The World Food Program (WFP) has recently launched a video blog called On the Road - with the first series set in Tanzania looking at nutrition centers, giving the viewer a taste of Masai goat and follows school kids as they walk six kilometers to get water to cook their lunch. The WFP is the United Nations’  frontline agency in the fight against global hunger. It is the world’s largest humanitarian organization.

It’s gritty, personal and uses cheap technology (namely a flip cam and online editing software, and candle light). The bloggers are aid workers for the WFP on the field, who often are working against the clock on their laptop’s battery’s life. It looks at their everyday experiences, without the confusion of politics or media.

There is also a video in-depth look at the Horn of Africa crisis, it’s causes and impacts.

This is a unique opportunity to see the kind of work the United Nations can do in the face of adversity and daunting odds.

Murphy can be reached at Lojano@comcast.net

This is a riveting account of the arrest and prosecution of one of Nazi Germany’s biggest critics.
Sophie Scholl was part of a group known as the White Rose, an organization bent on ending Hitler’s war machine (particularly on the eastern front).

It is 1943 and Scholl is arrested along with her brother for distributing anti-Nazi leaflets at a university in Munich.
The dialogue between Scholl and her interrogator is sharp and illuminating: the arguments both make for and against Nazism in Germany seem like they could be the warring sides of every German’s conscience at that time.
Is total war the answer to Germany’s problems? Should there be payback for the humiliation suffered by the Germans because of the Treaty of Versailles?
Hitler brought prosperity to Germany but at what cost?
There is also friction between Scholl and her interrogator because she is a student and he came from humble roots as a small town police officer. On more than one occasion he points out she was studying on the Reich’s dime.

 

He believes it is necessary to enforce the law, even if he doesn’t agree with them. Scholl believes one’s conscience should determine which laws should be followed or ignored.
Julia Jentsch does a remarkable job portraying Scholl, especially her understated heroism. She is fearless in some ways but the viewer is allowed to see her vulnerability at times.
“Sophie Scholl: The Final Days,” which is in German with English subtitles, is now available on DVD.

Murphy can be reached at Lojano@comcast.net

This extraordinary documentary-like film covers all bases when dealing with a massacre that occurred in Iraq in 2005.
The movie shows how United States marines handle a roadside bombing that kills one and injures two others. It is based on a true story.

The film portrays those who plant the bomb not as religious zealots but as those who are disillusioned with the American presence in Iraq.
It also shows the fear with which all citizens live: when they see the bomb being placed they don’t know what to do. Do they tell the Americans and risk retaliation from the insurgents or do they say nothing and face the wrath of the US marines?
As many as 24 people – including women and children – were slaughtered by American forces immediately following the bombing.
The viewer is drawn into the film because it never treats its subjects as two dimensional characters.

What can be taken away from the movie is that so many of those marines involved are essentially boys who lack experience and wisdom. Director Nick Broomfield should be commended for casting the roles using ex-marines.
One in particular – Elliot Ruiz – steals the show. Portraying Corporal Ramirez, he is as real as it gets. Ruiz is so good in the role it really feels like a documentary when the camera is on him.
One of the special features on the DVD is an audition in which Ruiz displays his talent. He is able to summon raw energy to deliver a believable angry and frustrated young man.
“Battle for Haditha” is available on DVD.

Murphy can be reached at Lojano@comcast.net

What is a criminal act and what is standard operating procedure?
That is the question asked again and again in this excellent documentary about the abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq.
Director Errol Morris (“The Fog of War”) does a wonderful job of showing the gray area of what happened there.
He combines footage of interviews with those in (and those who took) the now-infamous photos with some recreation of events. The latter is considered controversial with other documentarians but is done in such a way that it does not detract from the narrative.

It would be easy to simply condemn those involved and ignore their stories. Morris allows the soldiers to speak for themselves.
While far from absolving them from the humiliation they caused prisoners, the film lets the viewer decide when and if lines were crossed.
Lynndie England, the soldier shown in photos pointing to the exposed genitals of prisoners and who was convicted in a 2005 court-martial, explains that in part she was young (about 21) when it happened and that she was in love with Specialist Charles Graner. Graner, who was also convicted, appears to have been the main person circulating the photos.

Despite what the viewer hears from those who were there, the inescapable fact is that the photos don’t lie. They probably did an immense amount of damage to the image of the United States in the world, particularly in Arab and Muslim countries.
“Standard Operating Procedure” is now available on DVD.

Murphy can be reached at Lojano@comcast.net

This documentary style film keeps the viewer on the edge of his or her seat.
It depicts the lives of Algerians who are fighting against French colonial power between 1954 and 1962.
Banned in France when it was released, this film seems to side with the Algerians but provides a balanced approach to the problems inherent with post-colonial Algeria.

One of the more amazing feats of this film is that it does not use one frame of documentary or news footage. The scenes – especially the ones showing mass demonstrations – appear to be real.
“The Battle of Algiers” also shows the French military’s problem with fighting terrorism.
It is eerie how the issues facing the French in Algeria more than 50 years ago are the same as those faced by the United States in Iraq and Afghanistan today: there are bombs that are set off in public places and Algerians tortured by the French.
The French hunt National Liberation Front (FLN) leaders in the Casbah section of Algiers using paratroopers.
While it appears that the French have won against the FLN, the film ends with a massive demonstration of people seeking independence from France.

This film is excellent, taking just the right amount of time to reveal the motives of the Algerians as well as the French.
It also is a snapshot of the post-colonial era following World War II and provides lessons that should be heeded by the United States and other great powers today.
“The Battle of Algiers,” rereleased in 2003, is available on DVD.

Murphy can be reached at Lojano@comcast.net