Diversion by a dictator

 Trump is acting like a dictator.  We hear a few Republican congressmen dislike some of his policies, but somehow they let him do what he wants.  His chosen advisers are selected for their loyalty and are quite adamant what a great person he is--proof of their loyalty.

Some voters like much of what he has done.  They fear immigrants and are stirred by talks of eating dogs, murdering innocent people, etc. etc. although the facts are, immigrants actually have less violent crime and are hard working tax payers.  They hate racial minorities and homosexuals.  They think taxes are always too high although they don't seem to notice that inequality is widening and the national debt is a contributor to inflation.

Some of them are willing to overlook his sexual escapades and his gender bias.  But he realizes that part of his base is Christian evangelists who normally frown upon sex outside marriage.  Many others also are disgusted with what has been suggested by the Epstein Files.  He has already announced that he has been completely exonerated.

That is hard to digest.  Pam Bondi years ago gave Jeffrey Epstein preferential legal treatment and seems to be delaying more information.   Melania Trump apparently was introduced to Trump by Epstein and it seems she had some sort of relationship before hooking up with Trump.  Admittedly there is a lot of gossip, but it appears truth has been blocked.

Some of his policies have upset even some of his MAGA supporters.  ICE has been more intrusive and brutal than anticipated.  His tariffs have aggravated inflation.  What to do?  He cannot admit mistakes, but blames others and exaggerates his merits.  Diversion usually works.

We all detest drug abuse and the gangsters that profit from it.  To prove how determined he is to stop it, he bombs boats that without proof supposedly are drug running.  Then he attacks Venezuela and removes its leader, admittedly a criminal himself.  Not sure how that will work out, but it seems the U.S. has greater control over oil.  They have used that control to strangle Cuba.  As an aside the Cuban Revolution got popular approval by ridding the country of gangsters and exploiters.  

Drugs like everything have a supply and demand dynamic.  There is a lot of complexity over drug abuse, but surely more effort should happen to ease the need for an illegal supply.

Still the Epstein Files are gaining attention and mid-terms are not that far away.  To stay out of prison he needs to be president with legislators he can control.  Lots of efforts to gerry mander and talk of restricting voting to diminish Democrats.  

Iran is something popular to criticize.  A theocracy with fundamentalist views and corruption has been noted.  Their hatred of Israel is frightening.  They strongly support the Palestinian cause which until recently was opposed by Americans and most westerners.  United States does not have clean hands regarding Iran  see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/09/king-of-kings-iranian-revolution.html Trump does not have clean hands either.  One of his acts once elected was to tear up the Iran nuclear agreement.  He criticized that Obama gave them a large amount of money, not crediting that it was money that had been confiscated plus interest.  Who knows how they might have softened Iranian attitudes if working with them?  He realized Israel feared and hated Iran and Evangelicals sided with Jewish occupation of the Holy Land.  

Yes, Iran is a terrible place where many are abused and free speech is almost criminal in some cases.  But there are other terrible places.  Trump seems to admire Putin and certainly supports his efforts regarding Ukraine.  Does he think the attacks are justified, no big deal or does Putin have some kind of hold on him.  Hopefully Ukraine would get a better deal from a different president.

News coverage has changed.  When Russia attacked Ukraine there was a lot of front page articles and many minutes on tv and radio.  When Hamas attacked Israel the coverage shifted.  Since then some Americans have realized Palestinians have long been poorly treated.  Netanyahu facing serious legal prospects stepped up reprisals hanging on to when Trump might be elected.  They are both in a similar situation and it is easy to speculate that Netanyahu encouraged an invasion of Iran and of course the terrorists supported by Iran.  

Hate can always be exploited.  Trump certainly needs to find excuses to divert attention.  It is too bad that saner minds have so little influence.  For all of us.

I hope that Iran is restored to democracy and becomes a positive influence for the world.  Might happen, but a long war might be beneficial for Trump's status quo.

It feels good to rant, but I hope more can be done to improve our situation.

