Category Archives: Film

DVD review: Benise – The Spanish Guitar

Review by Dawoud Kringle

Benise-spanish-guitar_t614A few years back, PBS aired a production of Benise: The Spanish Guitar as part of a fundraiser. The production was released as a DVD. Described in concert reviews as “The Latin River Dance,” this promised to be a monumental artistic statement in the Spanish guitar tradition, and beyond.

After a careful viewing, its real merits are obvious. The production is well paced, the musicians and dancers were spot on professionals, well rehearsed, and the production values are very well done.

But the whole thing leaves me with a profound sense of betrayal. Benise and his desperately needed plethora of musicians, dancers, elaborate stage sets, and CGI all conspire to evoke well planned emotional responses from audiences of limited taste and musical sensitivity – all with a meticulously choreographed technical perfection that is insincere and mechanical. It is, in fact, for those who have more musical sensitivity than the type whose idea of fine Mexican cuisine is an evening at Taco Bell, an insult to one’s intelligence.

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Steve D. Dalachinsky Remembers Lawrence D. “Butch” Morris (Part 2) & “BLACK FEBRUARY” Film Screening @ Nublu

Poetry by Steve D. Dalachinsky

Conduction # Infinity (Out of Reach but Never Out of Touch)

1.
Butch: his mischievous smile > stern look > open laugh > dapper apparel >
a real dandy > like back in the days when > his midrange slightly twanged voice >
everything I’ll say is clichéd pompous emotional > rubbed in ashes at times > such elaborate performance we produce sometimes for no one > the wind > trees > the rushing water > walking on hot coals to emit a portrait of pain > among the last & first budding flowers & weeds > his baton / those lighter than air dancing shoes > gentlemanliness > his overall attire that gruff little me admired so much > his NEATNESS > those dancing shoes those dancing shoes > that held him firmly in place > he passed the way neighborhoods pass yet always sustain their quality > personality > somewhere in the brick > the way seasons pass & are replaced always by hosts of new  hustlers > new lovers> & he one of the last of the real of the real > a unique lover of the unique & loved by all > the unique & mundane alike > come again next fall > winter > spring > summer > come again in storm & dust > those dancing shoes that I wanted so much > last of the real of the real > dancing on indifferent waters…

2.
it’s warm grey > a partial of a bridge floats between 2 buildings > bare trees blanket the river > a lifetime’s profound effect inspires the music’s language > qualities > progress >
shared experiences on & off the bandstand > intelligence > compassion > passion > courage > contact > appreciation > special > gifted > interpersonal > shrewd > sharp always zeros in on feelings & strengths > brought out the best in all > presence > worked with nurturing > worked til the end > gave as he danced in those special shoes > baton wave(r)ing >  all for the flight the stage the flow the all the legacy for the future to be taken > remarkably dignified > professional > though sometimes lost his cool > always taught with his presence > treated all as equals > a prime element of conduction > open direct validation > hey I’m with the band I’d feel sometimes > those dancing shoes that held him in place rooted to the NOW > truly always in the instance > makes you get it > get what he gets > the essence of the process > challenging > demanding > draining > gotta get it right > you knew when he knew he got it right > that smile the body relaxing > though he never felt secure > gave more than enough > but when he felt he failed or that he didn’t go far enough you saw it on his face & when he succeeded you saw it on his face > that smile > the baton relaxing > worked with every type of person > instrument in completely unique ways developed a new concept of world music taking it far beyond that simple term > far beyond the world creating a world of worlds > a clinician bridging 2 worlds 3 worlds endless worlds > how he made the musicians & instruments react/interact > musician & instrument becoming one > helped folks connect with their inner voice > understand & tap into their strengths > mixing their personal languages with his > travelling around the world like running up & down stairs > room heart mind journey commitment > the work always first > well maybe not always >
nothing can stop this force even up to the end > radiates > a special relationship with everyone > heartbreaker with the skill to be a real human being > & so CHARMING >
a charmer a lover > the more one let one self go the more one understood the concept he put forth both audience & orchestra > world traveler dandy handled his illness  positively privately maturely > a mature guy this Butch > a child a dandy a flirt > the band became his family as did his friends & his audience > we all became his lovers of sorts > this perfectionist who rehearsed performed demanded > he left me his extra food coupons in Marseilles & a drawer full of vitamins too > & when I finally got the process his concept what conduction was wow I was up there with him expecting laughing scowling relaxing tensing up getting frustrated or getting HIGH > he was a one of a kind > his contributions will live on > he will & does have imitators but not duplicators > disciples even > filled with exploration > fiery dancey > shoes I want those shoes that dignified presence on the dance floor > as I said he was a hard task master but when he got the results he wanted everyone knew it everyone felt it everyone got it > transcendent > like dancing on different waters > bridging > expanding > building > a life partially hidden by the seasons > like dancing on different waters > last of the real of the real > spirit genius > genuine > scraping the sky with his wand > wandering into the void a partial of a bridge suspended between 2 buildings sunset a lifetime blanketed by a river of trees……………………. Continue reading →

