susan-225 Reviews

Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (2014)

Courageous Eye-Opener to the #1 Environmental Problem: Animal Agriculture

[10/10 · 29 September 2014]

This is a major movie event, a real eye opener, documenting why animal agriculture is the #1 contributor to greenhouse gases, the #1 environmental problem , the leading cause of rain forest destruction and habitat loss, creating massive amounts of untreated waste and using far more of our precious aquifers than if we all simply ate a plant-based diet.

It's not a message most meat eaters and dairy users want to hear, as it's not easy to eat vegan in a culture so oriented to meat consumption. And it's not a message environmental groups acknowledge, a mystery explored by this courageous film maker. After learning that over 1100 activists were murdered in Brazil after protesting conversion of rain forests to animal agriculture, he considered putting the lid on this project.

But it was too important not to get the message out, he realized. The answer to so many environmental problems is right in front of us. It costs nothing, can be implemented today and simply requires people to switch to a plant based diet, which could amply feed several times our current population with the same production as today.

One of the most startling statements of the film was this: even if we stopped all systems of transportation (cars, trains, trucks, planes etc.) and turned off our utilities, we would still have irreversible damage from global warming, so long as we continued to raise so many animals for food.

The take away from this film is, go ahead and conserve energy, put solar on your roof, change to LED light bulbs, minimize long trips. But first, switch to a plant-based diet.

Creation (I) (2009)

Beautiful, mesmerizing story of reason, courage and love

[17 July 2011]

Poignant story, artistic and amazing photography, terrific editing, acting and script. Explores the deeper issues and conflicts between reason and belief in a deeply human context. We were also very impressed with several amazing scenes of animals, especially the incredible expressions on the face of the first orangatang to be brought to England as she lay dying in her caretakers' arms. The intimacy between husband and wife are also very real, so it did not surprise me to see that the two stars are married in real life. What does surprise me is that the collective rating on this movie is not at least an 8. Perhaps this is due to the controversial topic, which is still threatening to many people.

Local Color (2006)

True story of the power of love and beauty

[10/10 · 4 March 2007]

I just saw this incredible movie at the Sedona Film Festival and met the director, writer and artist, George Gallo, on whose own youth this true story is based. I could not be more enthusiastic in my recommendations for this film, AND it could use support, as he and his wife mortgaged their house to make it. So please see it and if you like it, tell your friends.

As an artist myself, I can well relate to the "death of art" described by the elder mentor in the film, who is discouraged by modern art and its snobbish disregard for the classical artists who passionately seek to capture and share a moment of divine beauty. Even more so, it is a powerful and sensitive human story of the power of love to redeem the tragedies of the past.

Other reviewers have described the plot better than I. My intent is to alert all artists of any media, and those who care about beauty and love to go see and support this film. Gallo said it was very difficult to get it distributed because it lacks sex, violence and destruction, as though that were all we moviegoers want to see. What a parallel to the theme of the movie itself, in which the elder artist laments that too much art is no longer about inspiring us or sharing beauty, but to express the ugliness and violence of the world.

Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price (2005)

Must See, Important Message

[10/10 · 18 November 2005]

I saw this tonight in a screening at our local community college with the producer present. It was a huge, standing room only crowd, and it was clearly a hit with the viewers. Producer Robert Greenwald uses an interesting device of running a rah-rah speech of WalMart's CEO at a company meeting, with the CEO bragging about all of WalMart's great policies towards employees, the environment, customers, etc., alternated with clips of dozens of ordinary people testifying to quite the opposite. The stories of small town businesspeople having to close their family stores were especially poignant, as well as the interviews with exploited overseas workers in Walmart's sweatshops. Even one of the company's plant inspectors said he just cried when he went back to his hotel after his first inspection.

Full of astounding facts about the true costs of WalMart, the over two billion dollars it has cost US taxpayers in subsidies, welfare programs for underpaid employees, etc. It became very clear that, whether or not you shop there, it's costing you money, money that's going right into the pockets of the Walton family. It's costing all of us our way of life.

Quite an eyeopener. I, for one, plan to never patronize WalMart again.

Going Upriver (2004)

Moving, Must See

[10/10 · 3 October 2004]

As one who attended a number of anti-war rallies from 1969-71, this exceptional and beautifully articulate film brought back many memories. It also gave me a much greater appreciation and compassion for the plight of those who served in Vietnam, particularly those, like Kerry, who came to question this immoral war after having done the ultimate -- to put their own lives on the line. Any doubts I may have had about the strength of Kerry's convictions were erased after seeing this film. It is clear that he is a man of high integrity with the courage and leadership and compassion to steer this nation away from the dangerous course of extremism and intolerance that now threatens our liberties every bit as much as do the threats of terrorism. I only wish that this film would be televised and I hope that millions have a chance to see it. Run, don't walk, to see this film before it leaves town! I would especially recommend it to young people to give them a deeper insight into the impact of the Vietnam war on the boomer generation.