The Fall of Hollywood
It could be an age thing, it could be that you cling to the music and movies that were new and fresh when you came of age. A part of that is certainly true, just a little bit of bile rises in my throat when I see kids now days and am forced to face the singular brutal fact that some how grunge died, but somehow goth is still going strong. Really? Goth? I still don't understand how women have the patience for makeup, let alone men.
But then the 90's were different. I know, I know, every generation says that about the time they were in high school, but in my case it's true. The internet was the difference.
Every generation has little things that the next generation will miss out on. For those of us that graduated in the late 90s those things are a future shock. Little things, like pay phones & busy signals, all gone and forgotten. But thanks to the internet, Record Stores, no, not Best buy, kids, actual record stores, these are a tragic cultural lose. The internet changed music, it killed the album & made people like Justin Bieber famous.
But technology also killed Hollywood. When I was in high school, in the late 90s we had our Blockbusters, but we also had little films. We had low budget sleepers that studios could take risks on, films like "Seven," that weren't widely advertised and somehow became financial successes.
We had truly independent films, that never quiet made it big, but thanks to video stores--another cultural lose--everyone seemed to see "Clerks" at roughly the same time...even in a small suburb of Chicago.
Today, finding movies like "Clerks" is almost impossible. You have to browse through the torrent sights, and that's if you know what you're looking for. There are no video rentals to advertise them, at least not like there used to be.
Today, to stay afloat, Hollywood has to cater to the LCD, the PG-13 crowds. High tech special effect extravaganzas. Plots have suffered. Going to movies used to be a favorite past time, renting films used to be a favorite past time, searching through the aisles to find the gem no one else in your circle of friends has seen yet.
People my age don't really do that any longer. Outside of the odd comedy, outside of movies like "Juno," we tend to glance through the papers, read what's showing, decide that there's nothing that interests us, then sit at home and watch HBO's original programing instead. That's right, we still have TV series & HBO, & the TV sets have gotten much better, but it still doesn't live up to a date at the theater.
But then the 90's were different. I know, I know, every generation says that about the time they were in high school, but in my case it's true. The internet was the difference.
Every generation has little things that the next generation will miss out on. For those of us that graduated in the late 90s those things are a future shock. Little things, like pay phones & busy signals, all gone and forgotten. But thanks to the internet, Record Stores, no, not Best buy, kids, actual record stores, these are a tragic cultural lose. The internet changed music, it killed the album & made people like Justin Bieber famous.
But technology also killed Hollywood. When I was in high school, in the late 90s we had our Blockbusters, but we also had little films. We had low budget sleepers that studios could take risks on, films like "Seven," that weren't widely advertised and somehow became financial successes.
We had truly independent films, that never quiet made it big, but thanks to video stores--another cultural lose--everyone seemed to see "Clerks" at roughly the same time...even in a small suburb of Chicago.
Today, finding movies like "Clerks" is almost impossible. You have to browse through the torrent sights, and that's if you know what you're looking for. There are no video rentals to advertise them, at least not like there used to be.
Today, to stay afloat, Hollywood has to cater to the LCD, the PG-13 crowds. High tech special effect extravaganzas. Plots have suffered. Going to movies used to be a favorite past time, renting films used to be a favorite past time, searching through the aisles to find the gem no one else in your circle of friends has seen yet.
People my age don't really do that any longer. Outside of the odd comedy, outside of movies like "Juno," we tend to glance through the papers, read what's showing, decide that there's nothing that interests us, then sit at home and watch HBO's original programing instead. That's right, we still have TV series & HBO, & the TV sets have gotten much better, but it still doesn't live up to a date at the theater.
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- DirectorAllan MoyleStarsAnthony LaPagliaDebi MazarMaxwell CaulfieldTwenty-four hours in the lives of the young employees at Empire Records when they all grow up and become young adults thanks to each other and the manager. They all face the store joining a chain store with strict rules.
