RKS 2025 CANADIAN Wine: What’s My Reflection on Looking Glass?

What is my reflection on Niagara’s Rosewood’s 2021 Looking Glass?

A blend of 68% Cabernet Franc, 28% Cabernet Sauvignon and 4% Petit Verdot. The wines rested in neutral French oak for 15 months prior to bottling.

Aroma: Black cherry, raspberry, red currant and milk chocolate.

Palate: Strict, stern and dry. Moderate tannins. Razor thin fruit. Raspberry and red cherry  with a smattering of date and fig. Tart. Subtle and highly discrete like a package of Viagra delivered to your door in an unmarked box.

Personality: Yes I admit I am secretive. There are a few expressive and loudmouthed wines in Beamsville but rest assured I am not one of them. I am not one of those mass crowd pleasers.

Food Match: Beet salad with walnuts and feta.

Cellarbility: Consume in 2025. No sense in ageing.

Price: $30 CDN.

RKS 2025 CANADIAN Wine Rating: 88/100. Tony Aspler 91.

(Looking Glass 2021, Rosewood Winery, VQA Niagara Peninsula, Beamsville, Ontario, 750 mL,11.6%).

Toronto 2025 Hot Docs: “Night Watches Us”: No Police Brutality Here in Canada Eh?

There has been a long history of police brutality towards blacks in the United States. Perhaps a “modern” starting point for many might be the severe beating Rodney King suffered at the hands of the LAPD in 1991 and of course the notorious police murder of George Floyd in 2020 an incendiary device for Black Lives Matter.

Nicholas Gibbs and his son: Gibbs family photo

No way there is police brutality against blacks in Canada! Right?

In the National Film Board of Canada’s documentary “Night Watches Us” the death of 23 year-old black Montrealer Nicholas Gibbs on 21August2018 as a result of a “police interaction” is interpreted by the community where he lived and was killed. Gibbs, the father of three, had a history of mental illness.

Gibbs suffered from psychosis and was not on his medications when he was felled by a police bullet. According to the Montreal police Gibbs charged them with a knife and they shot him. Do we give the police the benefit of the doubt as often is done when the facts are “unclear”. This is unwarranted where two witnesses and a video recording established he was not charging the police with a knife. A psychiatric nurse living near the shooting scene interviewed criticized the lack of police training in dealing with mentally ill individuals. Shouting and threatening with guns drawn was the worst approach possible.

An internal police investigation determined no discipline was warranted for the police officer that fired the bullet and criminal charges were also dropped. Gibbs’  nephew is quite clear and many of the community when they say it was murder.

In addition to hearing from the Gibb family the story is creatively and passionately related by mixed media including dance, poetry, animation and music.

A highly publicized incident in the growing catalogue of police brutality in Canada ignored by both the police and the judicial system. In the Gibbs case it is difficult to give police the benefit of the doubt when there was no doubt.

You can watch a clip here https://vimeo.com/1055374919

Screens 1May2025.

A film by Stefan Verna.

RKS 2025 CANADIAN Documentary Rating 68/100.

RKS 2025 Film: “Electra”: Light, Fluffy and Slightly Comedic Buffered by Dark Storm Clouds!

Watching the American Italian production of “Electra” expect a mix of comedy and satire bound by dastardly deeds with a beautiful double-cross twist of an ending which no doubt will have you grinning ear to ear.

Accomplices Lucy (Abigail Cowen) and Dylan (Daryl Wein) pose as photographer and journalist to interview self absorbed and hedonistic Jack Sparrowish rock star philanderer Milo (Jack Farthing) and to promote his stage fright stricken and second rate performance artist-sculptress girlfriend Francesca (Maria Baklova), Dylan and Lucy are assumed names as the anonymity will cover their tracks as the ultimate monetary driven goal of their visit to Milo’s palazzo is to steal a valuable unicorn painting by Electra.

Milo may be somewhat self absorbed and flitty but suspicions arise when his office checks out Dylan’s lack of existence as an established journalist however Dylan, when confronted by Milo, confesses he has no confirmed solid story only an opportunity to pitch a story and Milo is content with that as it provides a possible boost to Francesca’s career.

The light and fluffy unravels upon the viewer being introduced to Electra’s character transforming the theft motive into a personal vendetta of sort. A violent confrontation is poetic justice compounded by a cover-up murder and a delightful twist of an ending.

