Hoffa (1992)

Photo from Imdb

Plot Summary

Jimmy Hoffa and Bobby Ciaro were impatiently waiting for a meeting in the parking lot of a roadhouse diner on July 30, 1975. The first flashback to 1935 then occurred.

Hoffa was a Teamsters union organizer who was working to organize the various trucking firms and laundries around Detroit, Michigan. He met a young truck driver named Robert “Bobby” Ciaro. Riding over an hour in Ciaro’s truck, Hoffa tried to convince Ciaro to join the Teamsters. A few days later Hoffa showed up at Bobby’s workplace and accidentally got him fired. Bobby tried to seek revenge but was convinced at gunpoint to back away by Hoffa’s partner Billy Flynn. Ciaro then joined the pair in the bombing of a laundry whose owner has refused to cooperate with the Teamsters. Flynn was badly burned and died. Ciaro succeeded him as Hoffa’s right-hand man.

Another flashback showed a Teamsters strike. While strikers fought with non-union workers and police, Hoffa was taken to a local Mafia boss – Carlo “Dally” D’Allesandro. Ciaro, who spoke Italian, came along and served as Hoffa’s translator. Hoffa then was able to convince the Mafia to join with him, and as a result the Teamsters were successful in the strike.

Hoffa rose to the presidency of the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. His illegal activities included the use of Teamsters’ funds to provide loans to the mob. At a Congressional hearing, Hoffa was questioned by a young Robert “Bobby” F. Kennedy regarding his suspicious union activities. A feud between Kennedy and Hoffa gradually grew as Kennedy swore that Hoffa would be convicted.

Hoffa’s people were willing to cover for him and refused to cooperate with the government. Eventually the government was able to get Hoffa’s young associate, Pete Connelly to talk. Hoffa was convicted of several serious crimes with Bobby Ciaro and sent to prison for several years. Despite his imprisonment, the union members still loved Hoffa and many of them gathered to honor him as he was being driven to a Pennsylvania prison to serve his sentence. Frank “Fitz” Fitzsimmons was appointed to lead the Teamsters while Hoffa was in prison. When Hoffa’s prison sentence was commuted after the Teamsters endorsed Nixon, Hoffa was furious to learn that one of the conditions of his release was that he could not participate in union activities in 10 years. He blamed Fitz, then met with D’Allesandro, wanting Fitz killed. By now the mob was starting to tire of Hoffa, finding Fitz much easier to control. Also, Hoffa’s hot temper was leading to an uncomfortable amount of media exposure for the mob. Ciaro delivered Hoffa’s message to D’Allesandro that unless the matter of Fitzs can be solved, Hoffa would go to the press. D’Allesandro told Ciaro to give a message back to Hoffa that they should all meet the next day at a remote diner.

Hoffa and Ciaro spent several hours waiting in the parking lot but D’Allesandro never arrived. Instead, a young hit man arrived in guise of a trucker with a broken down truck, waiting at the telephone booth inside the roadhouse. When this hitman confirmed Hoffa was sitting in a car near the restaurant, he came and shot Hoffa several times, killing Hoffa in the car. Ciaro was also killed when running to the car to save Hoffa. The hit man and his associates put Hoffa and Ciaro’s corpses in the hitman’s car, then put the car in the back of a semi, which drove off into the countryside.

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Fact: Jimmy Hoffa was one of America’s most powerful men. He fought the Kennedy’s, made deals with the Mafia, and controlled 2 million union members. Then he mysteriously disappeared in 1975.

What’s in it for me?

I didn’t know what to think of this movie before hand. Hoffa seemed like a real scumbag, taking money from working men and giving to the mob, but at times, what was going on in the movie made me like him since he’s a leader of the working class. His purpose at first was helping truckers not to be exploited by the companies’ owners.

We cannot judge people when we are not in their shoes. Hoffa could be a good person to many people, but a bad to others, just like many other famous activists in the world from Dr. Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Che Guevara,… or Fidel Castro (the former Prime Minister of Cuba who just died at the age of 90 as of this writing.) Does Jimmy Hoffa was a tool of organized crime? We don’t know. We just know from the movie that Hoffa would take any help he could get, anywhere he could find it, to organize the drivers and put pressure on the owners. I’m wondering what if the movie makers wanted to make another Hoffa (let’s say a real criminal), then maybe I wouldn’t have had a good impression on him. Then, a movie is a really strong tool for shaping/framing a historic figure. Not many directors would have been confident enough to simply show us Jimmy Hoffa instead of telling us all about him. To me, this is a movie made its points between the lines. There was another movie about Hoffa – Killing Jimmy Hoffa (2014), and there will be another one – The Irishman (2018). So, to avoid any misconception, we need to read and see from different sources.

Anyway, politics and mafia are not so different worlds.

Who’s in the movie?

Director:
Danny DeVito. He was an actor, producer and director. He was nominated Oscar for Best Picture with Erin Brockovich (2000). As an actor, DeVito’s known for Throw Momma from the Train (1987), Ruthless People (1986), Living Out Loud (1998), Batman Returns (1992)

Actor:
Jack Nicholson as Jimmy Hoffa. He won 2 Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role with As Good as It Gets (1997), and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), 1 Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role with Terms of Endearment (1983), and was nominated many other Oscars for best actor both in leading and supporting roles such as About Schmidt (2002), A Few Good Men (1992), Ironweed (1987), Prizzi’s Honor (1985), Reds (1981), Chinatown (1974), The Last Detail (1973), Five Easy Pieces (1970), andand and was nominated many other Oscars for best actor both in leading and supporting roles such as About Schmidt (2002), A Few Good Men (1992), Ironweed (1987), Prizzi’s Honor (1985), Reds (1981), Chinatown (1974), The Last Detail (1973), Five Easy Pieces (1970), andandand Easy Rider (1969)

Danny DeVito as Bobby Ciaro.