- DirectorGregory HoblitStarsDenzel WashingtonJohn GoodmanDonald SutherlandHomicide detective John Hobbes witnesses the execution of serial killer Edgar Reese. Soon after the execution, the killings start again, and they are very similar to Reese's style.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsJeff BridgesJohn GoodmanJulianne MooreJeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.
- DirectorTerry GilliamStarsJohnny DeppBenicio Del ToroTobey MaguireAn oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades.
- DirectorDarren AronofskyStarsSean GulletteMark MargolisBen ShenkmanA paranoid mathematician searches for a key number that will unlock the universal patterns found in nature.
- DirectorWes AndersonStarsJason SchwartzmanBill MurrayOlivia WilliamsA teenager at Rushmore Academy falls for a much older teacher and befriends a middle-aged industrialist. Later, he finds out that his love interest and his friend are having an affair, which prompts him to begin a vendetta.
- DirectorRobert RodriguezStarsJordana BrewsterClea DuVallLaura HarrisWhen Casey Connor, Herrington High School's newspaper photographer, witnesses the murder of a nurse and sees her alive again, he decides to investigate the bizarre happenings.
- DirectorPeter BergStarsChristian SlaterDaniel SternCameron DiazA prostitute is killed during a bachelor party and the attendees turn on each other as the wedding approaches.
- DirectorRob BowmanStarsDavid DuchovnyGillian AndersonJohn NevilleMulder and Scully must fight the government in a conspiracy and find the truth about an alien colonization of Earth.
- DirectorPeter HowittStarsGwyneth PaltrowJohn HannahJohn LynchAfter personal and professional setbacks, a woman experiences an alternate reality.
- DirectorBill CondonStarsIan McKellenBrendan FraserLynn RedgraveThe last days of Frankenstein (1931) director James Whale are explored.
- DirectorJake KasdanStarsBill PullmanBen StillerRyan O'NealThe world's greatest detective Daryl Zero aided by his associate Steve Arlo investigates a complex and mysterious case of blackmail and missing keys for shady tycoon Gregory Stark who is less than forthcoming about what is really happening!
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsTim RobbinsPaul NewmanJennifer Jason LeighA naive business graduate is installed as president of a manufacturing company as part of a stock scam.
- DirectorBen StillerStarsWinona RyderEthan HawkeJaneane GarofaloA documentary filmmaker and her fellow Generation X graduates face life after college, looking for work and love in Houston.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsKerry FoxChristopher EcclestonEwan McGregorThree friends discover their new flatmate dead but loaded with cash.
- DirectorAlek KeshishianStarsJoe PesciBrendan FraserMoira KellyConvinced his thesis will have him graduate with honors from Harvard University, a stuffy student finds himself at the mercy of a homeless man's demands when he holds the papers hostage.
- DirectorOle BornedalStarsNikolaj Coster-WaldauSofie GråbølKim BodniaA law student starts working as a night watchman at The Department of Forensic Medicine in Copenhagen. His mad friend gets him on a game of dare that escalates. As a serial-killer's victims start piling up at work, he becomes a suspect.
- DirectorGeorge GalloStarsNicolas CageJon LovitzDana CarveyResidents of a friendly Pennsylvania town foil three brothers' plan to rob a bank on Christmas Eve.
- DirectorRon HowardStarsMichael KeatonGlenn CloseRobert DuvallNew York City tabloid editor Henry's faced with tough decisions while he faces several serious life challenges, and a tempting job offer.
- DirectorCharles ShyerStarsNick NolteJulia RobertsSaul RubinekPeter Brackett and Sabrina Peterson are two competing Chicago newspaper reporters who join forces to unravel the mystery behind a train derailment.
- DirectorWhit StillmanStarsTaylor NicholsChris EigemanTushka BergenAn American working in Barcelona, having sworn off beautiful women, is forced to be host to his playboy cousin in this witty comedy of good intentions and mixed signals.
- DirectorWhit StillmanStarsCarolyn FarinaEdward ClementsChris EigemanA group of young upper-class Manhattanites are blithely passing through the gala debutante season, when an unusual outsider joins them and stirs them up.
