Noise
Occasional and random personal reflections by Doug Kaye.
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Te Amo (Made in Chile). This Chilean film remided us of My Brother Tom that we saw a week ago, also at the Mill Valley Film Festival. While "Tom" was a truly remarkable film, I'd call Te Amo "very good."
It's about a group of four high-school kids from well-to-do Santiago families. Together they find an abandoned house in which they create their home-away-from-home along with fantasy lives separate from their problematic real homes. Sam, the lead character, has a video camera, and much of the first half of the film is effectively shown through the eyes of his camera. Slighlty disturbing at times (but only slightly), this is an inventive, creative, and well-produced story about coming of age in an environment nearly devoid of parenting or family. Two thumbs up.
Posted Saturday, October 13, 2001 2:30:47 PM 
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Spoils of War. David Blaustein has created this superb film about the Grandmothers of the Plaza del Mayo in Argentina. I first heard of their plight a few years ago on (I think) 60 Minutes. Their's is a compelling story, even without the good filmmaking. During the '60s and '70s the Argentine military systematically kidnapped, tortured and executed anyone thought to oppose them. And if any among the opposition were pregnant women, they gave birth (sometimes while still restrained using chains) before being killed. The children thus born were then given to families and friends of the military junta.
The grandmothers of these stolen children began while the military was still in power. They had to meet in secret and communicate using codes. Even after democracry came to Argentina, the grandmothers found it difficult to get attention for their cause. But they kept at it. As of 1999 they had found and identified 64 stolen children.
The film documents the grandmothers 30+ year plight. Blaustein uses his own interview footage mixed with newsreels, older interviews, and background material and scenery. And he does it well, with excellent enhancement using sound and music. (I'm convinced he replaced the soundtrack of chanting crowds in the newsreel scenes, all to the better.) Excellent filmmaking combined with a terrific story. Two thumbs up for this one at the Mill Valley Film Festival.
Posted Saturday, October 13, 2001 1:50:05 PM
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