FolkTales of Peace

Drawn from the book Peace Tales by Margaret Read MacDonald, this handsomely presented (in a letterboxed format) set of tales makes artful use of the medium, thanks to top-notch cinematography and the good eye of director/editor James Burgess. In the riveting opening tale, "Strength," storyteller Lora Lue Chiorah-Dye takes on the persona of an elephant, chimp, deer, leopard, and man to tell a Limba tale from West Africa. In a beautifully filmed mosaic of story, ballet-like movement, and music, Chiorah-Dye plays the storyteller and the "actor" who performs each animal's demonstration of strength. When man's efforts fail to impress the other animals, he uses a weapon to prove his strength, leading the other animals to the sober, saddening conclusion that "man cannot tell the difference between strength and death." The second story, a short Iroquois tale, told by Richard Restoule, is called "Argument Sticks," and it serves as a nice reminder that--at bottom--many disputes are really pointless. The final piece, "Two Foxes," told by Pam Nolte, is an Appalachian yarn about a pair of foxes--best friends--who tried to fight like the other animals, but found they gained nothing by arguing and bickering. Powerful, visually compelling, and very reasonably priced, FolkTales of Peace is highly recommended. Aud: K, E, P. (R. Pitman)