Reviews

“Thursday Night’s Best: A-” – Entertainment Weekly

“Has an eloquence and passion that will open hearts as well as eyes.”- Paula Nechak, The Seattle Post-Intelligencer

“It’s a modest, unpretentious film, and more affecting for it. Conveying not just the grimly harrowing circumstances of modern combat but also a real sense of the bright, mature, and morally serious minds that terrible crucible has forged.” – San Francisco Magazine

“Weimberg and Ryan have created one of the rare breed of documentaries that have a point of view, but don’t try to manipulate viewers into sharing it.” – Martin Stillion, Christianity Today

“A thoughtful, challenging, and remarkably wide-ranging examination of the nature of war and its alternatives.” – John Hartl, The Seattle Times

“Wonderful…deeply personal…reminds us that the burdens soldiers and Marines carry in the desert heat are far more complex and long lasting than we can possibly know.” – Bob Kerr, The Providence Journal

“The movie takes its own calm, even-handed approach… Directors Gary Weimberg and Catherine Ryan don’t pull any punches … a film that stirs things up.” – Robert Horton, The Everett Herald (WA)

“Never presumes to tell you what to think. It simply makes it impossible for you not to.” – John Brummett, The Morning News (AR)

“The film is a thought-provoking look at the central purpose of war that invites viewers to reflect not only on their own perspective but also on the other side of the coin.” – Army Times

“Tears at the heart.” – Beth Ashley, Marin Independent Journal

“Thoughtful.” – Jan Stuart, Newsday

“Thoughtful…fascinating…tight and balanced storytelling.” – Moira Macdonald, The Seattle Times

“Gripping and real…through the eyes of soldiers.” – Bryan Fung, NW Asian Weekly

“This chilling documentary explores how we condition our children to bypass their morals.” – Lindy West, The Stranger (Seattle)

“Doesn’t just preach to the choir…voices from across the ideological spectrum.” – Frank Paiva, Seattle Weekly
“Although most Americans would prefer not to think about Iraq, Soldiers of Conscience is required viewing for anyone living with this war… Serving in the military is an honorable profession, and Soldiers of Conscience explores the difficult area where honor, duty, morality and choice intersect and then collide.” – Wyatt Montaner, BeyondChron.org

“This film is an important new tool in efforts to promote peace and understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims and Arabs and non-Arabs in the United States and abroad.” – Fatema Haji-Taki, Islamic Insights.com

“Illuminating…[one of] my five movies to look for during the Atlanta film festival.”- Felicia Feaster, Creative Loafing (the weekly entertainment newspaper of Seattle)

“Must-see.” – Bob Longino, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Even more reviews – click here

Publicity:

Interview on NPR, Gary Weimberg speaks about SOLDIERS OF CONSCIENCE

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/whqr/local-whqr-647909.mp3

LT COL Peter Kilner writes about SOLDIERS OF CONSCIENCE

http://soldier-ethicist.blogspot.com/2007/11/soldiers-of-conscience-documentary.html

Three Women and a Chateau

Reviews:

“…the remarkable history of a remarkable mansion….” – NYTimes.com

“… a beautifully crafted tale … a real life fairy tale … Empathy is not an emotion generally evoked by a house, that documentary filmmakers Catherine Ryan and Gary Weimberg succeed in anthropomorphizing a building is a testament to their sensibilities and their skills.” – Newport Mercury (RI)

“…an intriguing and well told story of many twists and turns….” – Casa Magazine

“…you’ll be fascinated by the architectural wonders of the 100-room Chateau Carolands and the strong-willed, filthy-rich women who have (and continue to) run the household.” – Orange County Weekly

“Magnificent…not just about a house, but a window into the lives of the well-to-do in America for the last 100 years.” – San Mateo County Times.

