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WILL STONE fact-checks the colourful life of Ozzy Osbourne
Radical responses from a star turn
JOHN GREEN recommends a documentary on actor Sean Penn's support for progressive social and political causes
JAMES CROSSLEY applauds a lucid biography of the German radical preacher who reemerged as a hero in the GDR
Prizes all round: the Bard hands plaudits to the Miners Gala, OT&JC, Joe Solo, Black Sabbath’s frontman and the Lionesses
Star cartoonist JAMIE BRITTON is in awe of a graphic novel of epic proportions that explores class, religion and globalisation via the strange cultivation of Ginseng in the US Midwest
GUILLERMO THOMAS is intrigued by a history of the Middle East that demonstrates how promising post colonial beginnings were snuffed out by Western imperialist interests
MARIA DUARTE recommends the intricate study of a high-performance and highly dysfuntional German family
Citizen Penn: The Role of a Lifetime
Directed by Don Hardy
WHEN you hear the name of actor, director and screenwriter Sean Penn, you might either be struck with admiration or cringe.
But what is undeniable is that he is a man of strong views who acts on them without a thought about image or status. On top of his film career, he is a political and social activist and his commitment and progressive politics can hardly be faulted, as demonstrated in this documentary about his work in Haiti.
Yet some may perceive it as Penn acting the superman hero in his own brash Hollywood drama and perhaps something more low key and self-effacing would have been more appropriate. But that would not be Sean Penn.
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