African American Lives 2 (2008) Review

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(More customer reviews)If you have followed the PBS 4 hour mini-series "African American Lives 2" this February, then you will want to purchase the DVD I am certain.This amazingly well documented and directed expose of 12 "black" people, including the likes of Pop Diva Icon Tina Turner,comedian Chris Rock,everybody's favorite narrator Morgan Freeman,actor Don Cheadle as well as historians,preachers and Harvard Professors,whose racial identity is disclosed to them through court documents,wills,ship manifests and the newest advances in DNA technology yielding surprises beyond belief to them as well as myself!!!
Who we are is simply not that easy to say.Where we come from is not as simple as black or white.What is being "black" anyway? What is being "white"? What do you do with information when culture tells you that you are one "race", but DNA tells you either way more or the opposite? These are the complex questions that are answered in great detail for these 12 people,identified as "black" or "African-American." (Frankly, this is so interesting that any "race" will benefit immensely from this documentary film!)
This documentary brilliantly is non-biased and quite moving.See how Don Cheadle reacts when he finds that his family was owned by Native Americans!!!! Tina Turner is one third European and NO Native American blood! Chris Rock is 1/5 "white"! There is even the authoress Briss Bryson who has always been "white" who discovers that she has more African blood than most "negroes"!!!! What do we do with such information? Does it change who we are,or does it complete who we are? Henry Gates,Harvard Professor is 50% Irish, and yet has always identified as "African." African-American Radio personality Tom Joyner is overwhelmed when he sees a painting of his 5th-great grandfather, a white Supreme Court Judge who has the exact same grey eyes.This stuff is overwhelming! Lots of myths are dispelled about certain long held beliefs about slavery.Others are confirmed.Did all blacks come from slavery? No.Did "free blacks" live in the Old South-overwhelmingly! Anyone interested in their heritage, whatever it may be, will be touched and challenged to dig into their past and ask questions about whence they came.Will what you find,though, affect where you are going?
A fascinating companion film to this would be Frontline By PBS ; Jefferson's Blood, and African American Lives.I cannot give a higher recommendation for purchase than this documentary.LOOK FOR THIS TO AIR AGAIN IN THE NEXT WEEKS ON PBS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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The first AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES revealed the power in discovering one's family history. Now, Henry Louis Gates Jr. will guide a new group to discover their ancestry in AFRICAN AMERICAN LIVES 2. The series will draw on DNA analysis, genealogical research and family oral tradition to trace the lineages of the participants, including Maya Angelou, Morgan Freeman, Jackie Joyner-Kersee, and Tina Turner, down through U.S. history and back to Africa.

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Feast Of All Saints (2001) Review

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(More customer reviews)i [tried] to read this book, but couldn't get past the first 250 pages or so. while it was fascinating to read and i found the characters intriguing, i didn't have the TIME to sit down and read it through: the pacing was entirely too slow. so, i put it down and promised myself to 'come back to it,' wishing SOMEONE would adapt it to film so that i could have time for the actual STORY.
i was thrilled when i discovered this dvd at the local blockbuster.
the film, which outlines the lives of one french-creole-haitian family in louisiana who--by a series of questionable and irreversible decisions made through generations--enjoyed the privilege of being part of the 18,000-strong community of those both black and free in early-1800's louisiana, is paced WONDERFULLY.
i found that the film adaptation was true to what i'd read in the book and the characters, except for anna bella who i thought would look more african, were just as i had imagined them in my mind. this is def. the best book-to-film I'VE ever seen. the movie was beautiful to look at and of altogether intriguing subject matter. I WAS NOT DISAPPOINTED. on the contrary, because it was a made-for-tv movie, i was expecting quality far LESS than that which i actually saw. the relationships between the characters were believable, as was the plot of the film. it's about 3 1/2 to 4 hours long, but it certainly didn't feel that way. in fact, i was disappointed when it ended.
the acting was great (the accents, less so). and my goodness, the cast read like a who's who in black hollywood. forest whitaker, pam grier, jasmine guy, ruby dee, ozzie davis, james earl jones, eartha kitt, goodness...the list goes on. however, those that were newer to me, such as the films protagonist marcelle (robert richard) did as well--sometimes better--than the veterans.
i love historical movies, especially those about wwii and america in the 1800s. this is the best movie of the latter category i've ever seen. it neither over-dramatizes or under-dramatizes the situation of the people it depicts (which is more than what u can say for classics such as 'gone with the wind').
i'd recommend this one to anyone.

