Blind Spot - Hitler's Secretary is not a waste of time and it certainly is educational. However, it is not so much a documentary to me as it is an hour-and-a-half long interview. Because it is that - 1.5 hours of an interview. No World War II footage, no pictures of Hitler in case you forgot what he looked like. No photos or video of where Hitler and his staff were in his last days. Just Traudl Junge (the secretary) talking about how she came to be Hitler's secretary and life in the last days of Hitler. I finished the doc wanting more - another secretary's perspective, reports from others who were with Hitler during that time, something other than Junge alone speaking for this moment of change in history.
And then there was the doc whose title yielded itself to visions of bravery, danger, pushing one's body to the limit. The Man Who Skied Down Everest held such high hopes. Hope that became confused as the film progressed. Why? Because, while I am sure this was meant to be a serious look into a Japanese man's effort to ski down Everest, it came out as a fish eye lens-loving, stained glass streaking color, "does this documentary come with complimentary narcotics" kind of movie. It is weird. Really really weird. I think all the people who lauded this movie on Amazon (see above link) must have all had the same grape KoolAid, if you know what I mean. Kooky. Oh, and it does not stop there. You would think with a title like The Man Who Skied Down Everest he would, I don't know, go to the top of Mt. Everest and ski down. Wrong! He climbs close to the top of Everest and skis down. I felt lied to and taken advantage of. But wait, there's more! Behind door number 3 - it won an Oscar for Best Documentary in 1976! Which made me think of two things:
1) If this documentary won, imagine how bad the other nominated docs must be.
2) Maybe this doc did come with complimentary narcotics to those who select Oscar winners
Need more proof? Here you go, watch at the risk of your mental well-being...
2 comments:
Oh, c'mon. It wasn't that bad! If you really, really liked the documentary about the guy that tightrope walked across the World Trade Center, then maybe you won't totally hate this one.
Dude, we laughed through most of the movie. It was that bad. And Man on Wire is so much better than The Man Who Skied Down Everest. Yes, the tightrope walker is a little out there and kooky, but the story is told in a sane way. I think if someone is doing something off the wall, it does not also need to be filmed in an off the wall manner. Two crazies do not make a sane.
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