Peter Wintonick Movies

Those not living in the area may not be aware that a protracted, if relatively low-intensity civil war has been going on in the Philippines for many decades. Ultra-right wing and neo-fascist groups are tolerated by Manilla, while socialist, leftist and communist guerillas have regularly been hunted down by government troups. This documentary explores the situation in the Philippines while clearly siding with the leftists. Viewers will find the murderous opinions of Jun Pala, a popular disk jockey and admirer of Hitler, particularly shocking. This conflict is complicated by the fact that while most of the population on the main islands of the Philippines is Christian, many people living in more remote areas (where most of the guerillas hold sway) are either Moslems or animists. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

Filmmaker Tanaz Eshaghian explores the proliferation of gender reassignment surgery in a society where homosexuality is punishable by death in this documentary that ponders the extreme measures taken by gay Iranians who risk execution if the truth about their sexuality is uncovered. In Iran, to be homosexual is to live in fear. Yet despite the fact that homosexual men and women in Iran risk their lives simply by revealing their sexual preferences, the fact that prominent sex-change surgeon Dr. Bahram Mir-Jalali performs more gender reassignment surgeries in one year than the entire country of France does in one decade offers telling insight into a culture that accepts both genders though refuses to acknowledge any gray area in between. For an emerging generation of men and women who are forced by theocracy to deny their true selves, this drastic transformation provides the only hope for survival. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Such documentary filmmaker legends as Jean Rouch, Frederick Wiseman, and Barbara Kopple appear in this loving tribute to cinema verite and its profound influence on film. Director Peter Wintonick, whose previous efforts include the acclaimed Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media (1993), makes a compelling case that Canada's National Film Board was at the vanguard of the cinema verite movement. The movie also features vintage footage of teen heart-throb Paul Anka and a behind the scenes look at John F. Kennedy's primary run for president. Both interviews and clips attest to the absorbing vitality that cinema verite brought to film. ~ Jonathan Crow, Rovi

Mikael Rioux is an environmental activist from Quebec who has spent years campaigning for change in his hometown of Trois-Pistoles. However, while Rioux is a firm believer in grassroots action, as the world moved into the 21st Century he decided that issues of sustainability and carbon reduction were of global importance and the time had come for activism on behalf of the Earth to take a worldwide perspective. With this in mind, Rioux began organizing a team of scientists and environmental experts from around the world who could speak to the common issues facing all of Earth's citizens, as well as what can be done in different nations and cities to held ease the looming global crisis. Filmmaker Sylvie Van Brabant followed Rioux in his efforts to boost awareness of the international impact of climate change and waste, and the documentary Earth Keepers chronicles Rioux's mission, offers advice on what can be done to help, and gives a number of activists an opportunity to discuss the economic and political realities behind the current environmental crisis. Produced with the participation of the National Film Board of Canada, Earth Keepers was an official selection at the 2009 Amsterdam International Documentary Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

In Hungary, 12-year-old Andras Vadya supported himself during World War II by serving as a pimp for prostitutes. Once the war is over, he tries his hand at a number of different jobs, but has a sexual fixation on "older" women. Andras (Tom Berenger) tells the story of seven of his affairs. One affair, when he was still a quite young man, was with Bobbie (Susan Strasberg), a woman whose anti-communist views put her in danger in postwar Hungary. In Praise of Older Women features many sexual scenes and situations. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

The Canadian documentary Manufacturing Consent: Noam Chomsky and the Media presents a lengthy, detailed look at the political beliefs of celebrated intellectual Noam Chomsky. Casting only passing glances at Chomsky's groundbreaking work in the field of linguistics and his eventful life, filmmakers Mark Achbar and Peter Witonick instead focus on his activities as a political dissident and media critic. Particular attention is paid to his contention that the American mass media serves as a form of "thought control in a democratic society," with major news organizations systematically bending the truth to support the status quo. Chomsky defends this belief in numerous public appearances, lectures, and debates, siting as examples the widely divergent media treatment of genocidal activities in Cambodia and East Timor and the unquestioned acceptance of America's Gulf War policy. While opposing viewpoints and rebuttals are sometimes aired, the filmmakers quite clearly are in general agreement with Chomsky and even include humorous visual illustrations of his political theories, utilizing stock footage, on-screen diagrams, and the like. Despite its clear favoritism, the film nevertheless succeeds in making a thought-provoking case for these ideas and provides an intriguing glimpse into the life of a complex, driven thinker. ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Donald Angus MacLean is a weathered but spry eighty-year-old whose home is on the Isle of Skye in Northern Scotland. In a place that values its local eccentrics, MacLean is proud to be a local character, widely regarded as the best storyteller in town and always on the search of a new tall tale to spin. MacLean is something of an amateur paranormal researcher and he often meets with townsfolk who claim to have "second sight" -- the ability to see ghosts and anticipate events before they happen. While some regard MacLean and his friends as harmless but removed from reality, the storyteller himself would beg to differ, and he and his pals tell their tales of bushes with the supernatural with a passion and detail that might make you think twice. Filmmaker Alison McAlpine gives MacLean and his buddies a chance to tell their stories and share their belief about the ghosts that lurk among the moors of the Isle of Skye in the documentary Second Sight. Second Sight was an official selection at the 2008 London International Documentary Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Kiefer Sutherland won a Genie Award for his performance in Bay Boy. In 1937 Nova Scotia, Donald Campbell (Sutherland) lives with his dirt-poor parents (Liv Ullmann and Peter Donat). His folks hope that Donald will enter the priesthood, but he isn't keen on this. For one thing, he harbors "unnatural" feelings towards a nun; for another, one of the local priests has made sexual advances towards him. Donald prefers to spend his time with pretty sisters Saxon and Dianna (Leah Pinsent and Jane McKinnon) -- but even this becomes untenable when the boy witnesses a homicidal hate crime committed by the girls' father, police constable Tom Coldwell (Alan Scarfe). It is in this intolerable atmosphere that Donald finally comes of age, which is the point to which the film is leading. Weighed down with an unnecessarily complex script, Kiefer Sutherland comes off quite well in Bay Boy; the other performers -- even the estimable Liv Ullmann -- tend to be one-note stereotypes. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Sexual obsession provides the basis of this taut thriller, an adaptation of a Romain Gary novel. The story centers upon a prominent financier who must fight to save his crumbling business empire and his rapidly fading manhood. The obsession begins when the impotent magnate begins dreaming that a handsome gypsy is making love to his much younger girlfriend. He cannot get the dream out of his head and so goes to a Parisian madam to see if he can make the fantasy real. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi