"Gideon's Army"

Gideon's Army, 2013

Dir.: Dawn Porter

Prod.: Julie Goldman, Dawn Porter

"You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney, and to have an attorney present during any questioning. If you cannot afford a lawyer, one will be provided for you at government expense" - Miranda warning

I usually try to avoid documentaries that are heavy with legal jargon because I often become frustrated at my inability to follow whatever the hell they're talking about. Law is not my strongest subject. I took a law course in college that I barely scraped by in (though it was a course in media law and was pretty specific and easy to follow). I've tried a couple of times to blog about legal and law-based documentaries and they are still sitting in my draft folder because I get so jumbled up trying to explain what things are that I get flustered.

But because this week's HBO documentary was centered around the law and the legal system, I dove headfirst into it and tried my best to follow. Luckily, the subject was not so much about the law as it was about the people who practice the law.  

The doc this week is Gideon's Army, which explores the lives of the overworked, underpaid, oft-overlooked public defenders of our country's legal system. The title of the documentary comes from the case of Gideon v. Wainwright. In 1961, Clarence Gideon was jailed for robbery. He was too poor to afford a lawyer and instead represented himself in court. That turned out to be not so great of a plan, because Gideon went to jail. Gideon appealed, from jail, which was granted, and he got a re-trial, with a lawyer, and was then freed by a jury. Basically, long story short, Clarence Gideon is the reason why we have these absolute angels of the legal system called public defenders. 

There are currently 15,000 public defenders at work in the US, and even though they can't buy enough gas to fill their gas tank, they are passionate about what they do. Every day, they defend those who cannot afford a lawyer, and most often, those people are guilty of their crimes and their job is to help prove these people are innocent.  

Brandy Alexander has been a public defender for three years, and she represents 180 clients at once. She speaks to her clients with a firm but gentle tone, almost like a mother scolding a misbehaving child. Travis Williams has been a public defender for less than a year, and represents 120 clients. He carries his court losses personally, and vows to one day have the names of all of his losses tattooed on his back. June Hardwick has 150 clients and still remains positive about her career, and visits her clients in jail as often as possible. 

June, Travis and Brandy are part of a program that helps train incoming public defenders, called the Southern Public Defender Training Program (SPDTP). It's the only program like it in the country. Public defenders from several states come to this program to meet, to air their grievances, and to reassure one another that they are doing what's right and they are making a difference in the country - despite the poor pay and the long hours (there's a scene where Brandy is scraping together change in order to pay for gas to keep her car running for the next two days).

The public defenders face exhausting battles. Brandy ends up having to take a week off from work because one of the men she was defending for murder was bragging to his cellmates that he was planning on murdering her if they lost their court case. 

Being a public defender is not glamorous. It is not easy, it is not fun. But it is one of the most important jobs that someone in the legal profession could have. If everyone in this country has a right to a fair trial, someone has to defend them. That's what public defenders are here for. They are here to speak for those who cannot speak for themselves. 

What is completely amazing about this documentary is the courtroom access. We get to see these court cases unfold right in front of our eyes, on film. The people who are on trial are completely open about being filmed, their faces aren't blurred, they allow the cameras access into their homes and their lives. It was amazing to get to see this process completely uncensored.

Not everyone can handle being a public defender for a long period of time. Sometimes the stress is overwhelming, and the pressure of a low paycheck is soul-crushing. But, like the head of the SPDTP tells Brandy and her co-workers, they are doing "God's work". They are speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves. It is extremely admirable, what they do, and they often go unrecognized.

Gideon's Army was a wonderful look into a side of the law that gets very little attention. I was very impressed with the access the filmmakers gained and the editing, though I really think they spent too much time focusing on Brandy and not enough on Travis and June (June actually gets the least amount of screen time).  Otherwise I thought this was a great doc that had moments of victory, moments of sadness and, always, moments of glimmering hope.

"The Loving Story"

The Loving Story, 2011

Dir.: Nancy Buirski

Prod.: Nancy Buirski, Elisabeth Halivand James

Exec Prod.: Sheila Nevins

In case you've been living under a rock for the past few weeks, section three of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was deemed "unconstitutional" at the end of June. What does that mean? It means that same-sex partners who were married in a state that recognizes same-sex marriage are now legally recognized as "spouses" and can now receive spousal benefits - like health care and insurance benefits - like everyone else in this goddamn country. It means that in the eyes of the government, same-sex and heterosexual marriages are one in the same. 

