Miss Liberty's Film & Documentary World

This post tracks developments in “A Hidden Life,” a new film about Austrian peasant farmer Franz Jägerstätter, who refused to fight for the National Socialists in World War II despite every manner of pressure, torture, and abuse.
Links:  Wikipedia | IMDB |

11-28-19 | Film Release For US Theaters: December 13, 2019

Per the Rotten Tomatoes, the film will have a “limited release” in the US beginning on December 13th. Other sources have been saying January 20th, 2020…maybe that’s the date for a wider release.

5-21-19 | London Evening Standard Gives Film Five Stars

Per the London Evening Standard, “A Hidden Life is a work of genius.”

11-13-19 | Film Threat Gives It Highest Rating: 10/10

Per Film Threat, “Franz is torn by a moral quandary. Should he serve his nation, spurred by the blessings of local priests, or listen to that “still small voice” in his soul? …Malick’s masterpiece makes a great argument that it’s the little-known heroes, as opposed to the ones we trumpet as such, that truly form the ethical foundation upon which our society still creakily rests.”

This post tracks developments in “Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words,” a new documentary about the Supreme Court Justice and the toxic confirmation he was forced to endure.
Links:  Homepage | IMDB |

11-28-19 | Thomas compares ‘modern-day liberal’ to Klansman in new film

Per the New York Post, “‘I felt as though in my life I had been looking at the wrong people as the people who would be problematic toward me,’ Thomas says in the film Created Equal: Clarence Thomas in His Own Words, according to ABC News. ‘We were told that, ‘Oh, it’s gonna be the bigot in the pickup truck; it’s gonna be the Klansman; it’s gonna be the rural sheriff.’ But it turned out that through all of that, ultimately the biggest impediment was the modern-day liberal.’”

11-16-19 | Townhall: “Stunning Documentary” Releases May 2020 on PBS

Per Townhall, “Filmmaker Michael Pack conducted hundreds of hours of interviews with Thomas and his wife Virginia to create this stunning documentary, which will see a wide release in May 2020 on PBS.”

11-13-19 | Cato: “Justice Thomas, Unscripted”

Per Cato, “Drawing on a rich array of historical archive material, period and original music, personal photos, and evocative recreations, Justice Thomas, unscripted, takes the viewer through his complex and often painful life, dealing with race, faith, power, jurisprudence, and personal resilience.”

10-23-19 | Double Standard for Black Conservatives vs. Black Liberals

Per The Washington Examiner, “‘There’s different sets of rules for different people,’ Justice Thomas said in the film’s trailer. ‘If you criticize a black person who’s more liberal, you’re a racist. Whereas you can do whatever to me, or to now [HUD Secretary] Ben Carson, and that’s fine, because you’re not really black because you’re not doing what we expect black people to do.'”

This post tracks developments in “One Child Nation” a new documentary about China’s “one child policy” — and the price paid for it by those whose children were taken away and killed.
Links:  Homepage | IMDB | Facebook | Twitter

11-29-19 | Film Recalls 1970’s Zero Population Growth Sci-Fi

The 1972 film Zero Population Growth predicted China’s policy and the means by which it would be enforced. It begins with this announcement: “Childbearing is herewith forbidden. The conception of a child shall be the gravest of crimes, punishable by death. Women now pregnant will report to local hospitals for registration.”

11-20-19 | Film is “Tour de Force” Cautionary Tale

Per Victory Girls, “If you have Amazon Prime, you must see its documentary One Child Nation, which tells how China’s One-Child Policy affected its people…a gruesome and horrifying tour de force. It’s also a cautionary tale for a nation which supposedly cherishes its freedom.”

11-13-19 | China’s Holocaust of Children

Per National Review, “Using the aggressively bland term ‘one-child policy’ is a bit like saying that 1942 Germany had restrictions on Jews. You may never have thought much about how a huge nation enforces a limit of one baby per family, but the horrifying details of China’s Holocaust of children emerge in a powerful documentary told by a woman whose family was one of the countless millions who suffered.”

