Films that bring previously obscured truths about the political process to the attention of the public, showing for example how offices of public trust are used for private purposes.
SILENCE TRIES TOEXPLAIN HOW JAPAN RESISTED CHRISTIANITY Portuguese Catholics introduced Christianity to Japan in 1549, when Francis Xavier brought three Japanese Catholic converts from India, seeking to start a church in Nagasaki. Today only 1 percent of Japanese are Christians. Directed by Martin Scorsese, Silence is based on an historical novel by Shusako Endo that begins in the […]
I, DANIEL BLAKE EXPOSES LIFE AMONG THE UNDERCLASS Director Ken Loach has done it again: He has brought to the screen a slice of life that those who live in comfort never see—but must see if they want to understand how the underclass nowadays tries to survive. The film is about a certain Daniel Blake (played
THE SIEGE OF JADOTVILLE EXPOSES UN MISMANGEMENT IN THE CONGO In 1961, the newly independent Congo was in turmoil. President Patrice Lumumba proceeded to do business with the Soviet Union, but he was assassinated. His successor, Joseph Kasavubu, did not have the support of Moise Tshombe, prime minister of the mineral-rich province of Katanga, which armed
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SNOWDEN OPENS MORE EYES THAN THE NEWS MEDIA DARED Much of Snowden takes place in the Hongkong hotel room where Edward Snowden (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt) releases records to journalist Glenn Greenwald (Zachary Quinto), his boss Ewen MacAskill (Tom Wilkinson), and documentarian Laura Poitras (Melissa Leo). Chronologically, Snowden’s patriotism is evident as he tries to
THE PEOPLE VS FRITZ BAUER REVEALS HOW EICHMANN WAS CAUGHT Dr. Fritz Bauer (played by Burghart Klaussner), Attorney General of the West German state of Hesse, was determined to put Nazi war criminals on trial but was opposed by many former Nazi employees who held positions in the government of Konrad Adenauer. He particularly wanted
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THE BITE OF WAR DOGS IS WORSE THAN ITSBARK Based on an article in Rolling Stone, War Dogs explains how millions have been made in the arms trade in Afghanistan and Iraq and elsewhere. When Dick Cheney arranged for no-bid contractor friends to cash in on both wars, there was an outcry. Accordingly, the Defense
THE INNOCENTS FOCUSES ON THE GUILTY During the end of 1945, the French Red Cross was sent to Poland to assist in healing the wounds of war for French soldiers who were prisoners of war in German camps. Civilians were supposed to rely on the overburdened Polish Red Cross. However, Russian soldiers raped many Polish
FREE STATE OF JONES REDISCOVERS A FORGOTTEN PAST During the American Civil War, a group of runaway slaves and antislavery Whites in the vicinity of Jones County, Mississippi, decide to fight the local Confederate Army and are able to achieve a small victory. When they ask for assistance from the Union Army, they are turned
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RACE IS ABOUT RACISM AND WINNING Had the film Race been exhibited during 2015, Academy Award nominations would have not shut out African Americans or a plot about them. Directed by Stephen Hopkins, Race presents extensive details about how Cleveland native Jesse Owens (played by Stephan James) won four Gold Medals at the 1936 Olympic
THE GIRL KING HAS MORE PARADOXES THAN THE TITLE Queen Christina of Sweden (played by Malin Buska) arose to the throne on the death of her father Adolf in 1632 when she was 6 years old, but she is now one of only three women buried at the Vatican. Her path is brought to the