DOMA was signed by President Clinton in 1996. It effectively barred same-sex couples who were married in states that recognized same-sex marriages from receiving spousal benefits. Let me repeat that: 1996. That was only seventeen years ago, people. 

Now that DOMA has been overturned, we're going to have a good laugh about it, right? Oh boy, how silly was that? Can you believe how uppity people were over a thing like same-sex couples getting the same benefits as heterosexual couples? My goodness, are we are going to look back one day and have a good knee-slapper. How silly everyone was! How ridiculous people were acting! What was wrong with people back then? Our children are going to be appalled that same-sex couples didn't have the same rights as heterosexual couples. Why, it's almost as ridiculous as interracial marriage being illegal! Ha-ha-ha! 

Guess what? In 1958 - a mere fifty-five years ago - interracial marriage was illegal. It was a crime that was punishable by jail time, and this was the case across 24 states. 

That was also the year that Mildred and Richard Loving were arrested in Virginia shortly after their marriage for this very reason. Mildred is black, Richard is white, and they spent nine years trying to get their marriage recognized in their home state. Told through archival footage, interviews and home video, The Loving Story tells the incredible tale of a beautiful couple and their powerful love for one another that went all the way up to the Supreme Court.

At two AM, less than two months after they were married in Washington D.C., the police entered Richard and Mildred's home, ordered them out of bed and placed them under arrest. They were put in jail for a year, but their sentences were suspended under the condition that they leave the state.

Mildred admits that she didn't know that interracial marriage was illegal. She recalls the segregated South, not being allowed to eat in "white only" restaurants, but she'd always seen black people and white people together, and it didn't bother her or anyone she knew. 

Richard and Mildred share a tender moment in their home

After they were released, Richard and Mildred were separated. Mildred went to her parents' house, Richard went to his parents'. Shortly after, they left Virginia and went to Washington, D.C., but they were under the impression that they could come back to Virginia and visit. They were wrong. Once they returned to the state, they were arrested once more.  

In a filmed interview, Richard's mother Lola Loving is surprisingly nonplussed about the whole marriage, saying she's never seen them not happy when they were together. "I like 'em. I like her," she says. "I didn't advise them not to get married." 

Peggy Loving, Richard and Mildred's daughter, recalls that her parents loved to go to drag races, and her father was passionate about building and fixing drag cars. Richard is described by friends as "warm, very friendly...he could blend and mix with any people." Other voices who'd known the Lovings describe the community they lived in as helpful and friendly. No one really cared about what race you were, and everyone helped everyone. 

The Lovings, shortly before their arrest

So what had happened in this utopia that made it all go wrong for Mildred and Richard? 

The local sheriff, that's what. It was well known that he did not get along well with the black community in Caroline County, VA, where the Lovings lived. He was the one who knocked down Richard and Mildred's door in the middle of the night to arrest them, and he was the one who kept trying to bring them back to jail.  

Mildred was unhappy living in Washington D.C., and often went back to Virginia to visit her family. They were allowed to go there separately, but not together. "Knowing them, they probably came back together," Peggy Loving says. Mildred and Richard often had to sneak around when they wanted to come together. Their friends would help them lay low, and they would stay out of public places, mainly spending time with family and keeping close to family homes. 

Mildred and Richard on the porch of the boarding house owned by Mildred's sister Garnet

In 1964, at the height of the Civil Rights movement, Mildred wrote a letter to Robert Kennedy - who was, at the time, the Attorney General of the United States - and told him her story, letting him know how unhappy she was at her plight of not being allowed back to her home state simply because she was married to a white man. He wrote back, suggesting that she contact the American Civil Liberties Union. 

Meanwhile, in the South, we start to see a very aggressive tightening of segregation and a prominence of the KKK in the South. Race issues were becoming a bigger and bigger deal, with more prominence in the media. Coinciding was the Lovings' ongoing battle with the court systems, and the runaround they were given. It wasn't until 1965 that the court of the district of Virginia finally decided that the Lovings could go to the Supreme Court of Appeals. Unfortunately, their ruling was upheld and affirmed, that Richard and Mildred were criminals, guilt of interracial marriage, which is considered just as heinous as incestual marriage. Of course, they appealed this decision again to the US Supreme Court. Richard and Mildred were flabbergasted that this was going so far. They did not attend the proceedings in Washington, D.C. but a statement was read on Richard's behalf: "Just tell the court that I love my wife."

