30.7.09

Documentaries

Last time Pat and I went to rent a movie, we left with 2 documentaries. They were completely different and I loved them both.


The first one we watched was 10 Questions for the Dalai Lama. What an incredible, inspiring and humble man! The movie is about how the His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama became the leader of Tibet, his daily life in exile and his teachings of life, both spiritual and temporal. Just watch it to listen to him laugh! He has the most infectious laugh!

I didn't know that Buddhists consider the Dalai Lama to be the reincarnation of Buddha and that he is their spiritual and political leader. The narrator of the movie explained it as if in America, we believed the reincarnated being of Jesus Christ to be sitting in the White House. A comparision like that is hard for me to wrap my brain around. I learned so much about Tibet, the Dalai Lama and Buddhism from this movie. Go here to read more about it.



The other one we rented was Man on Wire. Here is the synopsis from IMDB...

"On August 7th 1974, a young Frenchman named Philippe Petit stepped out on a wire illegally rigged between New York's twin towers, then the worlds tallest buildings. After nearly an hour dancing on the wire, he was arrested, taken for psychological evaluation, and brought to jail before he was finally released. Following six and a half years of dreaming of the towers, Petit spent eight months in New York City planning the execution of the coup. Aided by a team of friends and accomplices, Petit was faced with numerous extraordinary challenges: he had to find a way to bypass the WTCs security; smuggle the heavy steel cable and rigging equipment into the towers; pass the wire between the two rooftops; anchor the wire and tension it to withstand the winds and the swaying of the buildings. The rigging was done by night in complete secrecy. At 7:15 AM, Philippe took his first step on the high wire 1,350 feet above the sidewalks of Manhattan James Marshs documentary brings Petits extraordinary adventure to life through the testimony of Philippe himself, and some of the co-conspirators who helped him create the unique and magnificent spectacle that became known as the artistic crime of the century."

What a NUT! Those buildings were so high!!! I was scared when I was on the observation floor and it was enclosed! Who walks between the two building on a wire!!?

2 comments:

beck said...

they both look so good. i never rent documentaries. i always do the redbox thing. did you go to hollywood?

bethi said...

yeah, i found you again! Those do both look really interesting...maybe we'll have to try out the documentaries next time!!