Canada near a "Breaking Point"

I had a casual attitude when starting "Breaking Point" (2025), but soon realized that some of my comfortable progressive views might have to be adjusted.  Not only is the world a rough place, but so is Canada itself.  We have problems that can do us in, if we don't make some changes that may hurt.

It is not as if the signs have not been visible, but from a comfortable position they didn't seem as pertinent as problems in the rest of the world.  I own a home, have a reasonable pension, live in Ontario and in many ways I am better off than young males..

One stress is regional, particularly with Alberta and Saskatchewan that feel ignored by the federal government and have discussed separation.  There are still Quebekers who resent being part of Canada.

Another stress is inter generational.  Today's youth is not better off than their parents, in fact too many of them still live with their parents as they cannot afford to go it alone.  Young men often feel that the government treats women better and this causes a lot of social issues.  They are vulnerable to anti-government arguments.

Canada, once admired and feared for our military prowess, now is not living up to their military commitments.  We are not only more threatened over the Arctic, but Americans are mocking, and even threatening us.

Immigration has been a success, but now we have overreached and it is irritating Canadians.  We cannot find housing for everyone and citizens feel foreigners are threatening our jobs and our culture.

One of the causes is that housing is un affordable for too many first time buyers and immigrants.  The authors suggest we need to spread out our suburban areas.  I draw the line at sprawl which they favor.  There is a trade off between population and arable land and it is likely going to be a more difficult balance in the future.  They do speak of bureaucratic paperwork and NIMBY attitudes that if overcome, the resistance to  fourplexes and the like will be reduced.         

Although we have improved our treatment with our indigenous there is still resentment, distrust and waste.  Our history has for the most part fixated on assimilation, often forced.  We have written treaties and then ignored many of them.  Lately we have been going in the right direction, but need to work with them more.  They have been friends of environmentalists while not much sharing in the mineral and oil wealth.  Their education has mostly been inferior and needs to be upgraded.  An early effort to improve their lot came from Paul Martin  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2013/03/paul-martin-under-appreciated.html

Alberta does have legitimate grievances, but with too much of their wealth built around oil; dirty oil at that.  To my way of thinking climate change is the most pressing global issue (some would argue Nuclear war):  see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/10/intervention-earth.html  They will continue to mostly resist a transition to electrical cars and other environmental engineering.  There is no easy solution, but as a starter I would suggest they be given a nuclear power plant or more that will help provide "clean" electricity.  More federal government offices to provide not only jobs, but greater control.  I know from personal experience that bilingualism is frowned upon and resented for job requirements.

Generational stress has caught some of us baby boomers by surprise, although we are concerned for our own offspring.  The baby boomers in many cases have comfortable lives, but not all their children do.  The authors suggest there ought to be transfers of wealth to the younger generations with taxes eased.  The real cure is education.  It needs to be more affordable and accessible, but also more targeted.  Trades had been looked down upon, but reality points out they are needed and can provide a comfortable standard of living.  At the same time as there is a stronger vocational aspect to education we also need to prepare for more leisure time, meaning physical fitness and appreciation for the arts.

Our military weakness seems to have developed since the 80's.  It was pointed out that Lyndon Johnson admired how the Canadian military handled a crisis in Cyprus and may even have given us favorable  terms with an auto pact.  The Arctic has opened up from global warming and both the Russians and Chinese are taking advantage.  We can build military bases in the north and also support northern urban settlements.  The cost of living is much greater in northern Canada which is a deterrent for immigration to the area.  Also the indigenous could be better supported.

Immigration is vital for our future.  We do not produce enough babies to support the older generations or to generate sufficient economic activity.  We are already relatively selective, but not as supportive as ideal.  Many qualified professionals are blocked by a need for certification.  We should also shift destinations away from the urban magnets of Vancouver, Montreal and Toronto.  For some immigrants a willingness to locate to lesser populated areas could give them preferential opportunities.  

The media has been splintered with a variety of perspectives including extreme views.  Online sources provide information for many people while trained journalists have difficulty getting a job.  It is difficult to find trustworthy information.

