Pink Ribbons Inc. (2011)

Every October, North America is awash in pink, "for the cure." Pink Ribbons Inc, a documentary by Léa Pool, looks at the corporatization of breast cancer fundraising and asks some pretty pointed questions about how much money is raised and where, exactly, that money is spent.

In discussions with activists, medical professionals, fundraisers, marchers and others, the filmmaker seeks to answer why, after billions of dollars have been raised for "breast cancer research," are we no closer to a cure? More than one of those interviewed came to the same conclusion: you cannot cure something if you don't know what causes it, and no one is willing to research what causes it.

The most heartbreaking interviews are with a group of women with Stage IV breast cancer. No one can explain to them why their cancer metastasized or why their only option is to subject themselves to chemical therapies that may or may not extend their life by a few weeks but may also make them so sick that they cannot enjoy those extra weeks.

The film also highlights some particularly deplorable  campaigns (KFC and American Express really stuck out) and conflicts of interest (products emblazoned with the pink ribbon that also contain known carcinogens and/or endocrine disruptors).

Pink Ribbons Inc is in the same company as Food Inc, The Corporation and Bowling for Columbine -- films that look at our cozy relationship with big business and ask if maybe we shouldn't be doing things differently. As with many recent documentaries, Pink Ribbons Inc uses editing to get across some not-so-subtle messages that aren't otherwise explicitly stated. My favourite such moment featured a medical researcher, being interviewed midway through the San Francisco Walk for the Cure. In the foreground, she is speaking about the dangers of so much plastic in our lives; in the background, a participant is eating something from a zippered plastic bag.


The overall message of the film is to "take back the ribbon" -- to go back to the protests and to separate the corporate backers and big pharma from the key research. We took our daughter, who is 10, because I think it's critical for her to understand that there is a lot more going on behind the ribbon than a feeling of hope. When I asked for her opinion after the showing, she summed it up nicely, "I didn't know whether to laugh or scream."

To say that breast cancer is epidemic may be stretching it, but the fact remains that today 1 in 8 women will be diagnosed in their lifetime. We need to fix those odds; seeing this film is a good start.

*****



For more information, visit the NFB site for Pink Ribbons Inc.

Teenage Paparazzo (2010)

Adrian Grenier is best known as Vince, the lead character in Entourage and he knows something about the paparazzi. Teenage Paparazzo is Grenier's story about trying to understand the paparazzi through the eyes of one of them, who happens to be just 14 years old.

I have one word to describe this film: engrossing. I could not look away. It had all the best parts of a documentary (great hook, intriguing subject, good pacing) plus celebrities. Grenier manages to get the best of both worlds -- as an actor, he has easy access to other actors and celebrities -- he even uses Paris Hilton (who deosn't seem to mind) to show off how fast rumors are spun from the photos that are submitted to the tabloids. On the other hand, he buys a camera and spends some time running with the paparazzi, stalking other celebrities.

In addition to looking at the heart of the issue (who is buying the photos? who is consuming them? what's with our obsession?) through discussions with psychologists, historians and other experts, Grenier manages to portray paparazzi not as bottom-feeders but as people doing a job.

But this is not a movie about Grenier (something he actually seems to figure out along the way); it's about a boy, Austin Visschedyk, who is so invested in getting the shot that will pay off -- pushing, cursing, and always clicking -- it's easy to forget that he's just a kid. When his story breaks, he is thrust into the other side of the camera as a celebrity.

I have to wonder what path Visshedyk will ultimately follow, having had both a taste of celebrity and also of the adrenalin-fueled pace of the celebrity-stalker. I kinda hope he grows up to be an accountant but I suspect Hollywood has a pretty firm hold.

****

Collapse (2009)

Michael Ruppert is a man who has been preaching about the downfall of civilization for a couple of decades and he might be right. The collapse of the title is civilization as we know it -- but it's not global destruction from nuclear fallout, a global weather event, or alien attacks. The collapse Ruppert has predicted is what happens when oil runs out. The scary part is thinking about everything else that oil is used to produce -- not just the fuel to run our cars, but tires, toothbrushes, fertilizers and much more. Ruppert believes that once oil is no longer affordable, society will begin to crumble.

As often happens with documentaries, Chris Smith had not set out to direct this particular film. He was researching another issue for which Ruppert was a source but, as it says on the opening frame, Ruppert had other things to talk about.

For the majority of the film, the camera focuses on Ruppert as he talks, smokes, and laughs at the interviewer's "rookie" questions. Stock footage is used to move the story along as Ruppert goes from credible to crazy and back again.

At one point, Ruppert talks about the kind of people you find on the Titanic when told it is sinking: the type who have no clue (deer in the headlights), the type who know and are willing to do what is necessary to survive (the builders) and those who think that the messenger has no clue (the non-believers). He suggested that the builders would get busy putting together the life boats and getting the heck out of there. What he failed to mention was the subset of non-believers (or just as likely, among the deer in the headlights crowd) who, on seeing the solution, would simply take the life boats, using force as needed.

Ultimately, on the credible-crazy scale I would award him credible, though I would like to back it up by researching some of his claims myself.


***

Visit the official website or view the trailer: