Watching Movies Alone with crumbsroom

With his pith helmet, and shovel, and expensive cigars at the ready if he discovers something really good, documentarian Mads Brugger plays investigative journalist in trying to tie up all of the lose ends regarding the many unsolved mysteries that swirl around the 1961 death of UN Secretary Ambassador Hans Hammarskjold. But as he begins to interview locals and starts digging all along the Congo, looking for evidence of conspiracies but frequently finding dead end after dead end, Brugger's film slowly turns on him and he instead begins to explore the ugly need we have to become not so much searchers of the truth, but voyeurs of it. Particularly his own complicity in even making this film.


Paranoid, disturbing and frequently very funny, in the end Cold Case Hammarskjold will end up inviting us to choose between its assortment of peepholes to look through. Whatever is required to satiate our curiosity, making sure by the films end, we will at least come away satisfied in some kind of way. But now maybe finding ourselves to be voyeurs towards a different, maybe even more uncomfortable, kind of truth. One that might make you feel a little guilty for packing that pith helmet.

Probably too late now, but I've seen a few. I've never really cemented a verdict on how I feel about him, but I think I remember liking The Unbelievable Truth the best of the ones I've watched.


And Henry Fool, while a bit of a chore, was interesting too.


The rest are kind of drawing a blank now though.

Yeah, I passed on him and went a bit more into Suzuki. I’m confident I made the correct decision.
I’ll catch Hartley another time.

Crumbs, have you seen Lies My Father Told Me from Jan Kadar? It’s on Tubi and I plan to watch it, but I’m curious on your take

I don't think so.


And it's Canadian?


Hmmm

What brought your attention to it? Not even sure I've heard of it, as it's got one of those generic titles that might disappear from my brain as soon as I hear it.

Funnily enough, not available in Canada on Tubi

Was looking g at what’s leaving Tubi this month and it came up, and I recognized the title since it’s from Jan Kadar. The fact it’s Canadian is also what caught my eye, considering I’m diving more into Canada lately. Outside of the usual Cronenberg stuff anyways.

Canada is slim pickings for sure.


Mon Oncle Antoine and Going Down the Road are two of the great er classics, if you haven't seen them.

I haven’t, but they’re definitely in my watchlist. Have you seen J A Martin Photographer? That’s another on my watchlist

Nope. Never even heard of it before.

I was also assuming you likely have seen Sweet Hereafter so didn't mention that one. Even though it might be the greatest Canadian film of all time....next to Things of course.

I guess I should also mention Duddy Kravitz. Also good.

All three already also on my watchlist.

Is Late Night With the Devil worse than Babydriver?


Once we get to this point in cultural decline, does it even matter anymore? We might as well just keep the plastic wrap on our American cheese before we put it on our sandwiches.

I liked Late Night With the Devil! Granted, it was highly predictable

In American cheese's defense, I think the film isn't American.
I'll need an overly long, expository voice-over to confirm though.

Predictable is forgivable. Being stupid and terrible and embarrassing, less so.

And I think I was trying to pass as an American by calling it American cheese.


In Canada it's just called junky lunch. Or process cheese, when we are being polite (which we always are, at least when Americans are listening)

The funny thing, is the AI cutaways are the only things I didn't hate in this movie.


And apparently, now that I've learned that it was Michael Ironside doing the narration, I was reminded I should rewatch a good horror movie: Visiting Hours.

Or Scanners.


Or supermarket footage of Michael Ironside shoplifting a bunch of American cheese by stuffing it down his pants.