Rowan Sullivan

316

Icarus (U.S.) – Are All Sports Stars on Drugs?

Icarus Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

As the World Cup continues in Russia, the Tennis stars of the world play at Wimbledon, and the world’s premiere cycling tour kicks off in France, there’s no better time to watch Icarus. You’ll learn about the effects of doping, start doubting the even playing ground of all sports, before asking yourself: “what if they’re all doping?” To find out more about doping in sport and the political stakes of doping, watch Icarus on Netflix.

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Why Watch Icarus?
  • If you’re a sports fan
  • If you like conspiracies
  • Meet a friendly Russian doping expert
  • Because it won the Best Documentary at the 2018 Academy Awards
The Breakdown

Meet Bryan Fogel. He’s an amateur cyclist who was on the brink of turning professional when he was hit with an injury. Whilst he didn’t get to cycle alongside Lance Armstrong like some of his friends, he still idolized the best cyclist from his country and generation for his 7 Tour de France wins. But, his view of professional cycling and Lance Armstrong came crashing down when Armstrong finally admitted to doping in 2013.

How did Fogel react? By choosing the toughest 7-day amateur cycling race available and riding it twice. Firstly, he rode it clean, and secondly on performance enhancing drugs to analyse their effect.

Long story short, he finished in the top 20 clean, but couldn’t improve his positioning whilst doping. But, what might have been a movie about how doping won’t immediately make you the best in any sport luckily doesn’t end there.

That’s because the guy helping Fogel to dope was the director of the Russian anti-doping laboratory, Grigory Rodchenkov. They both become friends as Rodchenkov helped him through his doping process. Rodchenkov gives him plenty of advice and laughs, and even hosts him at his home in Russia.

However, Rodchenkov later drops a bombshell: he oversaw the state-sponsored doping programme for the 2012 Olympics in London and the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi. This confession turns Icarus into an investigation into the worldwide doping scandal that banned all Russian athletes from competing in the 2016 Olympics and rocked the sporting world.

Conclusion and What to Watch Next

Icarus is one of the most gripping documentaries out there, especially if you’re a sports fan. It’s got an interesting premise (how much does doping help) which sets up the story, but the twist lands in Fogel’s lap because of Rodchenckov’s confession. From there it’s the two of them versus the Russian State and the U.S. court system.

If you’re looking for more great documentaries, check out the equally thrilling Citizenfour about Edward Snowden. Like Icarus it contains a whistleblower vs. the state, but instead of sport’s doping, it’s a worldwide spy network.

Or, if you’re looking for a sport documentary which focuses more on the sport, check out the brilliant basketball documentary, Hoop Dreams. It’s like Boyhood meets Basketball.

 

317

Another Country (Australia) – Meet the Other Side of Australia

Another Country Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

Most people forget that Australia, like the United States, was already inhabited when Europeans arrived. Just like in the U.S. the natives were almost wiped out by disease, politics, and genocide. Today, Indigenous Australians make up just 3% of the Australian population and Australian politics have pushed them to the side onto pseudo-reservations. Get to know some of them in Another Country – watch it here (Amazon).

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Why Watch Another Country?
  • Get to know the indigenous Australians of Ramininging, Northern Territory
  • Learn how politics have disrupted the old way of life
  • Witness the lack of opportunity and isolation of the community
  • See a strange reenactment of the crucifixion
The Breakdown

Firstly, we’re introduced to our narrator, the ‘living legend’ that is David Gulpilil. You may know him from films like Crocodile Dundee, Rabbit Proof Fence, and Charlie’s Country. He’s even met with the queen and relaxed with Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley. But, he assures us, “this film is as much about you than it is about me and my people”.  Another Country is about what happened to aboriginal culture when it was interrupted by western culture.

The film is set in Ramininging, 400km away from the nearest town (if the dirt tracks haven’t been washed away). No one wanted to live here, but the Australian government set up a town here anyway to host the indigenous people it didn’t know what to do with. It’s as if they picked a completely isolated spot to keep them hidden.

Why would the Australian government want to keep the indigenous population hidden? Because they don’t know anything about the indigenous population. The politicians never learned any indigenous languages and rarely interact with any of the indigenous people out of their own initiative, so keeping them out of sight is a way of hiding their ignorance. All the government does is provide them with just enough to keep them living and reliant on government support.

Why is Another Country narrated?

Yes, Another Country is a documentary, and documentaries are often narrated without the narrator appearing in the film. But Another Country is different. This is David Gulpilil’s home town, and he introduces us to his childhood friends through his narration, so it would only be natural for him to appear and initiate dialogue with his friends and family. But, instead, he is kept separate from what we are seeing on film.