Then, in June 1967, the US Supreme Court unanimously deemed that interracial marriage was considered 100% legal in every state. Those states that had laws against interracial marriage must revoke them immediately. The ruling read as follows: 

Under our Constitution, the freedom to marry, or not marry, a person of another race resides with the individual and cannot be infringed by the state. These convictions must be revered. It is so ordered. 

And just like that, Mildred and Richard were "free". 

The Lovings at a press conference following the Supreme Court ruling

After nine years, they were finally able to move back to Virginia with their children, and not have to worry about being arrested. They could go out in their hometown, hold hands, visit family and friends, without wondering who was going to break down the door and drag them away. Just like that. 

I thought that among the celebrating of DOMA being overturned, we should take a moment to thank the Lovings and honor their bravery, determination and devotion to their cause and one another. Because I feel in a way, Robert and Mildred Loving's fight to their right to marry paved the way for not only other interracial couples, but for same-sex couples as well.  

Our country is moving at a slow pace, "the wheels of justice grind slowly", but we know from the case of the Lovings that, one day, we will see equal rights for all. So while DOMA coming off the table is a step in the right direction, it does not mean the fight is over. Someday soon, we can hope to see that this:

will one day be as legal as this

In Loving Memory of Richard (1933-1975) and Mildred (1939-2008)

"Miss You Can Do It"

Miss You Can Do It, 2013

Dir.: Ron Davis

Prod.: Ron Davis

"Accomplishment begins with two words: 'I'll Try'" - Abbey Curran

I hate beauty pageants. I've expressed my very obvious disdain for them when I reviewed The Good Mother. I feel like they're antiquated, useless and promote the wrong kind of values. I'm especially against child beauty pageants. Do I need to go into why? Google "child beauty pageants" and you will see picture after picture of very young girls in overdone hair and make-up far too old for their faces, spray tanned, false eyelashed, plumped, corseted, wearing high heels, doing sexy dance moves...it makes me gag.

Why? Why are we doing this to these little girls? Don't they know that perfection is not the only thing in this world?

But I think I've finally seen a beauty pageant that is worthy of the word  "beauty".

Abbey Curran, Miss Iowa 2008, began the Miss You Can Do It pageant in 2005, and this documentary follows its eighth season. It's geared towards little girls as young as four years old who have special needs. Abbey herself was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at the age of two, and became the first woman with a disability to enter Miss USA. Her cerebral palsy effects her legs and can walk unassisted, but during pageants walked with an escort.

Abbey in the Miss USA pageant in 2008

"Having a disability doesn't make me different," she said during a pageant interview in 2004. "It just means I have to overcome more challenges."

As for the pageant itself, one of the pageant coordinators says, "Miss You Can Do It is about seeing the beauty behind the challenge."

Abbey pays for the entire pageant herself - they have no sponsors, no financial backing. Everything from throwing pizza and cupcake parties for the contestants, to the professional hair and makeup each girl receives, to the trophies given out to every single girl who competes comes from volunteers or from Abbey's own pocket.

Among the contestants are: Meg and her adopted sister Alina, who both have Down Syndrome; Delaney and Teyanna, who each have different types of cerebral palsy (Delaney's is spasmodic, Teyanna's is seizures); Tierney, who has Spinal Muscular Atrophy, a progressive muscle weakening disease; Ali, who has spina bifida, which is a disorder that causes the spine to not be fully formed during development in utero (at age six,she has had nine surgeries); and sisters Tasha, who has cerebral palsy, and Kenna, who has a cognitive disability that affects her memory. 

There's an interview process before the pageant, and it takes into account the different types of disabilities there are. There are two different interview rooms: one for those who can talk and one for those who have difficulties speaking. Miss USA 2008 and Miss America 1975 are on the panel of interviewers. They ask them questions like, "What's your favorite color?" and "Do you have any pets at home?"

Each girl gets a chance to show off their personalities. Alina, age four, whose father describes as "a fireball", spends most of the interview playing with the boom mike and then tries to make off with a magazine that Miss USA has on the table in front of her. However, she is quickly distracted by a lollipop. Ali talks about how much she loves Mustang convertibles and sings a Justin Bieber song. Delaney, who is ten, and one of the judges discuss their favorite High School Musical characters (Delaney is also the cutie featured on the movie poster):

Here, I did you a favor so you don't have to scroll back up :D

The most meaningful interview is twelve-year-old Teyanna. The judges ask her about an essay contest she'd won. The topic was about people with disabilities. She reads some of her essay to the judges: "The meaning of being disabled is not having any power but I have the power to do anything I am willing to try."

