Happy Halloween!

10/31/07

TVOR doesn't much like to be scared, so you're on your own when it comes to scary movies for your Halloween viewing. She can handle Alfred Hitchcock (although she draws the line at The Birds) but once people start jumping out of dark places with any frequency, she has left the theater.

She has seen and can recommend a couple of documentaries that are pretty scary in their own way, though. They're both in theaters now.


Lake of Fire
Directed by Tony Kaye

Tony Kaye worked on this thorough look at the abortion debate for over 15 years, and it shows. He has great footage, some of it shot for the film, and some taken from other sources. It's in black and white, which is good thing because there is some graphic footage that most of us would not like to see in color. There is no voice-over narration, and the film's dialogue consists of people talking (and occasionally yelling) about abortion. Pro and con, from articulate advocates to ideologues to downright loonies, the famous and the obscure are represented. It's long, but it's beautifully shot, well put together, and always interesting. This issue has been with us for years, but is not going to go away anytime soon. As we get closer and closer to the time when Roe v. Wade may be overturned, we should make sure we're paying attention.

My Kid Could Paint That
Directed by Amir Bar-Lev

This is a documentary about a four-year old girl who liked to paint, got a show in a gallery, had a profile written about her in the New York Times and a story on 60 Minutes, and then had a documentary film made about her (the one you're watching). It looks to TVOR like a cautionary tale for parents. What started as fun for the child ended up being all about the grownups around her, who are much less cute than she is as egos, money and fame get tossed into the mix.