Author Archives: basiltsiokos

Coming to theatres today, Wednesday, November 6: THE STONE ROSES: MADE OF STONE

Shane Meadows’ tribute to the influential Mancunian band made its debut this past May in Manchester. In addition to a very successful theatrical release in the UK and Ireland, the doc has screened at fests in Sydney, Karlovy Vary, Athens, and Tokyo, among others. It now opens across the US and in select Canadian cities for one or two evening events.

The band, whose self-entitled first album led to immediate success in 1989, found worldwide success, with a legion of fans including acclaimed filmmaker Meadows (TWENTY FOUR SEVEN, THIS IS ENGLAND), making his documentary debut here. After the band became embroiled in a contract dispute which delayed their second album, they found their fortunes turn, and ultimately broke up in 1996. Fifteen years later, they unexpectedly announced a reunion tour, inviting Meadows to follow them as they rehearse and perform around Europe before their major concerts back in Manchester. As he charts their sometimes rocky return, which includes a gig in Amsterdam that nearly derails the entire plan, Meadows reflects on the band’s history and impact on the music scene. Very much the work of a fan for other fans, Meadows’ film barely gets into the controversies or difficult personalities that one might expect from a conventional BEHIND THE MUSIC type of project. Instead it revels in the euphoria of audiences given the opportunity to experience performers that have meant a great deal to them – most effectively shown in an extended sequence about a last-minute surprise concert thrown for fans that is free upon the condition that attendees present some piece of memorabilia that demonstrates they’re fans – CDs, albums, concert t-shirts. Even viewers who aren’t Stone Roses diehards can appreciate what it means for these fans to see them live in concert once again.

Coming to HBO tonight, Monday, November 4: TALES FROM THE ORGAN TRADE

Ric Esther Bienstock’s investigation into the black market for human organs made its debut this Spring at Documentary Edge. It’s gone on to screen at Hot Docs, London, Margaret Mead, Dockufest, Hot Springs, Zurich, Bergen, and Fantastic Fest, among others.

Bienstock’s film tackles an extremely murky subject – the need for viable human organs for life-saving surgery and the moral and ethical grey zone in which some are acquired. Showing the global black market that has sprung up to address the demand, the film traces the path of an organ in one particular case, following a kidney that gave a Canadian man new life through the channels that involve a Turkish surgeon now living in hiding, an Israeli nephrologist, and, at its starting point, the Moldovan woman who parted with her organ willingly. Woven throughout are the stories of others making the choice to turn to this questionable supply chain, including destitute Filipinos showing off the incision scars that both saved lives and helped them provide for their families. To her credit, Bienstock permits these individuals, and others from around the world, to tell their own stories rather than impose a decisive judgement upon them. The film neither whole-heartedly endorses nor condemns the practice, instead allowing for dissenting voices which address the various factors that come into play when dealing with such a thorny issue – the desperation of patients needing organs, the economic disparity that makes organ donation for profit a viable route for many, and the coercion that is enabled in some cases due to the practice’s illegality. While conventionally executed, and featuring an excess of narration by David Cronenberg, this thoughtful, multifaceted engagement with a complex issue, as opposed to a sensationalistic tabloid approach that could easily have been taken, makes this worthwhile viewing.