Teyanna modeling her sportswear during the pageant

As for the actual pageant itself, there are three categories: sportswear/casual wear, formal wear and interview. Nobody, not a single girl, goes home empty handed, and there's an award for everything: Best Formal Wear, Best Sportswear, Best Interview, Miss Congeniality, etc. The girls are thrilled to be going home with a trophy.

Abbey says, "It's not about outfits, it's not about the hair, it's about the girl on the inside...it's truly going to make a difference in her life."

Of course, I am not going to give away the ones who take away the big trophies. I'm going to let you watch and discover for yourself. Because honestly, though I pretty much cried my way through this documentary, I had a huge smile on my face. Director/producer Ron Davis does a wonderful job at letting the pageant unfold, at capturing the indomitable spirits of the contestants and the wonderful stories all the parents - and Abbey's too! - bring to the table. To them, their children are beautiful. But now it's time for those girls to believe it themselves. There is so much beauty in this documentary - from the contestants themselves to their wonderful parents to Abbey's kind, generous spirit - that it can move you to tears. That is why this really is a beauty pageant.

"Young@Heart"

Young@Heart, 2007
Dir.: Stephen Walker, Sally George
Prod.: Hannah Beckerman, Sally George, Jane Villiers

This morning, as I lay in bed watching TV, I saw a commercial for something only I would get excited for: the summer documentary series on HBO. YES!!!

HBO will be showing ten hour-long documentaries, once a week for ten weeks, starting tomorrow until August 12th. I was so excited I immediately set my DVR. I’m going to be watching and blogging all ten documentaries (starting tomorrow with Pussy Riot: A Punk Prayer).

Anyway, seeing this commercial totally lit a fire under me and it put me in a doc watching mood. So, let’s dive back in!

Okay. Quick – picture a glee club!

I bet you’re thinking one of two things: overly sequined Broadway rejects singing cheesy, schmaltzy versions of pop songs, or that monstrous TV show that falls under the category "it seemed like a good idea at the time" (you know exactly what I'm talking about). 

I'm glaring at you, Fox...

Well, I’m about to totally blow your mind. Meet the Young@Heart chorus – a music group comprised of twenty-four senior citizens singing punk and rock songs. Talk about “seniors behaving badly”!

The average age of this group is EIGHTY! EIGHTY, OKAY?! They sing, they entertain, they tour, they’re up on stage, singing their asses off, with walkers, wheelchairs and canes. The documentary follows them on their journey to rehearse a brand new touring show, which will open in seven weeks.

Eat your heart out, Rachel Berry

It originally began as a group of golden oldies singing golden oldies. However, one member of the group suddenly busted out into singing the song “Do Wa Ditty”, and the course of the chorus was changed forever.

The chorus master, Bob Cilman, is charismatic and funny and works extremely hard with the chorus. At the first rehearsal that is filmed, he congratulates one member on his birthday, makes a few jokes about kidney stones, and then asks, “Anyone have any other health issues they want to share? Anyone having a baby?”

Bob picks songs like “I Wanna Be Sedated” by the Ramones and “I Feel Good” by James Brown. He’s not so much concerned with tune or harmonies. It’s more about camaraderie, fun and entertainment. He prints the lyrics out for everyone using an extra-large font. He provides CDs for the members, so that they can sing along at home and learn the words. The choreography is light and easy. They’ve performed at schools, festivals and for the Queen of Norway. Though not everyone loves the music Bob picks (some admit to wearing ear plugs to rehearsal), they all love being a part of the chorus.

Most of the members of the group have no idea about punk and rock – they only sing it. Their own tastes vary from Broadway standards to opera. Sonic Youth, the Clash and Outkast may be on their own program, but they don’t prefer to listen to it.

The oldest member of the group is Eileen, who is 92 years old. She’s a British import who, in a former life, was a burlesque dancer. She’s flirty and sweet, who tells people she’s twenty nine. “I just switch the numbers ‘round!” she laughs. She lives in a nursing home, but is the only resident who has her own key to the front door to the facility, due to the fact that chorus rehearsals sometimes keep her out late, after all of the staff has gone home.

