— by WILLIAM STERR — On Sept. 1, 1939, Adolph Hitler’s Nazi Germany invaded Poland, triggering World War II. The Nazis had been oppressing various peoples, especially Jews, within Germany since 1933. Now, as they drove through Poland and into other nations, the mass roundup and subsequent slaughter of millions began. History records that, for […][...]
Review: My Imaginary Country
— by WILLIAM STERR — On September 11 (sound familiar?), 1973, the democratically elected government of Chile fell to the forces of the Chilean military, headed by General Augusto Pinochet. The violent coup, fomented by the United States Central Intelligence Agency, also resulted in the suicide of elected president Salvador Allende. It ended 41 years […][...]
Review: We Are Gathered Here Today
— by WILLIAM STERR — Henry Stone is a tough man. Everyone says he is as strong as a bull. But two days ago he was admitted to St. Maria’s Hospital with severe COVID-19. Today he is dying, and his family is gathering via Google Meet to say their farewells. The above few sentences are […][...]
Review: Explorer
— by BEV QUESTAD — Ranulph Fiennes, who goes by Ran, is in the Guinness Book of Records Hall of Fame as the greatest living explorer. At the age of 65, he is the oldest to summit Mount Everest and the only person to circumnavigate the globe, crossing both poles within three years. Asked why […][...]
Review: The Legend of Molly Johnson
— by BEV QUESTAD — Leah Purcell provides a gut punch that is hard to forget. Though her story takes place in Australia’s outback in 1893, what happens to her protagonist – strong, self-sufficient Molly Johnson – has been repeated throughout geography and time. How much of this story is legend, based on a short […][...]
Review: Here Be Dragons
— by BEV QUESTAD — Hiding in tall grass, a young man and woman have found a place to be innocently together. Unfortunately, it is Serbia in the early 1990s and the two are on somewhat opposing sides. David Locke is a British soldier, technically neutral, on a UN team tasked with mitigating the conflict […][...]
Review: Thirteen Lives
— by WILLIAM STERR — In 2018, a Thailand youth soccer team and their coach were trapped in a flooding cave. Thirteen lives, perhaps lost forever. In 2021, a documentary of the event was released by National Geographic Films. It featured actual footage and the participation of the real people involved. In 2022, a docudrama […][...]
Review: The Territory
— by BEV QUESTAD — The film opens with loggers cutting down trees to provide pasture land for lovely white Brahma cattle. Then it switches to indigenous people playing in a small fresh water tributary off the mighty Amazon. The members of the Uru-eu-wau-wau tribe are the owners and protectors of a Brazilian government-designated indigenous […][...]
Review: I Dream of a Psychopomp
— by WILLIAM STERR — “I Dream of a Psychopomp” is a TERRIBLE title for a movie. First of all, what is a “psychopomp”? According to the Oxford Languages: psy·cho·pomp noun 1. (in Greek mythology) a guide of souls to the place of the dead.[...]
Review: Kaepernick & America
— by BEV QUESTAD — Amidst a litany of unarmed African-American killings by police, Colin Kaepernick took a stand by dropping to one knee in 2016. My number one thought at the time: Why doesn’t everyone – spectators, media and other players in the stadium – join him? • Michael Brown, Ferguson MO, 8/9/2014, unarmed […][...]