Strong satire if not mockery of Italian cinema, rock stars, wannabees and greed. Shallowness of fame. Brutality of ulterior motives.

Lush palazzo sets and costuming.

The opening tells all but only after the film credits roll. A wonderful dose of playfulness and the unexpected but perhaps somewhat well deserved (for some) nastiness.

Perfect bumbling by Cohen and Wein and even better flakiness and self absorption by Farthing and particularly Baklova.

Watch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nsc1m4Gbkx8

Directed by Hala Matar.

In select theatres and VOD 2May2025.

RKS 2025 Film Rating 86/100.

Toronto 2025 Hot Docs: “Parade: Queer Acts of Love and Resistance”: The Long Road to the Big Show

The Canadian National Film Board documentary “Parade: Queer Acts of Love and Resistance” traces struggles encountered by Canada’s queer community from the 1950’s to the present day.

In the 1950’s and 1960’s Canadian queerdom was a shameful and disgusting aberration  for the straight community. In 2025 it remains as such but only for a minority of the population. Watch the Pride Parade in Toronto or Montreal and is it but just one decadent and lush party enjoyed as an entertainment event by spectators and by most participants? One wonders how many realize the never-ending struggles, victories, backlashes and deaths that transpired so that happy crowds, savvy politicians, “community inspired police” and corporate marketers vie for a minute in the happy glow of what had been struggled for by Canadian queers for so many years.

A distinguished list of queer writers, drag performers, academics, artists, clergy, politicians, filmmakers, comedians, musicians, lawyers, two spirit activists and even a politician, Svend Robinson, reminisce, often with very personal feelings and memories, about the struggles of the Canadian queer movement

The documentary is largely Toronto and Montreal centric. A common thread is queer social and political victory followed by a backlash. Progression is not straight line but like a stock market chart with violent ups and downs. Queers have been stigmatized, vilified, bashed around, arrested, shamed and with AIDS many left to die isolated, feared and ignored.

How many viewers, both queer and straight remember some of the key events and milestones described in the documentary? Or does the majority just accept queerness as a given fact without any historical context?

Is there a backlash against the queer community yet again with the “leave our kids alone” movement discouraging any part of a school curriculum dealing with queerdom? Has the promotion of drag kid competitions and drag queen television programmes riled up queer community hatred or have many Canadians graduated to a lesser emotion of distrust?

Watch the trailer here https://vimeo.com/1067892887

Directed by Noam Gonick.

“Parade: Queer Acts of Love and Resistance” will be having its world’s premiere on 24/26April and 3May2025.

RKS 2025 CANADIAN Documentary Rating 92/100.

Toronto 2025 Hot Docs: “Ghosts of the Sea”: Sailing Into the Heart of Darkness

When I read the PR blurb sent my way by the National Film Board of Canada describing “Ghosts of the Sea” my impressions were it was an interesting little adventure story about Virginia Tangvald’s father Peter Tangvald and brother Thomas Tangvald two expert sailors who both perished at sea. I was thinking a “National Geographic special” but something enthrallingly bleak and evil scuppered my initial thoughts. This is a voyage into The Heart of Darkness or the film “Apocalypse Now”. Like Martin Sheen, Virginia’s up the river of discovery of the death of her brother the closer she came to discovering the demonic evils of humanity and its psychiatric victims.

Champion sailor Peter Tangvald was not what he appeared to be and Thomas Tangvald’s death may not have been accidental.

Viewer, be prepared to lose your innocence of initial perceptions in this riveting evil, sinister and tragic documentary. Who is Colonel Kurtz in this film? Watch and find out.

A Canadian (National Film Board of Canada) and French co-production.

You can watch the trailer here https://vimeo.com/1034298428

Ontario premiere on 27/30April2025.

RKS 2025 Documentary Rating 93/100.

Toronto 2025 Hot Docs: “King’s Court”: Who We Are, What We Used to Be and What We Want to Be

The Canadian short documentary “King’s Court” by Serville Poblette offers viewers a fly on the wall basketball centric eavesdropping on two young black men in a community housing project “Bleecker Street Apartments” in Toronto transitioning into adulthood.

SK and Marley are dear friends with a love of basketball that binds them in friendship to the extent they hold court with each other testifying their innermost thoughts on the past, present and future. They discuss their childhood, goals in life, ambitions, perceptions of themselves, regrets, mistakes, the nature of love, anxiety and doubt. Easy going, raw and frank is the dialogue as is the tone of the documentary and what a privilege to be a fly on the wall.