11-8-19 | China’s Holocaust of Children

Per Reason, “Anyone drawn to the now-resurgent notion that collectivism is kind of cool would benefit from a viewing of One Child Nation, a documentary that demonstrates what can happen when state bureaucrats are allowed to fundamentally re-order their country’s most intimate cultural customs…By the end I felt that my heart was ready to burst from my chest and leap to its death down on the floor.”

11-1-19 | Rotten Tomatoes: High Scores All Around

Per Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently has a critic’s score of 98% and an audience score of 85%, a rare agreement that suggests a solid winner.

8-22-19 | “Sobering Dissection of the Human Toll of Government Rule”

Per Detroit News, “They were following orders.That’s the explanation heard time and again in the harrowing documentary One Child Nation, which takes a difficult look at China’s one-child-per-couple policy, enacted in 1979 as a means of population control.”

Need some quick gift ideas for that special libertarian friend? Here are twelve films currently for sale on DVD for less than $10 at Amazon.

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The Giver

When a 16-year-old boy discovers that the “perfect” managed society in which he lives is simply a drugged potemkin village, he must decide whether its superficially happy character is worth the price in terms of foregone human experience and lost liberty. [Dir: Phillip Noyce/ 94 min/ SciFi-Drama/ Individualism, Government enforced morality, Equality & Envy]

“There are unmistakable messages in The Giver about the dangers of surrendering freedom, of believing that government exists to perfect us, of thinking that life can be lived fully without risk and pain and suffering. The gift of The Giver is something good and true and beautiful about what is good and true and beautiful in humanity.”
–National Review

Currently on Amazon for $8.71

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Still Mine | Film Review

WINNER: TOP 25 LIBERTARIAN FILMS
When a rural farmer builds a new home as a kindness to his ailing wife, a government bureaucrat threatens to tear it down for building code violations.  Based on a true story.  [Dir: Michael McGowan/ James Cromwell, Ronan Rees, Geneviève Bujold/ 102 min/ Drama/ Anti-regulation, Individualism]

“This film is notable as well for telling the love story of an elderly couple; in this age of hard-bodied youthful Hollywood stars, you don’t see that very often. And the story works, frankly far better and with more honesty than many cinematic teenage romps, thanks the excellent casting of James Cromwell in the lead and Geneviève Bujold as his memory-impaired wife. There is something a bit “made-for-TV” about the film in terms of production values, but you forget all that in the context–the picture of two people facing the fading light of age with dignity, resolve, and a kind of poignant understated heroism. Tears were shed at the end, both on screen…and off.”
–MissLiberty.com

Currently on Amazon for $6.59 | Great DVD pick for a date night!

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Amazing Grace | Film Review

WINNER: TOP 25 LIBERTARIAN FILMS
Inspired by Christian teachings against slavery, William Wilberforce leads an arduous but ultimately victorious life-long battle to abolish the slave trade. Amazing Grace credits: [Dir: Michael Apted/ Ioan Gruffudd, Benedict Cumberbatch, Albert Finney/ 111 min/ Drama, Biography/ Anti-slavery, Law & the Individual]

“This is one of the greatest stories in history. And now it is the subject of an impressive new movie…the story reminds us that humanity has made great progress toward freedom, that each battle for freedom can be long and seemingly futile, but that the goal is worth time and money and effort.”
–The Guardian

Currently on Amazon for $4.99

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Don Juan Demarco | Film Review

A young man’s romantic delusion renews his psychiatrist’s passion for life. [Dir: Jeremy Leven/ Johnny Depp, Marlon Brando, Faye Dunaway/ 92 min/ Romance, Comedy/ Psychiatry & Force, Individualism]

“A romantic film in every sense of the word: it’s about love, about making an adventure of life, and about the liberating effect that such an imaginative attitude has on people.”
–MissLiberty.com

Currently on Amazon for $5.97 | Great DVD pick for a date night!

