Brian Urquhart Movies

As far as raw eccentricity is concerned, few American families could top the Paskowitzes. The patriarch, Dorian "Doc" Paskowitz, began life on a commendable, even enviable course, with an M.D. under his arm, rippling sandy-haired good looks, and experience almost single-handedly teaching the country of Israel how to surf. But in the years to follow, bitterness and inveterate disappointment ensued as Dr. Paskowitz tried to settle into a conventional existence. Two broken marriages and a medical career that Dorian would later describe as "miserable" left him clawing his way out, desperate for an "alternative" lifestyle. He soon met, courted, and married his third wife, a ravishing, sexy young woman named Juliette; these two free spirits jointly decided that they would live life, budding family in-tow, on the open road, in a series of low-budget trailers. As one child after another cropped up over the course of a decade, the family toured the country winning one surfing competition after another, and Dr. Paskowitz accepted low-rent medical jobs for the poor that reeled in little to no income.

In theory, this all seemed idealistic, even utopian; in reality, Dorian Paskowitz was reportedly a severe disciplinarian who denied his children the benefits of school and financial security, forced everyone to stick to an almost unbearable diet of a gruel-like substance, and -- even more alarmingly -- felt comfortable having open and noisy sex with his wife, with the children only a few feet away. In time, as one child after another grew up, left the clan, and attempted to survive, they found it difficult, if not impossible to function in the day-to-day world without the education, social skills, and monetary know-how that so many young adults take for granted. With his documentary Surfwise, filmmaker Doug Pray tells the Paskowitzes' strange, bewildering, and ultimately heartbreaking story via incisive interviews with family members, still photographs, and telling archival footage. ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide

Ralph Bunche was arguably the most distinguished and honored African-American of his generation. Born in 1904, Bunche refused to accept the limitations American society presented to people of color, and at an early age he became an advocate for new possibilities for blacks. He graduated with honors from U.C.L.A. in 1927, and soon after was hired as a professor of political science at Howard University. In the early 1930s, Bunche published an acclaimed and prescient article on the possible impact of fascism in Europe, "A World View of Race," that led to his being hired by Frankin D. Roosevelt to join the U.S. State Department. In 1945, Bunche was named head of the Division of Dependent Area Affairs, making him the first African-American to lead a departmental division of the federal government. In 1946, Bunche was called upon to help write the charter that formed the United Nations, and he negotiated a peace treaty ending the 1948-49 Arab-Israeli War, which earned Bunche the 1950 Nobel Peace Prize. Bunche was also an avid supporter of the Civil Rights movement of the 1950s and '60s, but his quiet, dignified manner and belief that blacks should attempt to work within the system to gain social and political equality was seen by many as support of a system that held down minority group members, and his impact as a leader shrank with time. Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey is a documentary that examines Bunche's public and private lives, featuring archival photos and newsreel footage of Bunche, excerpts from his writings and speeches, and interviews with his friends, family members, and colleagues. Sidney Poitier narrates. Produced for public television, Ralph Bunche: An American Odyssey was also shown at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, All Movie Guide