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Anne Rice’s The Feast of All Saints is a tale set in 1840’s New Orleans about "free people of color", who formed their own class at a time when the predominant role of blacks in society was as slaves. The film focuses on the ordeal of one young man named Marcel Ste. Marie (Ri’chard), who searches for the truth about his heritage. As he finds his individual path into the future, Marcel is fully aware that he is a child of African and European descent, but his story is uniquely American.

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Blood Diamonds (History Channel) (2007) Review

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(More customer reviews)This was a really good depiction of the blood diamond scandal. It really puts things into perspective when you think about the suffering people go through to get you what, a pretty shiny rock? It is just conspicuous consumption. Even now, those in Africa who are still panning for diamonds hardly get any money for their efforts and lack the education to know the true value of any find they make. This is a very disturbing depiction of the suffering people in these countries went through, but it is something people should see as a means of education and understanding.

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Sierra Leone, once exporting a lucrative 2 million karats of diamonds per year, would fall victim to political greed and become one of the poorest nations on earth--ripe for revolution. In 1991, a rebel army called the Revolutionary United Front began a ten-year civil war, attacking the civilian population, including children, and murdering and raping countless others. Control of the diamond fields was one of the key objectives, funding civil wars throughout Africa, resulting in 4 million deaths. We explore the history behind the issue known as "blood diamonds", fueled by the illicit trade of diamonds, the diamond industry's response, and investigate the possibility of the blood diamond issue repeating. The heart of the story is related through the harrowing personal accounts of Sierra Leoneans, who vividly describe their individual tragedies and struggles to recover after the war.

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Human Trafficking (2005) Review

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(More customer reviews)Human Trafficking is a bold and ambitious project; Lifetime is to be congratulated for exposing a part of society most people would prefer to ignore, and doing so in a mature, serious fashion. Originally designed as a mini-series, it is presented here in its entirety, with convenient breaks. This is helpful, at three hours it may be too much for the average viewer to assimilate all at once. Even the jaded appetite will find Human Trafficking upsetting.
One must wonder about those who claim ignorance of sexual slavery as it is practiced around the world. This appalling behavior is more than merely time-honored; it is codified and woven into the fabric of society itself. What is surprising, and what Human Trafficking gets right, is that sexual slavery is alive, well, and lucrative. Like drugs and weapons, a filthy business like this can only exist where there is powerful market demand, and that demand is chillingly close to home.
Human Trafficking benefits from good directing, (Christian Duguay), and some splendid performances. Leading the way is the lovable Scot from The Full Monty, (Robert Carlyle), who plays the Eastern block criminal mastermind behind the sophisticated sexual gulag. His accent is impeccable, and his character well realized. Sergei Karpovich is no Cold War ham-fisted brute. He is smart, computer-savvy, and thoroughly ruthless. (Like so many inner-city drug dealers, under different circumstances he probably would have been a captain of legitimate industry.)
After Carlyle, the showcase performance here belongs to Isabella Blais, (Helena), one of the women whose decent into sexual slavery is tracked. Helena is certainly not stupid, but she is vulnerable, and we watch in horror as one bad decision lures her into an unimaginable nightmare. We also see some of the ingenious techniques used to ensure cooperation. This is where Human Trafficking really shines. It's never sensational, licentious, or titillating. On the contrary, it exposes the complete banality of evil, the disturbing ordinariness of it in flat details that do not manipulate emotions.
There are two problems with Human Trafficking. At times it gets preachy, explaining the story rather than telling it. (With subject matter this explosive, that is completely unnecessary.) The other is the casting of Mira Sorvino. Sorvino is a fine actress, (her performance here is fine), but she is simply too pretty and adorable for the part. One scene attempts to show why she would take on the hideous assignment of catching these vermin, but it's not enough. Making her character female was an interesting decision, but to work, it should have been someone with more edge and less curve. Donald Sutherland, as her boss, excels.
We imagine our society to be advanced, sophisticated, refined. Thanks to the folks at Lifetime for shedding some light on the difficult truth.

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Nominated for Two Golden Globes - Best Actress and Best Actor in a TV Miniseries; Lifetime Television's most-watched miniseries of 2005. Featuring Emmy and Golden Globe Award winner Donald Sutherland (The Italian Job), Academy Award and Golden Globe Award winner Mira Sorvino (Mighty Aphrodite) and Trainspotting's Robert Carlyle, Human Trafficking is at once a gripping thriller, a cautionary tale, and one of the most fundamentally important stories of our time. DVD Features include: Interviews with Mira Sorvino and Robert Carlyle, Behind the Scenes with the cast and crew, and A "Take Action" Guide to shop human trafficking now!

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