Money is definitely needed to change for the future. Taxes are a touchy matter.  Money is easily transferred from one jurisdiction to another with more favorable terms.  By lowering taxes for younger workers trying to form families we all benefit.  We need innovation which often means we need to attract money.  Increased income is an incentive.  The opportunity perhaps lies with the idle rich. They suggest a means criteria should be applied to old age pensions.  How you might define them would be difficult and they would have clever lawyers to defend their interests. 

The authors tell a history of political bungling involving all parties.  They noted that when the conservatives merged with the reform party they gained power and were able to get things done.  They suggest that the progressive parties, Liberals NDP. and Green should merge and stop splitting their votes. 

I believe a two party system is going backwards.  The voters are not all dumb, they get a mixed package at best.  Many have figured out that unless they vote for the winner, their vote is wasted.  Some adopt a strategic strategy choosing their second choice in order to block a hated rival.  Bottom line, a lot of people do not vote at all and few really study the options. When a party has to co-operate with other parties to have any real power they are careful to avoid antagonism.  Votes are not wasted so in Proportional Representative jurisdictions, more people actually vote thus signifying true values  The authors threw out some examples of proportional voting countries that fail, but in fact there are far more where more people actually vote, more legislation sticks, the results are better for the country as a whole and most critically, scientific surveys suggest the citizens are happier, even though taxes are generally higher.  Honest collaboration is one of the keys.  Andrew Coyne pointed out that the voting system is the base for everything else.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/09/the-crisis-of-canadian-democracy.html  An earlier blog of mine gives more perspective http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/10/your-vote-neednt-be-wasted.html

 Donald Trump has provided more incentive to get our act together.  If we don't want to be American and risk having him as a dictator, we need to change.  Sacrifices that were required in warfare may be necessary.

There are a lot of relevant ideas in the book and blog readers should bear in mind this post is an incomplete summary.  

You can read about another earlier effort of the two authors.  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/12/empty-planet.html

Hewliusz--a post Communist disaster

 Very soon after blogging on "Lead Children" (2026) I discovered another Polish disaster series with at least one crucial difference.  This one "Heweliusz"(2025) is set after the fall of Communism.  One dismissive comment was to diminish a "commy'".  Also has a bigger budget.  see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2026/02/lead-children-communist-enviromental.html

We are shown several flashbacks about a ferry boat, the Heweliusz capsizing with many deaths.  Each flashback gives additional information.  Most of the action is in homes and businesses and in court.  

We are made aware that the ferry boat company is determined that the blame be laid on Captain Ulasiewicz and his crew.  Slowly the flashbacks reveal the boat had been poorly maintained and towards the end we learn that it had been overloaded by government military forces.

The captain did not survive and his body was not recovered for a few weeks.  The company tried to suggest that he had been drinking, had not recovered from surgery and had made a few mistakes.  All that is untrue, but he has only a few supporters.  The company has made a number of veiled threats against witnesses.  The Captain's daughter is bullied by boys who attributed their father's death to her father.

Finally we get to a court hearing and can see although a few supporting words are spoken, the judge cuts off testimony that goes against the company.  He even seems to be able to coach witness on the stand.  The captain's wife feels her husband has been slandered.  

The film is very engaging with strong production values.  There are many contributors and these are only a few.

Jan Holoubek was the director.  He started as a cinematographer encouraged by his established acting parents.  He has 23 cinematography credits, 11 for directing and 8 for the camera and electrical department.

Kasper Bajon was the writer.  He has 8 writing credits, 4 for assistant directing and 2 for directing.

Alain-Gilles Viellevoye was a co-producer.  He has 109 credits for production finance and accounting, 46 for producing, 3 for production management and 2 for additional crew including "Coco Before Chanel" (2003), "Suite Francaise" (2014).

Jan Komar composed the music.  He has done commercials and theatre music.  He has 24 credits for composing, 6 for the music department and 1 for soundtrack.

Bartlomiej Kaczmarek was the cinematographer.  He has 16 cinematographer credits, 1 for director and 1 for writing.

Magdalena Rozczka plays the captain's wife.  In 2010 she was appointed UNICEF National Goodwill Ambassador.  She has 61 acting credits, 1 for producing and 1 for writing including "The Mothers of Penguins" (2024))  see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/12/the-mothers-of-pengins-series-from.html

Michal Zurawski plays Piotr Binter, a close friend of the captain.  He has been active in the theatre as well as dubbing.  Michal has 95 acting credits and 1 for directing including "Lead Children" (2026).  

