Quick SIFF Reviews 4

It Takes A Cult
Dir: Eric Johannsen

This doc examines the “Love Family” cult, founded by Love Israel in Seattle in the late ‘60s; originally based in a house on Queen Anne Hill, the group eventually relocated to a farm in the country. Love gathered his tribe by promising a life of spiritual bliss, which in this case involved not only the expected chanting, but also sex, drugs, and rock ‘n’ roll (of a kind). And people came, some claiming they had visions, others convinced that Love was indeed Jesus.

The parents of the director lived on the Family’s farm for a while, as did Eric himself. This opens doors for him as far as gaining access to interviewees and footage. But he also tends to gloss over the more controversial areas of life in the commune. He doesn’t shy away entirely. Commune dwellers talk about the lack of parenting of the kids on the farm that bordered on child abuse; being locked in a closet, for example. It would be interesting to know if Eric suffered/witnessed any of this himself, or talked to a kid who did, but he’s silent on the matter. There was also a pervasive sexism that’s discussed but not commented on; while the men were rechristened with names like “Confidence Israel,” the women had to settle for “Patience Israel” and, tellingly, “Submissive Israel,” and Love of course snagged most of the women for himself. Work was divided into “men’s” and “women’s” jobs; guess who got stuck doing the cleaning up and looking after the kids. The irony of this supposed alternative lifestyle not being terribly different in some aspects to the stereotypical nuclear family unit apparently escapes most interviewees.

Ultimately, everyone submitted to Love’s will, turning over all their worldly goods to the Family, while books other than the bible were banned. There were ultimately allegations of embezzlement and the Family’s property was also foreclosed, more controversy vaguely referred to. Does anyone regret the time spent within the cloistered confines of the family? The loss of years, the end of their marriages? There aren’t enough voices of dissent to round out the picture. As a result, I think it’s unlikely people outside of the Northwest would have much interest in the story.

The best part of the Q&A came when Donna James asked why there were no credits for the news footage that was used. Eric hasn’t got around to it, apparently. Donna said she’d talk to him about it.

The End of The Line
Dir: Rupert Murray

This eco-doc looks at how we’re decimating the seas. Over-fishing has led to the near-total depletion of the cod stock in Nova Scotia, and the rest of the ocean is headed the same way. Dire predictions reveal that if no immediate action is taken, we won’t have any fish stock by 2050. That’s 40 years away, folks.

The film doesn’t have a narrative; it’s more an “info-doc,” and despite the travelogue element (we go around the world in search of marine destruction — and easily find it, sadly), it ends up being somewhat dry. It’s also part of a new breed of eco-film, that doesn’t advocate vegetarianism or veganism, but rather the need to dine with more environmental awareness. It’s a good point, but this film is more suited to television viewing than a movie theater.

Telstar
Dir: Nick Moran

Con O’Neill’s star turn as maverick record producer Joe Meek is the kind of performance that wins awards (he played the role in an earlier stage production of the story). Meek’s manic energy sustained him through the early ‘60s, when he turned out such prime pieces of pop kitsch as “Johnny Remember Me,” “Have I The Right,” and of course “Telstar.” But like a drug, it begins to consume him, with tragic results.

Though told in a somewhat scattershot fashion (and occasionally overwrought), the film is wonderfully evocative of the late ‘50s/early ‘60s music scene in Britain. Music buffs and trivia lovers will have fun spotting the myriad references to cultural events of the time (the Oh Boy! TV show, the rise of Beatles — whom Meek summarily dismisses by dumping their demo tape in the trash). In fact, if you don’t know much about the period, or Joe Meek, you may well be a bit lost; there’s not much context and next to no background (like how Meek found his chief backer, “The Major,” played by Kevin Spacey, for instance). But overall it’s a fast-paced and funny bio-pic about a man whose talents simply couldn’t be readily contained in his ever-frantic body. A terrific soundtrack too, that will introduce Meek’s oeuvre to this country (most of the records, and acts, he produced were better known in the UK).

Food, Inc.
Dir: Robert Kenner

I seem to be hitting the eco-docs this year. This look at our food industry was both fascinating and frightening. Some things I was aware of — that pesticides and hormones are in much of our food, for example. But I didn’t know that the process of getting food from its source to the grocery store was regimented and tightly controlled as an assembly line. Nor how very very weak our regulation of the industry is. Nor that there’s such a thing as “veggie libel,” if you criticize the meat industry too much. Everything that’s owned and operated by a major corporation, whether it’s dealing in fruit, vegetables, diary, fish, or meat, is at a higher risk of being tainted. The low wage laborers are treated nearly as badly as the animals we consume, with no recourse for injury and of course no benefits (one is left with the suspicion that if a corporation could dispose of its workers as efficiently as they do their chicken stock they might well consider it). We consumers don’t fare much better in their view; is one sucker drops dead due to an outbreak of e-coli, there’s always another to take their place.

But not only does the film get you to think twice about what you eat, there are also ideas how you can change that. The consumer is still the one with the purchasing power, and you can choose what you put on your plate; check out http://www.foodincmovie.com for more ideas. Food, Inc. makes its points in a lively and entertaining fashion (though some of the scenes with animals are not for the squeamish) and is recommended for everyone who eats.