Home Media Magazine - February 16-22, 2009 - (Page 20) REVIEWS I CHRIS & DON: A LOVE STORY Street 2/24 Zeitgeist, Documentary, B.O. $0.2 million, $29.99 DVD, NR. www.homemediamagazine.com from a youthful Bachardy meeting established writer Isherwood to the power dynamics and open infidelity that followed, is never shown judgmentally, as friends and Bachardy himself retell their story fondly with the aid of photos and home videos of the two. It’s far from the simplistic stereotypes and, worse, gross exaggerations Hollywood traditionally has stocked for gay men (The Silence of the Lambs’ Buffalo Bill and even gay writer-director Alan Ball’s in-the-closet killer Col. Frank Fitts, played by Chris Cooper in American Beauty, come to mind). As a film, Chris & Don occasionally falters with yawninducing stretches that only Isherwood fans, and fans of old Hollywood stars and writer friends of Isherwood (the likes of Tennessee Williams and Truman Capote), will care about. But the overall tale is a positive one and has enough moments of interest to entertain casual viewers and will delight those seeking realistic portrayals of gay relationships. Hopefully, after seeing a film like Chris & Don, even more-prejudiced viewers will also think, well, what’s the big deal? – Billy Gil Q U I C K TAK E W hen I first heard of Chris & Don: A Love Story, the film about the long relationship between writer Chris Isherwood (Berlin Stories, which became Cabaret) and his 30-years-younger partner, portraitist Don Bachardy, I thought: Who cares? But, then again, I live in liberal California, and much of the country is still abuzz over Sam Adams, the Portland, Ore., mayor facing a witchhunt over his admitted, and admittedly wrong, past gay relationship with a minor whom he mentored. And even here, the passage of Proposition 8 is still fresh. So a film like Chris & Don, which illuminates the tender and complicated relationship between two gay men, is a welcome thing. Chris & Don proudly continues the trend of sympathetic gay characters and relationships in Hollywood films in recent years, in popular movies such as Brokeback Mountain and Milk. Isherwood’s and Bachardy’s relationship, which spans I RAW NATURE Prebook 2/17; Street 3/31 Genius, Documentary, $14.95 DVD, NR. Stars Matt Renner, Mitch Tanen, Gianny Truttman, Anneli Gericke. I PRAYING WITH LIOR Prebook 2/17; Street 3/24 First Run, Documentary, B.O. $0.08 million, $24.95 DVD, NR. T he brilliant Planet Earth showed us there is a certain beauty in the brutality of nature. “Raw Nature” puts that brutality front and center. The Animal Planet series showcases four filmmakers, who are not animal experts, traveling the world to document the exploits of dedicated wildlife professionals with flashy graphics. Think “Crocodile Hunter” meets “The Amazing Race.” Each of the five episodes is broken down into segments for each filmmaker, focusing on a wide variety of animals from across the globe. This is a show that puts nature on display for what it is, and it’s not the cute and cuddly Disney version. The images here may be disturbing to watch for some animal lovers. “Raw Nature” is not for the queasy; as its opening warning tells us, there’s a reason it’s not called “Sleepytime Nature” or “A Celebration of Everything That’s Boring About Nature.” For example, one episode features a pack of komodo dragons taking down and devouring a goat. The tone of the segments are set by the subject. Some are hilarious, as when the komodo dragons, finished with their meal, think they can make dessert out of the camera crew, who scatter as fast as humanly possible. Some are sad, such as the case of the captive dancing bears of India. Others are just disturbing. This is the basic lesson of “Raw Nature” — try as we might to contain the natural world, we should always respect it. – John Latchem t is rare that we encounter an individual who reminds us of the innocence of our childhood and the importance of faith and the human spirit. Meet Lior Liebling, an energetic young boy with Down Syndrome. We are first introduced to Lior as an infant in video footage with his mother, Rabbi Devora Bartnoff, who is dealing with breast cancer. She writes an article for The Jewish Exponent about Lior’s love of praying, hence the inspiration for this documentary. Rabbi Devora comments on what a wonderful Bar Mitzvah Lior will have, but sadly won’t be around to see it. Fast-forward 12 years later, when a teenage Lior is preparing for his Bar Mitzvah under the tutelage of his devoted father, Rabbi Mordechai Liebling. We get the chance to meet Lior’s brother and two sisters and see the special bond he shares with them, as well as his stepmother, Lynne, who offers loving support. It’s clear that Lior’s mother is always in his heart, and we see this in more videotaped flashbacks as well as a touching graveside visit. Once the big day arrives, Lior performs his Bar Mitzvah with flying colors, and there isn’t a dry eye in the house. Praying With Lior is an encouragement to all who see it. We learn that those we’ve lost are still with us in spirit, and that we can overcome any obstacles that may be in front of us. It’s a great lesson from an inspirational boy. – Casey LoDuca I Letting the Genie Out of the Bottle B udding filmmakers can learn a lot from Djinn, which is practically a do-it-yourself video on how to make and distribute a movie. Djinn, distributed by Victory Multimedia on DVD at $29.98 and on Blu-ray Disc at $39.98, was created by indie filmmaker Shahin Sean Solimon, who stars as a man tasked with crossing a vast desert to find his lover after she is kidnapped by an evil genie. Solimon has created a very visual film, filled with ambitious special effects that effectively demonstrate the wide range of computer functionality available to any level of filmmaking these days. Solimon’s message is that anyone can make a movie, and just to drive home this thesis, the home video includes “The 7 Minute Film School” (which clocks in at just over eight minutes), in which Solimon covers basic fundamentals of filmmaking, from writing to directing to editing. This featurette also serves somewhat as a behind-the-scenes glimpse at the making of Djinn, which becomes the primary example of Solimon’s lesson plan. – John Latchem 20 Home Media Magazine February 16–22, 2009 http://www.homemediamagazine.com
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