A devastating history of Rohingya Muslims and Buddhist hatred in Barbet Schroeder's damning documentary, THE VENERABLE W

One of the great pleasures of watching a documentary by Barbet Schroeder -- this pleasure, by the way, comes much more from filmmaking prowess, rather than subject matter (which is usually grim) -- arrives via the manner in which Schroeder allows his subject to hang him/herself via his/her own words and deeds. Whether that subject be Idi Amin, Dr. "Penny" Patterson, Jacques Vergès or, as in THE VENERABLE W., an infamous Buddhist monk by the name of Ashin Wirathu, Schroeder never needs to stack the deck against his protagonists (antagonists?) because his subjects do that so very well on their own.

In addition to his hateful Buddhist monk, the filmmaker (shown at right) here tackles a still-timely subject to which there has so far been no real help: the torture, killing and deportation from Myanmar of the (predominantly Muslim) Rohingya population. Schroeder weaves into his film the history of both this monk and the campaign against the Rohingyas -- the latter of which began long before most of us in the western world had heard about it.

From the opening scene, in which our "venerable" W (irony is ever-present here, for those monks are often referred to as "venerables") compares Muslims to a particular breed of catfish, including in his speech some very nasty specifics, this “Monk” should have his robe confiscated -- and fast. Sure, he was in prison for a time, but that did not last nearly long enough.

If  you are as unfortunately naive as TrustMovies sometimes is, you may not have realized that there could even be such a thing as Buddhist fundamentalists. Of course there can, and they are on full display in this documentary, using idiot logic and hypocrisy to both excuse and push their anti-Muslim agenda. Organize any religion -- Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist -- and some part of that organization will turn right-wing, nationalist and hateful in order to achieve power, along with its oh-so-religious goals. When W. tells us at one point, "I teach mostly children," you'll cringe all over again.

Along the way of course  you will note comparisons to a number of current dictators (or would-be dictators), from Duterte to Bolsonaro, Putin to Trump. Myanmar's military dictatorship has much to answer for, of course, but this vicious monk has an equal amount, so far as the destruction of Muslims is concerned. In addition to W, we hear from those who support him, as well as those -- both Burmese and outsiders working for change -- who do not.

When, from midway onward, we see actual footage of the killing of Muslims, the shock and horror are revolting. And yet where this dreadful hatred and murder has come from is all too clear. (There are monk militias here, for Christ's sake!) One problem with the documentary is that there is no identification of almost any of the speakers/interviewees. But if you hang on, a very good and thorough ID-ing occurs as the end credits roll.

As someone smart once told us, "religion is the opium of the people" (and if you see that quote in its full and longer context, you will also see that it is not nearly as negative as you've imagined), religion can also become a poison that can grip an entire population. From Distrib Films US, and distributed here via Icarus Films Home Video, The Venerable W. hit DVD this past Tuesday, May 19 -- for purchase and/or rental, too. 

New documentary BURMA SOLDIER, via HBO, sheds some light on a dark country

We don't hear much about Burma, or the Republic of the Union of Myanmar, as it is now officially known -- unless it's to learn of yet another indignity heaped upon its off-and-on imprisoned people's leader Aung San Suu Kyi or upon the people them-selves. You'd have to travel to African to find a country in which the people suffer as much in silence and poverty, even as their leaders and military live the high life. Which makes BURMA SOLDIER, the new docu-mentary to debut on HBO 2 this Wednes-day, May 18, of particular interest. The film gives us an inside look at the country through the eyes of former soldier in that military.

In this 70-minute film from documentarians Nic Dunlop (shown at right, whose first film as co-director/writer/
producer this is), together with vets Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg (who last year gave us Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work), we meet Myo Myint Cho (shown below) and learn the story of his military career (beginning as a teenager: Burma has one of the highest percentages of child soldiers of any of the world's countries), his mishap with shrapnel, and his post-military life -- which includes a lot of reading, protesting, imprisonment, torture and more.

Initially we see Myo Myint in close-up, and so for some time, we don't see the whole of him. When we do, as below, we see that he is not whole -- not by a long shot. Which makes his work for Burmese freedom all that much more difficult and commendatory. We hear about some of the horrors perpetrated on the populace by the Burmese military, and though Myo Myint was one of them, we learn nothing of what he himself might have done in this regard. Still, one gets the feeling that his man feels guilty, if only as a bystander.

Myo Myint meets Aung San Suu Kyi (shown at left) and is inspired by her. For a time it looks as though the military dictatorship --  in power since 1962 (Burma declared its independence from Great Britain in 1948) -- will conceed to free elections. But no: One after another, promises of something better are made but never kept. When demonstrations take place, Myo Myint is arrested, imprisoned and tortured. According to this ex-solider, being at the front line of a battle is nothing compared to being interrogated.

Along the way we learn some history of this deprived country, as well as what happened to Myo Myint's family. Brother and sister emigrated to America and now live in Fort Wayne, Indiana -- home of the largest Burmese community in the U.S. (who knew?). This fellow has come a long way from the teenager (below) who joined his country's military to get a step up in life.

Narrated by Colin Farrell, with music by Paul Brill, the documentary is interesting most of all because of our lack on first-hand information about Myanmar, particularly about its military. And if the film offers a welcome happy ending for Myo Myint, at least -- for Burma, there remains sadly no such thing.