Konrad Eleryk played Witold, a key witness.  He has 61 acting credits.

Michalina Labacz played Witold's wife.  She has been active in the theatre.  Michalina has 19 acting credits including "Hold Tight" (2022).

Borys Szyc played Captain Ulasiewicz, mostly in flashbacks.  He has been a singer with albums and films, also been in theatre and done dubbing.  Borys owned a restaurant and wrote a cook book.  He has 117 acting credits, 6 for producing and 1 for soundtrack.

Jan Englert played Binter's father.  He has been the artistic director of the National Theatre in Warsaw. He has 124 acting credits, 1 for directing and 2 for writing.

 Piotr Roguck played a character named Marek Celej.  He has 47 acting credits, 2 for the music department and 1 for composing including "Forgotten Love" (2023) and "The Mothers of Penguins" (2024).  see http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/10/forgotten-love-polish-gem.html

Grzegorz Warchol, played one of the company executives.  He has 92 acting credits, 12 for directing and 3 for writing including "Three Colors:  White" (1994).

Jacek Koman played the character Ignacy Budzisz.   He has lived in Australia for many years.  He has 101 acting credits and 1 for soundtrack including "Moulin Rouge" (2001), "Australia" (2008), "The Great Gatsby" (2013), "Doctor Doctor" (2016) and "Conclave" (2024).

This series  "Heweliusz", about a disaster is very well done.  It is available on Netflix, dubbed and subtitled.  One of the better ones this year.

As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.  They are not necessarily a recommendation, but generally these are among my favorites.  If you follow the links you should be better able to determine if a particular film is worth following up.

Blink

 Looking for a time filler, an old Malcom Gladwell book I think my son left behind looked promising.  "Blink" was released in 2005.  There are many examples of making accurate judgments in the blink of an eye, but also of serious mistakes.

A timely personal illustration is suggested by the author.  Most people in a book store will pick up a book, like "Blink" hold it for 2 seconds and move on.  A lot of impressions are crowded into that 2 seconds.  And sometimes thin slicing pays off.

Thin slicing is a term used to indicate the unconscious ability to extract something useful from perceived patterns.  Using the book example a prospect might evaluate the weight of the book, its design and might recall something they heard about the author.  They could close the deal or move onto another option very quickly.  Accurate thin slicing is often more productive than overwhelming data. 

The first example came at the very beginning.  Art can be very expensive and difficult to evaluate.  The J Paul Getty Museum was approached with what was claimed to be an ancient Greek statue.  Their approach was to do research, examining it from all aspects and their conclusion was that it was a legitimate rare statue.  Two art experts given a short view, felt it wasn't quite right.  The difference was that they had a lot of experience and could zero in what didn't fit with their experience.  The other experts lacked that experience and so checked conventional research and would have authorized the purchase of a very clever fake. 

Very often we have already set filters in our mind that push us to a quick decision, not necessarily for our benefit.  Prejudice just means pre-judge and can be a useful tool, except when it is not.

A top car salesman illustrated the importance of discarding all prejudices.  Prejudging is normal for any salespeople as they can waste a lot of time on non viable prospects.  They try to size up if someone is serious about buying a car and can handle the finances.  This has meant women and minorities and poorly dressed prospects are quickly dismissed or offered higher prices to discourage their interest.  Bob Golomb, a very successful car salesman has discarded prejudices and Malcolm claims has mastered thin slicing so that he can understand the various dynamics that bring prospects to his attention.  Some prejudices boil down to appearances that have indicated inability to pay for a car (ethnicity, clothing, gender, age, marital accord etc.).  Understanding subconscious fears and desires that can be detected through thin slicing would be helpful to all parties.  

