Big Picture Big Sound

What's Down, Doc?

Inocente Sean Fine and Andrea Nix Fine

Kings Point Sari Gilman and Jedd Wider

Mondays at Racine Cynthia Wade and Robin Honan

Open Heart Timothy Reckart

Redemption Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill

This a heavy selection of documentary shorts. If you're looking for humor, you've come to the wrong place. Only one of them has some comical moments and they are of the dark variety. However, though it is a somber collection, it is a very powerful bunch and all are made very professionally. In a very tough call, I'm opting for Inocente because in my opinion it is the most creatively put together.

Inocente. A 15-year-old girl lives in San Diego, but not all that well. Along with her mother and two siblings, she has spent most of her young life either homeless or in homeless shelters. The longest she ever had a place to live was three months. Her father, a physical abuser, was deported years earlier. Inocente has a few things going for her, though. She is a talented artist and she somehow maintains a positive attitude and drive that most under far better circumstances would envy. The co-directors do a great job of slowly revealing the young lady's talents and her art is vibrant. The direction is equally artistic and vibrant. "Inocente", the young lady and the film, are equally inspiring.

Kings Point. As a Jew from New York, I am well aware of the pull that southern Florida has had on my people for many years. I decided long ago that I would rather be found frozen in a snow bank than to relocate there. Kings Point reinforces my belief in spades. It's an enormous condo community that is populated primarily by women whose husbands have said farewell to life. The director's mother was a resident there and this doc follows the lives of a few of its residents over a five-year span. The lone male resident is a pompous ass who thinks that a smile can gloss over his reptilian behavior. Oddly, or maybe not, he thinks he is a great guy. The ladies, on the other hand, come across as witty, even in their loneliness. There is an air of depression that hovers over the facility that makes you want to scream at the residents to make a run for the gates. While unpleasant, it is quite revealing and an excellent study of one slice of America's seniors.

Mondays at Racine. A Long Island Beauty Salon is the jumping off point for this examination of woman going through breast cancer. The proprietors have set aside one Monday per month to give free care to these women. It's a lovely gesture that helps bind together those that avail themselves of the generosity. We follow all of the ladies through their various stages in their battles. It is sometimes sad, sometimes happy, and always immensely watchable.

Open Heart. You want to know how bad things are in Rwanda? They have to send sick children to Sudan for medical treatment. Because of a lack of penicillin, many children in Rwanda suffer from rheumatic heart disease. "Open Heart" follows a hospital in Sudan that is a joint venture between Italy and Sudan to treat Africans in a sterile environment that actually has cutting edge equipment and top-notch medical professionals. A group of children is brought from Rwanda to Sudan for treatment necessary to save their lives. It is absolutely heart wrenching to watch. You find yourself rooting for these poor kids like your own life depends on it. This is by far the strongest doc in the group in terms of compelling scenes and I would not be upset or surprised to see it take home the Oscar.

Redemption. You've seen them often, but you walk by and try not to pay attention. They are the ones who collect the bottles and cans that we throw out. "Redemption" forces us to meet them and get to know them, at least a bit. They don't fit our preconceptions of their being crazy or particularly scary. At least the group featured here isn't. Mostly they are like anyone else, but they have fallen upon enough tough times that they feel their only way to survive is to collect and redeem bottles and cans. It's well done but doesn't feel as powerful as the other entries.