“Singing does a lot for your whole body,” says chorus member Joe. He’s eighty three years old, has battled cancer (and went through six bouts of chemotherapy), and is going on tour with Young@Heart against medical advice. He, Eileen and their friend Lenny, travel to rehearsals together. Lenny (a WW2 veteran) is the only one who is still able to drive. He also enjoys going on long bike rides and is still active in other choral groups, like the Harmonicats and the church choir.

The most emotional part of the documentary is when Bob visits a former member of Young@Heart, named Bob Salvini, who swears that music brought him back from the brink of death. He was hospitalized, and not expected to survive the night. A priest was brought in to say his last rites. However, his daughter tells about how singing through the night helped him pull through. “He sang everything,” she says. “Everything from the Young@Heart program.”

I think my favorite part, however, is the scene where the chorus does their first-ever performance at a prison. This was one of the greatest things I have ever seen on film - two dozen senior citizens performing in an outside courtyard, surrounded by barbed wire, for inmates who genuinely look like that they are having a wonderful time. I'm serious! These guys sit and listen to the chorus with gigantic smiles on their faces, bobbing their heads and clapping with sincere appreciation. At one point, a few of them are moved to tears. Afterwards, the chorus members mingle with the prisoners, who give them hugs and handshakes, complimenting their performance and saying how much they loved them. It was quite wonderful to see. 

Young@Heart was a wonderful, uplifting documentary. I did not stop smiling the entire time, though there are moments that will move you to tears. These elderly folks really are young at heart – they would rather defy their doctors and travel to rehearsals than miss a single one. They sing in the shower, they sing in the car, they sing to each other. They love to dance and to perform. They work so hard to learn these songs, and when Bob gets frustrated at rehearsals and wants to cut a song, they get up and arms and threaten to pummel him. They even make music videos!

What I took away the most from Young@Heart is that you’re never too old to do what you love and as long as it makes you happy, there’s nothing that can stop you.

I really hope I'm this cool when I'm an octogenarian. 

For more information about the Young@Heart chorus (and get their tour schedule, of course), visit: http://youngatheartchorus.com/

"Mine"

Mine, 2009

Dir.: Geralyn Pezanoski

Prod.: Alison Pezanoski-Browne, Erin Essenmacher and Geralyn Pezanoski

This will forever change our lives. As pet guardians, as parents, our lives will be forever changed – New Orleans resident. 

I avoided this documentary for the same reason when my mom brought home the DVD of Marley & Me, it sat unopened for nearly six months.

“Because, Mom,” I stressed when she asked me for the umpteenth time why we hadn’t watched it yet, “I know for a fact that I am going to cry uncontrollably.”

It’s like a sickness. I know that any movie or TV show involving a dog or the plight of a dog is almost inevitably going to make me cry. I have two dogs, a mutt and a terrier, who are my best friends (other than, you know, my fiancé). I don’t live with them anymore, my mom has them. When she told me she was moving to Arizona and taking the dogs with her, I began to cry. “Don’t worry,” Mom said. “We’ll still call each other and you can come visit anytime.”

“I’m not crying about that! I’m crying because you’re taking away my dogs!” I wailed, much to my mother’s chagrin.

As much as I cannot wait to adopt a dog of my own, I am dreading the process – there are so many dogs who need homes, so many that deserve loving families. How can I choose just one? On top of that, I work at an animal lodging facility where I spend eight hours a day, four to five days a week as a companion for dogs whose very rich owners have kenneled them while they go on business trips or vacations. I often find myself wiping away tears when I put them back in their enclosures, not wanting to hear their high-pitched whining as I lock their doors. Also, my fiancé knows better than to let me anywhere near an animal shelter or a pet store, because I will want to take all the dogs home. I'm also the type of person who will quickly change the channel in order to avoid watching the ASPCA commercials featuring all the moon-eyed dogs wanting a sponsor. Aaaagghhh my eyes are watering just at the thought of those damn commercials.

According to the synopsis on the documentary’s website (minemovie.squarespace.com), “Mine is…about the essential bond between human and animals, set against the backdrop of one of the worst disasters in modern US history [Hurricane Katrina].”

I was going to avoid watching this film as much as possible. Maybe save it as the last one off my list. But I didn’t want to postpone the inevitable. I found myself actually needing a good cry, so, I put it on.