Police shootings seem all too common and many of them are the result of a misreading in a very short time.  An immigrant from Guinea, Amadou Diallo after work late at night was sitting on the steps outside the building he lived in.  Four undercover police officers drove by and became suspicious.  They thought his presence strange and he failed to answer their question.  Likely he was curious, then scared and because he spoke poor English started to run.  He reached for something in his pocket and the officers felt it must be a gun.  In a period of seconds, 41 shots were fatally fired.  What Diallo had tried to extract from his pocket was a wallet.  They had misread a lot of signals and fearing for their lives, over reacted.

The Herman Miller company developed a chair, the Aeron that effectively dealt with a problem normal for office chairs, was comfortable and productive, but consumer tests indicated that it scored very low for acceptance.  The studies all ran up against consumers with set notion that comfort comes from padding.  In fact the new design was comfortable without padding and by current sentiments was "ugly".  For many products negative marketing studies kill the product, but Herman Miller went ahead anyway.  It took awhile but it had media placements, won awards and the concept of ugly changed.  For awhile I was involved selling Herman Miller chairs which my employer thought was a high end product..

Acknowledgments are sometimes worth reading to get an insight into the author's motivations.  Malcolm tells the story of when he grew his hair long and started noticing he drew more attention from the police.  A culminating experience was being interrogated for a rape when it was demonstrated the real suspect was taller, heavier and younger.  That prompted him to wonder what triggered their attention. that lead to some research that led to "Blink".

An earlier blog of Malcolm Gladwell:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2020/01/talking-to-strangers.html

And another:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/03/the-revenge-of-tipping-point.html

An earlier blog was about split second persuasion:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2012/12/split-second-persuasion.html

A recent blog on the subconscious:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/11/using-your-subconscious-is-key-to.html

 Conclusion:  After reading a few books on the subconscious mind I believe there is a tremendous amount  of information that could be helpful or not.  Well worth examining.

Lead Children a Communist Enviromental story

 Environmental stories all seem to start with a perceived problem, an attempt to deal with it and established opposition.  Power is often hidden by ideology, but under almost any political system or people who like to exploit others and/or maintain the status quo.  A common theme is the greedy oil executives to exploit us simple folk, however it is not such capitalists that campaign against environmental concerns.

"Lead Children" (Olowiane Dzieci 2026) based on a true story, is set in Poland in the 1970's under a Communist regime or as they would say Socialist.  Nonetheless the established controllers of a local smelter dismiss a doctor's discovery of lead poisoning of the town's children.  They are expecting a visit from the Soviet leader, Brezhnev and wanted to highlight the smelter.

Dr. Jolanta soon finds that the workers in the smelter have decided her solution threatens their jobs.  The Governor, union head and Hubert Nieddzila of the secret police are all in different ways trying to discourage her.  Jolanta lives near a swimming pool which for fear of lead pollution she forbids anyone to swim in. She catches her daughter in the nude with a boyfriend and grabs her out.  She tells her daughter being with a boyfriend is ok, but not swimming in that pool.

Things tense up, but she gathers support from many of the mothers.  At one point she has a gun pointed at her.  The whole point of the film is to show how determined people can overcome resistance to achieve environmental goals.

Poland has a well developed cinema industry and here are a few contributors to this film

Maciej Pieprzyca was the director.  In 1989 he earned a degree in journalism, followed in 1990 with a degree in screen writing.  An interesting film he got involved with was "Life Feels Good" (2013) based on an effort by a fellow college mate who died.  The subject was of a boy with cerebral palsy that rendered him unable to walk or talk with the challenge of communicating.  Taking the project over, despite much criticism that it could not be profitable he turned it into a commercial success and the winner of many awards including 3 at the Montreal Film Festival.  Maciej has 16 directing credits, 36 for additional crew and 9 for writing.

Jakub Korolczuk was the writer.   He helped write a script with Liam Neeson, "After Life" (2009).  He has 6 writing credits.

Witold Plociennik was the cinematographer.  He has 35 cinematography credits and 8 for the camera and electrical department.

Joanna Kulig played Dr. Jolanta.  She has 54 acting credits, 2 for the music department and 7 for soundtrack including "Ida" (2013) and "Hansel & Gretel:  Witch Hunters" (2013.)