Complete review in the Newport Mercury, RI 8/11/06

The Story of Mothers and Daughters

Reviews:

THE MIRACLE OF MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS
NY Daily News

“a miraculous, perfect little film … you owe it to yourself to see it … bold, even audacious … finds a universal core at the center of all the unique stories told by all its distinctive women”

complete review

“… forthcoming and honest … far from being sappy, the womens anecdotes illustrate just how much kids take in and how the mother-daughter bond — for better or for worse — affects the subsequent generations. From childbirth to death, each story is touching.”  – Carole Horst, Variety Magazine

complete review

 

MOTHERS AND DAUGHTERS exploresprofoundbond

“You will likely see no documentary anytime soon that will touch you as will “The Story of Mothers and Daughters.”  Structurally, it couldn’t be simpler: A diverse group of women talk about their relationships with their mothers and daughters through each stage of development. But as they speak of that profound bond, what emerges is the rhythmic breathing of life itself.

Believe me, I know how sappy that last sentence sounds. But “The Story of Mothers and Daughters” weaves a repeating pattern of comings together and drawings apart: the union of pregnancy, followed by the separation of birth; the sweet closeness of childhood, then the stormy estrangements of adolescence; the reconciliation of adulthood before the loss to death. And finally, the daughter becoming a mother, beginning the whole cycle anew.
But it’s not all roses and greeting cards. A family can be a bruising thing, and the damage is sometimes lasting. One grown woman says of her mother, with a chillingly calm bitterness, ‘She was not my friend, and … she’s not someone that I would want to know, want to keep in my life.’
Mostly, however, these women have come to treasure their mothers and daughters, and their tenderness — often salted with an amused exasperation — speaks to the soul. If you can keep a dry eye as several describe their emotions after the deaths of their mothers, you’d better check yourself for a heartbeat.
Woman or girl, man or boy, you won’t walk away unchanged by this hour.”

complete review

Click for more M&D Reviews

The Story of Fathers and Sons

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“Television doesn’t get a whole lot more visceral, or more genuinely moving, than does this supremely poignant hour… What these boys and men reveal, in waxing eloquent about the job of dad and son, is almost staggering in its candor. It seems as if producer-directors Gary Weimberg, Catherine Ryan, and Judith Leonard have slipped these storytellers some sort of sensitivity serum. Rarely do males allow themselves to be captured in so raw and sincere a state.”

Variety Magazine Review, The Story of Fathers and Sons, June 17,1999

 

“Grade: A”

Josh Wolk, Entertainment Weekly

 

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“Remarkable … packs more of an emotional wallop than a month of Oprah… Even their most succinct comments speak volumes

because the experiences they contemplate are so visceral… We hear from sons who have

been wounded or abandoned by their fathers. The diversity of feelings is precisely what makes

Fathers & Sons so affecting. It radiates deep love and deep pain.”

David Hiltbrand, TV Guide

 

Ballets Russes

Reviews:

trailer for the documentary

Website for the movie

“Rare non-fiction feature that manages to sustain two hours without losing focus or repeating itself, enormously absorbing pic” Scott Fondas, VARIETY Magazine
complete review in Variety, 2-17-2005

“A captivating film that truley elevates, the spirit… emotionally satisfying.” – Kenneth Turan, THE LOS ANGELES TIMES

“A documentary of absolutely breathtaking sweep andjoyous energy. It’s all amazing, every bit of it.” – Joe Morgenstern, THE WALL STREE JOURNAL

“This movie is a miracle of narrative exposition … It’s like a graduate course in documentary film editing.” – Jon Carroll, SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, 12/14/2005

Link to Update, 9 years after broadcast

POV blog page, The Double Life of Ernesto Gomez Gomez

Link to POV,
their proud pages about the first broadcast in 1999.

Link to Filmakers Library,
educational distributor of the film.

Link to UNA Film Festival, description of the film.

Link to bilingual review
in El Tecolote, english first, then spanish.

Link to article ,
“S.F. Couple’s Documentary Uncovers a Gripping Story of social injustice.

Link to article, “ Changing the World, One Documentary at at Time”

Alternative link to article,
“Case Study: Changing the World, One Documentary at at Time”

Link to LA Times review
“Teen’s Hesitant Search for His True Identity”

Link to DGA nomination announcement
“Nominees for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentaries”