Hot Docs
by David Hakim
As a longtime doc addict, I finally decided to come out and admit it. So here it is in print, my confession: I am a documentary addict.
OK, now that that’s out of the way, let’s look at some current entries to the theater of documentary filmmaking.
I recently saw Jyll Johnstone’s Hats Off, a rather offhand study of a singular character (considering that Johnstone spent 11 years filming it). Mimi Weddell is a 90-year-old actress who will certainly refuse to lie down when it’s time for her curtain to fall. This ball of energy is off to Elizabeth Arden, to auditions, to dance class and the gym – and Mimi made me tired just watching.
Hats Off (co-produced by Johnstone’s husband, Michael Arlen Davis) reminded me of another tale of an exceptional person’s long life – ex-strongman-turned-engineer-and-actor Jack Beers. Shown last year at CineQuest, David Wachs’ Holes in My Shoes detailed the life of Beers, who is acknowledged to have shortened World War II by inventing the ‘gantry crane’ (which sped up the particle accelerator in Oak Ridge, one the US government’s ‘Secret Cities’ built to create the Manhattan Project in the 1940s - http://www.holesinmyshoes.com). In fact, these two films would be excellent bookends in a program about exceptional people, as they show what can be done when confronting the slow decline that advanced age brings.
But, where Shoes has a central line that moved through each chapter of Jack Beers’ fascinating and extraordinary life, Hats Off seems a bit aimless in comparison, and left me actually worried for the poor old dear – which I do not think was the intention of the piece. Mimi Weddell is a bit of a powerhouse herself, but there is an unfinished quality to her life, as if the best might be still yet to come. And while that is indeed part of the story (and the doc certainly isn’t intended to ‘fix’ Mimi’s situation), the thematic problem here is that Mimi is running out of time – something not covered in the telling of the story. Also, audiences may have grown accustomed to the moving camera, but in fact I think it is used far too much in most films. Still, I recommend Hats Off as an excellent example of a biographical documentary about a fascinating subject – an updated schedule of which may be found at http://www.hatsoffthemovie.com.
Oren Jacoby, the maker of Constantine’s Sword, like its protagonist James Carroll, had obviously spent a lot of time thinking about their subject and story before they fell to filming, and it shows. While the story is much more complex than Hats Off, dealing as it does with deep philosophical questions applied to religion (and ecclesiastical cover-ups and church-ordained oppression), Constantine’s Sword has a definite direction. The action takes one on a predetermined course, though at the start the audience doesn’t know where it will finally arrive. Carroll, a Catholic priest in the 60s, left the church over a number of issues, then discovered some of the history of the wars that the Church fought for over ideas. Carroll, also the military son of an Air Force general, takes us on a quest to find the meaning of some of the generally-unquestioned institutions that are central to American politics today. While not for every taste, still the film is a great example of a well-made documentary that follows the procedure of discovery with profound social, political, and religious implications. http://www.constantinessword.com
Hero Ships: USS Jeremiah O’Brien, one of 13 episodes in an A&E series, showed recently in a special appearance on the Jeremiah O’Brien, which has moved up to Pier 41 from its old berth. A stirring film, the Hero Ships episode gives in a very short time much of the history of one of the stars of the Liberty Ship fleet that kept the supplies flowing to our soldiers and sailors around the world. The Jeremiah O’Brien was, at the end of World War II, one of the only undamaged Liberty Ships in existence, a monumental feat of good fortune in itself since the ship miraculously survived the D-Day invasion – but the whole story actually involves the many attempts to rescue this historic ship from the wrecker’s yard. The evening was a ‘launch’ of the O’Brien in its new berth at Fisherman’s Wharf, where supporters hope to fund its rehabilitation through donations developed through the attention of tourists. Other vessels profiled in the Hero Ships series include the USS Constitution, USS Enterprise, USS Yorktown, USS Hornet, and USS Nautilus. http://www.ssjeremiahobrien.org
While distributors and exhibitors claim that the public is wilting with ‘green fatigue,’ global warming continues unabated. But one filmmaker is trying to close the communication gap by using comedy. And even though Stephen Most is covering the use of humor in local docmaker David L Brown’s films, I must recommend another humorous take on a serious issue – Sizzle, A Global Warming Comedy is a brilliant film that strains the separation of the definitions of ‘documentary’ and ‘mockumentary.’ Realizing that this crucial subject has not been treated in an interesting or engaging way, Dr Randy Olson asks the question of Al gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, “Where are all the scientists?” Olson has set up a wry little film that makes its point around the talking heads, between the power-point demonstrations (threatened but never materialized), and seemingly in spite of his crew’s efforts to sabotage the film itself. Sizzle is brilliant filmmaking, if not always brilliant comedy – and its message is greater than a polemic on global warming: “Listen when people talk, and keep asking questions.” http://www.sizzlethemovie.com
Another group sweats it out in the desert each year – the ‘burners,’ and local docmaker Laurent Le Gall has made Voyage in Utopia, a mash note to that dedicated crowd of artists and bohemians that is the best film I’ve seen on Burning Man. Focusing on local architect David Best, who builds ‘the Temple’ out of recycled materials each year for the annual ‘spiritual retreat,’ Le Gall has constructed a film that is a close examination of a subculture, a way of life, and also provides a lens through which we can look at contemporary society and our places in it.
