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 1998--THE
MOST POLITICAL YEAR IN RECENT FILMMAKING
Nominations for the best political films of 1998 closed on
December 31. Fifteen films have been nominated, a record in
the twelve-year history of the Political Film Society. According
to the rules governing awards, film directors have been sent
notifications that their films have been nominated. Since
there is a limit of five nominees for any of the four award
categories, ballots will be sent to Political Film Society
members on 15 January to narrow the nominees in the category
of PEACE, where seven films have been nominated.
POLITICAL
FILM SOCIETY WEBSITE CONSTRUCTED
Thanks
to the diligent work of David Oshima of Pipeline
Graphics, the Political Film Society now has a website,
where members and nonmembers can peruse all elements of the
work of the Society. Included are Political Film Society reviews
of all films nominated for 1998, with links to other review
sources. The address is http://geocities.datacellar.net/~polfilms/
Now that the Political Film Society is entirely available
in cyberspace, this is the last newsletter to be faxed gratis
to its members. Starting 1999, all members will receive email
newsletters and can go to the Political Film Society website
free of charge. Those requiring faxed or mailed newsletters
will remain members, but will receive newsletters at a cost
of $5.00 annually.
THE
THIN RED LINE AND A CIVIL ACTION ARE THE FINAL
AWARD NOMINEES OF 1998
Based on James Jones’s autobiographical novel of the same
title that was unsuccessfully made into a film in 1964, The
Thin Red Line has been nominated for an award as this
year’s best film in raising the consciousness of filmviewers
on the advantages of peaceful methods for resolving conflicts.
Filmed in the Solomon Islands, where Jones participated in
the Battle of Guadalcanal, the film exposes the innermost
thoughts of battle participants, one of whom tells us that
war turns humans into dogs. The film has received rave reviews
for creating a kind of French impressionist canvass with its
combination of poetic voice-overs, brutal action scenes, breathtaking
cinematography of flora and fauna of Guadalcanal, everyday
peaceful lives of Solomon Islanders, and pensive music. Thanks
to director Terrence Malick, who may well have upstaged Steven
Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan, we leave the
theater no longer naïve about the consequences of committing
troops, however noble the cause.
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A
Civil Action, in contrast, follows a well-established
formula in presenting a true story based on a well-researched
book by journalist Jonathan Harr: Big business (Beatrice Foods
and W. R. Grace) has harmed humble individuals, causing death
and disease, by dumping toxic waste into the drinking water
of Woburn, Massachusetts. Jan Schlichtmann, a lawyer who at
first was reluctant to accept the case, goes through a personal
transformation as he decides to go for broke to aid the families.
Indeed, he becomes broke while clever lawyers representing
the corporations maneuver an acquittal. In desperation, Schlichtmann
sends the documents to the Environmental Protection Agency,
which finds another basis to sue the two errant corporations,
which have to pay an enormous fine, the largest amount ever
assessed for environmental damage in New England. As the film
ends, we are told that Schlichtmann is currently representing
New Jersey plaintiffs in a similar suit. During the film we
hear explanations about the legal process—opposing lawyers
settle most such suits out of court, judges make arbitrary
rulings in order to shorten the proceedings, juries decide
cases based on personalities of the lawyers, and similar points
are made to show that money rather than human rights is paramount
in most litigation of this sort. The film, directed by Steven
Zaillian, has been nominated both as an EXPOSE, bringing the
facts about the case and the legal process to the attention
of filmviewers, and for promoting consciousness of HUMAN RIGHTS.
NOMINATED
FILMS FOR 1998
DEMOCRACY:
Enemy of the State, Four
Days in September, Primary Colors,
The Siege, The Truman Show, Wag
the Dog
EXPOSÉ:
Bulworth, A
Civil Action, Four Days in September,
Regeneration
HUMAN RIGHTS:
A Civil Action, Enemy
of the State, The Siege, Wilde
PEACE: American
History X, The
Boxer, Men with Guns, Regeneration,
Saving Private Ryan, Savior,
The
Thin Red Line
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