- DirectorWhit StillmanStarsChloë SevignyKate BeckinsaleChris EigemanStory of two female Manhattan book editors fresh out of college, both finding love and themselves while frequenting the local disco.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsBrad PittEdward NortonMeat LoafAn insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsJohnny DeppFrank LangellaLena OlinA book broker discovers his latest find may summon Satan.
- DirectorTroy DuffyStarsWillem DafoeSean Patrick FlaneryNorman ReedusTwo Irish Catholic brothers become vigilantes and wipe out Boston's criminal underworld in the name of God.
- DirectorKevin SmithStarsBen AffleckMatt DamonLinda FiorentinoAn abortion clinic worker with a special heritage is called upon to save the existence of humanity from being negated by two renegade angels trying to exploit a loop-hole and reenter Heaven.
- DirectorJosef RusnakStarsCraig BierkoGretchen MolArmin Mueller-StahlA computer scientist running a virtual reality simulation of 1937 becomes the primary suspect when his colleague and mentor is murdered.
- DirectorDoug LimanStarsSarah PolleyJay MohrScott WolfThe aftermath of a drug deal as told from three different points of view.
- DirectorJim JarmuschStarsForest WhitakerHenry SilvaJohn TormeyAn African-American Mafia hit man who models himself after the samurai of old finds himself targeted for death by the mob.
- DirectorDavid KoeppStarsKevin BaconZachary David CopeKathryn ErbeAfter being hypnotized by his sister-in-law, a man begins seeing haunting visions of a girl's ghost and a mystery begins to unfold around him.
- DirectorWayne WangStarsSusan SarandonNatalie PortmanHart BochnerA mother and daughter search for success in Beverly Hills.
- DirectorFranco ZeffirelliStarsMaggie SmithJudi DenchJoan PlowrightAn orphaned Italian boy is raised amongst a circle of British and American women living in Mussolini's Italy before and during World War II.
- DirectorRisa Bramon GarciaStarsBen AffleckCasey AffleckDave ChappelleA collection of twentysomethings try to cope with relationships, loneliness, desire and their individual neuroses.
- DirectorStephan ElliottStarsEwan McGregorAshley JuddPatrick BerginA private eye shadows a female serial killer of men all over the U.S. without her knowing as he, strangely enough, occasionally acts as her guardian angel.
- DirectorRoger AvaryStarsEric StoltzJulie DelpyMartin RaymondThe cab driver sets American Zed up with Zoe in his Paris hotel. Despite FFR1000 charged, she's an art student with day jobs e.g. bank. Safecracker Zed meets his junkie friend after 11 years to rob a bank.
- DirectorTony ScottStarsChristian SlaterPatricia ArquetteDennis HopperIn Detroit, a pop-culture nerd steals cocaine from his new wife's pimp and tries to sell it in Hollywood, prompting the mobsters who own the drugs to pursue the couple.
- DirectorBrian De PalmaStarsAl PacinoSean PennPenelope Ann MillerA Puerto Rican former convict, just released from prison, pledges to stay away from drugs and violence despite the pressure around him and lead on to a better life outside of N.Y.C.
- DirectorJoel SchumacherStarsMichael DouglasRobert DuvallBarbara HersheyAn ordinary man frustrated with the various flaws he sees in society begins to psychotically and violently lash out against them.
- DirectorMichael Caton-JonesStarsRobert De NiroLeonardo DiCaprioEllen BarkinThe story about the relationship between a rebellious 1950s teenager and his abusive stepfather, based on the memoirs of writer and literature Professor Tobias Wolff.
- DirectorLasse HallströmStarsJohnny DeppLeonardo DiCaprioJuliette LewisA young man in a small Midwestern town struggles to care for his mentally-disabled younger brother and morbidly obese mother while attempting to pursue his own happiness.
- DirectorDominic SenaStarsBrad PittJuliette LewisKathy LarsonA journalist duo goes on a tour of serial-killer murder sites with two companions, unaware that one of them is a serial killer himself.
- DirectorJeremiah S. ChechikStarsJohnny DeppMary Stuart MastersonAidan QuinnA mentally ill young woman finds her love in an eccentric man who models himself after Buster Keaton.
