Gaza Calling

It's virtually impossible to discuss Israel and Palestine without someone's emotions flaring up, no matter who or where you are. Even people who are neither Arab nor Jewish seem to have deeply held ideas about what's going on, casting judgement on "bad guys" and "good guys" without any firsthand experience of the situation. To attempt …

Comandante

After all these years, Cuba remains a fascinating country that defies all stereotypes and simplistic narratives. More than China or Russia, it was founded on- and continues to run on- idealistic principles of equality and brotherhood that we often dream about but rarely see in action. On the other hand, it's full of problems, both …

The Spirit of ’45

The great Ken Loach usually makes neorealist dramas that feel like documentaries, but with The Spirit of '45, he actually gives us a documentary about a movement in England that clearly informed Loach's entire life and career. Between WWI and WWII, England, like much of the Western World, suffered through an economic slump that makes …

Swimming to Cambodia

If you know Spalding Gray, you know what this movie is, and what a crime it is for it to be unavailable in the digital world. If you don't know who he was, this is your chance to catch up on a true American original- the man who single-handedly took the art of talking to …

Feed

The 2020 American Election might be a circus, but then again, they all are; like childbirth, your mind simply forgets all the horrible parts the minute one is over. Feed doesn't let you forget; a documentary of the 1992 presidential election composed purely of the newsfeeds that are captured but never aired, Feed shows you …

Bob Roberts

What better way to celebrate the utter disintegration of American Democracy than with humor? Specifically: one about a right-wing folk-singer running for office. Tim Robbins' Bob Roberts is great; it's not great filmmaking (pretty run of the mill stuff as far as that goes) and it's not the most original idea (borrowing heavily from Spinal …

Punishment Park

Given where we are today as a country, watching this film should be required viewing for pretty much everyone, since it has moved from "what a wacky piece of dystopian science fiction!" to "is this actually happening?" in the half century since Peter Watkins created this low-budget masterpiece. A fake documentary about a not-so-fake fascist …