Agata Kulesza played a professor who agreed with Dr. Jolanta's findings, but opposed her on practical grounds.  She acted in the theatre and has done voice over for animated films.  Agata has 105 acting credits including "Ida" playing the lead role and winning several international awards and "Green Border" (2023).

Sebastian Pawlak played Jolanta's husband, himself also a doctor.  He has 65 acting credits including "The White Ribbon" (2009). 

Michal Zurawski played an secret agent trying to wear Jolanta down.  He also had theatre experience.  Michal has 95 acting credits and 1 for directing.

Zbigniew Zamachowski played a Governor.  He has theatre experience, plus has done tv. commercials.  Zbigniew has 49 acting credits including "Three Colors:  Blue" (1993), "Three Colors:  White" (1994) and "Three Colors:  Red" (1994), all 3 in the French language, but with a Polish director and writer. 

Julia Polaczek played the daughter.  She has 4 acting credits.  

 It is worth seeing to inspire further efforts to improve our environment.  Also to realize that the power structure is more important than the ideology.  Polish cinema has not only made many outstanding features, but also has sent many of its actors and technicians around the globe.  Available on Neflix ,subtitled or dubbed.

I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.

Dhurandhar A Violent Movie with some recent history.

Dhurandhar got my attention as the 2025 highest grossing film for India (since surpassed).  It is a mammoth production with immense production efforts.  Before going any further it must be acknowledged that it is very violent.  It uses historical events, but has wrapped them in fiction. 

It starts with the end of the Kandahar kidnapping in 1999.  The Indian government agreed to free some terrorists and paid a large amount of money.  They felt humiliated, but two discussing officials  said they had no choice and rejected an idea for revenge as the moment was not right.

However, after the 2001 attack on the Indian Parliament the same two officials decided to go ahead with an undercover revenge strategy.  We meet Hamza Ali Mazari who looks pretty scruffy and makes his way to Karachi through Afghanistan.  At first he just observes. 

Soon he learns of an impending gang assassination and positions himself  to save the son of gangster Rehman Dakeit who offers him a job with his gang.  They are affiliated with a politician, Jameel Jamli.  Hamza makes an impression with the Jameel's daughter, Yalina who is not turned off when he admits to being a gangster who has done a lot of despicable things.  She is not even discouraged when he revealed he was against her father, Jameel

Hamza is developing trust and his advice is accepted.  He is able to pass on information about an upcoming attack in Mumbai.  He suggests that Jameel should align with him and with his marriage to Yalina  Hamza has solidified his role.  All this has been accompanied by incredible violence and gore.  This film originally was going to be released with more material, but a decision was made to split into two parts and you will have to wait until March to find out more.  

To create the impression this film has, takes a lot of talent.  Here are some of the contributors.    

Aditya Dhar was director, writer and producer.  He is married to one of my favorite actresses, Yami Gautam who must have put up with a lot, while he was working on this film and she has been given an official THANKS in the closing credits.  He has 10 writing credits  2 for directing and 5 for producing, including "Aakrosh" (2010), "Tezz" (2012), "Uri:  The Surgical Strike" (2018), "Article 370" (2024) and "Dhoom Dhaam" (2025).  

Jyoti Despande was another producer.  She has often been put on lists for Today's Most Powerful Woman in Business.  She is the CEO at Viacom 18.  She has 53 credits as producer, including "OMG 2" (2023), "Dunki" (2023), "Article 370" (2024) and "Lapataa Ladies (2024).  See   http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/04/laapataa-ladies.html

Shashwat Sachdev composed the music.  Although born in India he started his film career in Hollywood before returning to India.  He has 18 composing credits, 8 for the music department and 1 for directing, including "Phillauri" (2017), Uri:  The Surgical Strike" (2018) and "Article 370" (2023).  

