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Phil Donahue joins KPBS-Radio’s Film Club of the Air

April 23rd, 2008 by Scott Marks

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Eddie Vedder, Tomas Young, Ellen Spiro, Phil Donahue

On this morning’s Film Club we were joined via telephone by Phil Donahue who is making the rounds promoting his exceptional new anti-war documentary Body of War which he co-wrote and directed with Ellen Spiro. Phil spoke with great passion and intensity about the film’s subject Tomas Young, a paralyzed veteran cut down after only five days of service. The film details the unspeakable indignities the 25-year-old vet must endure on a daily basis as well his rapidly changing feelings concerning the merit of Bush’s “war on terror.”

Sadly, more people will see Morgan Spurlock’s giggle fest than Body of War. It’s not often that I use the word important when it come to cinema. I was hipped to this after seeing the trailer for A Night at the Opera which refers to the Marx Bros. romp as one of “the most important comedies ever made!”

Generally, if a poster contains the loaded term I break out in hives. That said, this is one of the most important films I have seen in years, and even though I’m a born pacifist and a die-hard Bush-hater it has forever changed the way I look at war.

I’ve talked this film up to like-minded friends as well as strangers at the checkout stand. (I hold back by not mentioning the catheter scene or that I cried all the way through it.) Unfortunately, the reaction is almost always the same: “I don’t know if I want to see it. It sounds too depressing.” It angers me that our society is pulling a blanket over their collective eyes as I am convinced that films like this (not Redacted) will help bring about an end to the war.

Since starting this blog I have never once insisted that you see a film, not even one of Marty’s. I’m doing it now. Please, hold off on seeing Harold and Kumar and if you’re smart, skip The Life Before Her Eyes and Deception altogether. Break away from your computers and home entertainment centers and see this movie opening weekend.

Also on the show, three concise minutes on Shine a Light, reviews of My Blueberry Nights, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden and Redbelt in addition to some closing fireworks over Zombie Strippers.

Note to San Diegans: Ellen Spiro will be making a personal appearance at this Saturday night’s 7:15 pm screening at The Ken.

Download the Film Club podcast here.

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Phil Donahue guests on KPBS Film Club tomorrow morning

April 22nd, 2008 by Scott Marks

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Phil Donahue, Tomas Young, Ellen Spiro & Eddie Vedder

Phil Donahue will be joining us by telephone on KPBS-Radio’s These Days tomorrow to talk about his new film Body of War.

The dean of the modern American talk show, long absent from the airwaves, co-wrote and directed this gut wrenching documentary about Iraq vet Tomas Young. Young felt it his patriotic duty to enlist two days after 9/11. The 25-year-old soldier took a bullet to the spine after serving only five days in Iraq. (Young arrived in Iraq ten months after our disillusioned Commander in Chief declared “Mission Accomplished!)

Instead of adapting a straightforward “bash Bush” approach, the film chronicles Young’s return home and his struggle to adapt to a paralyzed body. We watch in horror as he slowly regains consciousness at Walter Reed Hospital and begins questioning the entire premise of Bush’s folly.

It is not often that I cry at movies (unless it’s a debilitating Will Ferrell comedy), but this one had me weeping almost from the get-go. I probably won’t sell any tickets by telling you upfront that the film is a downer, so if you feel like taking a walk on the mild side there is always the new Morgan Spurlock assembly of skits, Where in the World is Osama Bin Laden?

There has been a glut of anti-war documentaries released over the past several years and after having seen all of them, Body of War is easily the strongest and most honest indictment of America’s “war on terror.” Don’t waste your time on another SNL-spawned atrocity this weekend. As difficult as the subject matter may be, I doubt that you will see a finer, more moving portrait anytime soon.

For those of you living in the San Diego area, Donahue’s collaborator Ellen Spiro will make a personal appearance this Saturday night at Landmark’s Ken Cinema.

If you can’t join us live, make sure to download the podcast.

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