- DirectorThomas SchlammeStarsMike MyersNancy TravisAnthony LaPagliaA San Francisco poet who fears commitment suspects his girlfriend may have a knack for killing off her significant others.
- DirectorRobert LiebermanStarsD.B. SweeneyRobert PatrickCraig ShefferAn Arizona logger mysteriously disappears for five days in an alleged encounter with a flying saucer in 1975. His co-workers endure ridicule and contempt as they are wrongly accused of murder.
- DirectorPeter MedakStarsGary OldmanLena OlinWallace WoodA womanizing, crooked cop on the payroll of the mafia is confronted with the reality of his double life after he is asked to kill a beautiful and ruthless Russian gangster.
- DirectorMike BinderStarsAlan ArkinMatt CravenDiane LaneSeven friends reunite for a week-long reunion at a summer camp in Ontario they used to attend as children which is now threatened with being closed down.
- DirectorJohn WhitesellStarsJason PriestleyGabriel OldsJerry O'ConnellThree young men go on an end of the summer trip to Hollywood, California. Their quest: to fulfill the fantasy of meeting Marilyn Monroe.
- DirectorAndrew GalleraniStarsSherilyn FennJeremy PivenJoBeth WilliamsA Hollywood tour bus driver poses as a screenwriter to romance an up-and-coming young actress.
- DirectorJonas PateJosh PateStarsTim RothChris PennMichael RookerA hooker is found cut in two. Two cops give polygraph tests to the only suspect, James Wayland (Tim Roth), an unstable genius. After some time, the roles change.
- DirectorAndrew NiccolStarsEthan HawkeUma ThurmanJude LawA genetically inferior man assumes the identity of a superior one in order to pursue his lifelong dream of space travel.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsMichael DouglasDeborah Kara UngerSean PennAfter a wealthy San Francisco banker is given an opportunity to participate in a mysterious game, his life is turned upside down as he begins to question if it might really be a concealed conspiracy to destroy him.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsPam GrierSamuel L. JacksonRobert ForsterA flight attendant with a criminal past gets nabbed by the ATF for smuggling. Under pressure to become an informant against the illegal arms dealer she works for, she must find a way to secure her future without getting killed.
- DirectorKevin SmithStarsBen AffleckJoey Lauren AdamsEthan SupleeHolden and Banky are comic book artists. Everything's going good for them until they meet Alyssa, also a comic book artist. Holden falls for her, but his hopes are crushed when he finds out she's a lesbian.
- DirectorDavid LynchStarsBill PullmanPatricia ArquetteJohn RoseliusAnonymous videotapes presage a musician's murder conviction, and a gangster's girlfriend leads a mechanic astray.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsMel GibsonJulia RobertsPatrick StewartA taxi driver with a penchant for conspiracy theories becomes a target after one of these theories turns out to be true. Unfortunately, to save himself, he has to figure out which theory it is.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsCameron DiazEwan McGregorHolly HunterUpon being fired, a desperate guy kidnaps a daughter of his former boss. Two angels are sent to Earth to check if love is possible in this case.
- DirectorFrank OzStarsKevin KlineJoan CusackTom SelleckA midwestern teacher questions his sexuality after a former student makes a comment about him at the Academy Awards.
- DirectorPeter O'FallonStarsChristopher WalkenDenis LearySean Patrick FlaneryA group of youngsters kidnap a respected Mafia figure.
- DirectorOle BornedalStarsEwan McGregorNick NolteAnais EvansA law student, who takes a job as a night watchman at a morgue, begins to discover clues that implicate him as the suspect of a series of murders.
- DirectorMark WatersStarsParker PoseyJosh HamiltonTori SpellingA mentally unbalanced young woman - who is convinced she is Jackie Kennedy - flies into a murderous rage when her brother returns home to reveal he is engaged.
- DirectorAndy WilsonStarsDavid DuchovnyTimothy HuttonAngelina JolieA disgraced surgeon leaves his former life and reinvents himself as a gunshot doctor in the criminal underworld.
