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Indie Movie Guide
Reviews of some of the independent film world's newest independent films
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reviewed by Chris Cooke
Far too often, films about extreme adventure-treks up Mount Everest and the like-focus more on the physical difficulties of the journey than on the people taking it. Not so with Alice Dungan Bouvrie's Iditarod. A Far Distant Place, which documents a 1,100-mile Alaskan dogsled race on the Iditarod trail running from Anchorage to Nome. In less than two weeks, mushers drive their team of 16 huskies over the Alaska Range, across the remote interior, 150 miles down the frozen Yukon River and up the blizzard-prone coast of the Bering Sea. The way is tiring and treacherous. Many dogs succumb to injuries and must be flown home from one of the many pitstops along the way. Lose too many dogs and a musher will have to scratch him- or herself from the race.
Bouvrie focuses on three of the 63 mushers: Nike Nosko, a third-time musher who hopes to place high after making great strides on each previous run; sixth-timer Linda Plettner, one of nine women in the race, initiating a group of young dogs she hopes will be a strong team when they mature; and Yup'ik Eskimo, mental health counselor and former alcohol abuser Mike Williams, known throughout the state as the Sobriety Musher. Each hopes to place in the top 20, but, as one of them says in a moment of frustration, running the Iditarod is a lesson in learning how to lose.Bouvrie skillfully explores the mushers' relationships with their dogs, family and community, detailing their many setbacks and their eventual triumphs and failures. It's a fascinating and emotionally compelling film, a wonderful reminder that adventure and competition are about more than just prizes and scenery.
>> Buy a copy of it at BuyIndies.com
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Making a Killing: Philip Morris, Kraft and Global
Tobacco Addiction
reviewed by Michele Meek
New York City prohibits smoking in many restaurants. The LA airport bans it even outside except for a special area. But if you thought the battle was won, the documentary Making a Killing: Philip Morris, Kraft and Global Tobacco Addiction proves we shouldn't underestimate the brute force of the tobacco giants.
Produced by award-winning moviemakers Kelly Anderson and Tami Gold, Making a Killing exposes the evil tactics that Philip Morris, the world's largest tobacco corporation, uses to hook kids on cigarettes around the globe-especially in Eastern Europe and Asia. No matter how lowdown, they've done it-from hiring skimpily-clad girls to handing out free smokes to young boys to using its subsidiary, Kraft Foods, to gain political leverage and influence media coverage.
As a combination of activism and indie moviemaking, Making a Killing is an excellent film. The moviemakers clearly have their bias, but their agenda is no secret. The film pushes the boundaries of a documentary by promoting a strong call to action-stop buying Kraft products until Philip Morris agrees to stop marketing cigarettes to kids. Whether or not you boycott, you'll leave this film with an education in the ethical (or lack thereof) practices of a corporation whose products we all buy.
>> Buy a copy of it at BuyIndies.com
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reviewed by Chris Cooke
Alzira de Jesus Soares immigrated to America when she was only 16, sent by her family, who stayed behind in Portugal. Years later, her grandson Christian de Rezendes has made a documentary of her life, Alzira: A Matriarch Tells Her Story. De Rezendes combines footage of a family trip back to the stone village where she grew up, scenes of family life and interviews with Alzira herself into a complex and evocative portrait.
She shows great resilience in guiding her marriage, supporting the many family members who came over in her wake and coordinating a family reunion almost 30 years after her departure. The scenes from contemporary life make clear the striking contrast between the life she left behind and the life her grandchildren now lead. The entire family lived in a small stone hut in bleak poverty, and now each of her children owns a house of his or her own in the New England suburbs. It’s a bit disorienting to be thrust into family dinners, filled with arguments and non-sequiturs, and I wanted a family tree and guidebook to help me keep track of everyone. But this is beside the point: Alzira is the focus here, not the many other family members who flit in and out of the film, and she is a tough and charming character. Alzira is an interesting look at the struggles immigrants have in not only getting to America, but those that continue once they arrive.
>> Buy a copy of it at BuyIndies.com
Nice Guys Sleep Alone
Reviewed by Jennifer Wood
If there were one genre of film that has saturated the market in the past decade, it would have to be the romantic comedy. But more frustrating than the fact that there are far too many of them made is the fact that there are far too few that actually mix humor and romance in a pleasing and, more importantly, unique way. Stu Pollard’s Nice Guys Sleep Alone might just be one of the few films that succeeds in adding something fresh to the genre.
Carter (Sean O’Bryan) is a high school teacher searching for love in Kentucky. Date after date, his dreams of love are constantly thwarted when the lady du jour tells him ‘I’d just like to be friends.’ Fed up with the rejection, Carter decides to change his repertoire when he meets Maggie, a veterinarian at a local horse farm. Determining that this is a woman he wants to impress--and someone he wants to be more than just friends with--Carter skips the flowers, arrives at her doorstep a half-hour late and takes her out for a burger at a local pub. The ending of the film can be predicted simply because of its genre classification, but there’s enough intelligent and thoughtful dialogue, humor and well-developed characters to keep the audience intrigued--and cheering Carter on.
>> Buy a copy of it at BuyIndies.com
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COMMENTS | POST A COMMENT 
- Comment by Margery Glickman on 12/16/07 at 8:36 pm
The Iditarod is terribly cruel to dogs. For the facts, visit the Sled Dog Action Coaltion website, http://www.helpsleddogs.org.
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With nothing more than a simple click, cineastes can watch one of 100 ad-supported titles from the online distributor's collection of more than 3,000 films at no cost. Alternatively, those viewers who are less inclined to "pay" for the free films by watching the ads can pay just $1.99 to watch them commercial-dree. “By offering a free streaming media service along with our current rental and ownership download options, we are anticipating the future of digital cinema," says Jaman founder and CEO, Gaurav Dhillon. "With streaming, we provide our community with a quality viewing experience that is free and for our advertisers, we deliver a unique audience and premium and targeted placement opportunities.”
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