Kitchen Stories

an Enemy of the Tennis Judge's Chair

A touch polarizing, this film shows the distinct divide between two countries that when these countries are stereotyped their people are essentially the same people. But stereotypes are typically wrong when put under a microscope, and Kitchen Stories acts as that microscope. This film shows a Swedish kitchen company, that sends it's efficiency investigators to look at the single Norwegian male kitchen usage market. The Swedish folk seem very well to do, always wearing suits and ties. While the Norwegians who are being observed seem woodsy and a little backward. But this film truly helped me appreciate the multitude of usages for a tennis judge chair.

a Stereotyping Car Company

Little Otik

a Wonderfully Backward Country

a Little Otik

Perhaps my favorite film of this class, this cinematic masterpiece lifts a Czech fairy tale (just as good as the Brother's Grim) to the deliciously backward modern day Eastern Europe. Thematically this film is special, as it blends stop-motion animation to bring Little Otik to life, run of the mill filming of the real world and traditional animation to bridge the fairy tale world and the real world. And as far as the story is concerned, there is no risk that this story is overdone, in fact I don't believe that this story has ever been done. But to be honest, the novelty of this movie is one thing, it's quality is something entirely else. This movie would have been a hit if it was a Hollywood film alas it was done by a Eastern European director from an Eastern European film studio. But that just means that it is the proverbial "diamond in the rough" and all the more enjoyable for yours truly.

Of Love and Eggs

Going in/Coming Out

an Average Mexican Love Triangle

One fun fact about Indonesia is that it has the world's largest Muslim population, yet in the film Of Love and Eggs the level of (stereotypical) Muslim influence is less. One does not see the Middle Eastern level of Islam present in Indonesia, albeit one does see a mosque but it plays a secondary role to that of the marketplace. So while in Baghdad one sees marketplaces blown up by suicide bombers, in Indonesia it seems that the life of the city emits from the marketplace. And this film's perspective of Indonesian daily life seems on par with the average Mexican life being portrayed by Univision's soap operas. So without further to say, a bit overacted. 

a Before Picture of a CNN News Story About Iraqi Life

Tstosi

Going In/Coming Out

a map of South Africa

apartheid South Africa

An interesting film concerning an extremely interesting country, South Africa. A predominately black country controlled (financially, politically, militarily) by whites, this film shows the literal night and day difference of the day to day lives of the whites and the blacks. While the main character Tstosi, steals a car (and inadvertently a baby) from a wealthy black woman (who appears to live in a white neighborhood) the viewer takes part not only in the story of our protagonist (and simultaneous antagonist) but the story of the country as well. A country where stealing a car is a necessity for Tstosi who is attempting to get by the only way he knows how (thievery). Even the end of the movie leaves the fate of Tstosi (and of South Africa) up for interpretation for the viewer.

Chak De!

Going In/Coming Out

a picture of women's field hockey,
for the average American

a map of India

An interesting film concerning the most populous English speaking country and what is perhaps the least known sport to the average American, field hockey. In particular, women's field hockey. This film gives the average American insight into Bollywood's over extravagance (perhaps a throwback to the early American film industry), women's field hockey and most importantly the evolving role that women play in modern day India. The women in this film come from all the regions of India, from girls coming from Himalayan towns in the north and Tamil girls coming from towns in the south. All in all this movie contains a cross section of Indian women, and an interesting cross section it is. For this film shows the comradeship needed not only for victory on the field hockey field but for victory for women's rights in India.

Hoop Dreams: Final Essay

In the film Hoop Dreams one follows the progress of two young African American men whose future hangs entirely on their athletic prowess in the game of basketball. Their present situation is grim to say the least, living in a “wrong side of the tracks” type of urban neighborhood. Even in the rough neighborhood that the two young men reside, they have family and friends who support them in their dream to play college and potentially NBA level basketball. And it is this outlet alone that will make or break their potential for a better future.