Set against community housing skyscrapers, the basketball court and the Bleecker Street hood with interspersed clips of younger children watching and conversing and playing basketball with their own dreams quite like SK and Marley in their recent past.

RKS 2025 Canadian Documentary Rating 86/100.

RKS 2025 Film: “Yadang: The Snitch”: Satire, Humour and Biting Social Commentary

Be forewarned of extensive goings on in “Yadang” causing hopeless entanglements with the plot. I have six pages of detailed notes and watched the film twice determined to conquer its plot. Ask me to be precise about the plot I just might give you a vacant look three quarters of the way through my explanation. I will gladly give you a gold star if you breeze through the film understanding its temporal hip hopping and plot intricacies. The good news is if you remain in your seat in high attention to the conclusion of this two-hour long movie the breadcrumb hints dropped along the way result in a beautiful souffle! In some respects, the intricate plot may be but a red herring as there are striking and highly effective generalities imparted without thorough plot understanding.

Yadang means snitch in Korean and a cornerstone in the Korean narcotic landscape where there are dealers, those that catch them and a liaison in between. The dealer is apprehended by the police and through an Investigating Co-operation Agreement becomes a snitch and if ratting leads to a conviction the snitch obtains freedom or a reduced sentence. In some cases the snitch also greases the wheels by paying a liaison to facilitate the apprehension and conviction of the target.

Kang-suoo known as Kang (Kang Ha-neul), a taxi driver, is set up by a dealer who leaves cash and narcotics in Kang’s car saying he is visiting his side chick and will be back in 30 minutes. As soon as he leaves the car the police swoop in and arrest Kang for drug possession and trafficking. Kang is innocent. The dealer needed a set up to avoid arrest so innocent Kang is set up.

In prison Kang acts as a snitch for a low level but ambitious prosecutor Ku (Yoo Hae-jin). The bigger the Kang assisted busts the farther Ku climbs the ladder. Ku and Kang become “brothers” or a least Kang believes that to be.

The swaggering overconfident Kang rises in the ranks of liaison man in tandem to Ku rising close to a senior prosecutorial position in Seoul. Kang excels to the point the prosecutor Ku is nabbing big dealers prior to the police and Kang with his swagger and arrogance makes enemies with the “Jade Emperor” narcotics captain who is aggravated by being beaten to the punch in arrests by prosecutor Ku. Kang is also making enemies amongst those taken down by his snitching.

An apparent beneficial mutuality expands to ever increasingly significant busts touching political aspirations. Snitches snitch on snitches who snitch further up the chain encountering a Presidential election and the corruption and violence escalate leading one to conclude the entire narcotics enforcement mechanism is ridden with corruption. The innocent are not so innocent. In this treacherous world of narcotics no one is to be trusted and as Kang climbs the ladder this smiling happy overconfident man gets far more than what he bargained for.

In so many movies of the crime genre the good guys are often the winners. Are there any “good guys” in Yadang? That would be a hard sale to close!

Yoo Hai-jin, Park Hae-joon and Kang Ha-neul a perfect trifecta of acting!

Directed by Hwang Byeong-gug.

Watch the teaser here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qdgVwlTaVC0

Opens theatrically in North America 25April2025.

“Yadang” is a fascinating tale of pervasive corruption in the Korean narcotic enforcement “industry” where “winning” is embedded with corruption.  It could well be that winning is but revenge in “Yadang” and my goodness it is sweet.

RKS 2025 Film Rating 92/100.

P.S. There are some humorous moments in “Yadang” particularly the Coca-Cola swilling junkie at the beginning of the film.

RKS 2025 Film: “Jimmy in Saigon”: Who Jimmy Really Was

The McDowell family loses 24-year-old son Jimmy in Vietnam in 1972. His cause of death is not entirely clear to younger brother Peter McDowell fudged with shame and mystery. Despite a June 1972 telegram arriving to advise the family of his death is the cause of death on the death certificate the truth? The content of telegram seems never to have been openly shared amongst the family. Jimmy died as a civilian and not as a soldier.

Filmmaker brother Peter McDowell was 5 when Jimmy died and sets off on a journey of discovery throughout the United States, France and Vietnam to determine not only the cause of death but to discover who is older brother was.

