Alan Adelson/Kate Taverna's THE PEOPLE VS AGENT ORANGE: Our poisoning continues....

 

This new documentary begins in the state of Oregon back in 2015 with a quiet shock: The same horrific chemicals used in Agent Orange are being used to spray forests here in the USA. 

THE PEOPLE VS AGENT ORANGE calls the use of this herbicide/defoliant "the most destructive incidence of chemical warfare in modern history," and by the time you've finished this information-filled, quiet, never-raises-its-voice documentary, you are likely to agree.  

As written and directed (with the help of additional writer Véronique Bernard) by Alan Adelson (shown below) and Kate Taverna (at left) the film takes us back to the Vietnam era, when Agent Orange was first used and its lethal effects on humanity initially noticed (and done nothing about). 

Older readers may remember the enormous amount of pushing, insisting and finally fighting our government -- that initially refused to even recognize the harm done by Agent Orange -- by American 

servicemen who had fought in Vietnam and suffered the effects of the chemical. What we didn't see much (maybe any) of back then was the horror inflicted upon the Vietnamese themselves, where as many as four million people were exposed to the chemicals. 

The People vs Agent Orange remedies this by moving gracefully back and forth between Vietnam and the USA (with a few side trips to Paris), while showing us the important work being done by two women. 

Tran To Nga (shown at left, below), herself a victim of Agent Orange whom we see in both Vietnam and France, is suing the American chemical industry -- including U.S. multinational companies Dow Chemical and Monsanto, both of which are now owned by the German conglomerate Bayer. We view not only her legal fight but the visits she makes to the younger generation of Agent Orange's dreadful legacy.

In America, we meet Carol Van Strum (below), who, for decades now, has continued to expose the use of toxic herbicides in the Pacific Northwest. All this -- even after a home break-in and the disappearance of a trove of documents that incriminate the chemical companies, and a hugely suspicious fire that destroys her home and kills family -- attests to the strength and insistence of Van Strum and other activists who continue to fight for justice. 

How these companies have gotten away with all this and continue to do so remains yet another of the great shames of our nation. Where is justice and accountability in all this? Will corporations, along with their money and lobbyists, forever control us, while destroying us in the process? (The latest example of the USA's no accountability practice comes as our new President, while admitting that Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince ordered the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, declines to level any punishment against the despicable little Prince.) 

The chemical spraying, which we both observe and learn more about, does not simply land on foliage but goes into the area's drinking water, as well. Plus, the chemicals themselves have a half-life that's truly frightening. The documentary easily combines 60-year-old history with recent events and actions, while profiling its two leading women, along with brief glimpses of other activists consistently fighting against the chemical behemoths. 

The People vs Agent Orange is a quiet, composed film that never grows angry. But so comprehensive and scathing is the information presented that, by the finale, viewers should be incensed beyond belief. 

Running 87 minutes, in English, French and Vietnamese with English subtitles as needed, the documentary opens this Friday, March 5, in a couple dozen cities across the country. Click here to access information on all the current theaters, virtual and otherwise, where the film can be seen.

A movie to make socialist New Yorkers proud: Tom Boothe's wondrous doc, FOOD COOP

There a scene in Tancrède Ramonet's fine French TV documentary, No Gods, No Masters, in which a woman during the Spanish Civil War explains to us how the factory where she worked, now taken over by the workers themselves, was able to prosper without obeisance to hierarchy, religion or government control but by simply working together toward a common goal.

It's an inspiring moment, and watching the 2016 documentary FOOD COOP -- written and co-directed (with Maellanne Bonnicel) by Tom Boothe -- finally making its way to a U.S. release via DVD, you may realize that something very like this has been existing quite successfully in Brooklyn, New York, since 1973.

Mr. Boothe, shown at right, seems to have had a double purpose in making his terrific little film: He wanted to document the history, success and workings of this Brooklyn food coop, as well as helping to use this model for a similar food coop in his adopted city of Paris, France.

That French coop, La Louve, opened its doors in November of 2017 and this month celebrates the beginning of its third successful year of offering first-class food at affordable price -- which is pretty much exactly what the earlier Brooklyn coop has been doing for nigh unto 47 years.

This busy, bustling place (above) may be located in what is now uber-wealthy and gentrified Park Slope, but back in 1973 when it began, things in Brooklyn were a lot different. Now, according to one of the folk interviewed in this eye-opening documentary, "The Food Coop is one of the only racially and economically diverse places left in Park Slope." The filmmakers give us some of the history of the coop, as well a whole lot about not only how it works but why it works as well as it does.