Documentary Film: PUNK IN AFRICA – Three Chords, Three Countries, One Revolution…!!!!

Courtesy of PUNK IN AFRICA website

Courtesy of PUNK IN AFRICA website

Title: Punk In Africa
Director: Keith Jones
Producer: Deon Maas
Released year: 2011
Time: 82 minutes
Countries: South Africa/Zimbabwe/Mozambique

In 1976, as the Soweto Uprising was moving the anti-Apartheid struggle into a more militant stance, another revolution of sorts was starting in cities across South Africa. Inspired from abroad, but entirely filled with its own unique anger and outrage, punk rock exploded into a country where the Rolling Stones were banned from the radio. In their clothing and hairstyles, their lyrics and their decibel levels, these bands with both black and white musicians such as Wild Youth, Gay Marines and National Wake  broke the law. Punk rock in the Apartheid era was called the music of the devil.

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Film Documentary: “THE HOUSE I LIVE IN” A film by Eugene Jarecki – The War on Drugs has never been about drugs!

Over the past 40 years, the War on Drugs has cost more than $1 trillion and accounted for over 45 million arrests. The U.S. holds 25% of the world’s prisoners, yet accounts for only 5% of the world’s population. Black individuals comprise 13% of the U.S. population and 14% of drug users, yet they are 37% of the people arrested for drug offenses and 56% of those incarcerated for drug crimes.

SYNOPSIS

As America remains embroiled in conflict overseas, a less visible war is taking place at home, costing countless lives, destroying families, and inflicting untold damage  upon future generations of Americans.  In forty years, the War on Drugs has accounted for more than 45 million arrests, made America the world’s largest jailer, and damaged poor communities at home and abroad. Yet for all that, drugs are cheaper, purer, and more available today than ever before.
Filmed in more than twenty states, THE HOUSE I LIVE IN captures heart-wrenching stories from individuals at all levels of America’s War on Drugs. From the dealer to the grieving mother, the narcotics officer to the senator, the inmate to the federal judge, the film offers a penetrating look inside  America’s longest war—a definitive portrait revealing its profound human rights implications.
The film recognizes the seriousness of drug abuse as a matter of public health,  and investigates the tragic errors and shortcomings that have meant this symptom is most often treated as a cause for law enforcement, creating a vast machine that largely feeds on America’s poor, and especially on minority communities. Beyond simple misguided policy, the film examines how political and economic corruption have fueled the war for 40 years, despite persistent evidence of its moral, economic, and practical failures.

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Short Film Feature: “FOLI” – There Is No Movement Without Rhythm by Thomas Roebers

Text by Sohrab Saadat Ladjevardi

I love YouTube…and by chance I found this short documentary film in YouTube. Visually and musically this film is so beautiful that I decided to post it in DooBeeDoo. This short film says so much in such a short time. It tells and shows us about one thing that we aren’t aware of in our daily lives. Guess what?

Photo courtesy of Thomas Roebers

Speaking of this short film

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