Copyright 1995 ABC-CLIO. This review was taken from the ABC-CLIO Video Rating Guide for Libraries on CD-ROM, a 5-year compilation of over 8900 video titles and reviews, 1990-1994. For information regarding order VRGL CD-ROM, contact: ABC-CLIO, P.O. Box 1911, Santa Barbara, CA 93116-1911; 805-968-1911
This following text has been included in the UCB Media Resources Center Web site with the kind permission of the publishers.
Program 1 of the Glasnost Film Festival series contains two short
documentaries dealing with the environment on one tape.
The first program is entitled Against the Current and is
concerned with the ecological consequences of "progress" - in
this case the manufacture and distribution of a synthetically
derived protein compound which would be used to stimulate growth
in farm animals.
A manufacturing plant was opened to produce this protein and
no safety precautions were taken. As a result many people were
poisoned. At a large rally many of the affected people spoke of
their troubles and demanded that the plant be closed. (Possibly
as a result of the protest, it actually was shut down - but only
for two months.)
Even though the manufacture of this compound was halted in
Europe during the 1970s, and Soviet scientists had proven that it
was a very strong allergen that affected the immune system, many
more production facilities were planned - including one above an
artesian basin that supplied drinking water to millions of people.
Apologists for the manufacturing interests tell the people at
the rally that they are standing in the way of their country's
economic development, that the protein compound is an inalienable
part of progress which cannot be stopped, that the protein is
harmless, and that their concerns are groundless. These scenes
are chilling, and coupled with shots of ominous-looking
manufacturing plants and destroyed landscapes, they provide us
with a glimpse of a nightmarish future.
Technically, this film is rough. The sound is good but the
images consist of a mixture of black-and-white footage and
bleached-out color, and some of the subtitles are difficult to
read. However, the powerful subject matter and the fact that the
film was made at all transcend any technical problems.
The second program on the tape, The Wood Goblin (Confessions
of an Old Man), consists of reminiscences of an elderly man who
lives in the forest and protects it from those who would destroy
it (in his words, "You can't live without green trees"). The
theme here is similar to the first film (people defending simple
values against a power structure committed to progress at any
cost) but this is a gentle, introspective, and more slowly paced
piece of work. In addition, the technical values are a bit
smoother.
This program is probably most recommendable to libraries with
collections in environmental issues or foreign affairs. Anyone
with an interest in the changes currently taking place within
Soviet society or in what is being done to our planet will find
much food for thought here.
Glasnost Film Festival, No. 1
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