Browse Movies : 2003 : Documentary : B

This documentary presents 90 minutes of interview footage (edited down from more than ten hours) with Traudl Junge (1920-2002), who from 1942 to 1945 was one of three personal secretaries of Adolf Hitler, whom she describes as a "pleasant boss and fatherly friend". Ms. Junge describes first-hand experiences of what life was like within the most inner circles of the Third Reich, including those chilling last days for Hitler, Goebbels and Eva Braun in the bunker, where she transcribed Hitler's last will and testament before he and the others committed suicide.

The most ambitious surfing movie ever undertaken — the "Billabong Odyssey", is based on a three-year global expedition to seek out and ride the biggest waves in the world. Shot primarily in 24-frames-per-second, progressive-scan 1080 HD format as well as 35mm, the film combines the talents of the world's best big-wave surfers, jet-powered watercraft tow vehicles, and cutting-edge weather-tracking technology to create an unprecedented cinematic experience. The Billabong Odyssey calls for three expeditions each year. Two, which will take place between October and March, will unfold in the Northern Hemisphere, including the entire West Coast of North America, the Hawaiian chain, Canada, and Mexico, as well as France and Spain. A third will occur in the Southern Hemisphere during its winter months of June through August. Although specific destinations remain secret, the maiden expedition took to the seas last October, focusing on key locations in the Pacific Northwest between San Francisco and Canada's Vancouver Island. Preparations are under way for future excursions to coastlines rich with high-surf potential, including Chile, South Africa, Ireland, New Zealand and the South Pacific isles.

This documentary captures what happened in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 12th, 2000 when Bus 174 was highjacked by an armed young man, Sandro do Nascimento, with a dozen passengers. Nascimento threatened to kill all of the passengers, but eventuallly agreed to surrender, as TV cameras were rolling and an entire nation was glued to their screens watching the event take place. Then, a police officer decided to fire at Nascimento anyway, accidentally killing one of the female passengers instead. What followed was a revolt among the city's population, enraged at police brutality. The film intertwines the story of the standoff with biographical information about Sandro do Nascimento, including his childhood as a survivor of the "Candelaria" child mass murders in the early 1990s, and the trauma of seeing his mother stabbed to death in front of him.