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kristikirti
Reviews
The Call from the Sea (2016)
More one man's story than documentary
It was a pleasure to see this Bajau village again in the film, having been there in 2008 with a Dutch woman who lived on a nearby island and was largely responsible for the new school. The visuals and photography here are stunning.
However, the narration could have been far more informative and detailed. In such a short film, a little research goes a long way, and it would have been much more satisfying to hear balanced commentary rather than flowery language by the narrator. The history and culture of the lovely Bajau people are fascinating. Their fishing practices, though traditionally sustainable and better than mass commercial fishing, have not always remained sustainable. At the time I was there, they were harvesting sand from nearby beaches to sell to construction companies, which led to sedimentation, suffocating the coral. Hopefully the blasting of coral has stopped.
I'm certainly not saying that most of the problems with the sea are the Bajau's fault, as they are not. Just trying to point out that this is not really a documentary showing balanced information. Most of the film consisted of only one man giving his perspective, with some gorgeous visuals of the village life and free divers. It would have been helpful to film an excursion in one of the fishing boats, and explanations of exactly how they fish, as that's what the topic of their sustainability seemed to be based on. Or to give details on the extraordinary free diving and spear fishing, as that"s what was shown in the film
Basmati Blues (2017)
Cute
It's a cute film, not attempting to be realistic or high art. The actors are likable, and the message is one most people can agree with, and quite apropos for these times. Who doesn't want the little guys to win, especially against vile corporate greed? Especially when we've started to become fond of the farmers and their families. Though the film was somewhat simplistic and formulaic, it was lighthearted and sweet to watch, with some beautiful scenery. I don't understand the extremely negative reviews. It's just a simple rom-com imitating Bollywood, neither authentically American or Indian, and not to be taken too seriously.
The singing and dancing were done by the actors themselves, not perfectly, but all the more enjoyable because of that. I especially liked the words to the song about the chemistry of love.
Buy It, Fix It, Sell It (2014)
These folks are hilarious
The cast keeps me totally entertained - they're hilarious! The editing is sharp and keeps the laughs coming while building the story. What the artists make out of the stuff isn't bad either.