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The Grand Canyon nf– After recently seeing Director/Writer Larry Kasden’s latest film Darling Companion and liking it very much we decided to view this 1991 film also directed by Kasden and co- written with his wife Meg Kasden. This film was nominated for an Oscar for best screenplay. It is set and made in Los Angeles about one year before the LA Riots. It is about people from different parts of town whose lives intersect due to some random circumstances. Kevin Kline plays Mac, a successful attorney who goes off the beaten path in more than one way but finds himself seemingly rescued by Simon (Danny Glover), a tow truck driver. Their lives and their life styles reflect their different social, racial and economic settings. The important people in each of their lives are struggling with their own identities and life crisis. Mack’s wife Claire (Mary McDonnell) questions her marriage and tries to deal with her feelings as she is watching her teenage son grow up and have his first romance. She has to decide how to fulfill her own life as well as that of a newborn abandoned child who she discovers while out jogging. Simon’s sister (Afre Woodard), on the other side of town is trying to figure out how to raise her teenage son who can’t see any other choices than being a gang member. Everyone’s lives are intersecting. Not only does the film contrast different life styles in Los Angeles that are only a few minutes car ride away from each other but also puts a mirror to the personal decisions that each person has to make. Kasden uses an ensemble cast of excellent actors and it seems that he has chosen Steve Martin to play the character closest to himself. In a non-comedic role Martin is Davis, a movie producer who wants to make honest films that show the human condition even if they contain realistic violent action that he does best. We come away from this movie reflecting that we are each a tiny spec in this universe that we can’t control but we still have decisions to make that can make a difference. (1991)

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Where Do We Go Now? sp—It could have been New York City and the gang war between the Jets and the Sharks as seen in Westside Story. Or perhaps it could be the Bloods and the Crypts  who in reality  have an uneasy truce in Los Angeles which usually prevents them from killing each other. However this movie takes us to small village in Lebanon (although the name of the country is never mentioned to suggest a certain universality to the theme). In this case there are two factions Muslims and Christians with their respective houses of worship being literally facing each other. They live side by side in this small village but all too often friction occurs and the men are at each other and young men die. It is not this way with the women of this village who are friends and share their mourning and grief as they periodically bury their men. Second time Lebanese filmmaker Nadine Labaki who wrote, directed and starred in this movie was inspired to create this movie shortly after she had her first child and was in anguish over a political rift in her country during which men were fighting in the street. She was moved to consider how horrible it must be to raise your son in this environment. She wrote a screenplay of what might happen if the women of this village were to get together and conspire to stop this senseless killing of the boys and men. The result is a poignant and comedic fable, which reminds us what women can do when they work together to try to protect their families. Ms. Labaki is not only inspired but is very talented. She created this movie using mostly non-actors, who often worked from the concept of a scene rather than following a tight script. Nevertheless there were some particularly authentic dramatic moments, which were done quite well. It did take a little while for us to get completely oriented to the storyline and the 100 minutes running time could have been edited more tightly. The theme partially echoes an  Albanian film The Forgiveness of Blood where ancient traditions of mediation are used to try to prevent the feuds but in the current film Ms Labaki‘s  instincts clearly focuses on the power of women. (2012)  

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Last Call at the Oasis- sp  – People kill for it and we all are dependent on it. This  documentary is all about it and it is  “water”. It may not be a total surprise to you but the global water crisis will be the central issue facing our world this century. This film puts a human face on the struggle around the impact of global warming in areas such as the Central Valley in California which is drying up. You can look into the eyes of people from various communities in Texas, the Midwest and elsewhere. You can see how industrial chemicals are doing their damage to people through our water supply. You see an illustration in one locality where you could actually get a flash flame by putting a match to water coming from the faucet. You meet the real Erin Brockovitch (made famous by her film portrayal by Julia Roberts) who is still fighting for people suffering the effects of contaminated water. You also meet an everyday Midwestern housewife who achieved well deserved recognition when she went on a campaign to measure and demonstrate the impurity of the water in her community. The film doesn’t offer simple solutions. It makes the case for conservation of water and the urgent need to rethink agricultural techniques and urban water use. One of the many things that can be done is the recycling of our waste water which technology allows us to do but too many people are reluctant to consider. The film is directed and produced by Jessica Yu with major support from Participation Media which has supported many social action films such as Waiting for Superman, Inconvenient Truth, Darfur Now, The Help and many others. You will come away from this movie much better informed and most likely inspired to do something about one of the major global problems areas of your lifetime. However, you may, in fact feel frustrated and overwhelmed. At the conclusion of the film in very small print for a brief moment there are some  websites which are listed which should have been  shown in bold type across the entire screen. One of these sites is Takepart.com/lastcall. On it you will learn 10 easy ways you can conserve water as well as interesting facts such as that in poor parts of the world people live on 2.5 gallons of water /day, a 60 watt light bulb requires 5 gallons of water for every hour it is left on, toilets can use as much as 7 gallons/flush, the average household uses 350 gallons of water/day. There is also a story of one accident which  spilled  3 million gallons of manure into the Black River in NY causing an unimaginable amount of water pollution. You can all learn how to sign the Water Bill of Rights or get the National Geographic water calculator to test your true water footprint. This is the potential of this film to inform you and move you to action.