Change Your Image
hlorbach
Reviews
The Long Run (2001)
A fine film about contemporary South Africa's stellar marathon race of 90 k
The previous commentator who rated this film "1" based on seeing the last 10 minutes is laughable and irresponsible. This is a sensitive and will-developed film about a lonely old failed-runner turned coach who lives for running and finds a promising young woman refugee whom he wants to train for this grueling race. She is an illegal refugee from Namibia who runs to forget her troubles -- not into racing -- and he rescues her from deportation and takes over her life in order to train her. Eventually she rebels and leaves because she is young and wants a life of her own, but returns to running and works with him and his bunch of male runners as her group support. The cinematography is excellent and the music -- using local native bands and songs of prominence -- first rate. If the film were such a travesty on racing, why would the sponsoring organization of this grueling race cooperate with and allow the movie to be shot as an exemplar of the race. How many American runners have run 90k? With a good part of the race toward the end a steep uphill? This is a fine movie, a heart-warming story, unlike the vast majority of sock-em, kill-em, torture-em or gen-x mixed-up kids seeking their identity.
Map of the Human Heart (1992)
Ambituous, but tries to deal with too much history and issues in fast takes
Some fine acting, excellent photography and politically correct views on colonialism, racism, mass destruction in war linked to Canada's history with indigenous peoples and exploitation of their lands. Leaves gaps that are covered by over-stretched symbolism and unclear passages from prior scenes that are explained by some of the omitted scenes. The central character of a beautiful and mysterious half-breed woman who seeks to escape into "white" society doesn't work in the transition from childhood to adulthood, unlike the other central character of the Inuit boy who becomes an acculturated man who later survives World War II's Dresden bombing raid when his plane is shot down. His mysterious survival when all other crew members are killed as the plane explodes and among the firestorm of Dresden's somehow transforms him into reverting back to Inuit life, avoiding his childhood love, and becoming a somewhat drunken stock "native" figure in a land being devastated by oil exploration who avoids the daughter who comes seeking her father.
Above the Law (1988)
Cop, ex-CIA in Vietnam, repelled by torture and drug-running of agents runs into drugs and explosives and CIA in Chicago
People miss the strong political message in this first of Seagal's movies: the Amnesty movement sponsored by religious leaders in the US especially in the Catholic church that is hiding refugees from death squads in Central America has learned of a plot to assassinate a US Senator investigating CIA involvement in drug-running and torture and assassinations in Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua. Seagall learns that the same people who were involved in drug-running and torture in Vietnam are behind plot to assassinate the Senator during a speech in Chicago sponsored by groups against US involvement in Central American civil wars. The open anti-war position and critique of US policy by an honest cop gets ignored as is the tie-in between mafia drug dealers and the CIA.