In theaters everywhere (well, maybe in Manhattan): Rivers and Tides, a documentary showing Andy Goldsworthy at work. If you’ve not seen Goldworthy’s books basically the idea is to go out into the woods and arrange or alter natural items such as leaves, rocks, dirt, and moss. Governments and foundations pay him to do this and before Nature reclaims the work he takes photos to sell and put into art books. I thought that the funniest scene is in his kitchen at home in Scotland. He finishes a cup of coffee and tells his wife “I’m going out to work at the tree” in much the same tone as a factory worker. Worth seeing on a big screen, especially for the sequences of leaf chains flowing through streams.
Francis Ford Coppola provides an excellent argument for the DVD format with his director’s commentary on the Conversation (1974), a superb movie to begin with. He really explains the how and the why of the camera angles. His commentary on the Godfather DVD is also interesting for students of the interaction between the suits and the creative types in Hollywood. According to his commentary, Paramount was ready to fire Coppola 2.5 weeks into the filming. This despite the fact that Coppola had already captured some of what are today regarded as the best scenes in the movie, which of course went on to be one of the most profitable pictures ever. Mario Puzo’s book, on which the film was based, had become a bestseller and the studio thought a bigger name director was warranted. Coppola only saved his job by firing 4 of his subordinates whom he’d felt to be disloyal. This confused the studio sufficiently that he was able to finish shooting.
One Day in September (1999; Academy Award winner) documents Yasser Arafat’s terrorism operation at the 1972 Munich Olympics, told primarily by retired German offiicials, the Dutch widow of the Israeli fencing coach, and Jarnil Al Gashey, one of the killers (currently hiding, with his wife and children, “somewhere in Africa”).
The plot is vaguely familiar. Palestinians walk into the Olympic Village, kill two Jews and take nine others hostage. Despite the murders and the hostages the Games continue. The German government refuses to let an experienced Israeli hostage rescue team enter the country. Tens of thousands of curious onlookers and TV crews surround the apartment building in which the Arabs have holed up. The Bavarian police organize a group of untrained volunteer policemen to rescue the hostages but the effort is called off when they realize that it won’t be possible to surprise the Palestinians given that (a) the TV crews are filming the police sneaking around the roof, and (b) the terrorists are watching TV inside the apartments. The terrorists ask for a plane to take them to “an unspecified Arab country” and the German government arranges a decoy 727 at a nearby military field, to be filled with policemen (disguised as crewmembers) ready to overpower the leaders. Events at the airport go wrong very quickly. Apparently the public was kept informed of the plans and tens of thousands gawkers clogged the roads to the airport. The police in the 727 get scared and abandon their position, leaving an empty plane. The two Arabs who go into the 727 to check it out find that there aren’t any pilots so they come back out screaming that the whole thing is a trap. There is some shooting, meanwhile the hostages are trapped and tied inside two helicopters. The Germans organize a team of 5 police snipers to take on the 8 Palestinians but do not supply the snipers with radios. In the ensuing confusion, a sniper on the terminal roof shoots a sniper on the tarmac by mistake. The police forgot to order an armored car and weren’t willing to get anywhere near the terrorists without it (2 hour delay after the shooting started). The Arabs toss grenades and machine-gun fire into the helicopters, killing all 9 remaining Jews. Less than two months later, the surviving terrorists are freed by the German government and are given a hero’s welcome in Libya.
Around the same time that the movie was released, Abu Daoud, the planner of the operation, who was living in comfortable retirement in Jordan, released a French-language book about the operation that won the 1999 Palestine Prize for Culture. Yasser Arafat had denied involvement with the Munich murders at the time, claiming that it was the work of a radical spinoff of his own terrorist organization, but Daoud writes that Arafat saw him off on the mission with the words “Allah protect you”.
The movie is mostly interesting for what it reveals about how much has changed and not changed in 30 years. The TV clips show a festival atmosphere around Palestinian terrorism that persist in Muslim countries today but which has gone out of fashion in Europe and the U.S. German families were bringing their kids out to picnic and watch the exotic Arabs with guns. You probably wouldn’t see that today, even if the authorities would allow families with kids to get within a few hundred yards of an Arab hostage taking.
What hasn’t changed is the success of French and German policies toward violent Arabs. In the 1970s, Palestinian terrorists flowed freely in and out of these countries’ jails in exchange for the understanding that terrorist attacks would not be carried out in France of Germany proper. What do we see 30 years later? The September 11th terrorists using Hamburg as their planning and finance base; France and Germany being Saddam Hussein’s strongest supporters in Europe.