The film opens to a montage of Hurricane Katrina wreckage from August of 2005. While rescue personnel were concerned with evacuating the people of New Orleans, the people were dismayed that they were being forced to abandoned their pets. Shelters were refusing to accept people with animals. Therefore, pet owners had no choice but to leave their beloved pets behind. After the city began to return to normal, pet owners were faced with the task of trying to track down their beloved furbabies.

Mine focuses on five people and their difficulties with reclaiming their dogs in the aftermath of Katrina. There are also interviews with the dog foster parents, ASPCA workers and rescuers, and animal rights activists. Director Geralyn Pezanoski does a miraculous job recording the emotional pain, joy and outrage of all involved.

In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and later Hurricane Rita, 150,000 animals died. Those that were found alive were rescued and shipped out. This project, known as Operation: Orphans of the Storm, sent 15,000 pets to 500 shelters across the US and Canada. They were all catalogued and listed on Petfinder, then word was put out that owners could find their missing pets online.

Rescuer Jane Garrison was met with skepticism when she told people she was going to New Orleans to rescue animals. She was asked, "Why are you saving dogs? Why aren't you saving people?" She was shocked when she saw footage of Katrina's aftermath and news crews were abandoning the dogs they filmed. She saw people being rescued off of building rooftops, and the dogs being left behind. She explains, "None of the groups were ready for the disaster of this magnitude...I couldn't get enough people down there each day...As long as you weren't from the area, you could come down and help." Cameras follow her as she and her team search neighborhoods. They find several houses were spray painted to let rescuers know that animals were inside. They discover dogs locked in cages, trapped in destroyed homes.

Karen O'Toole, another rescuer, says of the disaster: "I knew it wasn’t a matter of sending a check to the Red Cross. I thought I was watching a movie when I saw Katrina on TV. You couldn’t rely on the government in a disaster like this."

For what it's worth, many, many efforts were made for the sake of the animals. Temporary shelters sprung up. Every cat and dog found were given medical care, vaccinations and microchips. "The first priority was saving their lives," Jane says. "The next was finding their families."

Malvin, a man in his mid-eighties, left his miniature poodle Bandit in his New Orleans home when he was told to evacuate. He left Bandit with food and water and a promise that he would return in a few days. "When the levees broke," Cavalier says, "I thought, Lord have mercy. What about Bandit? Where’s Bandit?" After living as an evacuee for eight months in Houston, Malvin recieves his FEMA trailor, and, eventually the help of an organization known as Stealth - their mission being to reunite Katrina dogs with their owners.

When Linda was evacuated with her family, she left fifty pounds of food and lots of water for her German shepherd, Precious. She begged rescuers to save her dog, but her plea fell upon deaf ears.  

Victor returned to New Orleans to find his dog, only to discover he'd been adopted by another couple named Tiffany and Jeremy, who were told that the original owner of Max "didn't want him back." Of course, Tiffany and Jeremy are shocked to discover that not only did Max's original owner wanted him, but never consented to an adoption. A pet custody battle ensues, leaving both parties fighting to call Max theirs.  

Jessie, a hard working man, had to leave behind his four-legged son J.J. (which stands for "Jessie Junior") during Katrina while he and his family were evacuated, and has since spent many, many months trying to locate him, only meeting with dead ends, false hope and lies. 

Finally, we are introduced to Gloria and her Labrador Murphy, her best friend. Gloria was "forcibly rescued" from her home during Katrina, because she refused to leave Murphy behind and be separated from him. Rescuers ignored her requests to save Murphy. Her devoted daughter scours the internet, looking for her mother's dog in a chaotic aftermath. 

I initially wrote six pages, single spaced, on this film, but I’ve decided to cut it down to save me from myself. However, I am thrilled to report that in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Congress passed the Pets Evacuation and Transportation Standards (PETS) Act, requiring states to accommodate pets in their disaster evacuation plans so that something like this will never happen again.

After the film ended, I sat on my couch, buried my face in a pillow and cried for a good five minutes. I cried for Malvin and Bandit; for Linda and Precious; for Victor, Tiffany, Jeremy and Max. I cried for Jessie and J.J.; I cried for Gloria and Murphy. I cried for the dogs that didn’t make it. I cried for the dogs that found new homes and were reunited. I cried for the owners who have lost their best friends. I cried for the fact that I could not hug my own dogs.

If you are a dog lover, a dog owner, a friend of a dog, I highly recommend Mine. Don’t be embarrassed to cry, seriously – even if you’re not a waterworks like me. These are stories that are altogether heartbreaking and uplifting, happy and sad.