Movie #1940: Framed (1947, Richard Wallace)
It's noir but not really as good as the last two. I'm not sure exactly why. Maybe the plot is a bit too complicated (bank fraud) instead just snatch n' grabbit greed. Some scenes are a little clumsey (ever hear of a woman named..........Helen Bailey?) or they overdo it a bit with the music.
Still, an entertaining 82 minutes. Can't complain.
Book #407: Fujimori's Peru (2005, Catherine Conaghan)
Long detailed account of the takeover of Peru by Fujimori & Montesinos. For the most part, they didn't take it over by force, they just bought it using the money of people they were buying. They only killed a few people - they found it much easier just to buy people. They bought the military, the judges, the congress and the media. They also bought the poor - someone would show up just before elections to hand out food and clothing in exchange for votes.
And their plans fell apart in exactly the same manner as they had been held in place. Someone paid $100,000 for a video tape showing Montesinos bribing a congressman. They think it was Montesinos' secretary. Montesinos missed someone that he should have bought.
Also, thanks to the Internet for getting me up to date. Both this book and the documentary about Fujimori end with him in exile in Japan. Amazingly, Fujimori left Japan for Chile where he was arrested and returned to Peru. He's currently still in Peru - in the slammer. So, by doing something so stupid he bolsters his argument that he's just an idiot and all this corruption was Montesinos' doing.
No comments:
Post a Comment