Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

Knight at the Movies: The Kingdom, Manda Bala
by Richard Knight, Jr.
2007-09-26

This article shared 4135 times since Wed Sep 26, 2007
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Two movies opening this week—the political thriller The Kingdom (pictured) and the riveting documentary Manda Bala ( Send a Bullet ) —have more than a dangerous foreign location in common. Both focus on current events in places that are teeming with extreme violence, fanaticism, corruption, mistrust of outsiders and the heightened dangers that come as the chasm between rich and poor widens. Both deeply unsettling movies are terrific examples of their particular genre, and leave one feeling uneasy long after they're over.

Over the credit sequence for The Kingdom we get a quick, informative overview of the history of oil production in Saudi Arabia, which sets the stage for the violent opening sequence. In return for U.S. protection we read, the Saudis have set up protected areas for U.S. oil workers known as 'The Kingdom' that, in all but geographical location, emulates the United States. A lively softball game is in progress within the closely guarded compound, but the complex is attacked by a small band of terrorists—and there are horrifying results. The Saudis do not allow a special FBI unit headed by Jaime Foxx and including Jennifer Garner, Chris Cooper and Jason Bateman to enter the country to investigate.

As expected, Foxx doesn't take 'no' for an answer and, after some fancy footwork, he and his crew are allowed limited access to the crime scene in The Kingdom. Once there, however, the frustrating limits and social protocols the team of investigators are forced to endure seem designed to hamstring their every effort to find the culprits and speaks loudly to the cultural differences between the United States and the Middle East.

Foxx and his team, determined to investigate what transpired, slowly win over their suspicious Saudi compatriots, especially the head of their security force. By the time permission is finally granted for the team to proceed outside the confines of the protected area, this incredibly dangerous proposition feels palpable and has scary consequences for the team. At that point, the movie escalates into a nail-biting cat-and-mouse last half hour that's terrifically entertaining.

Actor-director Peter Berg ( who makes a cameo ) follows his inspirational Friday Night Lights with a solid political thriller that also serves as a cautionary tale. But the ironic message of The Kingdom—that both sides are committed to winning at any cost, whether through peaceful means or violence—is not subtle, but also isn't slammed over moviegoers' heads. ( However, for once could one of these action heroes not have one of those angelic-looking little kids waiting with wide-eyed innocence for their daddy's safe return? ) Perhaps the highest rave I can give the filmmakers is that, while driving home from the screening in heavy city traffic, I saw the possibility of a terrorist attack on every street corner.

__________

Residents of Sao Paulo, Brazil—a city of 20 million people—would understand my trepidation. As Manda Bala ( Send a Bullet ) which opens exclusively this Friday at Piper's Alley, tells it, this is one of the most dangerous places on earth. This powerful and disturbing documentary, one of the best of the year, was produced and directed by first-timer Jason Kohn. It vividly shows the effect the long-term, huge divide between rich and poor has had on Brazil. Kohn's fascinating and horrifying movie is augmented by the hottest soundtrack of the year; the sultriness of the Brazilian music underscores the film's alluring, dangerous subject matter and adds tension and bite. Sun-drenched Sao Paulo, the movie's primary location, is packed with dense glass and chrome skyscrapers, ringed by massive slums and is beset with violent crime, especially kidnapping. The rich ride around in bulletproof cars or fly high above the reach of the kidnappers in private helicopters. The massive city has 80 officers in its anti-kidnapping unit ( who proudly display their arsenal of weaponry ) , a drop of water in an ocean of crime and corruption.

Many of the Sao Paulo's wealthiest opt to have tracking devices implanted under their skin so families can trace them should they be kidnapped. But enterprising kidnappers stick grenades on the victims ( or in their mouths ) to keep potential rescuers at bay, and footage of one of these victims opens the movie. Cutting off the ear ( s ) of the kidnap victims is so common that a plastic surgeon who's an expert at replacing them has grown rich because of the surplus of patients; the surgeon and one of his patients are extensively interviewed. Later, there is an interview with a masked professional bank robber and kidnapper—an unapologetic man with nine children to support who still lives in the slums surrounding the city and fancies himself a modern-day Robin Hood.

Kohn also focuses a great deal of footage on a corrupt politician who investigators suspect siphoned off government billions meant for the into his personal coffers—yet who remains popular with his poverty-level constituents. One of the politician's money-laundering schemes involved the country's largest frog farm and, throughout Manda Bala, Kohn repeatedly returns to footage of the thousands of frogs that end up being consumed by the wealthy of the country—an apt metaphor for a culture that continues to thrive feeding on its own.

