Ultimately stunning in its revelations, Lutz Dammbeck’s The Net explores the incredibly complex backstory of Ted Kaczynski, the infamous Unabomber. This exquisitely crafted inquiry into the rationale of this mythic figure situates him within a late 20th Century web of technology—a system that he grew to oppose. A marvelously subversive approach to the history of the Internet, this insightful documentary combines speculative travelogue and investigative journalism to trace contrasting countercultural responses to the cybernetic revolution.
Tag: 2000s
Eerie, erotic and touching, Soulmate is a complex study of alienation and obsession. Told from the perspective of a middle-aged woman, the film explores longing and objectification through the story of a landlady and her young male tenant.
The Magicians were a rock band. The guitarist of the band committed suicide three years ago. Several other members of the band that has meanwhile split up meet each other on a cold New Year’s Eve. It’s snowing. They hang around in a bar. Thinking of better times. The film was made in one shot. A filmic bravura piece. Maker Song Il-gon profited from the freedom of his commission to experiment with making a film without editing. This resulted in a beautiful play with the unity of place and action, as in the theatre, and a reflection on the time past of the story.
A day in the life of 21-year-old Deniz, who aims to become an actress and makes her living by dubbing movies. After she has split with her old boyfriend she gets to know Diego and spends the evening with him.
Mark Rappaport completed his concise portrait of the legendary John Garfield in 2002, comprised (like much of his filmed essays) from existing film footage of the actor. Exceptionally engaging, Rappaport’s extraordinary short contains more insightful observations of its subject than many feature-length biographical documentaries.
Irene, the new receptionist at a hotel in the Austrian Alps, discovers that the girl she is replacing has mysteriously disappeared. Curiosity leads her to ask questions that are met with indifference and hostility from the other employees. At this point she realizes that she is in great danger.
A weary young woman, Iris Brevard, is forced to move in with her overbearing mother, Min, following her husband’s suicide. She finds her only escape from her mother’s badgering is to verbally fight back and to hide herself in an alcoholic haze. Unfortunately, her young teen son, Lonnie, observes all of this and finds himself torn between the two women.
A “gentle rekindling of the human spirit” brought child survivors of the Buchenwald concentration camp out of despair and moved them to create remarkable lives for themselves. In The Boys of Buchenwald, they return to the homes in France which took them in after the war, and reconnect with fellow survivors whose friendships helped to heal their devastating losses.