AN E-MAIL

This is my e-mail to a friend. I think I should post it here, too:

I think GREY GARDENS is very funny and strange. I like the people in the film very much, not because I think they are good people, but because I think they are very colorful, interesting, and complex. The relationship between the mother and daughter here are very dynamic, and the directors find a way to let them express themselves in interesting ways. I think each human being is different, so it needs a different way to approach each person appropriately. The directors of GREY GARDENS arguably found the right way to approach this family, while Raymond Depardon found the right way to approach the farmers in MODERN LIFE (2008, A++++++++++). I think it is beyond my capacity to understand exactly how each documentarian can capture the souls of their subjects, like the Maysles Brothers and Depardon did. It sometimes depends on the subjects, not the documentarian alone. It sometimes depends on the chemistry between them.

The three documentaries in your list are very interesting, especially THE LAST CONQUISTADOR. I think HISTORY is a very important subject here in Thailand, too. Some big problems in Thailand right now are connected to the problems of official Thai history, which try to suppress some truthful information which may make us less nationalistic.