Weekend rental fun.

Just because you may need cheering up this weekend, (and just in case Semi-Pro is all gone), here are two documentaries worth checking out. Separately though. Watch back to back at your own risk because these are two of the most compelling things you might ever see. (Along those lines, fear not, Will Ferrell’s decline will be a future topic for another post soon enough.)

The first doc is called The Bridge. It covers a year’s time where film crews set up on either side of the Golden Gate in San Francisco, then let cameras roll non-stop, possibly capturing anyone who might try and jump. At first you might think, man, morbid shit to watch. But oddly, it doesn’t come off that way, certainly not like another episode of World’s Greatest Animal Crashes. Short of a few intense long shots, the style of shooting spares you the final moment.

I’d seen this way back around the time when the issue of suicide was rearing its ugly head on all the ad blogs. Figured I’d wait to post about it because it was obvious people couldn’t handle the discussion intelligently. The only thing that all the histrionics got right was how serious an issue suicide really is. Ironically, this sentiment only served to undermine their other complaint: Just what it is that makes someone make such a drastic move. (A feeling echoed as well by several moronic columnists taking the so-called high road on the issue.)

I say that because when you watch the surviving family members intreviewed, (as well as listen to one who actually survived a jump), it’s painfully obvious that they had issues all along—and that no single event caused them to jump. In fact, they were determined one way or another to end their suffering; this despite the best efforts of friends an family. Watch it along with the DVD extras and see if you agree, because just seeing these people clues you into some warning signs that you might not be aware of.

So if you still needed more dark themes, then Tony Kaye has one for you. I first heard about Lake of Fire on Ernie’s blog almost a year ago. Figured the same guy who directed American History X would have to have an interesting take on the abortion issue. But how do you discuss something like this and present both sides objectively. This is specially true in a documentary format where even a simple choice of which clip or song to use can be seen an extension of the director’s agenda.

Since I have no experience with the topic, all I can go by is what’s on screen, and it sure seems like he captures both the extreme views as well as the ones in the middle. (Alan Dershowitz's views came off as surprisingly balanced when he says everyone’s right when it comes to the topic.)

Shot in B&W and close-up, be warned that this shows an actual procedure several times throughout. I’d heard it did before I saw it and wasn’t sure I could watch this. After seeing it, I came to think he needed to show it to drive home the seriousness of it all. I’ve seen a lot of stuff, but it was easily the most disturbing in a long time, just because you realize what you’re seeing. Without giving away other stuff, I think showing this more than once is the film’s only flaw, because more than that and it diminishes the effect.

As with The Bridge, see it and make up your own mind.