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Idi Amin Dada was not the only leader of a newly independent African nation who was accused (on the basis of reliable evidence) of bizarre practices. The former French colony known as the Central African Republic was governed from 1966 to 1977 by a man known as Jean Bedel Bokassa. After he was deposed, he was accused of cannibalism. This documentary by Werner Herzog explores the years of his increasingly strange and paranoid rule of that country, and features an interview with a western journalist who was imprisoned by Bokassa as a result of a garbled telex. Bokassa was ousted shortly after he staged an elaborate, widely publicized and very expensive coronation for himself as the “Emperor” of the Republic, during a state visit to another African country. Read More »

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The police are called to a murder scene and quickly discover that the murderer, the victim’s son, is holed up in his house with two hostages. Through a series of interviews with both the murderer’s fiancée and his theatre director the police piece together a picture of a man losing touch with reality. Read More »

Diane Weyermann wrote:
Timothy Treadwell’s death was as sensational as his life: Having presumed he
could live safely among the grizzly bears of the Alaskan wilderness, the outdoorsman and author (Among Grizzlies)–along with his partner, Amie Huguenard–was eventually
killed and devoured by one of the very animals to whom he had devoted years of study. Read More »

allmovie.com
In a slightly padded but well-acted and relevant drama, an Australian mining company and a group of aboriginals go to court to settle a dispute over sacred land that the company wants to mine. When the Ayers Mining Company sets out to begin construction of its mine with bulldozers and earth-movers, the Aboriginals physically block the work because the site is exactly where the green ants will gather to dream (a 40,000-year-old legend) and it cannot be disturbed. The company tries the usual means of getting their way — through bribes and arguments — but nothing budges the men who came to defend the land. Once in court, it is quickly apparent that tribal laws and customs and beliefs are very different than Western laws — and how the issue will be resolved is sticky indeed. Read More »

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In this documentary, the dramatic ski-jumping exploits of Walter Steiner are explored, along with his life-story and the philosophy which motivates him. Steiner is a Swiss woodcarver who experiences something resembling bliss in the confrontation with fear which is a feature of ski-jumping. One highlight of the film is its slow-motion footage of jumping. Read More »

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This moving documentary by director Werner Herzog enters into the world of Fini Strabinger of Bavaria, who is both deaf and blind. Fini has made a career of helping others who are similarly afflicted, teaching them sign language and taking them on field trips to gardens and touching zoos. Told in an unaffected, homey style, this film uses a minimum of narration as it movingly explores the lives of these people. One of the film’s highlights is footage showing Fini’s reactions to her first airplane flight. Read More »

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Herzog takes a film crew to the island of Guadeloupe when he hears that the volcano on the island is going to erupt. Everyone has left, except for one old man who refuses to leave. Herzog catches the eeriness of an abandoned city, with stop lights cycling over an empty intersection. Read More »