            William Gates is one of the young African American men who are followed in the documentary Hoop Dreams. His future is drastically changed with his recruitment into the private high school of St. Joseph due to his basketball prowess, which he has refined to a form of art with years of street basketball under his belt. When the documentary crew follows William out to the wealthy neighborhood in which St. Joseph is located one can tell the drastic difference the three-hour commute makes, as far as social standings and situations are concerned. In William’s neighborhood the viewer sees sketchy looking young men standing at street corners and tenement building after tenement building. While in Westchester (where St. Joseph is located) one sees tree lined streets with extremely nice looking houses lining the streets. This is the proverbial night and day difference that William experiences every school day.

most likely the one thing that turned around Arthur's and Williams lives

            Meanwhile Arthur Agee (the other young man featured in the documentary) who also got recruited to St. Joseph fails to keep up with the payment required to attend the private catholic school. He then gets kicked out and sent to his neighborhood public school. In the documentary the viewers should notice the subtle difference in the pep-bands of Marshall (the public school) and St. Joseph. St. Joseph band kids had shiny new instruments while the kids at Marshall had slightly beaten in instruments. But as far as raw musical talent goes, Marshall had far more soul. And that soul was transferred onto the basketball court as well. While in William’s senior year St. Joseph doesn’t make it past the first playoff round, Arthur and Marshall take it all the way to third place in the state tournament.

            But to put the ol’ undergraduate brain to evaluating the social situation that these two young men reside, one must look at the culture in which William and Arthur are living in. Just in their neighborhood alone, one sees next to no successful individuals, no one with a four-year college degree and nearly no one with a well paying job. This lack of people to look up to seems extremely detrimental to any young person. It seems that the only way to get out of the sub-par neighborhood is to be good at basketball, like William and Arthur’s hero Isiah Thomas. This then forces the viewer to ponder the whole ramification of teaching an entire subset of American youths that their future relies purely on their physical prowess, not their academic prowess. The lack of support for the academically gifted can be seen in Arthur’s public high school Marshall. The teachers tend to give up on the majority of the class, giving most of their focus and attention to the few students who try. Arthur is not one of those students; instead his only form of support from the school comes from the basketball coach.

            Meanwhile at the private school of St. Joseph one sees academics playing a much larger role, even in the life of William who has hinged his future on his athletic prowess. In the classrooms, the student to teacher ratio is a lot small then at Marshall and the focus of the teachers is towards the sub-par students (like William) and pulling them up to snuff. This reflects in William’s future, in particular his plethora of college recruitment letters and also finally in his college selection, Marquette. Meanwhile Arthur is forced (due to grades) to attend a two year technical college in Arkansas and then he gets transferred up to a four year institution, all the while playing basketball.

            Hoop Dreams allows the viewer to see in the years surrounding Michael Jordan’s success, that the only visible, heralded route to success and fame is through athletic prowess, not academic. And the viewer sees that on numerous levels, in particular through the night and day difference of the focus between Marshall and St. Joseph. At Marshall a success would be a former student who graduates, at St. Joseph a success would be a student who graduates from a four-year private school. So it appears that the only form of success for an inner city youth would only be achieved through the game of basketball.

The Host

Going In/Coming Out

and this is over a budget bill,
imagine if these people were fighting a monster?

guarding the most militarized border in the world,
bet we have a plan for fighting a mutant river monster
in a draw somewhere

Japan has Godizalla, the United States has vengeful aliens from Roswell, New Mexico (Independence Day), Europe has Nazi's and what does Korea have? Well The Host answers that question, with one part ecological disaster and one part river monster and you have a sci-fi romp that is worthy of earning Korea's national monster title. The Host looks like a giant river salamander that is on a one monster destruction tour of Seoul's river district. This movie brilliantly gives insight into the Korean mindset (extremely orderly, even when running from a monster) and the response by the people (initially orderly withdrawal, later angry protests) is spot on if Korean politics are to be a gauge. Also included in the story is the US involvement in containing the monster because with 40,000 troops stationed in South Korea and the largest military budget in the world no one else is more qualified to fight a monster. But one area with this movie didn't cover was North Korea, which shows us the viewer, that in America the North Korean threat is paramount but in South Korea (living daily with the threat) it is just another potential monster, but the river monster wrecking the Seoul river front takes precedent.

Afghan Star

Coming Out:

definitely not a Islamic extremist

hopefully the future

This film instilled a sense of hope and fear regarding Afghanistan. The hope is that Afghanistan appears to be normalizing... to a point. A point where dancing is considered whorish and women fear for their lives after appearing on a American Idol-esque show. Alas a little better off then under Taliban rule, but still some to be desired. This movie does provide a unique insight into the different cultures that inhabit Afghanistan, showing the people from the different provinces and why a unified Afghanistan has always been a tricky thing to rule over. But with American ingenuity and showmanship it looks like the Afghans are slowly coming out of their reclusive ways and embracing the holy reality television icon of American Idol. Best of luck to Afghanistan and their precarious future.

