Angels in the Dust
Directed by Louise Hogarth

Angels in the Dust, directed by Louise Hogarth

To “have a calling” generally connotes an aptitude or facility with a particular profession. To “be called” generally implies a divine or spiritual beckoning. But it’s the latter that impresses itself on our hearts and minds after observing Marion Clote in the documentary, Angels in the Dust. With her husband and two teen-age daughters, Ms. Clote said goodbye to a life of luxury in a wealthy Johannesburg, South Africa suburb, cashed in their savings, and built a village which over 500 South African children now call home.

Many of the children sheltered, fed, and educated in the village have lost their parents to AIDS. Half of this makeshift family is also infected with the virus. Ms. Clote, a college-trained counselor, brings comfort, guidance, and boundless love to a community where joy and hope belies the agony of bearing witness daily to death and dying. She tends to the well being of all those around her, comforting the dying and grieving with the survivors. Eschewing such principles as keeping a professional distance, she says, “We do a lot of crying around here.”

Given the abundance of current films addressing our collective malaise, you may be tempted to skip this one. Don’t. In spite of the subject material, it is uplifting and inspirational— a primer for those of us who are losing hope.

Angels in the Dust plays at the Seattle Film Festival on 6/14 at 7 p.m. and 6/16 at 1:30 p.m. Harvard Exit, 807 E. Roy St. $10. Info: www.seattlefilm.org.

Crazy Love
Directed by Dan Klores and Fisher Stevens

It’s 1957 and Burt Pagach, cruising the streets of Los Angeles, spies the woman of his dreams. Neither suave nor handsome, he nonetheless approaches Linda Riss, securing a phone number. Thus begins a courtship, an incredulous and weird saga which could even raise eyebrows on the Jerry Springer show. An attorney and nightclub owner, he showers her with gifts and flowers. He wines and dines her at the best places in town. His campaign is working. Then he confesses that he has a wife.

His promise to end the marriage, supplemented by specious court documents of divorce proceedings, overrides Linda’s better judgment. But she agrees with her mother that a little detective work is in order. The legal papers are found to be bogus and Burt is handed his walking papers, but he doesn’t walk. He redoubles his efforts.

The path of his pursuit, includes a short stay in a mental hospital, and a plan to shoot Linda’s new fiancé. Eventually, he succeeds in disfiguring and blinding her, after hiring a thug to throw lye in her face.

Revealing the ending, I’ll tell you they are now happily married. But that’s not a spoiler. The crazy part of Crazy Love is how assailant and victim become husband and wife.

This is not a new story. It’s been featured on TV and magazines. But director Dan Klores comprehensive chronicle, featuring interviews with those who witnessed the events first hand, places it in the stunningly bizarre context in which it belongs.

Crazy Love opens 6/15. Metro Cinemas, 4500 Ninth Ave. N.E. Info: (206) 781-5755.