On film discussions with family and friends do not reveal any glaring oddities pertaining to Jimmy’s childhood painting a picture of an ordinary suburban Illinois boy with some quirks here and there. We learn early on however that Peter is gay. Peter’s gayness is seemingly an awkward part of the documentary but assumes more relevance as the film progresses and his journey just might also be a discovery of himself.

Jimmy was drafted and completes a tour of duty in Vietnam in a clerical position but expresses a strong desire to return which he does in early 1971 “to express hedonistic pleasures like never before” and “lead a pleasantly decadent pseudo colonial lifestyle”. He works at a few jobs barely making ends meet and lives in a poor part of Saigon with a Vietnamese family in comfortable surroundings, In his homebound letters he hints at a relationship with the family’s daughter Ly Ly and becomes the best of friends with her brother Dung.

It is fair to say Peter’s journey to “shine a light on the situation” is successful. There are hints throughout the film of Jimmy’s drug use and sexuality suggesting Jimmy’s true character. Peter’s journey is fascinating as morsels are extracted piecemeal through conversations with Jimmy’s friends and acquaintances the true nature of brother Jimmy and his most likely cause of death.

Watch the trailer here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9CbPHZC5g4

Theatrical release in New York on 25April2025 and 8May2025 in Los Angeles followed by a 13May2025 VOD release.

Directed and written by Peter McDowell.

RKS 2025 Film Rating 76/100.

Toronto 2025 Hot Docs: “The Last Ambassador”: No Hope for Afghanistan?

The misogynist cult men of the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan on 15August2021 aided by the “Doha Deal” with the United States ending the war in Afghanistan and lending a degree of informal legitimization to the Taliban.

The Taliban attempted to sell to the international community they had changed shallowly stating they respected women’s involvement within society and guaranteeing their rights “within the limits of Islam and within the context of the Sharia” of course all as interpreted by you know who. The falsity of this marketing hot air was exhibited with the banning by the Taliban of women from receiving any education causing an underground educational world to be created.

Manizha Bakhtari, Afghanistan’s ambassador to Austria, seemingly caught in a no man’s land (no pun intended), continued her ambassadorial duties despite being advised by the Human Resources Director of the Taliban her services were no longer required.

The embassy was closed and the Afghani diaspora in Vienna funded new premises far more modest than the previous one. Revenue, no longer flowing from Taliban Afghanistan, was derived from consular fees. Hand to mouth existence. Eventually the Taliban advised the embassy no longer were any documents issued by it valid.

Bakhtari continued the struggle in her belief the Taliban was a regressive, misogynist and genocidal force. She founded The Daughter Programme a campaign for the education of Afghani girls. She corresponded with video to a young lady Zakia in Kabul, giving the viewer a personal perspective of Taliban repression, recounting the fear, anxiety and bullying of the Taliban attempting to eradicate education for girls.

Death threats of the vilest misogynist brand from anonymous cowards on social media directed at Bakhtari caused security to be heightened at the Viennese embassy. Still Bakhtari persisted with no interim government in exile being formed. 

The background, family life and career of Bakhtari is briefly dealt with and some guilt is expressed by her regarding the secondary role she accorded her family in the service of the Afghani people.

Central to her struggle is preventing any international legitimacy to the Afghani Taliban and promoting the education of Afghani girls.

Bakhtari resides with her husband in Vancouver when she is not continuing her ambassadorial role.

Bakhtari has hope the Taliban will no longer rule Afghanistan. It is only a matter of time she believes.

She was awarded the OECD White Ribbon Award for her efforts in defending the rights of women in Afghanistan.

Her motto is, “peace is not the absence of war, but the presence of justice.”

The director of this Austrian documentary is Natalie Halla.

Screening 25/27April2025.

RKS 2025 Documentary Rating 76/100.

OPERATION 51st STATE: “The Necessity of Establishing a United States Governmental Structure to Manage Annexations”

The Senior Working Group (SWG) suggests a United States governmental structure be created to manage various annexations as they arise. The SWG realizes annexation is a complex process for which the purchase of Alaska and Louisiana by the United States offer insufficient precedents.

The SWG suggests the management structure be called The Bureau of Annexation Management with the following divisions be established:

  • Canada Division
  • Greenland Division
  • Gaza Division
  • El Salvador Division
  • Panama Division
  • Ukraine Division

Disputes shall be adjudicated by an administrative tribunal The Annexation Bureau Tribunal Commission its powers, composition and mandate to be set by Presidential Executive Order.