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Storm in a Teacup | Film Review

WINNER: TOP 25 LIBERTARIAN FILMS
An old woman’s refusal to pay for a dog license sets in motion a chain of events that humbles her local government. Storm in a Teacup credits: [Dir: Victor Saville, Ian Dalrymple/ Vivien Leigh, Rex Harrison, Cecil Parker/ 87 min/ Comedy/ Britain/ Free Press as Hero, Abuse of Power]

“The script, based on a stage play, is tremendously witty, the acting talent (including a young Vivien Leigh) is some of the finest of its time, and the direction makes the most of both. For fans of British humor in particular, this is a real gem.”
–MissLiberty.com

Currently on Amazon for $9.99

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White Nights | Film Review

A plane crash in Siberia lands a Soviet defector in the hands of the KGB. Only with the help of an American defector will he escape. [Dir: Taylor Hackford/ Mikhail Baryshnikov, Gregory Hines, Isabella Rossellini, Helen Mirren, Geraldine Page/ 135 min/ Thriller, Musical-Dance/ Escape from Socialism, Anti-War]

“This is one of my favorite escape-from-socialism films. Part song and dance, part thriller, it succeeds as both and serves as well to dramatize the oppressive nature of authoritarian government.”
–MissLiberty.com

Currently on Amazon for $9.69

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Logan’s Run | Film Review

Two citizens of a twenty-third century automated welfare state reveal the lie on which their static society is based, and so destroy it. [Dir: Michael Anderson/ Michael York, Jenny Agutter, Richard Jordan, Peter Ustinov/ 120 min/ SciFi-Fantasy, Action-Adventure/ Democide]

“An imaginative and sometimes exciting story, marked by memorable performances by Michael York and Peter Ustinov.”
–MissLiberty.com

Currently on Amazon for $5.99 | Great DVD pick for classic sci-fi fans!

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Loving | Film Review

A married interracial couple’s determination to reside in their home state of Virginia, in violation of Virginia laws against interracial marriage, leads to the legal overturning of all such laws in sixteen states. Based on a true story. Loving credits: [Dir: Jeff Nichols/ Ruth Negga, Joel Edgerton, Will Dalton/ 123 min/ Drama, Romance/ Government as Bigot, Sexual Liberty, Social Tolerance]

“Loving captures at once the tension of man’s morally principled stand against the state, love’s intimacy and the immeasurable toll government control exacts upon the best people…It’s a hard, moving and elegiac movie and it ranks with ‘Black or White’ and ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner’ high among Hollywood’s greatest interracial-themed films.”
–Scott Holleran

Currently on Amazon for $9.96

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Night Crossing | Film Review

WINNER: TOP 25 LIBERTARIAN FILMS
A heroic and ingenious father organizes an escape for his family from East Germany to the West via a homemade hot air balloon. Based on a true story. [Dir: Delbert Mann/ John Hurt, Jane Alexander, Beau Bridges/ 107 min/ Family, Action-Adventure/ Escape from Socialism, Creator as Hero]

“This entertaining and upbeat Disney film has a lot going for it. The story is inspiring. Music and timing of events are used effectively to build suspense. And John Hurt is particularly good in the leading role, as Mr. Strelzyk. A great family film.”
–MissLiberty.com

Currently on Amazon for $9.99 | Great DVD pick for a family movie night!

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Sons of Liberty | Film Review

A group of young men–Sam Adams, John Adams, Paul Revere, John Hancock and Dr. Joseph Warren–secretly join together to oppose British domination, and end up sparking the American Revolution. [Dir: Kari Skogland/ Ben Barnes, Marton Csokas, Ryan Eggold/ 87 min/ Drama, History/ American Revolution, Resistance to Tyranny]

“Sons of Liberty is really the first good cinematic update in nearly 60 years to the story of America’s founding. And that’s what makes this History Channel production so important—it breathes new life into the story of the Revolution, by dramatizing it in terms not just accessible but engaging, even one might say sexy.”
–MissLiberty.com

Currently on Amazon for $9.41

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South Park: Bigger, Longer, & Uncut | Film Review