Check out my archived reviews at www.windycitytimes.com or www.knightatthemovies.com . Readers can leave feedback at the latter web site, where there is also ordering information on my new book of collected film reviews, Knight at the Movies 2004-2006.


This article shared 4135 times since Wed Sep 26, 2007
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

SHOWBIZ Dionne Warwick, OUTshine, Ariana DeBose, 'Showgirls,' 'Harlem' 2024-03-29
Video below - Iconic singer Dionne Warwick was honored for her decades-long advocacy work for people living with HIV/AIDS at a star-studded amfAR fundraising gala in Palm Beach, per the Palm Beach Daily News. Warwick received the "Award of ...


Gay News

WORLD Israel court, conversion therapy, death sentences, Georgia bill, fashion items 2024-03-29
- Israel's Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Population Authority must register female couples as mothers on the birth certificates of their children they have together, The Washington Blade reported. The decision was made following a petition ...


Gay News

JP Karliak morphs into non-binary character for Disney+'s X-Men '97 2024-03-22
- series X-Men '97, a revival of the popular X-men: The Animated Series that's both continuing the ongoing mutant storyline and breaking new ground along the way. The character of Morph now looks more like the comic ...


Gay News

WORLD Uganda items, HIV report, Mandela, Liechtenstein, foreign minister weds 2024-03-21
- It turned out that U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) Senior LGBTQI+ Coordinator Jay Gilliam traveled to Uganda on Feb. 19-27, per The Washington Blade. He visited the capital of Kampala and the nearby city of ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21
- Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Lady Gaga, 'P-Valley,' Wendy Williams, Luke Evans, 'Queer Eye,' 'Transition' 2024-03-15
- Lady Gaga came to the defense of Dylan Mulvaney after a post with the trans influencer/activist for International Women's Day received hateful responses, People Magazine noted. On Instagram, Gaga stated, "It's appalling to me that a ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Jinkx Monsoon, Xavier Dolan, 'Frida,' Lena Waithe, out singer 2024-03-08
- Two-time RuPaul's Drag Race winner Jinkx Monsoon is headed back to the New York stage, joining off-Broadway's Little Shop of Horrors as Audrey beginning April 2, according to Playbill. The casting makes Monsoon the first drag ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer actors, icons duet, Hunter Schafer, Oscars, Elizabeth Taylor 2024-03-01
- Queer actor Kal Penn is set to star in Trust Me, I'm a Doctor—a film that chronicles the final days of actress/model Anna Nicole Smith, whose overdose death in 2007 at age 39 sparked a tabloid ...


Gay News

Dorian Film Awards: 'All of Us Strangers' takes top prizes 2024-02-27
- February 26, 2024 - Los Angeles, Ca. - For its 15th Dorian Film Awards, GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics fully embraced All of Us Strangers, writer-director Andrew Haigh's fantastical and tear-inducing tale of two ...


Gay News

SAG Awards honor Streisand, few LGBTQ+ actors 2024-02-25
- Queer entertainers made their mark—although not a major one—at the 2024 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards, held Feb. 24 in Los Angeles. The event was live-streamed on Netflix for the first time. Indigenous and Two-Spirit actor ...


Gay News

WORLD Caribbean ruling, Pussy Riot, Russian raid, Canadian warning, anti-trans bar 2024-02-23
- The top court in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines dismissed a challenge to colonial-era anti-gay laws, Reuters reported. Javin Johnson and Sean Macleish—two gay men who had pushed to decriminalize ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Kristen Stewart, Rock Hudson, Talia Keys, 'True Detective,' Marvel comic 2024-02-23
- At the Berlin Film Festival, Kristen Stewart defended her photo shoot for a Rolling Stone magazine cover that went viral and divided audiences on social-media platforms, per The Hollywood Reporter. "The existence of a female body ...


Gay News

Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16
- In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Elton John, Hannah Gadsby, video game, Jennifer Lopez, queer thriller 2024-02-16
Video below - Sir Elton John has sold his Atlanta home and is now auctioning off more than 900 of his personal items that were kept in the 13,500-square-foot condo, The Daily Mail noted. The massive collection includes rare ...


Gay News

GALECA announces nominees for the Dorian Film Awards 2024-02-07
--From a press release - Feb. 5, 2024 - GALECA: The Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics, consisting of over 500 entertainment critics, journalists and media icons, today announced the group's democratically chosen nominees for its 15th Dorian Film Awards. All of ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.