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Reviews
Little Dieter Needs to Fly (1997)
I Don't Give 10s, However...
One word: wow.
I am not inclined to give a 10-star rating to any documentary. However, if I did, this would be the one so far.
Mr. Hertzog's story-telling provided me with a few gut-wrenching moments, all of them captivating.
And Mr. Dieter's story is beyond compelling, and was, at times, difficult to experience. Nonetheless, I view him as a man of admirable, almost superhuman proportions, and a hero indeed.
All in all, a very worthy investment of my time, and I give it my highest recommendation.
Honest Man: The Life of R. Budd Dwyer (2010)
Government is No Place For An Honest (Wo)Man
In my opinion, Mr. Dwyer represented good people trying to do good things within a system that has zero tolerance for such "Boy Scouts."
I have no doubt that Mr. Dwyer truly believed in American justice, and was deeply appalled and shocked by the "trusted" sources that betrayed him, and the resulting "guilty" verdict.
His small corner of America -- his beloved country -- had failed him, and I figure he knew that he literally could not live within such an evil and malevolent construct.
As far as the film itself, I thought it was tastefully done, and respectful. My guess is, however, that there was much more that could've been covered that wasn't. Still, a good investment of my time, and recommended.
Off the Grid: Life on the Mesa (2007)
Watch It, and Ask for a Follow-up
There is nothing flashy about this documentary, and refreshingly so. Rather, it's about people: young, old, learned, not-so-learned and others. As disparate a group as this may appear to be, it really is made up of like-minded individualists.
Some know why they are there, and others really do not. But they all seem to be there for basically the same reason: freedom, whatever that means to them.
Overall, I found it a good investment of my time, and a story worth telling.
P.S. I would love to have the filmmakers do a follow-up. This, to me, would be of immense educational and human value.
American Anarchist (2016)
Documentary? More Like a "DocuBlame" with a Clearly Biased Interviewer/Director/Writer
My rating of "5" is the average of two elements: "10," for the information the documentary brings to the table, including the personal background of and current views by Mr. Powell, and "0" for the clear bias of Mr. Siskel.
Mr. Powell is to be applauded for the restraint, sincerity and forth-rightness with which he engages Mr. Siskel. I think this is also true for Mrs. Powell.
Truth be told, I think so much of the "documentary" can be understood by what Mr. Powell tells Mr. Siskel at about 60 minutes in: "Charlie, I'm getting the impression that you want me to say something I'm not saying."
That's a fact.
Mr. Siskel's agenda is revealed for all to see by that statement. And the evidence for Mr. Siskel's bias is on display throughout the film.
The film makes little to no effort in helping society to identify, understand and work to remedy ALL the factors involved in society's violent acts. But this film isn't about all of that: it's a film about vilifying one man out of the many, many elements that play into the evil perpetrated by humanity.
Mr. Powell accepts whatever responsibility may be his for the role his book has played in creating/fomenting violence in society...even to a fault, in my opinion.
Still, if, and that's a big "if," the viewer can ignore the bias and judgmental behavior of Mr. Siskel, "American Anarchist" is, I believe, a good investment of time.