This creates a distance between what we are being told and what we are seeing. As a result, his narration feels similar to the news reporters we see on TV, that narrate over news footage to create a story.

Australians, and the world, are probably used to hearing news reporters and politicians create the story of indigenous Australians without having any understanding of them. And, most of us probably blindly accept what they say as the truth as they are figures of authority.

Therefore, having David Gulpilil as the narrator, and keeping him as just a narrator, keeps him in a position of narrative authority that news reporters and politicians often inhabit. He gets to create the story as he sees it, and we, the audience, get to finally listen to an indigenous voice narrating the indigenous people in Australia.

Conclusion and What to Watch Next

Another Country is the documentary to watch if you want to get to know some of the marginalised Indigenous Australians. You get a first hand introduction to the isolated community of Ramininging through it’s most famous former resident, David Gulpilil.

If you’re interested in learning a bit more about the history of the indigenous Australians, check out Rabbit Proof Fence. It’s a story about a couple of girls from the Stolen Generations who were removed from their families by the Australian government in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Or if you want to see more films exploring the damage done by generations of European colonists around the world, check out:

 

318

Unknown Land (Yemen) – Dreaming on the Island of Socotra

Unknown Land Film Difficulty Ranking: 4

How much do you know about the Arab Spring in Yemen? If you followed the news, chances are you probably know more as the residents of Socotra. That’s because this alien looking island is approx. 380km from the Yemeni mainland and therefore untouched by the mainland’s politics. Unknown Land is a portrait of life on the island and the wandering thoughts of a half dead sailor, marooned on the island following a shipwreck.

Why Watch Unknown Land?
  • To see the uniquely beautiful landscape of the island of Socotra
  • If you like listening to dreamy narratives
  • For it’s musical interludes
  • To feel truly isolated from the rest of the world
The Breakdown

At the start of Unknown Land a man is washed onto one of the pristine beaches of island of Socotra. It appears that all of his energy was sucked out of him as he struggled to stay afloat after his shipwreck. All he can do is reflect on his past life and make peace with his past choices as he approaches death.

Meanwhile in one of the town’s of Socotra, a old man listens to an old radio as he smokes from a pipe fashioned from a goat horn. The radio gives us our only connection to the outside world. We hear that a sailing boat has sunk off of the shores of Socotra and all of the crew have gone missing. We also hear about the Yemeni protests on the mainland, but the old man’s indifference shows that these are insignificant to the inhabitants of Socotra. The island is too far away to be affected by what happens on the mainland.

The island’s isolation is reflected in the serene footage of Socotra. Firstly, the alien plants and landscape are unlike anything you’ve seen before. There are trees which look like spindly umbrellas, and mountains that disappear into pristine white beaches and emerald coloured sea. Secondly, the islands inhabitants rarely get any dialogue on screen, so you never get to connect with them. This is particularly noticeable with the old man who reappears throughout the film smoking from the same goat horn with a blank stare. The director deliberately emphasises the alien setting and distant people to make the island appear even more remote and dreamy.

Conclusion and What to Watch Next

If you’re into dreamy narratives and alien landscapes, then check out Unknown Land. However, if you’re more of an action thriller fan, it’s best you check out some film difficulty level 2 or 3 films before you watch this.

For another dreamy film from the Middle East, check out Ahlaam (literally translated as dream) from Iraq. It follows a few Iraqis before and after the Iraq War. Otherwise, if you’re looking for something surreal from the Middle East, check out The Challenge. It’s your chance to live the life of the richest Sheikhs in Qatar.

Or if you’re simply looking for easy to watch films from the Middle East, check out some of the following (they’re all great):

  • Wadjda: A Saudi Arabian coming of age tale featuring an awesome little girl
  • About Elly: A slow-burning thriller from Iran (although not the film to watch before you go on a big family holiday)
  • Silvered Water: A portrait of war-time Syria, a great documentary constructed from first-hand footage to experience the horrors of the Syrian conflict.

 

319

Veve (Kenya) – Corruption and Extortion in Kenyan Politics

Veve Film Difficulty Ranking: 2

Drugs, corruption, and extra-marital affairs feature in this Kenyan thriller centred around a macho politician. If you’re looking for excitement, danger, and a token white guy, this film is for you. Check it out here on Netflix.

