Swangirl

I had the pleasure of seeing this film at the Nashville Film Fesitval. This documentary tells the story of a special reunion of six members of the Hakoah Vienna, a girl's swim team that broke athletic records in the 1930s as Hitler came to power.

These ladies all have distinct personalities that come shining through as the story unfolds. There is laughter shared amid sadder memories. One of the swimmers was invited to represent Austria in the 1936 Berlin Olympic Games but refused as a statement of her stance against Nazism. As a result, she was never allowed to compete again and had her awards taken away. The director lets the story tell itself as the friends go back in time to their youth, when their faith made them visible targets. While much has changed, some things have not. It is an inspiring, thoughtful story worth telling.

This entrancing documentary details the story of how the students of Whitwell Middle School, a little town in Central Tennessee, started with a school assignment that snowballed into a one-of-a-kind Holocaust memorial gaining world-wide attention.

Whitwell is a former coal mining town with only a handful of minorities. The small town is almost totally Christian. Faculty at the school wanted to teach their children about the Holocaust as a means of showing them how intolerance of others can be fatal.

To give them a visual idea of what six million looks like (the number of Jews killed in the Holocaust), students began collecting paper clips. As news of the project began to spread, paper clips began pouring into the little school. Students did research and projects. They began to understand the not everybody was just like them. Jewish Holocaust survivors came to the school to share their stories and were embraced by the community.

Today a rail car formerly used to transport Jews to concentrations camps houses the paper clip collection on the grounds of Whitwell Middle School. Students give tours for other schools and answer questions.

This story is told with grace, humor and sensitivity. It will give you renewed hope in today's youth and an understanding of how the Holocaust must never be forgotten, lest it be repeated.

As many have stated here, Napoleon Dynamite tends to be a movie you either truly enjoy or you simply can't bear watching. It's hard to find a middle ground with this one.

First, this movie is not formulaic in any way. No intense cinematography. No car chases. No swimsuit models. No dramatic dialog. Instead, you get a quirky slice of life in a small Idaho town inhabited by some pretty ordinary folks. For some, this would be considered incredibly dull. For me, it was a sweet celebration of the ordinary and awkward.

The title character, Napoleon, is a high school student who lives with his crusty grandmother, his Internet loving brother Kip and his grandmother's llama, Tina. Uncle Rico, the entrepreneurial ladies' man, is also a big part of the movie. Napoleon's best pal is Rico, a new student from Mexico. Also key to the story is Deb, a shy but sweet classmate who likes Napoleon.

Anyone who went to high school recognizes a Napoleon from their experience. Many will perhaps recognize themselves. Napoleon goes beyond his geeky nature in that he doesn't CARE that he's a geek. He had one good friend, Pedro, and that's all he needs. He doesn't court anyone's good opinion or want popularity. He's just himself.

I think what I liked most about this movie is that it wasn't out to impress anybody. It also showed that if you have one person who cares about you (Napoleon and Rico's friendship, Kip and LaFawndah, Grandma and Tina), you can make it through just about anything.

If you have enjoy the quirky and bittersweet, you'll enjoy Napoleon Dynamite.