This is fascinating stuff, and it's not hard to understand why Boothe wanted to use Park Slope as somewhat of a model for Paris. The coop is owned by its members, you must be a member to shop there, and members must work at the coop 2-3/4 hours per month to maintain their membership. According to the founders, it is members' time -- and not their money -- that assures their loyalty and devotion.

We hear from a huge and varied number of coop members as they work, and every one of them seems both intelligent and well-spoken. One woman (above), having done a thorough comparison between the coop and Whole Foods, found the coop's prices (for much better food, by the way) around 40 per cent below that of Whole Foods for a savings of around $3,000 per year.

We learn how and why the coop is able to secure first-class food in all areas (except maybe chocolate: that section is fascinating in itself), with cheeses among the most interesting discussions. (One thing to which the movie might have devoted more time: the coop's "joining" fee, as well as its "investment" fee.)

We even get a section on discipline in the coop: What happens when there is theft of either time or food. What the filmmakers have decided to show us could hardly have been chosen any better or edited any more wisely or concisely.

In just 97 minutes we're treated to the best lesson possible in socialism vs capitalism. Nothing I've seen in the five years since having to leave New York for Florida (for economic reasons) has made me miss the city any more than this wonderful and important film. Long may this food coop survive and prosper!

From Bullfrog Films and distributed via Icarus Home Video, Food Coop hits the street this coming Tuesday, November 4 -- for purchase and (I hope) rental. On the DVD extras is a nice interview with Joe Holtz, co-founder of the coop, and a terrific one with filmmaker Boothe.

Such imagination! Luc Besson's VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS arrives

For those of us who've loved Luc Besson's earlier work -- La Femme Nikita, The Professional, The Fifth Element and Lucy -- the chance to see this filmmaker bounce back with another imaginative gem is too good to pass up. Bounce he does, and then some. His new VALERIAN AND THE CITY OF A THOUSAND PLANETS is a delightful, if a little too lengthy, adventure that puts the leaden and repetitive garbage of the Star Wars franchise to utter shame. It's ever so light on its feet, full of amazing visual effects and wonderfully weird creatures, even as it leads us into and through a hugely involved narrative so easily and richly that we follow along, lapping it up like the happy puppies we moviegoers remain when confronted with a space-travel/kids-adventure movie this clever and enchanting.

M. Besson (shown at left), bless his naughty little heart, also has some fun for the more sophisticated adults on hand. Take his sequence featuring Ethan Hawke as a space-age pimp, and Rhianna (shown below) as his most special "girl." Here, the latter shape shifts into just about every good-old-fashioned heterosexual male fantasy -- from school-girl to nurse to bondage queen and lots more -- and yet the movie remains so good-natured and welcoming that it never comes near betraying its deserved PG rating. (The violence, too, is distanced and quick; no wallowing in blood and gore here.)

And if the movie's plot is the usual piffle, its theme -- protecting all species and living in harmony (that's what the titular "City of Thousand Planets" is all about) -- is always worth considering.

The leading actors -- Dane De Haan and Cara Delavigne (above) - are just fine as sparring partners and would-be lovers, while Clive Owen (below) makes a perfectly nasty, irredeemable villain.

But it's the vast and amazing array of those other "species" that makes the movie so much fun. As adapted by Besson (from the French comic book by Pierre Christin and Jean-Claude Mézières), the screenplay introduces each of these bizarre wonders and then spends just enough time with them so that we understand what they're about and what they need to accomplish -- before moving on to the next delight.

This makes the movie bounce along with surprising energy and incident, and just at that moment prior to our saying, OK enough, we're already on to another bit of wonderment. There are so many of these oddball creations that I'll just mention a couple here: the greedy, talkative trio of know-it-alls (above) who land our hero and heroine in and out of trouble, and the aggressive, non-stop alien "attack dog" (below) who gives our twosome quite the clever chase.

Especially lovely is the planet and its inhabitants (two photos below) who set the movie in motion and help conclude it in the kind of feel-good fashion that will please the kids, while providing the lovely beach (shown at bottom) where our twosome may someday honeymoon, if they're lucky.

Interestingly enough, neither Valerian nor his Laureline are anything approaching super-heroes. They are simply very good at what they do, while making the best use of the current technology at hand.

Consequently, I fear, Valerian and the City of a Thousand Planets is simply too smart and too creative for our current dumbed-down audiences (and critics, too), not to mention our cretinous Trump followers who will demand much more violence and hatred than is on display here. (Besson's film is clearly pro-immigration.) So the movie may come and go without making much of a splash now. But like so much of M. Besson's work, it will linger to find an increasingly appreciative audience over time.

From STX Entertainment and running 2 hours and 17 minutes, the movie opens just about everywhere tomorrow, Friday, July 21. To see about a location near you and/or tickets for same, simply click here.