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Why Watch Veve?
  • To meet one of Kenya’s ‘Big Men’
  • Learn what Veve is (known elsewhere as Khat)
  • For a token white guy
  • See how to defeat unions and oppress farmers
The Breakdown

People picking trees, leaves filling sacks, sacks thrown onto trucks, money changing hands… Veve starts with some quick cuts showing the distribution of veve from the trees it grows on to Kenya’s cities. Along the way it passes through a bunch of middle men and check points. You’ll also see money changing hands a few times along the way, but who does the money end up with?

The next scene reveals the prime candidate behind the drug-trafficking. Meet Amos, a local member of parliament campaigning to become governor of the region. Judged on first impressions, he’s a friendly husband who is popular in the region he is campaigning to govern. However, there’s more to Amos that meets the eye.

Simply put, he’s the prototype of the macho African ‘big man’ politician.

Firstly, you’ll see how he uses intimidation to try and guarantee votes. He tries to extort local businessmen as well as threaten farmers to vote for him. Secondly, you’ll witness his machismo. The director intentionally shows him criticise his wife for buying scented body lotion and chide his secretary for playing kid’s puzzles. Just in case that’s too subtle, he’s also cheating on his wife. He’s not a nice man.

Conclusion and What to Watch Next

By giving Amos the characteristics of the ‘big man’ politician the director uses Amos to critique the power hungry men in Kenyan politics. It’s a subtle warning carried in a thrilling film well worth watching.

If you want to see more African ‘big men’ on screen, check out Last King of Scotland, a political thriller with Forrest Whitaker playing Ugandan dictator Idi Amin.

Or if you want to see African films with more violence and corruption, check out Beasts of No Nation featuring kid soldiers in an unnamed African country. You can also check out the living perpetrators of the Liberian Civil War in Fragment 53.

 

320

The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun (Senegal) – Meet Dakar’s Street Kids

The Little Girl Who Sold the Sun Film Difficulty Ranking: 3

The Little Girl who Sold the Sun is an ode to the potential of Africa’s most oppressed. The main character, Sili, is a poor, disabled girl trying to make a living for herself and her blind grandmother. The odds are stacked against her – is there any hope? Find out by watching it here (Amazon).

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Why Watch The Little Girl who Sold the Sun?
  • To meet the marginalised people of Dakar
  • Get inspired by the spirit of young Sili
  • It’s only a short film – so you can watch it in 45 mins
  • Girl Power! This girl can do whatever the boys can!
The Breakdown

The Little Girl who Sold the Sun starts with a chaotic scene on the streets of Dakar. A woman is accused of being a thief by a man in the street. The man runs up to her, grabs her bag from her, and rummages through the bag whilst the woman indignantly shouts that she’s innocent. A crowd of spectators gathers around them to watch and laugh at the fight. It’s an opening that quickly establishes a few things:

  1. There’s sexism in Dakar – men hold power over women and can subject them to random searches and accusations and get away with it.
  2. Classism – people in positions of power pick on poor people making a living.
  3. The implicitness of everyone in Dakar. The spectators simply watch the powerful accuse the innocent and laugh at the unfortunates victimisation. Everyone is a part of the entrenched sexism and classism.
Our Saviour = Sili

Introducing Sili. She’s not meant to succeed in life: she’s poor, disabled, and a young. On top of that, she has to look after her blind grandmother.

So, how does she succeed? What isn’t obvious from first impressions is her incredible spirit and perseverance. She sees a few boys selling newspapers in the street and sees an opportunity. So she walks up to the newspaper office and demands some newspapers to sell.

She gets 13 newspapers (a lucky number) to sell, but she also inherits a bunch of rival sellers (all boys) and some jealous cops eager to see her fail. Watch the film here (Amazon) to see what happens.

Conclusion and What to Watch Next

The Little Girl who Sold the Sun is a great film to watch to revive your faith in humanity. Sili’s spirit gives hope to the oppressed of the world. It’s well worth sparing 45 minutes of your time to meet her.

If you want to watch more films about street kids, check out these three films:

  1. Slumdog Millionaire: A film many of you will have seen, it’s a brilliant rags to riches story of two kids from the Mumbai slums.
  2. City of God: For more violence and less hope, check out Fernando Meirelles film about street kids come slum lords in Rio de Janeiro
  3. Tsotsi: Follow a young thug from the Johannesburg slums and see what he does when he finds a young baby in the back of a car he robs.

Or if you’re looking for more great contemporary West-African films, check out Wallay. You’ll meet a young kid from Paris who is taken on holiday to Burkina Faso to visit his family. What he doesn’t know is that his father intends to leave him there to work back the money he has stolen from him. It’s a great coming of age story.