Three New Films 
"Recommended" by |
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And, Through June 15th, Alive Mind Education
Continues to Offer 15% Off Any Purchase, Including PPR
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NoBody's Perfect... Highly Recommended ***1/2
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"...a poignant film that also
offers warmth, humor, and a touch of righteous anger." - Video Librarian
 Review of NoBody's Perfect
At a time when adverse
medical side effects have led to the removal of many pharmaceuticals from the
commercial market, Niko Von Glasow's documentary reminds us of the most
notorious example of a dangerous prescription drug. Thalidomide, marketed
during the 1950s and '60s as a non-addictive sedative, caused severe birth
defects when taken by pregnant women, with one estimate suggesting that some
10,000 children died or were disfigured. NoBody's
Perfect features 12 of the victims-including Von Glasow himself, whose arms
are only several inches long, although his hands are of normal size. The
narrative is structured around the filmmaker's project to persuade 11 other
"Thalidomiders" to join him in posing for nude or semi-nude photographs for use
in a book and a public art exhibit, with the purpose of helping others become
more sensitized to such deformities through the images. Von Glasow also tries
to contact the current chief executive of the family-owned Grünenthal company,
which manufactured thalidomide but has never issued a formal apology or
contributed to the payments the victims receive from the German government. But
most of the footage revolves around Von Glasow's conversations with other
survivors and members of their families (including the director's young son),
who talk about their often painful experiences and express their hopes and
fears. While that might sound like a recipe for a depressing documentary, NoBody's Perfect is anything but-it's a
poignant film that also offers warmth, humor, and a touch of righteous anger.
Highly recommended. Aud: C, P. (F.
Swietek)
College / University (with PPR): $249.00 $211.65
Library / High School (without PPR): $129.00 $109.65
Click here to learn more and purchase.
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With One Voice... Recommended ***
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"Featuring 30 mystics from
14 spiritual traditions, With One Voice offers
a spiritual message of universal love and compassion." - Video Librarian
 Review of With One Voice
Featuring 30 mystics from
14 spiritual traditions, With One Voice offers
a spiritual message of universal love and compassion. Narrator Peter Coyote
notes that-in reference to centuries of religious history, strife, and
intolerance-"perhaps we've been looking for answers in the wrong places." In With One Voice-produced by Matthew and
Carol Flickstein, and directed by Eric Temple-the filmmakers traveled the world
to interview a swami and a Sufi; several Buddhists from various traditions;
rabbis and Catholic monks; shamans and yogis; a professor of Islamic studies
(the only voice from Islam); a Quaker (the sole Protestant interviewed); a
Native American elder; and others-all of whom are seeking, by different names
and through different traditions, God. The documentary concludes with the
participants' pithy messages to the world ("there is only one power," "stop
being fearful," "be ruthlessly sincere") along with shots of them in trance or
meditation, each within his or her own tradition. "In the end," says Coyote,
"we are all mystics." Bundled with a companion CD of meditation music by
Michael Josephs, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Gardner)
College / University (with PPR): $129.00 $109.65
Library / High School (without PPR): $26.98 $21.58
Click
here to learn more and purchase.
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Griefwalker... Recommended ***
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"...its critique of the modern
Western way of looking at death is persuasive, and the alternative Jenkinson
offers seems both profound and... very effective." - Video Librarian
 Review of Griefwalker
Stephen Jenkinson, the subject of Griefwalker,
is a graduate of the Harvard Divinity School, but as a counselor to the
terminally ill and their families at a Toronto hospital, he eschews taking a
religious approach to preparing for death, except in the broadest sense. Noting
that most patients are anxious over the prospect of dying and that treatment
aimed at merely reducing pain doesn't deal with the reality of what's to come, Jenkinson
embraces the cultural ideas of Canadian Indians-encouraging those he counsels
to see their imminent demise not as something to be resisted and feared, but
rather as a natural and necessary part of life that should be accepted.
Director Tim Wilson, who became acquainted with Jenkinson when he was diagnosed
with a serious condition himself, gives Jenkinson ample opportunity to offer
his message in direct conversation and in voiceover passages set against
beautiful rustic visuals. Griefwalker also
follows Jenkinson as he visits patients, including a woman with cancer
concerned about leaving her husband behind, and a couple whose young daughter
is close to death. Griefwalker
sometimes moves at a stately pace and occasionally strains for the poetic, but
its critique of the modern Western way of looking at death is persuasive, and
the alternative Jenkinson offers seems both profound and-judging from the
reactions of those he helps-often very effective. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)
College / University (with PPR): $249.00 $211.65
Library / High School (without PPR): $129.00 $109.65
Click here to learn more and purchase. |
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