“My American friends they told me to stay away from ‘this bunch of hippies naked and full of drugs!!’ says Le Gall, sanguine about his intentions at that time. “I saw the art in an article, and it seemed less simple than sex, drug and rock’n’roll. I decided to go there with a car, an igloo tent, a cooler, and my camera... on my own. Alone. With 30,000 people.” That experience led him back again and again, and he has created an immensely watchable document of one of the most vital and important elements of the event – the sacred space of the Temple. All in all, Le Gall’s brilliant piece is a testament to one of the foremost social experiments of our time. http://www.freerunpictures.com
Director Bernard Shakey’s CSNY: Deja Vu finds the hugely-popular band of Crosby Stills Nash & young regrouped and heading out on their 'Freedom of Speech 2006' Tour of North America, featuring music from Neil Young's controversial Living With War CD, with embedded reporter Mike Cerre (who had previously been embedded with us forces in Iraq), the film documents audience reactions – positive and negative – to the music and the bands ongoing connection with its fans, all against the backdrop of the Iraq/Afghanistan war and the critical mid-term election season of 2006. According to Roadside co-president Howard Cohen, in order to ‘widen the market’ for a low-budget anti-war film, Roadside Attractions (40% of which is owned by Lions Gate) plans to release the film in theaters, on TV VOD, and via Netflix 'Watch Instantly' Web streaming. The central theme of the film is the commitment of artists to social justice, and the film makes its point quite clearly: CSNY always was – and is – committed to an anti-war stance, and the passage of 40 years has not cooled their fire in any way. CSNY: Deja Vu is a must-see. http://www.csny-dejavu.com
So that’s short list of the docs I have seen recently. Others include White Thunder (the fascinating story of an Arctic shipwreck during the making of a Hollywood film in 1931), Unknown White Male (an interesting and quite inconclusive recounting of one of the most bizarre cases of amnesia ever recorded), Phantom of the Cinematheque (a third viewing of the story of Henri Langlois magnificent Paris film libeary, after a second viewing of Bertolucci’s Dreamers), Seabiscuit – The Lost Documentary (actually a somewhat disingenuous promotional short made by the owner of the famous racehorse), All in This Tea, and Consume This Movie While Supplies Last, the last two of which I hope to review here soon.
Posted on Aug 07, 2008 - 03:19 PM
by David Hakim
As a longtime doc addict, I finally decided to come out and admit it. So here it is in print, my confession: I am a documentary addict.
OK, now that that’s out of the way, let’s look at some current entries to the theater of documentary filmmaking.
I recently saw Jyll Johnstone’s Hats Off, a rather offhand study of a singular character (considering that Johnstone spent 11 years filming it). Mimi Weddell is a 90-year-old actress who will certainly refuse to lie down when it’s time for her curtain to fall. This ball of energy is off to Elizabeth Arden, to auditions, to dance class and the gym – and Mimi made me tired just watching.
Hats Off (co-produced by Johnstone’s husband, Michael Arlen Davis) reminded me of another tale of an exceptional person’s long life – ex-strongman-turned-engineer-and-actor Jack Beers. Shown last year at CineQuest, David Wachs’ Holes in My Shoes detailed the life of Beers, who is acknowledged to have shortened World War II by inventing the ‘gantry crane’ (which sped up the particle accelerator in Oak Ridge, one the US government’s ‘Secret Cities’ built to create the Manhattan Project in the 1940s - http://www.holesinmyshoes.com). In fact, these two films would be excellent bookends in a program about exceptional people, as they show what can be done when confronting the slow decline that advanced age brings.
But, where Shoes has a central line that moved through each chapter of Jack Beers’ fascinating and extraordinary life, Hats Off seems a bit aimless in comparison, and left me actually worried for the poor old dear – which I do not think was the intention of the piece. Mimi Weddell is a bit of a powerhouse herself, but there is an unfinished quality to her life, as if the best might be still yet to come. And while that is indeed part of the story (and the doc certainly isn’t intended to ‘fix’ Mimi’s situation), the thematic problem here is that Mimi is running out of time – something not covered in the telling of the story. Also, audiences may have grown accustomed to the moving camera, but in fact I think it is used far too much in most films. Still, I recommend Hats Off as an excellent example of a biographical documentary about a fascinating subject – an updated schedule of which may be found at http://www.hatsoffthemovie.com.
