Thursday, 3/9/06 - Herewith tryimg out new commentary website ... Writer is a German-born, former New York and Los Angeles broadcast news-writer/producer/air personality (ABC, CBS, Westinghouse, etc.) and LA area film/media critic 1955-1998 ... as well as much-exhibited and published documentary and art photographer ... currently completing work on book, "The Jew of Christian Street".
Most recently viewed (at the Laemmle, in Encino) film: the German "Sophie Scholl -The Final Days" ... the true story of a young German student, her brother and close friends who, in 1942, just after Germany's Stalingrad military disaster, were caught distributing anti-Nazi, anti-war literature. They were swiftly tried and executed (via beheading).
Although the Sophie Scholl story has been often told - via print, film and TV - this version is most powerful, because it avoids scary scenes, such as Gestapo torture and/or execution scenes (the latter - the beheading - is told very quietly, against a dark, blank screen ... no wordage, no screams).
A fascinating German film ... and particularly emotion-packed for German-born me ... If she had lived, Ms Scholl would be just a few years older than I.
Another film, currently playing: "Mrs. Henderson Presents:" - also a WW2 story - this one (also a true story) about a rich widow, who created female-nude musical theater for Allied servicemen in downtown London. Nothing extremely deep or thought-provoking ... but two hours of good, old-fashioned, filmic entertainment.
Because of a projection problem, and delay of the day's first showing of the Henderson film, the Laemmles had me sit and wait in one of their other showings at the Encino complex ... " Transamerica " ... couldn't wait to get the hell atta that screening room ... awful, ragged stuff about a man undergoing a sex-change ... and traveling across the nation with his/her son ... who doesn't know she/he/it is his dad/mom ... I never got to see the end of the film ... because they fixed the other projection room ... and I jumped at the chance to get out of that theater.
More blogs to come.
Lemme know if you find the above interesting.
Gary Franklin
kzlot88@earthlink.net
Thursday, March 09, 2006
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