Customer Reviews

The Witness: A Tribe of Heart Documentary

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(0)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

There are other reviews of this film on the VHS version's page. They are not on the DVD version's page, for some reason. If you want to read those reviews, you can look up the VHS version of The Witness here on Amazon and read them.

Anyway, the film is about how a former self-centered "tough guy" from a violent Brooklyn neighborhood straightened out his life and began dedicating his life to helping people, and, later, animals as well.

This remarkable film, ostensibly about animals, is really about transcendence, redemption, and, at it's core, the discovery and understanding of love, as well as how one person can make a difference... please buy it and show it to everyone you can.

The first time through you are impressed with the uniqueness of this video. The second time the emotional thrust takes you over completely. The first hand testimony of a hardened, near criminal human being transformed by his association with a nonhuman animal and the tracing of a life turned around completely is at the same time heart rending and exciting.

Eddie Lama, the subject of this documentary, is a middle-aged concrete and aluminum contractor who grew up on the tough streets of Brooklyn. As a child he never had a pet; his parents taught him that animals are dirty. His attitudes changed when he reluctantly agreed to take care of a pretty woman's kitten, hoping to get a date. His heart went out to the animal and nothing in his life would ever be the same again. Eddie began to rescue cats from the street. Mo Mo, one of these, compelled him to give up a two-pack-a-day cigarette habit when he noticed how small the animals' lungs must be and how it couldn't escape his secondhand smoke.

But it was the viewing of several undercover films about the trapping and cruel treatment of animals in the fur industry that convinced Eddie to begin a crusade to educate the public about this travesty. He equipped a van with a television monitor and drove through the streets of New York while playing videos of animals in traps and being caged and killed in fur farms. The pictures of pedestrians reacting to the torture and torment of animals are quite moving. Eddie Lama also founded Oasis, a sanctuary for unwanted and abandoned animals, that also is a shelter for homeless people.

Let The Witness from filmmakers James LaVeck and Jenny Stein open your heart. It is easily the most touching and best film I have every seen.

This documentary is the story of the intellectual and emotional processes that Eddie Lama went through as he learned to love animals and to recognize their attributes and man's responsibilities to them. While there are moments of animal suffering shown in the film, the vast majority of it focuses on Lama's words, thoughts, and philosophy about the relationship between humans and animals.

..."

At the very least, this documentary got me thinking again about what is an old subject to me. Lama manages to express his views in a way I'd never really considered before. For all the love and commitment I feel towards animals, I just hadn't quite put it together the way he does. ...This is a must-see video for everyone who loves animals, is indifferent towards animals, wears fur, or has a pet. Frankly, it's a must see for every human.-Lucy Watkins

Artist Peter Max says, "A short film with a big heart"

LOS ANGELES TIMES heralds "unique, indelible 43-minute documentary"

The Witness tells the inspiring and life-affirming story of Eddie Lama, a tough construction contractor from Brooklyn whose life went from one of despair and hopelessness to one of compassion and service after a chance encounter with a kitten. Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist of the Los Angeles Times, Howard Rosenberg, said: "The Witness is one man's truth that cries out for mass exposure," which accounts for its extraordinary support from everyday people who have thus far held more than 150 community screenings in 42 states, in venues ranging from libraries and churches to college campuses and movie theatres, often with theatre owners donating the space for the events.

Lama is a 2001 recipient of the Peace Abbey's Courage of Conscience Award. Past honorees have included Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama. Peace Abbey award presenter Mary Margaret Earl stated, "Eddie is a living miracle. A regular guy from Brooklyn -- who works construction and [babysat] his first cat to get a date -- has become a hero for the two-footed as well as the four-footed. He is inspiring others to follow their own conscience and change the world too."

Lama's remarkable change in consciousness is the basis of the film's ability to touch people of all ages and backgrounds. "In my lifetime, I have been both the oppressor and the oppressed, both the fomenter of discord and the advocate for peace, both the perpetrator and the victim," said Lama, as he accepted the Courage of Conscience Award. "But most significantly, I have been both the silence and the voice. It is the human voice that is the primary tool for change."

The Witness was produced by James LaVeck and directed by Jenny Stein, Co-founders of Tribe of Heart. Based in Ithaca, NY, Tribe of Heart is a non-profit organization that produces films and educational programs that empower the efforts of people who wish to teach compassion in their communities.

An incredible and compelling movie. The Witness is never preachy, it just tells a great story about a very interesting man ("Eddie Lama") and the transformation he undergoes.

We watch a man who at best was apathetic towards animals, become a voice and an advocate for them. Eddie even quit smoking when he realized the damage it was doing to his pet.

There are some *very* intense scenes relating to the fur industry in this movie. You will shed tears. You will be upset. And you should...

If you are able to buy a fur coat (or any fur-containing product) after watching this movie, you may not be human...

