Our first screening on Wednesday morning was The Tillman Story, a political documentary, and I was sure I'd be fighting sleep the whole time. As it turned out, I remained remarkably awake all day--beyond my understanding, I assure you. I ended up sleeping in a wee bit on Thursday morning (skipped breakfast) and still fit in 3 films.
The Tillman Story: a professional football player gives up his career to join the Army Rangers. When he is killed, the government/media turns him into a national hero. News emerges that he was killed by friendly fire, and his family fights to uncover the real story and expose government/military corruption. It was very interesting to watch, made even better by the Q&A with the filmaker.
Grown-Up Movie Star: a Canadian fiction film about a broken family and their struggle to survive and make some sort of sense of the meaning of life. A difficult film to watch, with some abusive situations.
Me Too (Yo Tambien): this is the wonderful story of people with Downs Syndrome struggling to assimilate into normal adult life, with responsibility and love and all that jazz. It was a Spanish film--very well done.
D*****bag: a bit of a shocking title, but a fun story about relationships and the fact that things aren't always what they seem to be upon first impression. Not the most original, thought-provoking movie we've seen, but lots of laughs.
Southern District: a bit longer than it needed to be, but a lovely film nonetheless. It was from Bolivia, and showed the difference between classes/races.
Animal Kingdom: an amazing story (despite the title) taking place in Australia. Full of suspense, this is what an action flick should be.
Smash His Camera: enjoyable documentary about the papparazzi in general, and Ron Galella in specific. Hear both sides of the story here. A group of about 24 of us got to enjoy a private screening followed by dinner with the filmakers.
We are enjoying the movies and having a great time. Another early morning tomorrow!
There appear to be few surprises in "The Tillman Story" for those who have closely followed the Tillman story over the past five years.
ReplyDeleteI believe the single best short introduction to the Tillman story is Gary Smith’s Sports Illustrated's (9-11-06) cover story "Remember My Name." I've placed a link to that article in my document "Remember the Iconoclast, Not the Icon" at http://www.feralfirefighter.blogspot.com
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In his book, “Where Men Win Glory,” Jon Krakauer blamed the Bush administration and the Army for the whitewash of Pat Tillman's death. However, the cover-up has actually been a thoroughly bi-partisan affair.
In particular, the Democratic Congress and the Obama Presidency have protected General Stanley McChrystal from scrutiny and punishment for his central role in the handling of the aftermath of Pat Tillman's friendly-fire death.
If you would like to learn more, I've posted several detailed documents to the Feral Firefighter blog that focus especially on the actions taken to protect General Stanley McChrystal from punishment for his role in the cover-up by Congressman Henry Waxman, Senator James Webb (along with Senators Carl Levin and John McCain), the New York Times Pentagon Reporter Thom Shanker, and the Washington think-tank Center for a New American Security's (CNAS) Andrew Exum.
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And,the binder “Battle for the Truth” discusses the parallels between Pat Tillman and Jonathan (Yoni) Netanyahu who died at the Raid on Entebbe in 1976.