- DirectorEric SchaefferStarsEric SchaefferAmanda De CadenetRudolf MartinCab driver Michael and supermodel Sarah fall in love while her gorgeous husband Phillippe is in Madrid for two months.
- DirectorMorgan J. FreemanStarsBrendan Sexton IIIShawn ElliottAntoine McLeanA teenage petty criminal dreams of escaping his increasingly unlawful lifestyle when he meets a sweet girl who hopes to one day travel to Alaska.
- DirectorMary CybulskiJohn TintoriStarsPaul DillonTim GambleOlivia TrevinoThere is more to this story than this review lets on. It reflects all different facets of society over one driver's shift. As he starts out, he seems cold and ignorant, but his character develops as different Chicago riders come and go. His character shows through when he tells a woman the truth about one of the guys he has in his cab. One highlight is the amount of cameos by well-known faces who seem to be doing this film for the craic (fun, "kicks"). The cab driver reacts well to the madness surrounding him, and by the end of the shift the viewer might share his weariness. This low-budget film deals with crackheads, stoners, posh randy lawyers, irate Pakistanis, and the high and lows of the working day.
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsJean RenoGary OldmanNatalie Portman12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsHarvey KeitelTim RothMichael MadsenWhen a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.
- DirectorMartin BrestStarsAl PacinoChris O'DonnellJames RebhornA prep school student needing money agrees to "babysit" a blind man, but the job is not at all what he anticipated.
- DirectorRichard PearceStarsSteve MartinDebra WingerLolita DavidovichFake faith healer Jonas Nightingale is stranded in a small town where he finds he can't fool all of the people all of the time.
- DirectorCameron CroweStarsBridget FondaCampbell ScottKyra SedgwickA group of twenty-something friends search for love and success in grunge-era Seattle.
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsTim RobbinsGreta ScacchiFred WardA Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected, but which one?
- DirectorSteve BuscemiStarsSteve BuscemiCarol KaneMark Boone JuniorTommy is an unemployed mechanic who spends most of his time in a bar (Trees Lounge) in a small blue collar town. He seems to always be thinking, "If only X then I could stop drinking".
- DirectorPeter BogdanovichStarsMichael CaineCarol BurnettDenholm ElliottA travelling theater group find so much action going on behind-the-scenes, they almost ruin the performances.
- DirectorKeith GordonStarsPeter BergKevin DillonArye GrossThe Ardennes Forest, December 1944. A squad of six US infantrymen is sent to occupy a house to use as an observation post as the German Army is expected to advance through that area. However, the Germans seem oddly friendly.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsEwan McGregorEwen BremnerJonny Lee MillerRenton, deeply immersed in the Edinburgh drug scene, tries to clean up and get out despite the allure of drugs and the influence of friends.
- DirectorMike NicholsStarsRobin WilliamsNathan LaneGene HackmanA gay cabaret owner and his drag queen companion agree to put up a false straight front so that their son can introduce them to his fiancée's right-wing moralistic parents.
- DirectorBernardo BertolucciStarsJeremy IronsLiv TylerCarlo CecchiAfter her mother commits suicide, a young woman travels to Italy in search of love, truth and a deeper connection with herself.
- DirectorMichael HoffmanStarsMichelle PfeifferGeorge ClooneyMae WhitmanThe lives of two strangers and their young children unexpectedly intersect on one hectic, stressful day in New York City.
- DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsJennifer TillyGina GershonJoe PantolianoTough ex-con Corky and her lover Violet concoct a scheme to steal millions of stashed mob money and pin the blame on Violet's crooked boyfriend Caesar.
- DirectorSteven BaigelmanStarsKeanu ReevesVincent D'OnofrioCameron DiazAn ex-convict and his bumbling crook brother fight for the same woman.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsBill PaxtonBilly Bob ThorntonBridget FondaThree blue-collar acquaintances come across millions of dollars in lost cash and make a plan to keep their find from the authorities, but it isn't long before complications and mistrust weave their way into the plan.
