Starting
in Madison Thursday, the 10th annual Wisconsin Film Festival
takes flight, opening up shop in some 11 venues spread out
across the capital, bringing 220 films to audiences over the
next four days.
Before things come to a rousing finish Sunday, thousands of
film buffs will get access to an array of movies that, if not
for the festival, would never have a chance to show on
Wisconsin movie screens. Last week, we profiled two such
movies - "The Unforeseen," which screens tonight and
stands tall as one of the best documentaries I have ever seen,
and "The Edge of Heaven," which screens both Friday
and Sunday.
Over the last few days, I’ve had the chance to check out
three additional films, one of them an Oscar winner, that
organizers have slated as part of the festival. All three are
films you might want to check out:
"Up the Yangtze" / "Still Life"
One of the largest construction projects on the planet is
that of the Three Gorges Dam in China, where the Yangtze River
is being flooded to provide hydroelectric power to millions of
Chinese citizens.
It’s an ambitious project, but along with the
construction has come a wave of devastation for families who
once lived on the river’s edge. As the water level has risen
dozens of feet, entire communities have been submerged in one
of the largest relocations of human beings in history.
Two films at this year’s festival address this massive
movement of water and people. "Still Life" (showing
at 5 p.m. Friday and 10:30 p.m. Saturday) is Jia Zhangke’s
fictional take on the subject, opening with the image of a
native returning to the valley after years away from home,
devastated to learn that his home is now under water, and he
has no idea where to find his loved ones.
Yung Chang’s "Up the Yangtze" (showing at 5:15
p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday) is a devastating documentary
about the same subject. Chronicling the ways that the massive
dam has forever altered the landscape, Chang documents the
reactions of the local citizenry, and locates one peasant
family poised to lose everything as the river submerges their
farm. When the eldest daughter is sent off to work, she
ironically lands on one of the new Western cruise ships that
carry tourists down the Yangtze over submerged communities,
promising a glimpse of a China that no longer exists.
"Taxi to the Dark Side"
Another brilliant film at this year’s festival is Alex
Gibney’s Oscar-winning documentary "Taxi to the Dark
Side" (showing at 10 p.m. Friday and 11 a.m. Saturday).
The film documents the dark interrogating techniques of
American soldiers operating overseas today, amid the wars in
both Iraq and Afghanistan, and the title refers to an Afghan
taxi driver who was captured by militiamen in 2002 in exchange
for a cash payment. Named Dilawar, he was turned over to
American forces and then taken to Bagram Air Force Base, where
he was identified as the triggerman behind an insurgent rocket
attack in the region. He was beaten so severely so that his
legs became pulpified. Had he lived, they would have required
amputation. On the certificate that was handed over to Dilawar’s
family, the cause of death was listed as "homicide."
But in official statements, the Army said Dilawar died of
natural causes. After the American press, and later Gibney,
tracked down the Afghan’s family and took photographs of the
death certificate, the Army staged a trial for a few of the
men in charge of Dilawar’s interrogations. This is where the
indignation of "Taxi to the Dark Side" truly sets
in, as it witnesses the way the buck is passed down the chain
of command.
What’s so memorable and haunting about this documentary
is the way in which Gibney interviews the soldiers involved,
gaining insight into the lack of concrete directives being
given them by their superiors. The Army, it appears, left
these rank-and-file soldiers to their own devices, demanding
more and more from them before feeding them to the wolves when
the violent results came to the world’s attention.
Ultimately, "Taxi" is a movie about scared
American teenagers being indoctrinated as torturers, and a
wave of innocent citizens from the Middle East, who are being
subjected to treatment so violent and barbaric that they are
sure to emerge from prison as a life-long enemy of America.
These are only three of the more than 200 titles set to
debut in Madison. Visit www.wifilmfest.org
if you are interested in attending one of this year’s
screenings, and be sure to check back for a festival wrap-up
next week in TimeOut.
snyderreviews@Hotmail.com
"Still Life" - 3.5 stars
"Up the Yangtze" - 4 stars
"Taxi to the Dark Side" - 4 stars