Elephants

I ventured downtown a few weekends ago to LA Live, the new venue for the Los Angeles Film Festival. While not a fan of the new location (long live Westwood!), I did enjoy a number of fine documentaries on topics including rogue economists, pastry chefs and elephants.

One Lucky Elephant, directed by Lisa Leeman, tells the heartwarming and bittersweet tale of Flora, an orphaned African elephant rescued from the wild and then raised by circus owner David Balding. When Flora starts to become restless in her circus life, Balding goes on a nearly ten-year quest to find the perfect home for her and struggles with the long-term effects of raising a wild elephant in captivity. It's a love story that ultimately weighs the complex issues of human emotions against the humane interests of our animals. And it made me cry. Much like the recent Mine documentary that just won the PBS Independent Lens 2010 Audience Award.

I have also been making my way through another true elephant tale, Modoc, a book by Hollywood animal trainer Ralph Helfer. The story of a boy and his elephant, born on the same day and raised together to share a lifetime of high adventures, is a truly captivating read.

You can watch the "elecam" of some of the elephants at Flora's current sanctuary here to get your video fix of majestic pachyderms in action.

Midnight Express

Do you remember that great line in the movie Airplane, where Peter Graves as Captain Oveur asks his young passenger, "Joey, have you ever been in a Turkish prison?" So funny, right?

Yeah, well not if you're Billy Hayes. He's the subject of Nat Geo's new documentary "The Real Midnight Express", which is premiering next week as part of its new season of Locked Up Abroad. I screened the film last night at the Paley Center - one of my favorite venues in LA (and NY) to soak up media and pop culture.

You may remember Midnight Express, the Oscar®-winning movie from the late '70s starring Brad Davis and adapted by Oliver Stone from Hayes' book of the same name. The film dramatizes the story of Hayes' hashish drug arrest, imprisonment and daring escape from a brutual Turkish prison. It has been criticized over the years for its alteration of some events for dramatic effect and for its portrayal of the Turks, but remains a solid pick among prison films. Nat Geo is presenting the story as a documentary, anchored by an interview narration with Hayes and a dramatic re-enactment of his full story, which for the first time Hayes is able to share. He is past the point of being a wanted man in Turkey - as he noted in a Q&A last night, he was actually invited back there for an event not so long ago - but his story still fascinates. He was accompanied by attorney Dick Atkins, who worked on Hayes' case and has helped thousands of Americans since get out of legal trouble abroad (and is now going to be in my rolodex next time I venture outside of the U.S.!). Atkins' tip: buy low-cost travel insurance, which helps provide assistance with many international emergencies.

Or I say, just stay home and watch documentaries instead!

Brothers

Better late than never, I always say.

I finally screened the 2001 HBO dramatic miniseries Band of Brothers this week. After being engrossed in The Pacific this year, I wanted to see its epic and much-heralded predecessor. I had missed the original run - living in NY with the events of 9/11 eerily transpiring a few days after its launch.

My friend loaned me the impressive box set, and it only took a week's worth of TV viewing time as the summer doldrum of post-season finales set in. Perfect time to catch up on a real masterpiece of the medium. Somehow, I've become a war buff of sorts - but this series really set a high-water mark.

If you haven't seen it, the 10-part series dramatizes the real men and events of E "Easy" Company of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment assigned to the 101st Airborne Division - an elite and innovative U.S. Army paratrooper squad assembled at the height of WWII. Among other achievements, these incredible young men parachuted behind enemy lines in the maelstrom of D-Day, were a frontline force outnumbered and without supplies during the wintertime Battle of the Bulge, and ultimately were the first to ascend upon Hitler's infamous Eagle's Nest mountain retreat. Their efforts and the Band of Brothers series that pays tribute to them, remain unprecedented triumphs. Michael Kamen's score alone still gives me chills.

I also checked out the many extra features on the DVD set, including a magnetic documentary, We Stand Alone Together: The Men of Easy Company. The film includes interviews with the surviving men portrayed in the miniseries, interspersed with actual footage of the battles re-enacted during it. This was a terrific aid in understanding all of the episodes, and was honestly quite emotional. I can't wait to also finally read Stephen E. Ambrose's book on which the series is based.

I'm glad I made the time for Band of Brothers. It's so easy to forget each day the sacrifices of those who came before us and the true bravery of soldiers who were just kids - pulled from their quiet lives and thrust into hell. Kids who saved the world, but didn't consider themselves heroes. Just a band of brothers.