This lovely, lyrical documentary introduces Chinlone, a Burmese sport that soars somewhere between acrobatics, hackey sack, and Balinese dance. This game, unknown outside of Burma, became an obsession for Greg Hamilton. For the past 20 years he's painfully tried to whisk the distinctive woven-rattan ball, faithfully returning to Burma to play in tournaments, becoming the first westerner to do so. What makes this film so rewarding is Hamilton's candid autobiographical account of his slow learning. At first he is laughed at, but after 8 years of filming, he slowly gains respect from the Burmese. Chinlone is a beautiful non-competitive game. You "win" by keeping the ball in the air for your teammates -- a fit metaphor for life, and a perfect frame for this extremely contemplative but dynamic film. Greg's story is really not about sport, or the Zen of Burmese Hackey Sack, but about how to learn and love.
The star of the hit documentary Supersize Me took his winning format of Total Immersion For 30 Days and applied it, with the help of other willing subjects, to a number of other alien worlds. For 30 days your host in each episode of this reality series will live within agreed constraints in order to shift their -- and your -- point of view. Ideally the show throws a person into the lives of those they despise. Take a southern Christian and make him live in a Muslim home and community. Take an anti-immigration bully and have him live with illegal immigrants. Make an abortion rights activist work at a pregnancy crises center. Or an atheist live with Pentecostals. A guy who lost his job to outsourcing in India, goes to India to reclaim his job there. Have middle class professionals try to pay rent and doctor bills on minimum wage. Or an innocent live in jail, with solitary confinement. A lot can happen in 30 days, distilled into an intense 60 minutes. Yes, it's a gimmicky formula, but it really works. You'll learn a whole lot.
-- KK
30 Days: Season 1
Morgan Spurlock
2004, 354 min.
DVD, $10
Twenty years ago 20,000 orphaned and displaced boys began streaming out of Sudan. They languished with no future in poor camps in neighboring countries. In 2001, about 3,000 of them were resettled in the US. This doc is the true story of a few of those boys, almost men, as they leave their very stark pastoral life (zero electricity or running water) and slip unnoticed into frantic, crazy urban America. This is not the only documentary about this dramatic transition. The Lost Boys of Sudan, for instance, has many fans. But by following the immigrants for a longer period, both before they arrive and after their shock immersion into American culture, God Grew Tired of Us is the most rewarding and the deepest. One thing I learned from this film: no matter how amazing modern amenities are, people will take them for granted after about 5 minutes. But as these really remarkable and likeable "boys" show, it's people and relationships that really count for wealth.
-- KK
God Grew Tired of Us
Christopher Dillon Quinn
2006, 89 min.
$20, DVD
This fancy BBC series reveals art to be not the product of culture, but the producer and shaper of culture. It's a wonderfully creative and imaginative show of how great art changed our world, our ideas, and even our humanity itself. Each episode tackles a big idea using the latest state-of-the-art documentary techniques and special effects. It's brimming with news and consequential notions, but presented clearly and with wit. I think the series succeeds admirably. It does so in part by expanding your concept of what art is - without ever bringing up that boring debate. I like that they often focus on underappreciated artworks. In the end you see that art, like science and technology, has altered our environment and our identity. We are art.
-- KK
Directed by Robin Dashwood
2005, 290 min. (2 discs)
$27, DVD
This off-beat tour will take you to the other side of the railroad tracks. Our host -- a musician -- shows you his homeland in the rural Deep South. He buys a used car, hauls a wrong-eyed Jesus statue in the trunk, and circles around trailer parks and BBQ joints listening to genuine contemporary musicians - and their many stories. Everyone has a story. The host has a story. It would be misguided to suggest this was a two-eyed look at poor white trash culture, but not too far off either. This film has great music, authentic characters, and an honest gaze. It's an amusing trip.
-- KK
Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus
Directed by Andrew Douglas
2003, 82 min.
$27, DVD
True stories from the most unlikely fishing hole ever -- New York City. Because New York is an island port there's far more places to fish than most New Yorkers would imagine, and now that environmental laws have cleaned the Hudson's water, the fishing is actually great. This lighthearted, cheery film documents the many ways New Yorkers fish, and why. And being New Yorkers, everyone has a story.
-- KK
Gotham Fish Tales
Directed by Robert Maass
2003, 74 min.
$13, DVD
A charming, gritty, real journey into the Saraha. You piggy-back on Michael Palin's arduous trip via freight train, land rover, camel and foot. Palin is fun, witty, intelligent and the perfect host for taking you to a remote area the size of the US, filled with tons of cultural diversity and most of it seldom seen. Palin has a wonderful knack for focusing on the real and informative. Not your usual travelog.
-- KK
Michael Palin: Sahara
Directed by John-Paul Davidson and Roger Mills
2003, 236 min.
$35, DVD