Oren Jacoby, the maker of Constantine’s Sword, like its protagonist James Carroll, had obviously spent a lot of time thinking about their subject and story before they fell to filming, and it shows. While the story is much more complex than Hats Off, dealing as it does with deep philosophical questions applied to religion (and ecclesiastical cover-ups and church-ordained oppression), Constantine’s Sword has a definite direction. The action takes one on a predetermined course, though at the start the audience doesn’t know where it will finally arrive. Carroll, a Catholic priest in the 60s, left the church over a number of issues, then discovered some of the history of the wars that the Church fought for over ideas. Carroll, also the military son of an Air Force general, takes us on a quest to find the meaning of some of the generally-unquestioned institutions that are central to American politics today. While not for every taste, still the film is a great example of a well-made documentary that follows the procedure of discovery with profound social, political, and religious implications. http://www.constantinessword.comHero Ships: USS Jeremiah O’Brien, one of 13 episodes in an A&E series, showed recently in a special appearance on the Jeremiah O’Brien, which has moved up to Pier 41 from its old berth. A stirring film, the Hero Ships episode gives in a very short time much of the history of one of the stars of the Liberty Ship fleet that kept the supplies flowing to our soldiers and sailors around the world. The Jeremiah O’Brien was, at the end of World War II, one of the only undamaged Liberty Ships in existence, a monumental feat of good fortune in itself since the ship miraculously survived the D-Day invasion – but the whole story actually involves the many attempts to rescue this historic ship from the wrecker’s yard. The evening was a ‘launch’ of the O’Brien in its new berth at Fisherman’s Wharf, where supporters hope to fund its rehabilitation through donations developed through the attention of tourists. Other vessels profiled in the Hero Ships series include the USS Constitution, USS Enterprise, USS Yorktown, USS Hornet, and USS Nautilus. http://www.ssjeremiahobrien.org
While distributors and exhibitors claim that the public is wilting with ‘green fatigue,’ global warming continues unabated. But one filmmaker is trying to close the communication gap by using comedy. And even though Stephen Most is covering the use of humor in local docmaker David L Brown’s films, I must recommend another humorous take on a serious issue – Sizzle, A Global Warming Comedy is a brilliant film that strains the separation of the definitions of ‘documentary’ and ‘mockumentary.’ Realizing that this crucial subject has not been treated in an interesting or engaging way, Dr Randy Olson asks the question of Al gore’s An Inconvenient Truth, “Where are all the scientists?” Olson has set up a wry little film that makes its point around the talking heads, between the power-point demonstrations (threatened but never materialized), and seemingly in spite of his crew’s efforts to sabotage the film itself. Sizzle is brilliant filmmaking, if not always brilliant comedy – and its message is greater than a polemic on global warming: “Listen when people talk, and keep asking questions.” http://www.sizzlethemovie.com
Another group sweats it out in the desert each year – the ‘burners,’ and local docmaker Laurent Le Gall has made Voyage in Utopia, a mash note to that dedicated crowd of artists and bohemians that is the best film I’ve seen on Burning Man. Focusing on local architect David Best, who builds ‘the Temple’ out of recycled materials each year for the annual ‘spiritual retreat,’ Le Gall has constructed a film that is a close examination of a subculture, a way of life, and also provides a lens through which we can look at contemporary society and our places in it.
“My American friends they told me to stay away from ‘this bunch of hippies naked and full of drugs!!’ says Le Gall, sanguine about his intentions at that time. “I saw the art in an article, and it seemed less simple than sex, drug and rock’n’roll. I decided to go there with a car, an igloo tent, a cooler, and my camera... on my own. Alone. With 30,000 people.” That experience led him back again and again, and he has created an immensely watchable document of one of the most vital and important elements of the event – the sacred space of the Temple. All in all, Le Gall’s brilliant piece is a testament to one of the foremost social experiments of our time. http://www.freerunpictures.com
Director Bernard Shakey’s CSNY: Deja Vu finds the hugely-popular band of Crosby Stills Nash & young regrouped and heading out on their 'Freedom of Speech 2006' Tour of North America, featuring music from Neil Young's controversial Living With War CD, with embedded reporter Mike Cerre (who had previously been embedded with us forces in Iraq), the film documents audience reactions – positive and negative – to the music and the bands ongoing connection with its fans, all against the backdrop of the Iraq/Afghanistan war and the critical mid-term election season of 2006. According to Roadside co-president Howard Cohen, in order to ‘widen the market’ for a low-budget anti-war film, Roadside Attractions (40% of which is owned by Lions Gate) plans to release the film in theaters, on TV VOD, and via Netflix 'Watch Instantly' Web streaming. The central theme of the film is the commitment of artists to social justice, and the film makes its point quite clearly: CSNY always was – and is – committed to an anti-war stance, and the passage of 40 years has not cooled their fire in any way. CSNY: Deja Vu is a must-see. http://www.csny-dejavu.comSo that’s short list of the docs I have seen recently. Others include White Thunder (the fascinating story of an Arctic shipwreck during the making of a Hollywood film in 1931), Unknown White Male (an interesting and quite inconclusive recounting of one of the most bizarre cases of amnesia ever recorded), Phantom of the Cinematheque (a third viewing of the story of Henri Langlois magnificent Paris film libeary, after a second viewing of Bertolucci’s Dreamers), Seabiscuit – The Lost Documentary (actually a somewhat disingenuous promotional short made by the owner of the famous racehorse), All in This Tea, and Consume This Movie While Supplies Last, the last two of which I hope to review here soon.
Posted on Aug 07, 2008 - 03:19 PM