It is ridiculous to claim that France and Europe are “supporters” of Saddam. That’s falling into that stupid US cliche of “either you’re with us or against us” and shows little appreciation of recent events.
“Supporters” is a strong word. They are not fans of American actions that does not make them sympathetic to Saddam, regadless of how you phrase the situation.
France and Germany’s unaggressive police tactics are another issue. I think maybe they are so married to collective security that they lose sight of how to properly protect their country.
At least there were some in the western world that opposed (for whatever reason) the insanity that has become America.
what’s interesting is that China wasn’t bashed as much as the europeans..(by Pravda .. oops.. CNN I mean) I guess the europeans are supposed to help out in a racist daylight robbery of a nation as they are seen as ‘birds of the same “fine” feather’.
well this time they didn’t, not because they’re so humanistic.. or feel for the Iraqis.. the reasons are geo-political.
What made France and Germany interesting, is that they were not allowed to be pushed around like other countries were when it came to pushing for a resolution that would allow war to be waged on Iraq.
The attack on Iraq violates the charter of the UN. Without any proofs that Iraq posed a threat to the US or its neighbours, the invasion of Iraq is still just that: an unlawful invasion.
Rusia, China, France and Germany were against the war, based on the flimsy to non-existance evidence.
Of course, the new spin is `we are liberating Iraqis’. They were also fighting the thread of communism in Indonesia, East Timor, Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. And of course, the nationalism in Brazil and Argentina (the communism spin did not quite work there, so the coup had to be based on other grounds).
Ah, the memories. When Nicaragua posed an danger of invading the US with its fleet of four Mig airplanes, and Reagan launched an attack on a civil population.
You have to cherish these moments.
things change. After 9/11 it became clear that terrorists cells existe throughout the world and they do not represent the traditional national state but rather a new “being.” But this new thing is funded, supported, etc by national states in some cases. Now, to shut down terrorist cells, countries that support cells will have to be warned and finally measures taken to ensure they cease funding terror. Iraq, for example, gave 25 thousand via Hamas to every suicide bomber’;s family. Hamas is listed by US as terror group. Syria supports along with Iran Hizbollah, another terror group….
You may dislike what America has done in Iraq but you won’t be told this by the Iraqui people, so perhaps you ought to stay at home and tend your garden as Volaire suggested.
Now if you think France has taken a “moral” stance, then just look at where their major investments were.
To distingyuish between Europe and America, you nedd only go back to the 19th century writer, Henry James.
Yes: America does dumb and bad things. But they also have given more money in aid to more countries in the world than any country in history.
Smugness and self satisfaction do not put an end to terror. Your turn soon.
No country recognizes any higher authority on matters of vital interest. Why do American administrations find it necessary to “spin” invasions like this; why not just tell the public that the US needs to invade this or that rogue state to protect its vital interests?
France & Germany ‘support’ Saddam, the same way USA supported Indonesia, Iraq (in the 80s) and support Angola, South Arabia, Kuwayt, Israel among many others.
Everyone has it’s (hidden) interests…france has invested in Iraq’s oil fields… like USA has invested in Angola’s or South Arabia’s…
I don’t know which world to use: hypocrisy ou ignorance…
PS: Why does everybody seems to forget that it was more than (just) France, Germany and Russia against the *attack*. Canada, Mexico, Brasil, Belgium… among others were clearly against.
Please, don’t be fooled by the Bush administration or networks owned by the bush friends. US invaded Iraq not to protect the population (in the first hours, the troops were only based around oil stations and didn’t even try to stop burglars) but for oil.
First it was for 9/11. But Iraq is (hum… was until now) the only non muslim country. So Saddam was anti Bin Laden. Now this country is becoming the most muslim country in the world, far more than Afghanistan was.
Then the reason was for mass destruction weapons. Like bombs used by US army? But the UN inspectors and US army found nothing yet.
Then it was to free the population. Can you believe that? Honnestly? If so, why support countries that still have expeditive justice as Angola or South Arabia ? Rember who supported the Taliban regime until the 9/11? The USA.
But there is a country where there are mass destruction weapons (atomic bomb) and a dictatorial regime and a starving people. They even threat US soldiers and threat all the asian region. This country is North Korea. But there is no oil so the Bush administration (oil manufacturers and network owners) will never attack this country. Never.