Emily and Sarah Kunstler's new documentary, William Kunstler: Disturbing the Universe , answers Prufrock's question "Do I dare"; their father does indeed dare to disturb the universe, over and over, in his continuous battle against injustice. The film is part personal history and part historical accounting of their father's fights against injustice, fights that sometimes left his family and the public wondering what justice Kunstler was serving. As the daughters retell some of his history, they are not only providing their viewers with a lens of his past, but they are also trying to make meaning out of their father's career.

Starting with his early cases, those that defined him as the civil rights lawyer to have on your side, the film footage began with a brief history of the Berrigan and the Chicago 7 cases. These were defining moments that made Kunstler a civil rights household name. Retelling Attica, the film shows the agony of defeat, the senseless deaths and an injustice that was never righted. The daughters visit the site of Attica, filming the words on a monument to the fallen guards. They note that there has never been a monument/written notice to the fallen prisoners, so they do the justice their father ingrained in them: the names of the fallen prisoners are listed on the screen. Another of the film's poignant moments is the look at the Central Park Jogger case. Viewing the early parts of the case, we see Kunstler coming to the defense of Yusef Salaam, an act questioned by many since Salaam supposedly was a savage member of a "pack of wolves" that raped a jogger in Central Park. The film later discloses how the five originally charged with the case were found innocent, a testament to Kunstler's belief in justice.

Kunstler, though, isn't always redeemed for the public and for his daughters. At times, he is portrayed as a lawyer who has lost his vision for "correct" justice, evident in the history of his questionable cases: a mock cat trial where he represented Tyrone the Cat for acts against humanity, representation of John Gotti, defense of El Sayed Noseir (assassin of Rabbi Meir Kahane). 

The Kunstler girls did not have an ordinary upbringing. While many young children grow up scared of ghosts and monsters, they grew up scared of the FBI and police. One of the daughers recounts a memory of picking up the phone, hearing a dial tone, expecting to hear evidence of the phone being tapped. When their father was defneding Noseir, protestors angrily shouted outside their Manhattan brownstone, causing the girls, on their return from school, to sometimes continue walking, not wanting people to know that they lived in the house of the man defending the killer of a Jewish leader. 

At the memorial service for their father, Kunstler's photo looms large, a figure that not only left his mark on the public, but also on his daughters. Just like their father, they too dare to disturb the universe by not only reminding the public of their father's fights, but also through their production company Off Center Media that produces documentaries focused on injustices in the criminal system.

Part poetry, part pot heaven, Tim Blake Nelson's latest film, Leaves of Grass is sheer delight. The film stars Edward Norton, playing twin brothers Bill and Brady. Bill escapes his family roots of Little Dixie, Oklahoma, finding home in the Ivy League world of classical philosophy (he is a prof at Brown University being courted for a position at Harvard Law School), studying and lecturing about the notion that you really don't control the course of your life. His brother Brady reads his brothers published articles, even if he uses the dictionary (not just any dictionary, Brady prefers the O.E.D.), during the time he is not tending to his hydroponic pot business. The film revolves around the two brothers. Brady lures Bill back home (under false pretenses) so that Bill can stand in for him (be an alibi) while Brady goes off to settle things with a local drug dealer. Ultimately, Bill is forced to rediscover himself, no longer able to hide behind his academic distance from his roots. Great performances by Norton, supported by Susan Sarandon, Tim Blake Nelson, and Richard Dreyfuss. At times the film echoes a bit of the Coen Brothers (they are thanked in the credits) with a dynamic cast of characters (an edgy transplanted New York Jewish orthodonist). This film releases at the end of December--definitely go see it.

I love documentaries--the way they mediate reality, the stories that take form as scenes unfold, and the experience to learn something new about a subject I knew little about. Such was the case the other night at the Denver International Film Festival at the screening of Forgetting Dad, a new film by Rick Minnich and Matt Sweetwood. The film chronicles Minnich's father's (Richard) experience with amnesia, a condition he supposedly suffered as a result of a minor car accident. When his dad developed amnesia, shortly following the car accident, he emerged as "a new Richard," someone who had no idea about his past, nor showed any desire to reconnect with that past. The film sometimes reads like a mystery, following Rick has he searches for the truth about what happened, trying to discover whether the amnesia is truly a hoax, something his father has created to release himself from any obligations (such as his family) he no longer desired. It's a heartbreaking film at times, watching family members cope with the rollercoaster emotion ride their dad has taken them on, a ride he doesn't share with them. There is no clear conclusion to whether the amnesia is real or fabricated. The only truth that the filmmaker can conclude is that he may never know the truth of his father's condition. The film poignantly closes with a dedication to the old Richard and the new Richard.

With a refrigerator containing three winter squashes, I decided some type of squash soup was in order. Since Nan is not a fan of cinnamon/nutmeg seasonings, I decided to go for a chipotle flavor, and ended up producing a rather yummy (if I might say so myself) gorgeous sweet/savory soup.

Ingredients
2 medium size acorn squashes
1 medium butternut squash
4 Granny Smith apples
2 cups chicken stock (vegetable stock or water can be substituted)
2 Tbs chipotle pepper spice (can use more or less based on tolerance for heat)

Directions

Preheat oven to 400. Quarter the squashes and clean out the seeds. Cut the apples in half and take out the core/seeds. Mix squashes and apples with a little olive oil, salt, and pepper. Place on a baking sheet, cover with foil, and cook for 35-40 minutes. Pull apples off (they should be soft). Put squash back in the oven for another 20 minutes (check for softness). Let both cool until they are soft enough to scoop. Scoop out the inside of apple (discard peel) and the inside of the squash (discard skin), put in a blender, add some of the stock to puree. Put puree in a pot, add the rest of the stock and any additional water to achieve the desired consistency. Add the chipotle, stir, cook for about 20 minutes.

Can be served with a dollop of yogurt or sour cream.

 

Barry Levinson's film PoliWood is termed a film essay, a meditation on the intersection of politics and Hollywood. Using a backdrop of the Democratic and Republican conventions, along with the Presidential inauguration, the film follows The Creative Coalition through these events, giving the audience a glimpse of how certain actors and actresses (e.g. Susan Sarandon, Anne Hathaway, Matthew Modine) navigate the political world. While the film gives viewers lots of footage and a sense of The Creative Coalition's philosophy/focus, its message tends to be unclear. Levinson seems to want to make an argument about the intersection of politics and Hollywood, yet the majority of the film is more of a portrait of Hollywood stars discussing their "political education." It's unclear whether Levinson is using the film to defend Hollywood, showing at times that actors rise from the same modest means of Joe the Plumber, or using the film to show how television has corroded politics.