Afghan Star

Going In:

an American Idol Contestant


Afghan Star follows contestants appearing on an "American Idol-esque" show in the country of Afghanistan. Interestingly enough the United States and coalition forces are in Afghanistan now for a peace keeping operation, global bridge? I think so. If I know anything about American Idol, it's that you get an interesting cross section of people who can actually sing, show-boaters and people so full of themselves that they think they sound like angels when they really sound like nails on a chalk board. Hopefully years of conflict and Taliban rule will keep those folks to a minimum, for Afghanistan's sake. But I digress, hopefully this movie will give us an insight into the newly democratic Afghanistan (tainted with corruption and literal bags of money, I know, but for the sake of making a point), and how well American reality shows adapt to Islamic culture. Here's hoping that this film is borderline uplifting.



a Map of Afghanistan



Please Vote For Me

a Look At The Future of Chinese Cube Dwellers

An interesting film to say the least. Surprisingly enough Please Vote For Me provided an insight into the middle class Chinese mind and their opinions of their "communist" government. The three kids who were selected to run for class monitor, all appeared from the same social status. Evoking the observation that only a middle class life style allows for one's child to go to school. This aside, the parents were an interesting cross section, one was a single mother (of the girl) and worked at the local TV station. Another family's bread winner worked for Wuhan's (the city where the story took place) police force. And the final family had parents working in cubicles in middle management positions. Also the take at politics was interesting as well, the parents were extremely involved in their children's lives, in all three cases writing their child's speeches for them (an insight of their opinions of democracy). The father who worked for the police force was particularly cunning, he not only paid for his kid to lead his fellow classmates on an all expense paid field trip on the local monorail, but also paid for candy/coloring book packages, in order for his kid to buy the election. So a sincere dedication to spreading the corruption of politics and for his son to win. Another interesting angle was the parents seemingly blase take on the communist government while the children were doing numerous nationalistic and patriotic drills. This could be due to the level of capitalistic growth that is occurring in China during the parent's life time, which caused an indifference amongst the parents for their communist government. Meanwhile the government appears to be attempting to reinforce the government's role in the lives of the children. All and all Please Vote For Me shows the strengths present in China's youth and the leanings towards a more democratic government.

a Monorail

Please Vote For Me

Going In:

a 21st Century First Step Towards Democracy

The film, Please Vote For Me, is about a democratic experience in a communist Chinese school. Funny plot right? The whole thing takes place with three third graders running for class monitor. The film is done documentary style, which should make for some interesting viewing. Unlike in the two previous Mongolian films, this one is set in an urban setting, to be specific the city of Wuhan. Typically the position of class monitor is appointed by the teacher (think Mao appointing agricultural ministers), but with modern China flirting with democracy (and fully embracing capitalism, but that's another matter entirely) the teacher selected three students to run against one another in a mock democratic election. Again this should make for some interesting viewing.

a Map Of China

Mongolian Ping Pong

Coming Out:

a Believer In Ping Pong Diplomacy 

one Chairman Mao

After watching Mongolian Ping Pong one is filled with a bit of wonderment, the idea that a solitary ping pong ball, something incredibly mundane in my neck of the woods, would provoke a quest for knowledge and an attempt at returning the ping pong ball to it's rightful owners. The main character, Bilike, discovers a ping pong ball floating down the local stream. This small ball of plastic, appears to invoke a quizzical reaction from Bilike and his two friends, Eroguotu and Dawa. They then take the ball to their grandmother, who thanks to the mystical beliefs present in that neck of the world, says it's a magical pearl. The boys tend to disbelieve this statement and take it to their local Buddhist Monastery. This scene is quite comical with the Buddhist monks not having the slightest clue about the small white plastic ball. Since these monks are the highest educated guys on the Mongolian steppe, one assumes ping pong is not a highly exported sport. The breakthrough comes from when one of the boys sees the game of ping pong being played on their newly acquired television. The broadcast is from a Chinese station, thus allowing yours truly to bring in a global connection. Modern China has seemingly always had a love affair with ping pong, as it was Chairman Mao's favorite game it quickly became China's favorite game. Having a dictator (kind of like a parent forcing a kid to play soccer) forcing them to play ping pong, the Chinese found that they were a ping pong powerhouse. In fact they were so cocky that when President Richard Nixon challenged them to a ping pong match, they accepted and in the process opened up trade with the United States, the first time since Mao took over China in 1949. So needless to say ping pong is the national sport of China, and the ping pong ball is the national ball of China (instead of baseball, apple pie and Chevrolet think ping pong, moon cakes and motor scooters). As such the boys attempt to venture the thousands of miles to the capital of China, Beijing. This venture goes horribly wrong forcing the boys to turn for home and get whipped by their worried to death mothers.  So the moral of this movie is, finders keepers.

