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Reviews
600 Millas (2015)
I Liked It
I saw this film at the Minneapolis St. Paul international film festival and I have to say even though it was tense, I thoroughly enjoyed it. This is a though-provoking film that makes you take a deeper look at gun control and tensions between the US and Mexico.
I love Tim Roth, and think he does an excellent job in this slower paced drama. This is definitely not an action packed film, and the dramatic tension is led up to over the course of the film. Tim Roth's character does an excellent job bringing an understated but poignant performance.
While I don't agree with some parts of the film, I found that it laid out the complexities of this issue in a very human way. This film is definitely packed with tension and emotion as we are taken through not just a journey of guns and drug cartels but of human character.
Holy Hell (2016)
A Disappointing Documentary
This is my first time reviewing, but I feel compelled to write about this subject as it is near and dear to me. Here goes:
I saw this documentary at the Minneapolis St. Paul film festival and found it very much of a letdown. I was hoping to see a fresh, insightful approach to this topic of cults in the US but instead I saw a tired reiteration of the same old story of people blaming a "charismatic" leader for the letdowns in their life. The film started out charmingly but quickly went downhill. The narrative and interviews deteriorated into cult and guru bashing with nothing offered in the way of alternate points of view. With the way this film was billed I thought it would bring insight about human nature and spirituality, but instead if felt more like an embarrassingly close up view into a support group for washed up hippies. Nothing against hippies.
I have been with many spiritual teachers, the most notable being Ammaji. This theme of inspiration and eventual disillusionment can be seen across the board in any type of spiritual community but I was surprised to see the immature, narrow-minded approach taken by the ex-disciples in this film. Films like this give spirituality a bad name in the United States.
All in all, even if you are interested in this subject I would steer clear of this somewhat dull and disappointing documentary.