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The Net
The Unabomber, LSD and The Internet |
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| Starring: John Brockman, Stewart Brand, Robert Taylor, Heinz Von
Foerster, Paul Garrin Directed by:
Lutz Dammbeck |
Originally Broadcast: 2004
DVD Release: 2006
Released by: Other CinemaDolby
Digital Stereo
Fullscreen |
| Also from Other Cinema  So Wrong They're Right (****) is a quirky, lovable movie about
"trackers" -- people who collect 8-track tapes and believe in their musical and
social superiority. Filmmakers Russ Forster (who is also the editor of 8-Track Mind
magazine) and Dan Sutherland travel the US to interview personable Luddites who believe
that the world would be a better place if everyone could only understand the significance
of 8-track tapes -- their kitschy, retro, never-ending loop of a story. Along the way they
capture everything from political statements to advice on fixing broken 8-tracks, always
giving the lowly thrift-store and garage-sale finds respect. It's contagious! After you
see So Wrong They're Right, you'll wonder if all of your old 8-tracks are still
buried in your parents' basement, and where you can find a candy-colored deck for playing
'em. Such is this movie's whimsical charm.
...Marc Mickelson
marc@hometheatersound.com |
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Instead of accepting the pat and obvious answer, that
Kaczynski was criminally insane, director Dammbeck excavates the intellectual culture to
which Kaczynski belonged and that influenced the ideas he professed in his
"Manifesto." Dammbeck constructs a flowchart to help his viewers and himself
make the connections between seemingly disparate places and ideas, circling the US in
search of the Unabomber's back story. He tells a tale of modern society's intersection
with technology through interviews with noted thinkers, some of whom were directly
affected by Kaczynski's crimes.
The Net looks crisp; it was obviously shot with a
video camera. As extra features, the DVD includes additional portions of interviews used
in the film. They are not so much deleted scenes as snippets of additional commentary.
After you watch the movie, you will appreciate the added light they shed.
The Net will appeal to fans of The X-Files
and What the Bleep Do We Know -- those who don't believe the "official"
explanation of anything and like their philosophy straight up. Kaczynski saw his crimes as
acts of war against a world gone wrong, but criminal insanity was certainly a factor as
well. What The Net lacks in linear coherence it makes up for in provocation. It is
not an easy movie to view; you may have to watch it a couple of times to dig everything
out of it and understand its message. |
