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Reviews
Urk (2003)
amazing doc about fishermen
This film blew me away. It was highly original, somehow poetic, and really well done considering the low budget. I never knew a thing about Scandanavian fishermen and the risks they go through, and Andrew Berends seems to have gone to great risk to bring us this story. Just when the film seems to be about these sleep-deprived, chain smoking men alone, Andrew returns to land (the town of Urk--hence the name) to give the women's perspective on living without their husbands for weeks on end. At first it seems to be too tough road to be worth it, but the constant danger and separation seems to give the people a certain wisdom and value on life that I think we with less risky lives are missing.
Double Dare (2004)
wow... the Hollywood you never see
In case you didn't already know, Double Dare is a documentary about two Hollywood stuntwomen--the Xena and Wonderwoman who really encounter danger (within five minutes of the film, one of them is lit on fire... on purpose.) I don't know what it was about this doc, but it really hit home with me. I got the feeling that the filmmaker really wanted to let these stuntwomen tell their story, and you could feel the trust between the subjects and the crew. These women not only aren't afraid to jump of five story buildings, but are fearless in their fight against the sexism that is evidently still rampant in the film industry. Without Hollywood romanitcization or cheesy glorification (or a big budget it seems), Double Dare brilliantly tells the stories of these captivating stunt women.