Customer Reviews

Strange Culture

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
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Strange Culture
I've seen this docudrama twice now. It offers a penetrating yet quite understated commentary on the emergence of what author Bertram Gross once described as "friendly fascism" - not the jackboots, uniforms and screeching rhetoric, but our 'friendly protection' from terrorism, and at the same time our 'protection' from lingering anxieties concerning genetically modified foods. You wouldn't think all this would come together in a single FBI case, currently pending. But it has. In Buffalo, New York.

One of the poignant features of this film is the determinedly honest picture it paints of the warm but intermittently irritable relation between Steve Kurtz, the central surviving character in this tragedy, and his wife of many years (played by Tilda Swinton), the day before she suddenly died. So is the portrayal of the acute fears of a student of 'Middle Eastern' origin, as he decides whether or not to sign a petition of support for Kurtz, one of his most respected university instructors.

Ask not for whom the bell tolls... This film needs knowing.

This documentary does a great job conveying a truly bizarre and outrageous (and still ongoing) situation that shows how easily people can be persecuted in the hysteria and stubbornness surrounding the war on terror. It does an equally good job of telling the story of the personal tragedy of these inspiring artists and activists; and showcasing the creative, hard-hitting work of the CAE. The story and its chilling political implications have really stuck with me; I've recommended it to many people.

I watched this film on IFC, and immediately ordered a copy. I plan on showing this movie in all ART classes and CRIMINAL JUSTICE classes at my university. This documentary tears the roof off our 'friendly loving' government and shows the reality of the situation. We're all 100% guilty until proven innocent. Even then, being proven innocent means nothing, just that they'll try to get you on a different more BS charge!

Buy it! Watch it! Join the mailing list- This is happening right now, and YOU can make a difference! Take a look at CAE_Defense (at) yahoogroups.com for the fastest and most current updates.

This film was excellent. It raises some very complex issues that are so pressing to contemporary society. In many ways this movie is extremely unnerving. Words such as democracy and freedom are tossed around so easily these days...often in the name of distorted political posturing. However, those words also carry with them very high ideals. After watching this film, how might you think about your rights and freedoms today? Don't take my word for it. See it for yourself and you decide what is most compelling about this film.

At a time when the country stands at a crossroads, the more information
we have, the better. When I watched this movie, I took notes with the hopes
of doing a piece about it as a freelance writer. Editors thought the story had been sufficiently told. Ironically, I pitched it the week that CIA tapes mysteriously disappeared. One of the quotes from the movie is
"Freedom is knowledge." If we don't educate ourselves about
what is happening in our country, we are doomed. Luckily, we have courageous documentary film makers that are willing to put themselves on the line to
make sure that the rest of us know what is going on.

Strange Culture is, without a doubt, THE most important film about the horrendous, idiotic, policies of the current administration. The film chronicles the nightmare that is possible when an artist critiques our culture with thought and pointed commentary. On the other hand...essentially, this is a film about what FREEDOM means...FOR ALL OF US...not just artists...buy it...it will remind you of what can happen when politicians and their errant political power go "unchecked."

This very well done docu drama about the still unresolved and wrongly based prosecution of artist Stephen Kurtz for bio-terrorism is powerful because it is without hype and hyperbole and outrage. Kurtz and Peter Coyote who plays him in the dramatization of events and others involved tell the story of what happened in simple uncluttered narrative that gives the viewer plenty of room to think about and connect to the viewers own sensibility about the events. The laws and procedures under which Kurtz has been wrongfully persecuted and charged continue in effect.

The docudrama contains some thought provoking commentary on how we allow these things to happen..how ready we are surrender our freedoms when we are afraid.

Kurtz was working on an arts project to both teach and comment on the ubiquitous and undisclosed presence of genetically modified food. The material he had at home in connection with this project, petrie dishes and lab equiment as well as harmless bio cultures of various kinds, brought him under scrutiny of police officials who responded to his 911 call on finding his wife of 27 years had died in her sleep of heart failure.


I had never heard of this documentary before and see this very artful well done film has only 8 amazon reviews. It is a must see..a great pick for reshowing on college campuses, at community theaters local libraries and other places where there is an opportunity for discussion after viewing.

No doubt a good review of what can happen in our paranoid times. BUT, it takes a great deal of patience to stay with this film. Also the switching back and forth from the film lead and the actual man involved in this story can be confusing.
I am afraid after a half hour I found myself numbed by the prologue and turned the film off.

The oscillating format of re-enactments and the traditional documentary approach made this film engaging. However, if not for Tilda Swinton, this would have felt more like a student protest film than a true investigation into the bizarre events involving Steve Kurtz. Swinton's performance and even her commentary seems to have more balanced maturity than the other faces on the screen, including Kurtz himself. Swinton's co-stars simply do not have the naturalness that she has and so she saves the film at the expense of over-shadowing it with her prime talent. Having said that, this is an important documentary that deserves to stay in print for at least another few decades. Steve Kurtz is now a touchstone in history, even if that is not his intentions and if he doesn't want be one. It's strange indeed to think that today's Open Source Bio groups experiment freely with bio-organisms that Kurtz nearly went to prison for. Kurtz may not be the founder of BioArt, but he was almost the movements first martyr.