Ratings

People like this movie should watch

Nixon (1995)

Cesar Chavez (2014)

Milk (2008)

Killing Jimmy Hoffa (2014)

Anatomy of a Murder (1959)

Photo from Imdb

Plot Summary

Michigan 1950s,

One day, a small-town lawyer, Paul Biegler was contacted by Laura Manion, wife of a Lieutenant in U.S. Army, Frederick Manion. Lt. Manion had been arrested for first degree murder of an innkeeper, Barney Quill. Manion pleaded guilty but claimed that he shot Quill to death because Quill had raped and beaten his beautiful wife. Biegler knew that it would be difficult to get Manion cleared of murder, so he found a justifiable motive for his client which was claiming Manion suffered temporary insanity and had no memory of the event. As Biegler prepared for the case, he realized that Laura was actually a flirty woman. The film then happened mainly in a courtroom when Biegler had to fight with two prosecutors to persuade a jury and a judge that his client’s murder case was justified. At the beginning, there was no evidence that Laura had been raped but as the trial went on with many twisted information, Biegler and his partners seemed to win the case. Finally, the jury announced that Manion was “not guilty for reason of insanity.” Next day, when Biegler and his partner went to see the Manions to get their fee for successfully defending Lt. Manion cleared of murder, they found a note left by Manion indicating that Manion was actually a heavy drinker and he beat Laura before killing Quill for jealousy. It might be implied that Laura was not raped and her sexual encounter with Quill was consensual.

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Fact: Anatomy of a Murder is a faithful recreation of an actual 1952 murder case in which the defense attorney was John Voelker, who wrote the original novel under the pen name Robert Traver (according to Imdb.)

What’s in it for me?

This film, again, helps me to have a pure view of courtroom in America, especially a jury trial in 1950s. I do not have a good knowledge about American trial system, but according to my humble research, it has been argued that the federal civil jury system should be abolished to save more time for cases. Additionally, jury members, for their various backgrounds, are not considered as a real good judge in court because in some cases, their thoughts may be more malleable by a defense lawyer or a prosecutor. Since the decision by jury must be unanimous, some individuals may not think of the case seriously because they may not feel personally responsible for the case’s outcome. I also doubt about the process of choosing the members of a jury. However, proponents have their arguments. First, it may be more difficult to corrupt all 12 jurors than one judge in a case. Second, juries represent the common public and therefore are more likely to judge a case or a defendant based on ethical values of the society. It’s really difficult for me to choose to completely lean on one side. 12 Angry Men (1957) did show the disadvantages of a jury but simultaneously, the film indicated that a jury was still play an important role in courtrooms as long as jury members are the responsible and serious.

Another social issue here is although the defense lawyer know from the outset that the defendant is guilty, he still tries to help his client to have a justifiable motive to commit murder. It indicates that there always are loopholes in the law system and it also raises a question about the ethical issue of a defense lawyer or a prosecutor. We simply cannot fix this problem. Sometimes, a lawyer may accept a difficult case for fame; sometimes, money talks. If you have the best lawyer(s) on your side, chances are you can win even the hardest case, just like O.J. Simpson did in 1995.

The audience may have a dilemma of sympathizing with the defendant at the beginning because his wife was raped by his victim or determining that murder is murder and it cannot be excused. But then when we are at the last scene of the film, we realize that the defendant should have deserved a heavy sentence instead of having people’s sympathy. This film leaves me a negative thought of how much I can trust people. A person seems to be justified for what he did wrong but then finally, we are all screwed by trusting him. It doesn’t happen always, but if it happens to you once or twice, I’m sure you will be like me, be more skeptical of everyone. If not, you can wait until being screwed for the third times. I know not everyone is bad and some people are super nice, but as I get older and have more life experiences, I am more skeptical.

This film doesn’t mention a lot about domestic violence, but at the end of the trial, when I can realize that it is the defendant who beat his wife before killing the “rapist”, the film brings out another social issue: domestic violence. Be careful, it can happen when and where least expected. So, whenever I see anyone with a bruise on the face, it can be an initial sign of domestic violence. Of course, I can not go further if I don’t know that person, but if I can help, I will. I really hate domestic violence.

Who’s in the movie?

Director:

Otto Preminger, who was nominated Oscars for Best Director with The Cardinal (1963) and Laura (1944). He was nominated Oscar for Best Picture with Anatomy of a Murder.

Stars:

James Stewart as attorney Paul Biegler. James Stewart was five-time nominated Oscars for Best Actor in a Leading Role with Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939), The Philadelphia Story (1940), It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), Harvey (1950), and Anatomy of a Murder (1959). In 1985, he finally received an Honorary Oscar for his 50 years of memorable performances, for his high ideals both on and off the screen, with respect and affection of his colleagues.

Lee Remick as Laura Manion. Lee Remick was nominated an Oscar for Best Actress in Leading Role with Days of Wines and Roses (1962). She’s also known for The Letter (1982) and Wheels (1978).

Ben Gazzara as Lt. Frederick Manion. Ben Gazzara was known for TV Series Run for Your Life (1965-1968)

Ratings

People like this movie should watch

12 Angry Men (1957)

The Verdict (1982)

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

The Devil’s Advocate (1997)