A compelling and novel film, crafted with sensitivity, revealing through the transformation of an American working man unacceptable cruelty to animals. This is a film for all Americans.

THE WITNESS provides a catalyst for emphasizing the importance of relationships and the value of all life -- human and non-human animal alike. People everywhere need to pay close attention to the message presented by Eddie Lama. His wisdom is simple, yet poignant, as he shows that nothing is more powerful than an act with a purpose and no lesson is more important than one filled with compassion.

It is very seldom that a film comes along that can actually change ones current paradigm completely and forever for the better of oneself and for those around the viewer. The Witness (not to be confused with, Witness), is one such truly unique films, a modern-day classic-to-become.
I've written numerous reviews, but none of the material that I have reviewed to date, has given me anything to write home about, except for this review of The Witness. One can't help but be inspired.
Too often, we become complacent or are distracted in our lives, oblivious to realities, both subtle and remarkable, that occur all around us. Often enough, in fact, almost without exception, these realities have an effect on our lives. The producers, Jenny Stein and James LaVeck are among the highest quality producers that have come out of the school of 'Hard work and Intensive Experiences', Earth. The film industry is now beginning to recognize the caliber of these individuals' work, and I instantly recognized what we, the viewers, have been missing for a very long time....superb quality of content and meaningfulness. Ms. Stein and Mr. LaVeck have transpired way past the mundane and unimportant content of much of film work today, and have made this desensitized and unemotional human being laugh, cuss, struggle, and cry, all eight times that I've watched this life-shifter called, The Witness.
In fact, I love this film so much, that I have sent copies of it out to many of my friends and collegues for no better excuse than, I was compelled to, after watching it (I've lost count at about 33 copies).
At a price of ... a copy, this is the best investment in my friends that I've made as far back as I can ever recall.
For Amazon, I typically include other recommendations, but I feel that I cannot include any other works---none stand as worth considering until you have a copy of The Witness.

This film is a high quality production, not only in terms of the recognizable quality of the equipment that was utilized and the obvious post production savvy of the technicians, but in the ability of this film to tell the true story that it sets out to originally tell.

p.s. I just found out from a collegue, that The Witness will be showing in New York City (among other major cities around the same time) in very early November. FMI see; ...

The Witness is a life changing film, and I know some of the footage is not pleasant, but that is what wakes people up !! Because of Tribe of heart films, my life changed in one evening, and now I am a voice for those who don't have one. The Witness is hosted by Eddie Lamma who takes you on a journey through the film, and he is with you the whole time, and shares his story of transformation, from a meat eating, and chaine smoking backgroung who also grew up in the Bronx, baby sits a cat for a girl who he hoped to get a date with, but ended up having his heart touched by the cat, and saw that the cat was a living being with feelings. You can also meet Eddie at his sancuray called Oasis Sanctuary. Eddie shows you how he is working towards exposing the fur industry, educating the public on where fur products come from and how the animals are treated. Most people have no idea how animals are really treated, because these cruel practices are kept away from public view. I urge everyone to buy this film now! People like Eddie are also facing a bill called the "Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act", which prevents people from boycotting and protesting against animal cruelty! So say NO to this bill and buy The Witness. This film also includes the hit song "Angel" by Sarah McLachlan from the album "Surfacing".

Artist Peter Max says, "A short film with a big heart"

LOS ANGELES TIMES heralds "unique, indelible 43-minute documentary"

The Witness tells the inspiring and life-affirming story of Eddie Lama, a tough construction contractor from Brooklyn whose life went from one of despair and hopelessness to one of compassion and service after a chance encounter with a kitten. Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist of the Los Angeles Times, Howard Rosenberg, said: "The Witness is one man's truth that cries out for mass exposure," which accounts for its extraordinary support from everyday people who have thus far held more than 150 community screenings in 42 states, in venues ranging from libraries and churches to college campuses and movie theatres, often with theatre owners donating the space for the events.

Lama is a 2001 recipient of the Peace Abbey's Courage of Conscience Award. Past honorees have included Mother Teresa and the Dalai Lama. Peace Abbey award presenter Mary Margaret Earl stated, "Eddie is a living miracle. A regular guy from Brooklyn -- who works construction and [babysat] his first cat to get a date -- has become a hero for the two-footed as well as the four-footed. He is inspiring others to follow their own conscience and change the world too."

Lama's remarkable change in consciousness is the basis of the film's ability to touch people of all ages and backgrounds. "In my lifetime, I have been both the oppressor and the oppressed, both the fomenter of discord and the advocate for peace, both the perpetrator and the victim," said Lama, as he accepted the Courage of Conscience Award. "But most significantly, I have been both the silence and the voice. It is the human voice that is the primary tool for change."

The Witness was produced by James LaVeck and directed by Jenny Stein, Co-founders of Tribe of Heart. Based in Ithaca, NY, Tribe of Heart is a non-profit organization that produces films and educational programs that empower the efforts of people who wish to teach compassion in their communities.