Customer Reviews

I Know I'm Not Alone

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Franti does a great job at dispelling several commonly held beliefs about inbred hatred and injustice, at the same time giving a voice to people we don't ever see on the American news. Whether Muslim or Jew, Iraqi or American, we all fundamentally want peace for our families--and because this message doesn't serve corporate America and its warmongerers, the mainstream media doesn't bother to investigate it. Franti goes in with a guitar and a camera and reveals the humanity behind the opposing ideologies surrounding this delicate issue. Some moments in the film have the feeling of being overly precious, but this does not detract from the movie's moving message.

I watched "I Know I'm Not Alone" with low expectations. Not being a fan of Michael Franti, I never would have watched the film without reading the alternative press' glowing reviews. The Middle East holds heavy quandaries. I thought that such issues are unlikely to be given justice when depicted by some rock 'n' roller. I could not have been more wrong and I now believe that the world needs more Franti. In this documentary, the director travels in Iraq, Palestine and Israel to show the human side of conflict. So what does a rocker turned film maker do in such political hot spots? Michael Franti simply mingles with ordinary folks. Through his conversations, the audience finds a new appreciation of the people we hear about on the nightly news. While most in the West are intellectually familiar with Iraq and the Palestinian/Israeli conflict, few of us know about it personally. Michael Franti changes this as he talks to families, musicians, soldiers, teachers, teenagers and children. Through charisma, humor, music and sincerity, the boundaries that separate us are melted in a way that could only be intermediated through Franti. Aside from being powerful and emotionally encouraging, "I Know I'm Not Alone" is a well crafted film. While the camera work is intentionally low-fi, the movie is well edited. The symbiotic relationship between the images and custom performed soundtrack is award worthy. While 'under the radar' for most, "I Know I'm Not Alone" is essential viewing for anybody interested in the great conflicts of the Middle East.

We just showed the part of this film on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to about 50 high school students, and they were riveted. What is different about this film is that the director Michael Franti's main concern is with the question of peace. He goes about it by interviewing people on both sides of the conflict in a natural setting - Israeli soldiers on the border, Palestinians kept from their land by the wall, Israelis who were witnesses of a sucide attack, Palestinian children forced out of their homes in the middle of the night, Israeli peace activists, an Israeli ex-soldier, Palestinian and Israelis who have lost children through the fighting, a Palestinian hiphop group, a Palestinian teenager from a refugee camp, etc. Franti engages people in dialogue, plays music with them, portraying the anguish and unmet needs for peace and security of those on both sides.

The film leaves you with a much greater appreciation of the human side of this conflict and a feeling of optimism that peace might be possible if people were able to stop demonizing each other, to initiate dialogue, and - a big if - to make their voices heard over the politicians.

Franti also includes a brief overview of the history of the conflict with an animated map at the beginning of the film.

I'm ordering numerous copies of this for friends and the school where I work. It's great for discussions and shows things that the U.S. media never shows.

This film was so heartfelt, told by the people who live in Palestine, Bagdad and Israel....how it feels to live in an occupied state - the poverty, the fear, violence and heartbreak - moving in the sense that in the midst of all the chaos, humanity and joy somehow prevails...with Franti's music as a backdrop. On a further note, the true social irresponsibility falls on the shoulders of our right wing media and the lies we're sold on the television every night. Michael Franti is not afraid to show us a glimpse of the truth.

To help boost the rating of this "DOCUMENTARY", I have to agree with everything in K. Kroger's review and take issue with everything in the one-star review below it. This DOCUMENTARY does not chronicle the socioeconomic-political or historical causes or ramifications of the present Middle-eastern conflict. It DOES chart a path directly into the heart of humanity who are frightened, displaced, maimed, killed and moved to action on all sides of the war. This movie is not about an academic overview; it's about the faces, names and lives of those affected. This is about staying human, not unraveling the who/what/where/when/why of the war - there's a place for critique and commentary only when a counterbalance exists. Many counterbalances can also be counterproductive through the use of radical and self-sabotaging rhetoric. "I Know I'm Not Alone"

is that all-important counterbalance that almost naively accomplishes the near impossible - drawing together all sides of a conflict and demonstrating without pontification that most opposition is a construct and that we really are all in this world together and share our humanity with its needs, loves, dreams, desires and wishes.

