New Anatolian, Turkey
Dec 15 2006
Two films, two journeys
Author: Bill Meyer
People’s Weekly World Newspaper, 12/14/06 16:56
Movie Review
Director Robert Guédiguian ()
A few years ago, the entire life’s work of French communist director
Robert Guédiguian was screened in a retrospective tribute at the
Toronto International Film Festival.
Guédiguian is unique in that he has chosen the setting of Marseilles
for all his films, using the same principal actors in varying roles.
This creates an amazing and intriguing sense of continuity, even
though the themes and stories are extremely different from one film
to the next.
It isn’t surprising that his films are relatively unknown in the
United States. Choosing social themes that are based on knowledge of
class struggle, American imperialism and progressive politics, he
makes films that have limited commercial appeal to the Western media.
This year, for the first time, Guédiguian has ventured outside
Marseilles for a story about Armenia.
It’s a touching, thought-provoking drama about a French woman doctor
who has had little connection with her immigrant Armenian father, who
is suffering from heart problems. Rather than undergo surgery, he
slips away from her to his homeland to conclude his life. Her concern
takes her to a country she knows little about, a culture and a
history she has avoided most of her life.
His reasoning for returning home is beyond her understanding. But the
film makes a dramatic statement about the Armenian condition and the
emotions that draw people back to their place of birth. The film
`Voyage to Armenia’ is not only about the trip to a country, but the
journey one makes in life to discover true meaning and love for
people and their culture.
Since this film probably won’t be available for quite a while, you
can get a taste of a Guédiguian masterpiece by renting the available
DVD `Marius and Jeanette.’
In a revealing film about terrorism of the 1970s variety, Hans
Joachim-Klein tells his amazing tale. `My Life as a Terrorist’
follows the life of a member of the German radical left who joined up
with the infamous Carlos the Jackal and became involved in the 1975
plot to kidnap oil ministers in Vienna. The plot went awry and
resulted in the death of three captives.
The film points to Libya as having been implicated in the plot.
Through a process of negotiations with the authorities – including
the fact that he wasn’t one of the actual killers – Joachim-Klein
served a minimum sentence. After his release he went into hiding for
many years.
Joachim-Klein’s testimony decries the senseless violence adopted by
the radical left fringe of that era, and concludes, `From a moral
perspective, these groups had completely hit rock bottom.’
The soft-spoken Klein, the child of a troubled working-class family,
shows remorse for his involvement and makes a sincere effort at
trying to explain what drove some leftists to the extremes. As he
retraces critical moments and places in his life in an almost
cathartic way, the audience begins to share his newfound tranquility.
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From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
