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From the obscure to the obscurest to the merely overlooked or underappreciated; they all have a home in the TiVoPlex! All times Pacific.

Tuesday 06/17/08

6:30 PM Sundance
Strait Through the Ice (2007 FRA): With global warming rapidly diminishing Earth's polar ice caps, new commercial possibilities have opened up for rapacious corporations willing to cut their way through the slush. One of the most significant developments is the clearing of a new Northwest Passage, a trade route between the Atlantic and the Pacific that was impassable until recent years. Of course, the route goes through environmentally sensitive regions of the Canadian north, and this impressive looking French documentary examines this latest battleground in the eternal struggle between tree-hugging conservationists and ruthless capitalists. You know who I'm rooting for.

9:30 PM HBO
Resolved (2007 USA): There have been a number of fictional films produced of late about the wacky world of competitive debate, most recently the execrable Rocket Science and the stirring Great Debaters, but Resolved is one of the few documentaries to tackle the subject. I haven't seen it yet, but as a former high school debater of considerable enthusiasm but little renown I'm certainly looking forward to it. I'm less excited by the onscreen presence of Supreme Court Justice Sam 'I Have No Opinion About Abortion' Alito and boob tube gasbag Juan Williams amongst Resolved's interview subjects, but hey--you can't have a debate without someone being on the wrong side. Also airs 6/18 at 12:30 AM and throughout the month.

Wednesday 06/18/08

12:15 AM HBO Signature
La Edad de la Peseta (2006 CUB-ESP): Time was you couldn't legally see a Cuban film in the United States, and though the absurd economic embargo remains in full effect, the artistic embargo seems to have been relaxed of late, allowing us to view such forbidden fruit as this family drama about a boy coming of age in pre-revolutionary Havana. Starring Spanish thesp Mercedes Sampietro as grouchy grandma Violeta and Ivan Carreira as her puppy love stricken ten-year old grandson, La Edad de la Peseta breaks little new narrative ground but is a visual treat, with bright primary colors dominating the palette. As far as forbidden fruit goes, there's not much juice here, but the film was Cuba's entry for the 2007 Academy Awards.

7:00 AM Sundance
For the Bible Tells Me So (2007 USA): Homophobia may be on a slow descent path towards extinction, but there's still plenty of biblical literalists out there touting the Good Book's hatred for The Third Sex. This documentary takes a look at the issue, but thankfully doesn't just rage against these culture war dead-enders. Featuring interviews with Episcopal bishop Gene Robinson (whose ordination led to a schism amongst Anglicans), respected author and scholar Peter Gomes, and evangelical Mel White, this is an informative, intelligent, and even-handed treatment of this contentious issue.

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