Want to dehumanize and debate the effects of war? Watch network and cable news! Want to know what people affected by it really FEEL about the war? Watch this!

This documentary was awesome. It was very subtle, music was great, yet the message was very powerful. Everyone should watch this. Unlike the corporate owned and biased media spewing for entertainment purposes only, this isn't about opinions or picking sides, it's about reality on the ground. This is actually what the MSM should be doing, but we know better than to think the truth would serve their purposes.

It's about the people living in these areas, not those of us sitting on the sidelines. What their daily lives are about and it shows how they're human beings, just like everyone else. They love the same, they greive the same, they bleed the same. The parts that show how music is a common comfort or a way of expressing themselves says a lot, of course that point will be missed on some. There's not hate in this documentary, it's about the people that want peace, but their governments won't get out of the way to let it happen. Their agendas are much more important that the good of their people.

Michael Franti is the rare performer/activist who walks the walk... in bare feet, none the less! This low buget documentary focuses not on the political situation in Iraq or in Israel/Palestine, but on the people who are suffering, and whose lives are turned upside-down. Franti speaks and interacts with Israelis, Palestininans and Iraqis as humans, rather than the media labes of "militiants" or "insurgents".

Buy this and play it for as many people as possible. Then when you're done, go see him in concert. Contrary to the somber mood of the movie, his performances are spirited and inspiring events!

I've never seen a more realistic and hopeful picture of humanity in a documentary. Michael Franti travels barefoot to the Middle East with guitar and heart in hand. Micheal has an incredible ability to find the real story from every side of the complex and troubling unrest in the Middle East. Interviewing young soldiers and citizens throughout the region, Franti manages to disarm everyone with his easy idealistic manner and soulful music. Even the most frightened and defensive find themselves opening up to Franti, explaining their motivations and showing their humanity in a way that most seasoned news reporters fall short of accomplishing. Franti not only manages to get a real and true picture of the people of the region, he also manages to act as a one man civilian peace negotiator, helping mortal enemies to bare their souls to each other, rather than just bearing arms. Oh for an army of barefoot guitar playing Frantis to disarm this world!

I think it's interesting how polarizing this film has become amongst reviewers.

I personally think it's an amazing film.

What "Bobby McGee", the Arab reviewer, said is correct: Franti doesn't dive all that deep into the culture of the region. However, I find that true for many of the other documentaries I've seen revolving around strife. For instance, "God Grew Tired of Us" (about the Sudanese lost children), "Sierra Leone's Refugee All-Stars" (about refugees from SL's genocide who formed a reggae band), and "Heavy Metal in Baghdad" (about the only Iraqi metal band, also featured in Franti's movie) all feature western filmmakers trying to make sense of horrible situations.

While I do find that Franti can be a bit earnest with his whole "Can't we all just get along?" mentality, he absolutely means well. He's not looking to change things right then and there, just understand why things are the way they are and then convey it to the rest of us sitting at home.

Franti gets full respect from me. It takes commitment to do what so many refuse to do: put their feet on the ground in Iraq, Israel, and the West Bank, and see for themselves what's going on. I mean, how many anti-Iraq War songs have been written? Tons. How many musicians have willing gone to the country itself and taken in first-hand experience? Not so many.

I saw this movie on a college campus last night, and I have rarely been so angered and hopeful at the same time. The anger comes from the fact that people are being maimed and killed, that little children are having their legs ripped off, that families are being torn apart all for something as idiotic as politics.

The hope comes from those who are trying to help. An Israeli/Palestinian hip-hop group; a free radio station in Iraq; the children who are still able to laugh and smile and dance.

I think every person should see this film. I saw the lives of the civilians in Iraq and Isreal/Palestine, and started to understand just how much damage is being done, in human terms, because rich men who don't understand the region think they have the right to warp the world.