Vikash Nowlakha was the cinematographer.  He spent his youth in India, Thailand and Australia.  He received a degree in Eastern Philosophy from the University of Tasmania.  He has 17 cinematography credits, 9 for the camera and electrical department and 3 for directing, including "Black" (2005), "Rocket Singh: Salesman of the Year" (2009), "The White Tiger" (2021) and "Lapataa Ladies" (2024).   See  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2021/01/the-white-tiger.html

Shivkumar V. Panicker was the editor and a dialogue writer.  He has 19 editor credits and 3 for the editorial department, including "Kapoor & Sons" (2016),  "Budhia Singh:  Born to Run" (2016)"Uri:  The Surgical Strike" (2018), "Article 370" (2024) and "Dhoom Dhaam" (2025). 

Ranveer Singh played Hamza Ali Mazari, definitely not one of his comic roles.  He got a B.A. from Indiana University in America.  Ranveer worked as a copywriter for ad agencies.  He has 31 acting credits, 2 for the music department and 1 for producing including "Band Baaja Baaraat" (2010), "Ladies vs. Ricky Bahl" (2011), "Dil Dhadakne Do" (2015), "Bajirao Mastani" (2015) and "Gully Boy" (2019).  

 Akshaye Khanna played the gangster Rehman Dakeit.  He has 46 acting credits, including "Taal" (1999), "Dil Chahta Hai" (2001), "Gandhi, My Father" (2007), "Ittefaq" (2007), "Race" (2008), "Mom" (2017), "Drishyam 2" (2022) and "Chhavva" (2025).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2011/07/dil-chatha-hai-bollywood-classic.html      See also http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2023/02/drishyam-2-signifies-new-global-movie.html

 Sanjay Dutt played another gangster boss.  In reality he has spent time in jail and been called a terrorist but cleared in 2016.  He has had his own biopic done with the film "Sanju" (2018) in which he appeared in a cameo where he did a dance routine with Ranbir Kapoor who portrayed him in the film.  Sanjay has played many tough guys, but also comic roles .  He has 179 acting credits, 16 for the music department and 4 for producing, including "Munna Bhai M.B.B.S Bhai " (2003), "Parineeti" (2005),  "Lago Raho Munna Bhai" (2006), "Agneepath" (2012), "PK" (2014), "Tobaaz" (2020) and "Toolsidas Junior" (2022).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2015/03/pk.html

"Arjun Rampal" played Major Iqbal.  He was a model.  Arjun has 65 acting credits including "Don" (2006), "Aamir" (2008), "We Are Family" (2010), "Rock On" (2011), "Inkaar" (2013), "D-Day" (2013) and "Kahanni 2" (2016).

Madhavan plays Ajay Sanyal, an IB officer.  At age 18 his college entrusted him as cultural ambassador to Canada representing India.  He had won national public speaking awards and is fluent in English, Hindi and Tamil.  He has appeared in such other films as "Rang de Basanti" (2006), "Guru" (2007) and "3 Idiots" (2009) which were all exceptional movies.   Another film was the American, "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" (2012).  In "Test" (2025)he played a cricket gambler.  My first awareness of him was with "Kannathil Mutthamthal" (A Peck on the Cheek) (2002), but I assumed it was a Bollywood film and much later learned it was a Tamil film, opening another door for me. See  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2022/11/dhokha.html                       

Sara Arjun played Yalina.  She was involved in tv. commercials as young as 1 1/2 and became a child actress in Hindu, Tamil, Telegu and Malaylam films. Sara has 27 acting credits including "Sillu Karuppatti" (2019), "Ajeeb Daastaans" (2021), "Ponniyn Selvan:  Part 1" (2022), "Toolsidas Junior" (2022) and "Ponniyin Selvan Part 2" (2023).

Rakesh Bedi played Jameel Jamli.  He hosted a science program on tv.  He has 337 acting credits including "Yes Boss" (1997) and "Uri:  The Surgical Strike" (2018).

This is truly a violent movie with some historical interest and over 3 hours long.  If you can accept that, I recommend it.  Available on Netflix, subtitled and  dubbed.  

As usual I have bolded the first mention of films I have seen.  They are not necessarily a recommendation, but generally these are among my favorites.  If you follow the links you should be better able to determine if a particular film is worth following up.

Doctor John Highlights Pain

Medical shows are popular.  Some like watching the guts, some like the life and death decisions and some are roped in by the romantic links.  "Doctor John" (2019) presents a lot of complexities of pain and the end of life and oh yes, links.