WINNER: TOP 25 LIBERTARIAN FILMS
In the name of saving the children from obscene language, the parents of the South Park kids go to all extremes—including censorship, mind-controlling implants, executions, and finally war on Canada. [Dir: Trey Parker/ (voices of) Trey Parker, Matt Stone, Mary Kay Bergman/ 80 min/ Comedy, Animated, Musical-Dance/ Freedom of Speech, Individualism]

“While censorship is the filmmakers’ main target, Parker and Stone also poo-poo Hollywood elitism, jingoism, racism, homophobia, Winona Ryder, Bill Gates and Conan O’Brien. Their favorite monster is the Motion Picture Association of America, self-appointed guardians of the nation’s chastity. It’s all in good dirty fun and in service of their pro-tolerance theme.”
–Washington Post

Currently on Amazon for $4.99

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The Imitation Game | Film Review

British mathematician Alan Turing breaks the Nazi Enigma code and saves his country, only to be driven to suicide following a criminal conviction for homosexuality. Based on a true story. [Dir: Morton Tyldum/ Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode/ 114 min/ Drama, Biography/ Creator-as-hero, Sexual liberty]

“Perhaps like no other single person, Alan Turing helped win the second World War…Benedict Cumberbatch plays ‘odd fish’ Turing, so convincingly that you forget that you’re looking at Sherlock Holmes or Star Trek’s Khan. What comes across is a socially inept, unlikely hero with a brilliant mind and a tortured soul—and one who was gay in a time when homosexuality in Britain was illegal.”
–IEEE Spectrum

Currently on Amazon for $9.99

This post tracks developments in “Mr. Jones,” a new film about Gareth Jones, the journalist-hero who first tried to warn the world about communist atrocities — and died for it..

11-24-19 | Trailer Released, Film Distribution Expected in 2020

Per BBC America, “The first trailer for Mr. Jones, a biographical movie about intrepid Welsh journalist Gareth Jones, has been released – and it’s definitely powerful stuff…Mr. Jones is due out in 2020, though exact release dates have yet to be confirmed. On the evidence of the trailer, though, let’s hope it’s sooner rather than later.”

8-22-19 | Samuel Goldwyn Films to Distribute in North America

Per Screen Daily, “Agnieszka Holland’s Mr Jones, her drama starring James Norton and Vanessa Kirby, has had its North American rights bought by Samuel Goldwyn Films.”  No word yet on when it will hit theaters.

3-21-19 | Rotten Tomatoes Critics Score: 80%

There are now 15 reviews of the film on Rotten Tomatoes, with 80% positive.

2-11-19 | Film Review by The Guardian

Per The Guardian, “‘Holland’s movie really lets rip in the final act, the ordeal in the wasteland of Ukraine. She has a real story to tell – a story that isn’t told enough – and a single, compelling and likable character with which to tell it. It’s a picture with sinew and strength.”

2-11-19 | Film Review by BBC

Per BBC, “‘So there’s no hope then,’ George Orwell concludes sadly in the film, when he accepts Jones’s story as true. Yet as long as there are the Gareth Joneses of this world out there, pedalling on his bicycle to bring the truth to the world, there must be.”

2-10-19 | Film Review by Variety

Per Variety, “The story of Gareth Jones is such a fascinating one, built on such intrepid, one-man-against-the-system ideals, that it’s a wonder it hasn’t been filmed into oblivion over the past 80 years. A young Welsh journalist who blew the first public whistle on the Holodomor — the man-made famine of 1932-33 in Soviet Ukraine — only to be broadly discredited by his professional peers and murdered before his 30th birthday, he was the quintessential man who knew too much.”

2-10-19 | Film Review by Hollywood Reporter

Per Hollywood Reporter, “James Norton plays the Welsh reporter who at great personal risk broke the story of the early 1930s Soviet Ukrainian Famine in Agnieszka Holland’s latest deep dive into historical memory.”

1-11-19 | Premiere at Berlin Film Festival

Per UKRInform.net, “The historical thriller Mr. Jones, directed by Agnieszka Holland, a joint production of Poland, Ukraine and the UK, will participate in the competition of the 69th Berlin International Film Festival.”

