conceived film based on documentary material, although at the end there is a disclaimer that "all of the characters and events portrayed in it (except for incidental archival footage), are fictional".

Weekend (1967)

Let's talk about the philosophical, ethical and ideological bankruptcy of Western civilization

[9/10 · 2 August 2019]

A couple prepares for the weekend. He doesn't love her, she doesn't love him. Both have someone on the side and wish that the other gets killed. This weekend they are going to the hospital where her father is dying, in order to secure their part of the inheritance. Their trip quickly gets stuck because of the traffic jams and road accidents. Every encounter ends in violence, and as time passes the whole bourgeois society is literally falling apart around them, in front of them and with them.

This couple represents a mirror of the entire society, and the breakdown of society is a reflection of their inner dehumanization, and vice versa. The movie is absurd because their habits, desires and dreams are absurd. Godard shows what would happen if the alienation and bitterness we feel in ourselves suddenly spilled into the streets and roads.

Hollywood usually encourages us to turn off our brains and relax with a movie. Godard doesn't allow it. He wants to discuss with the audience about the philosophical, ethical and ideological bankruptcy of Western civilization. This movie is a provocation. This movie is a slap in the face of the viewer. This movie tells the spectator to pull himself together, and encourages him to examine himself and the society in which he lives, but in that it succeeds only partially, and temporarily.

Defense of the Realm (1985)

This movie is hidden gem! A must see!

[10/10 · 26 July 2019]

A British journalist follows the story of a politician who might have contact with a KGB agent, but eventually comes up to a much larger discovery. It appears there has been some cover-up at the highest level and any further step becomes more dangerous after the Secret Service takes an interest in him. Exceptional thriller in which skillfully built tension makes you feel as if you are being tracked, listened to, lurked upon...

Bloody Sunday (2002)

Peaceful protests and their violent consequences

[9/10 · 19 July 2019]

Bloody Sunday, also known as the Bogside Massacre, was an incident on 30 January 1972 in a neighborhood in Derry, the second largest city of Northern Ireland. British soldiers opened fire on a protest march of the Northern Ireland Civil Rights Association against internment without trial that was introduced by the British administration a year earlier. The soldiers wounded 26 unarmed civilians, of which 13 were killed on the spot or died soon after wounding. This resulted in great rise of influence and recruitment into the IRA. Bloody Sunday is one of the most significant events during the Troubles in Northern Ireland. Based on actual events.

Enemy of the State (1998)

A non-fiction fiction

[8/10 · 12 July 2019]

Although it is a blockbuster thriller with a Hollywood happy ending, this is also one of the first movies to realistically deal with modern high-tech surveillance and the state offensive against personal privacy, which has in recent years become a very hot issue. In the movie, a conservative politician, high up in the U.S. National Security Agency (NSA), is trying to push through legislation that would drastically increase the power of the intelligence community and at the same virtually abolish the right to privacy. He organizes the killing of a politician who tries to prevent the passing of this Act and, after the murder goes wrong, he engages his subordinates at the NSA to cover up the crime, and remove all the people who could endanger him...

Statues also Die (1953)

Botany of death we call culture

[10/10 · 28 June 2019]

The narrator says in the opening sequence: "When men die, they become history. Once statues die, they become art. This botany of death is what we call culture." This documentary makes an excellent analysis of the cold cruelty by which colonialism and imperialism destroyed the original art of Africa. They first enslaved and destroyed the civilization that created these objects and was able to comprehend them, they recognized only aesthetic properties of these artefacts, as if they exist only to entertain colonizers, transformed them into exotic souvenirs and further degraded them by turning them into mass produced commodities made to be sold on bazaars. Due to the harsh criticism of colonialism, the film was censored and almost the entire second half of the movie was banned. The full original version was publicly screened in France in 1968, fifteen years after it was made.

Chronicle of the Years of Fire (1975)

Colonialism depicted from the perspective of the enslaved

[10/10 · 25 June 2019]

It is very rare to see colonialism depicted from the perspective of the enslaved. In this great Algerian movie, director Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina succeeded in showing the essence of colonial rule and many aspects of resistance to colonialism - from spontaneous to organized resistance, from the failure of the parliamentary opposition to the inevitability of armed struggle.

Social conditions and events that preceded, and eventually led to the Algerian revolution are shown from the perspective of an Algerian peasant. At the beginning, in late 1930s, he decides to leave his village that was hit by severe drought because the French built a dam on the river, and goes into the town expecting to find a better life for himself and his family. The story spans over a period of more than 15 years - from drought, famine, typhoid, through the Second World War. The post-war status quo is shown to be maintained through manipulation and repression, but also confronted through organized anti-colonial resistance, and the repression in French prisons, all the way up to 1st November of 1954 which is regarded as the starting date of the Algerian revolution. Based on actual events.