This series starts in a prison.  We are soon introduced to one prisoner Cha Yo-han who somehow, with scant information is able to diagnose difficult medical situations.  We learn he had been convicted of performing euthanasia on a murderer who had killed two young daughters of a prominent person.

We are also introduced to a romantic interest, Kang Shi-young.  She was brought to the prison by her uncle who was in charge, to use her as a temporary medical person.  When she is interrupted by the diagnoser she asks if he is a doctor and he replies "no".  They have a short interaction in which he demonstrates an amazing ability to diagnose.

A year or so passes and he has been released from prison and is able to be employed at a hospital where Shi-young works, that is managed by her relatives.  We learn that her father is in a coma and she is blamed for involvement with the accident that caused the injury.  Over time we learn that Yo-han is immune to pain which might sound like a good thing, but the problem is he can suffer injury or disease and not know it.  Over time it is revealed he takes detailed precautions.

There is a nurse in the hospital Chae Eun-jeong who vehemently opposes Yo-han for the killing of the children murderer and she aligns with a legal prosecutor, Son Seok-ki.  Throughout the series they are looking for a chance to prosecute Yo-han and take away his medical license.

Some authorities want Doctor John to be dismissed when they learn he does not experience pain, rationalizing he can't understand patients.  He says that pain is a communication, telling where your body has a problem. 

The series is a forum on euthanasia and other end of life issues.  Aside from the initial situation when Doctor John euthanized a murderer there are some other cases that force a viewer to see another perspective.

In one case a mixed martial arts fighter is on the verge of death and had issued a no resuscitation notification, however Doctor John had diagnosed an underlying medical issue and was able to revive him.  There was concern that he defied the notification and at first, the fighter was upset.

1n another dilemma, a former female movie star had a cancer on her nose that forced one eye to move in a grotesque manner.  She had wanted to contact Swiss authorities that could arrange assisted suicide.  Everyone recognized there was no cure and intense pain.  She was encouraged to see her son who she said earlier she did not want him to remember her in this horrifying manner.   After being persuaded, at the meeting time her son said he was too scared.  This prompted her move to the top of a building and after begging for a better way to die, she jumped.  She was rescued and with difficulty intubated, but someone turned off the ventilator.  That action was charcterized as attempted murder.  This case has a relatively "happy" ending as her son did accept her and express his love.  

Assisted dying is difficult in South Korea.  Some have applied to go to Switzerland to end their suffering, but apparently the government can prosecute anyone who accompanies them.  There may be exceptions, but they are very resdtricted and rare.  The movie advocates a humane way of dealing with unending suffering.

Most movies strive to be realistic to sell their story.  Here are some of those who brought the idea of this series to life.

Young Hwan-Kim was the director with 6 directing credits.

Ji Woon Kim was the writer.  He has 4 writing credits including "Melancholia" (2021) and "When the Phone Rings" (2024).  See http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2025/01/when-phone-rings.html

Moon Seong-nam was involved with the music.  He has 24 composing credits.

Ji Sung played Cha Yo-han.  He has 31 acting credits.

Lee Se-yeong played Kang Shi-young.  She has 34 acting credits and 1for soundtrack.

Kim Hye-eun played Min Tae-kyeon, a senior doctor and mother to Shi-young.  She was a television weather forecaster for several years before getting into films.  She has 35 acting credits including "Itaewon Class" (2019) and "Twenty-five Twenty-one" (2021).  

Shin Dung-mi played Chae Eun-jeong who had had a daughter murdered by the man that Yo-Jon had euthanized.  She has 43 acting credits including "A Hard Day" (2014) and "Welcome to Samdal-ri" (2023).  See  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2024/06/welcome-to-sandal-ri.html  

Lee Kyoo-hyung played Son Seok-ki, the lawyer wanting to prosecute Yo-hon.  He was involved in theater, especially musical.  He has 31 acting credits.

For some, this may be a difficult movie to stomach, but for many others it is mind opening about things we would rather not think about.  In some ways it is hopeful.  You can catch it on Netflix subtitled.  I recommend it.