Peter Starr Movies
- 2007
When a destitute New Delhi rickshaw driver generously allows his eccentric passenger to dodge his fare, the generous act sends his fate careening in a wholly unanticipated direction in first time filmmaker Richie Mehta's heartfelt portrait of early-21st Century India. Amal (Rupinder Nagra) drives a motorized rickshaw on the crowded streets of New Delhi. One day, while spiriting a beautiful fare to her destination, the passenger's purse is snatched by a pint-sized cutpurse. Determined to rescue the woman's valuables, Amal gives chase to the little girl, who is stricken by a car after ducking into traffic. While Amal dutifully rushes the girl to the hospital and agrees to pay her medical bills, he realizes that he cannot afford the expense. But there is hope for both Amal and the injured young thief, because the fare that the rickshaw driver allowed to walk free was in fact an eccentric millionaire named G.K. Jayaram (Naseeruddin Shah). At the time Amal picked G.K. up, the ageing family patriarch was growing increasingly perturbed with his grasping children - all of whom seemed to hear a cash register ringing when their father fell ill. In one final act of anonymous generosity, G.K. bestowed Amal his entire fortune. But the executor of G.K.'s estate has only thirty days to find one common rickshaw driver in a bustling city of 14 million, otherwise the money reverts back to the millionaire's rightful family. While it's plain to see who would benefit from the money the most, the prospect of the estate executer actually locating Amal is growing slimmer with each passing day and G.K.'s greedy family is willing to get downright vicious in order to claim the inheritance as their own. ~ Jason Buchanan, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Rupinder Nagra, Koel Purie, (more)
Documentarian Jennifer Baichwal's latest film, Manufactured Landscapes, represents a multifaceted effort. The picture ostensibly provides a thought-provoking investigation of photographer Edward Burtynsky's legacy, with its aesthetic studies of industrial landscapes. But Baichwal's documentary probes deeper than a mere surface-level glimpse of Burtynsky's life and work. It uses the topic of Burtynsky as a springboard, segueing, from there, into a protracted exploration of "the aesthetic, social and spiritual dimensions of industrialization and globalization." Whereas Burtynsky's photographs reveal human beings dwarfed by the massive industrialized landscape that surrounds them, Baichwal (much as Louis Malle did in his Humain, trop Humain) sheds a light on the tedium and monotony suffered by workers who are assigned small components of huge manufacturing processes, and must endure the repetitive work that it entails. She and cinematographer Peter Mettler also travel to China and Bangladesh - the corner of the world that serves as a destination for much of the west's industrial waste - and convey the devastating impact that corporate disposal makes on indigenes - such as the two young men who must wade around, waist deep, in toxic sludge while tearing ships apart with their bare hands. The picture thus raises some significant and sobering questions about the impact that we, as humans, make on our environment. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide
- 2001
- Add Jane Bunnett: Cuban Odyssey - Spirit of Havana to QueueAdd Jane Bunnett: Cuban Odyssey - Spirit of Havana to top of Queue
Jane Bunnett is an acclaimed jazz musician from Canada who, along with her husband and fellow jazz artist Larry Cramer, has embraced the diverse rhythmic and stylistic influences of Cuban jazz, and has made a number of trips to Havana to record with some of the island's finest musicians. Filmmakers Bay Weyman and Luis O. Garcia joined Bunnett and Cramer as they traveled to Cuba for a five-week recording project, and the documentary Spirits of Havana was the result. In addition to recording with Cuban master musicians (who are sometimes challenged by their free-influenced style), Bunnett and Cramer also seek to preserve the sounds of the Old Guard of Cuban jazz on tape, as well as raising funds to replace battered instruments and equipment in the nation's seriously under-funded musical conservatories. Produced with the cooperation of the National Film Board of Canada, Spirits of Havana was screened at the 2001 Los Angeles Latino Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Jane Bunnett, Larry Cramer, (more)
- 1998
Peter Lynch directed this Canadian docudrama about events after the Canadian government authorized Laplander Andrew Bahr to feed starving Inuit in 1929 by herding several thousand reindeer from Alaska to the McKenzie River region. The project turned into a logistical nightmare, with six years spent on the 1500-mile trek. The film combines archival footage with staged sequences. Shown at the 1998 Vancouver Film Festival and the Toronto Film Festival. ~ Bhob Stewart, All Movie Guide
- Starring:
- Colm Feore, David Hemblen, (more)
