Just the fact that Al-Jazeera angers westerners as well as Arabs is one indication it’s on the right track.
“Control Room” follows the Arab news organization during the second Iraq war with the United States.
It has been called Osama bin Laden’s mouthpiece by some in the United States but has also been banned by some Arab governments.

One of the things that makes this such a powerful documentary is that it is truly fair and balanced. There are interviews with a range of Arabs and westerners that show the many views about the war.
Perhaps the most intriguing interviews are with an Al-Jazeera correspondent and an American military spokesman.
The reporter makes no bones about the fact that he is trying to convey the human cost of war to his viewers. The military spokesman believes Al-Jazeera plays to its Arab audience in the same way Fox News panders to American patriotism.

Another powerful segment deals with the death of an Al-Jazeera reporter who was killed by a bomb dropped on the building where he was staying. Other buildings housing journalists were also hit.
It is interesting how the United States touts the precision of it munitions and its ability to keep collateral damage to a minimum but how it claims the bombing of key buildings is a mistake.
In a world where it is easy to take sides in the war, “Control Room” is a refreshing and objective assessment of the war and how it is covered.
“Control Room” is available on DVD.

Murphy can be reached at Lojano@comcast.net

As many as two million people are being displaced because of the construction of the Three Gorges Dam in China.
“Up the Yangtze” chronicles the life of two teenagers who work on a cruise ship that gives “farewell” tours to those who want to see the Yangtze before the dam alters it forever.

One of the youngsters is an arrogant young man who boasts he makes more working for the cruise line than both of his parents.
Sixteen-year-old Yu Shui also works on the boat because her family cannot afford to send her to school.
She lives in a tin shack by the river and neither of her parents read or write.
Director Yung Chang does a wonderful job of showing the effects of the dam on the destitute farmers who live by the water’s edge.
Their plight is juxtaposed to that of the people (mostly westerners) who ride the cruise ships. They are typically overweight and well-to-do.
Yung Chang lets the camera linger on his subjects and that allows the audience to feel a sense of empathy with them.

However, “Up the Yangtze” lacks information about and history of the dam.
The director understandably wants to show the human side of the project but because of that fails to educate the audience.
Taken for what it is – a real-life human drama – this film is excellent.
For students of modern China, this film allows them to see the true consequence of what may or may not be progress.
“Up the Yangtze” is now available on DVD.

Murphy can be reached at Lojano@comcast.net

Despite its age, this film continues to be relevant.
“The Killing Fields” is a film about friendship and survival with the backdrop being civil war.
It is the true story about New York Times reporter Sidney Schanberg (Sam Waterston) and Cambodian journalist and translator Dith Pran (Haing S. Ngor) in early to mid-1970s Cambodia.

The movie shows the secret bombing of Cambodia by the United States (the bombing was hardly a secret to the Cambodians) and the eventual fall of the regime to the Khmer Rouge.
Director Roland Joffe shows the stunning beauty of the country while also depicting the horror of life under the rule of Pol Pot.
The director shows explicitly how life with the Khmer Rouge in power was brutal and unforgiving, where children are encouraged to inform on adults.
Waterston’s character is wracked with guilt because he was able to leave Cambodia and had, despite his best efforts, to leave Pran behind.

Pran learns quickly how to adapt to life in the death camps and lays low while waiting for his chance to escape.
This film is a nail-biter, with the audience left to wonder if Pran will ever get away or be killed along with thousands of others.
Aside from Waterston and Ngor (who won an Oscar for his portrayal of Pran), the film includes excellent performances by John Malkovich, Julian Sands, Craig T. Nelson and Spalding Gray.
“The Killing Fields” is now available on DVD.

Murphy can be reached at Lojano@comcast.net