Mongolian Ping Pong

a Forrest Gump

Going In:

I'm having a bit of a Forrest Gump moment coming into this film so I should show a picture to get off this tangent. All right I feel better now, time to focus on the Mongolian version. The movie Mongolian Ping Pong is set upon the backdrop of the vast Mongolian steppes. The story supposedly revolves around a boy who discovers a ping pong ball and from that discovery a quest ensues. Again, the setting leads me to believe that the kid lives out in the Mongolian "boonies" (now I think that most of Mongolia would be classified as "boonies" to an urban westerner like myself). But this rural setting allows the normalcy of a ping pong ball in western life a mythical, almost magical meaning to a run of the mill ping pong ball. Again the cast is predominately Mongolian in ancestry (again they look eerily related Genghis Khan), and unlike The Weeping Camel I have a feeling that this movie is going to be a bit more like a "traditional" movie (in the western sense), here's to learning more about the magic that is contained (if one looks hard enough) within a ping pong ball.

a Ping Pong Ball

The Weeping Camel

Coming Out:

a Television



a Flock of Sheep



a D Volt Battery



After watching The Weeping Camel one comes to appreciate the people who inhabit that corner of the world. That corner of the world being the Gobi Desert, one appreciates the determination and can-do spirit that imbues the people who live there. The Weeping Camel in particular follows the life of some very rural inhabitants, one gets the feeling that even in Mongolia these guys live out in the preverbal "boonies". Alas the Mongolian desert dwellers seem a hardy bunch, living in a building that further research determined was a ger, a domicile used by the Mongolians since the times of Genghis Khan. Just by looking at the faces of the actors in the movie one can see the very near relation some of them must have to the men who ran the Mongolian Empire. Another intriguing aspect was the relative proximity that the family lives to their livestock, it appears that their assorted livestock (camels, sheep and goats) are their main source of income as when Dude goes into town his younger brother frames the price of a television in terms of number of sheep. The most surprising story theme of all is the relationship the rural family has with their camels. Their herd of camels seems to be of the upmost importance, both financially and spiritually as the story focuses around the efforts of the family to attempt to get a camel colt (like horses right?) to suckle on his mum who decided that she doesn't want her offspring to survive for whatever reason. The family (which is surprisingly multi-dimensional, with grandparents, parents and children all living in the same commune like environment) even sends their young children out to go get a muscian and what looks like some D volt batteries. The settlement seems a tad far away, but in the Gobi Desert who's going to bother a couple of youngsters out on a mission, kind of like the America of yesteryear. The purpose of their Lord of the Rings-esque quest is to get (besides batteries) a musician who will performs some sort of bonding ceremony between camel mum and calf. This musician guy comes out to the "sticks" on the back of a motorcycle, already making him one cool dude, he then performs a ceremony that at it's end the mother camel, who had rejected her offspring to accept her offspring as her own and allow the little camel to suckle. All in a days work for a motorcycling, music playing, camel bonding nomad. Oh and just as an aside, camels look a lot like tauntauns from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back, just saying.

a Tauntaun

The Weeping Camel

Going in: The Weeping Camel

a Camel

With a knowledge of Mongolia which mostly dates back to the ancient Mongolian Empire under the Khan's, a look at modern Mongolia sounds slightly intriguing. Below is a map of modern day Mongolia, (greatly reduced from the glory days of Genghis Khan) where the movie was in fact actually shot. It was released in 2003 by the National Geographic film department and appears to have native Mongolian actors acting as Mongolians. If the title of the film has any indication of what is to come I should probably research camels as they comprise half of the title, and by osmosis half of the movie. Camels typically inhabit deserts as they have no predators there and are seemingly designed to live in deserts. Camels can survive large stints of dehydration and rehydrate quite quickly, allowing them to travel from oasis to oasis looking for food. Camels are, like us, omnivores and thusly can eat both meat and vegetation making their monicker of "caravan of the desert" a true statement. And after several strenuous minutes of Google searching "Can camels cry?" this minute old question remains unanswered. And with that I now head into the film, knowing a little more and expecting a little less.

a Map of Mongolia