- DirectorMark PellingtonStarsJeff BridgesTim RobbinsJoan CusackA man begins to suspect his neighbors are not what they appear to be and their secrets could be deadly.
- DirectorAdrian LyneStarsTim RobbinsElizabeth PeñaDanny AielloMourning his dead child, a haunted Vietnam War veteran attempts to uncover his past while suffering from a severe case of dissociation. To do so, he must decipher reality and life from his own dreams, delusions, and perceptions of death.
- DirectorJoel CoenEthan CoenStarsGabriel ByrneAlbert FinneyJohn TurturroTom Reagan, an advisor to a Prohibition-era crime boss, tries to keep the peace between warring mobs but gets caught in divided loyalties.
- DirectorRon UnderwoodStarsKevin BaconFred WardFinn CarterNatives of a small isolated town defend themselves against strange underground creatures which are killing them one by one.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsAnjelica HustonJohn CusackAnnette BeningA small-time conman has torn loyalties between his estranged mother and new girlfriend, both of whom are high-stakes grifters with their own angles to play.
- DirectorDanny BoyleStarsLeonardo DiCaprioTilda SwintonDaniel YorkOn vacation in Thailand, Richard sets out for an island rumored to be a solitary beach paradise.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsGuy PearceCarrie-Anne MossJoe PantolianoA man with short-term memory loss attempts to track down his wife's murderer.
- DirectorStephen FrearsStarsJohn CusackIben HjejleTodd LouisoRob, a record store owner and compulsive list maker, recounts his top five breakups, including the one in progress.
- DirectorChristopher McQuarrieStarsRyan PhillippeBenicio Del ToroJuliette LewisTwo criminal drifters without sympathy get more than they bargained for after kidnapping and holding for ransom the surrogate mother carrying a baby for a powerful, shady man.
- DirectorRichard LinklaterStarsEthan HawkeJulie DelpyAndrea EckertA young man and woman meet on a train in Europe, and wind up spending one evening together in Vienna. Unfortunately, both know that this will probably be their only night together.
- DirectorScott KalvertStarsLeonardo DiCaprioLorraine BraccoMarilyn SokolA teenager finds his dreams of becoming a basketball star threatened after he free falls into the harrowing world of drug addiction.
- DirectorGregory WidenStarsChristopher WalkenElias KoteasVirginia MadsenAt the scene of a bizarre murder, L.A. homicide detective Thomas Dagget discovers a lethal heavenly prophecy now being fulfilled on earth. In his fight to stop the forces of evil, he finds an unlikely ally in an elementary school teacher.
- DirectorJohn SingletonStarsOmar EppsKristy SwansonMichael RapaportPeople from all different walks of life, encounter racial tension, rape, responsibility, and the meaning of an education on a university campus.
- DirectorStacy TitleStarsCameron DiazRon EldardAnnabeth GishA group of idealistic, but frustrated, liberals succumb to the temptation of murdering rightwing pundits for their political beliefs.
- DirectorNoah BaumbachStarsJosh HamiltonEric StoltzSamuel GouldA bunch of guys hang around their college for months after graduation, continuing a life much like the one before graduation.
- DirectorÁlex de la IglesiaStarsÁlex AnguloArmando De RazzaSantiago SeguraBent on committing as many sins as possible to avert the birth of the beast, a Catholic priest teams up with a Black Metal aficionado and an Italian connoisseur of the occult. Now, he must become an unrelenting sinner. Is there still hope?
- DirectorClive BarkerStarsScott BakulaKevin J. O'ConnorJ. Trevor EdmondA private detective gets more than he bargains for when he encounters Philip Swan, a performer whose amazing illusions captivate the world, but they are not really what everyone thinks.
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsPatricia ArquetteU Aung KoFrances McDormandLaura is trying to pick up the pieces of her life after the murder of her husband and son, and goes on vacation with her sister to Burma. After losing her passport at a political rally, she is left on her own for a few days, during which time she falls in with students fighting for democracy. She and their leader, U Aung Ko, travel through Burma, whilst witnessing many bloody acts of repression by the dictatorship, in an attempt to escape to Thailand. Based on a true story.