Fall arrives with a new community film series. Fresh Cuts: Recent World Film will highlight several of the best, recently-released films from around the world. We have curated them from a long list of contenders and each will illuminate a different culture and a multitude of world issues. I will host the series and moderate a Q&A session after each screening. We hope you join us for a wonderful series of fascinating films and stimulating discussion. I also review one new film this month—a difficult but important documentary. Finally, I give short reviews of a show and two related books that should serve as warnings to us all in our country today.

Fresh Cuts: Recent World Film

All films will be presented at 6:30pm on Saturdays at The Cube, 8371 Northfield Blvd.

Admission is $10 and includes a drink and popcorn. See the MCA website at www.mca80238.com for tickets.

9/14: Crossing (Georgia and Turkey).
9/21: The Zone of Interest (UK).
10/5: The Boy and The Heron (Japan).
10/21: To Kill a Tiger (India).

My reviews of the above films (except The Boy and The Heron, coming soon) are at www.frontporchne.com

Sugarcane (2024)

This powerful and difficult documentary tells the story of Indigenous children in British Columbia who were sent to segregated boarding schools, predominantly run by the Catholic Church. As the film notes, the program was meant “to get rid of the Indian problem.” Many of the children were beaten, others were abused in various ways, some took their own lives, and some just disappeared. Recent scans of one school uncovered unmarked graves on the grounds, and further investigations ensued. The same story has been unfolding across Canada (as well as the U.S.) for decades, and this documentary wraps the larger issues around personal stories related to this one particular school. But this is not an isolated story, and so much of this issue has been buried along with so many forgotten children.

It is a sobering and uncomfortable film, and some of that discomfort comes in one family story that threads throughout the larger narrative. Directed by Emily Kassie and Julian Brave NoiseCat (the latter is whose family story we see), the film is fairly sparse and quiet, with a melancholy score and images that linger. One particularly affecting moment in the film comes as a former student speaks to a Catholic priest and gives us a timeless warning: “We’ve heard apologies before, but we don’t see any action.” We can start acting by seeing the film.

Opens 9/4 at the Sie Film Center in Denver.

Babylon Berlin

If you like your politics tinged with sex, violence, intrigue, and yes, dancing, then this wonderful show is for you. The four available seasons span the years 1929–1932. Season five, set to film this fall and air in the U.S. sometime in 2025, will finish at the beginning of Hitler’s reign in 1933. As the showrunners note, the “Babylon” aspect of the Berlin society during the Weimar era came to an end at that point, and it was a natural ending point for the series. While the show is a fictional neo-noir detective-tinged thriller, it is based in historical fact and incorporates actual events into its fictional structure.

If you had told me one of the showrunners was veteran German director Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run), I would have watched this show from day one. Tykwer is a film historian and has always been adept at incorporating the old and the new to give us something exciting, fresh, and enticing. As part of the production crew, he has done so here. The show incorporates new songs with the old, new dance routines with some old, and characters who could have lived in any era.

The writing, acting, directing, cinematography, editing, and sound are all first-rate and keep you engaged on every sensual level throughout the show. Most impressive, however, are the sets. From the first episode, we are immersed in the world of 1929 Berlin and never look back. In the context of the two book reviews contained in this review, you get a solid picture of the historical, political, and social atmosphere of the period, and therefore, you can see the warning signs for our own society. Even on its own, however, this show is dazzling.

Available through Prime Video.

In the Garden of Beasts

Book by Erik Larson

This interesting historical non-fiction book tells the story of Ambassador William Dodd. He became the U.S. ambassador to Germany in 1933 and was stationed in Berlin in the middle of Hitler’s ascension. Culled from archives, official state papers, memoirs, and diaries, this fascinating book immerses us in the early days of Hitler’s Berlin. Dodd’s daughter Martha wrote prodigiously, and many of the personal accounts and flavor of Berlin come from her. Among other interesting nuggets, several stuck out to me: the sheer number of people who saw themselves as a “check” to Hitler’s power, and, conversely, the people such as Ambassador Dodd who were terribly naïve to Hitler’s true intentions—despite the obvious, glaring evidence. It is a fascinating historical study but also a stark warning to everyone in the world today.

Prequel

Book by Rachel Maddow

This nonfiction book tells a complementary tale to Larson’s historical novel. While Larson tells the story on the German side, Maddow’s book chronicles the rise of American fascism from the 1920s through the advent of WWII. Here, we go inside the meetings of American Nazis and various other fascist groups who sought to undermine American democracy while spreading fear, divisiveness, and unrest throughout the country. The sheer volume of bad actors, politicians, religious groups, and citizen militias is extraordinary to read about today. History tends to push these people/groups to the fringes, but they were part of the mainstream and had uncomfortable levels of support throughout society and government. This is another cautionary tale of how close we came to a fascist American state in the past, and if we are not careful and vigilant, in the future. We can all take heed.

Vincent Piturro, PhD, is a Professor of Film and Media Studies at MSU Denver. Contact him directly at vpiturro@msudenver.com or follow him on Twitter. For more reviews, search The Indie Prof at FrontPorchNE.com.