Links

IMDB
Rotten Tomatoes
Wikipedia
Facebook
Related Film: Bitter Harvest
Related Film: Harvest of Despair: The Unknown Holocaust
Related Film: The Soviet Story
More Films About: Democide
More Films About: Free Press as Hero
GarethJones.org
Book: Gareth Jones: Eyewitness to the Holodomor

Holodomor (“to kill by starvation) is what Ukrainians call the period from 1932-1933, when Stalin created a forced famine to punish the Ukraine’s resistance to socialist collectivization. Estimates vary as to how many Ukrainians died, ranging from three million to twelve million. This tragedy and crime are remembered on the fourth Saturday of November, Holomodor Remembrance Day. Here are four films to honor the dead.

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We Remember, We Are Strong

…a short one-minute film to honor those lost.

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Bitter Harvest

A young Ukrainian fights for his freedom, and to survive, as occupying Soviet troops deliberately starve his country into submission during the infamous Holodomor holocaust. [ Bitter Harvest credits: Dir: George Mendeluk/ Max Irons, Samantha Barks, Terence Stamp/ 103 min/ Drama, Romance, History/ Democide, Anti-socialism/ 2017]

“This cinematic telling is both long overdue and a small drop of justice for the victims whose stories were never told.”
–MissLiberty.com

“Must-see, dramatic, powerful story.”
–MovieGuide

“A love story set during one of history’s darkest moments, that portrays the history you don’t know and cannot imagine.”
–Huffington Post

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Harvest of Despair: The Unknown Holocaust

One of the twentieth-century’s biggest and least-known genocides, in which as many as seven million Ukrainians perished at the hands of the Soviet government, is examined using interviews of survivors, photographic evidence and scholarly commentary. Based on the Robert Conquest book Harvest of Sorrow: Soviet Collectivization and the Terror Famine. [ Harvest of Despair: The Unknown Holocaust credits: Dir: Slavko Nowytski, Yurij Luhovy/ 55 min/ Documentary/ Democide, Anti-socialism]

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The Soviet Story

The untold story of Soviet mass murder. [ The Soviet Story credits: Dir: Edvins Snore/ 86 min/ Documentary/ Democide, Anti-Socialism]

“Gripping, audacious and uncompromising…”
–The Economist

“For those who think they’ve seen everything they need to know about wartime Europe, this film will provide an extraordinary jolt to the senses… ”
–Film Threat

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Mr. Jones [Planned for UK, US distribution in 2020]

Mr. Jones is a new film about Gareth Jones, the journalist-hero who first tried to warn the world about communist atrocities in the Ukraine — and died for it.

This post tracks developments in “Balloon” a new film that tells the true story of two East German families who made a daring escape to the West via a homemade hot-air balloon.
Links: IMDB | Facebook

6-13-19 | Review: “A Solid Piece of Storytelling”

Per The List, “Director Michael Bully Herbig opts for an old-fashioned, slightly sentimental approach but he effectively depicts a world of twitching curtains, treacly interiors and the fear that every neighbour is a potential informer and any careless conversation might cost lives. There is also a sense of the bittersweet sacrifices required for those prepared to leave loved ones and certainty behind for a trip into the unknown. The ticking clock urgency counting down to the escape provides the momentum in what amounts to a solid piece of storytelling.”

6-10-19 | Review: “Incredibly Tense and Watchable”

Per The Sun, “But for all the political clouds hanging over the story, it wisely narrows it down to two things – a very tense cat and mouse game – and a tale of families willing to do anything to stay together and improve their kids’ lives…I found it to be incredibly tense and watchable.”

9-27-18 | ‘Balloon’ depicts miraculous escape from the GDR

Per Deutsche Welle, “A new film by Michael Bully Herbig tells the true story of two East German families who made a spectacular and risky escape attempt a decade before the Berlin War fell…The Wetzels, who fled East Germany 39 years ago, were reportedly thrilled with the depiction of their flight of fancy in Balloon, which was shot in 2017 in 50 days.” The film tells the same story as that of the earlier Disney film Night Crossing.