moviesandsongs365: Documentary review

Showing posts with label Documentary review. Show all posts

Amy - An Intimate, Beautiful, And Heartbreaking Documentary

This is an article contributed by writer Helen Sanders

Grainy, amateur footage shows a group of young teenage girls sitting on the narrow stairs of a London flat. They are chattering, self-consciously licking lollipops. “Happy birthday, Lauren!” they squeal. An off-key chorus of ‘Happy birthday’ begins. Quickly, one voice rises above the rest. The others fall silent as the incredible sound pours forth, and the camera jerkily swings round to film the source. Grinning, doing a hammy Marilyn Monroe impression, a high-cheekboned, happy-looking fourteen year old girl with a mass of glossy black hair finishes the song with a sophisticated vocal flourish. It’s Amy Winehouse, of course. This is the first scene of an ambitious, emotional, and intimate documentary which mixes amateur footage, interviews, photographs, and Amy’s own words in an in-depth look at the tragic, talented Ms Winehouse’s short life. It’s gripping viewing even if you aren’t a fan of Amy’s music - if you’re a Winehouse aficionado, it’s an absolutely essential watch.

Tender

‘Tender’ is a word often used to describe a project of this kind. It’s not entirely out of place here, but it also implies a kind of whitewash, and this is by no means a whitewash. Amy’s life unrolls before us in all of its glorious, tawdry brilliance. ‘Amy’ was directed by Asif Kapadia, who by all accounts went to obsessive lengths to tell his subject’s story. The amount of personal footage he’s managed to obtain of Amy’s life is astonishing, as is the trust which he apparently inspires in those who were closest to her. Her childhood friends (Juliette Ashby and Lauren Gilbert, who stuck by Amy throughout her life) and early manager, Nick Shymansky took what appears to be a ‘vow of silence’ following the singer’s tragic death. Indeed, Shymanksy only gave a curt two minute talk (under duress) to Amy’s own father while Mitch Winehouse was writing his posthumous book about his daughter - yet Shymanksy opens both his heart and his archives to Kapadia. The result is a fascinating biopic. Kapadia wisely lets the story tell itself - his own presence is never felt within the documentary as a whole. Instead, the viewer feels as though they are standing within Amy’s inner circle, watching her story occur before their eyes. By the end of it, the viewer has developed a close relationship with the troubled star, and is emotionally wrung out by witnessing the traumas of her life.

Early Signs?

Knowing what is coming, it is all too easy for viewers to try and draw conclusions about Amy’s character from discussions of her early life. As her early career starts to develop, we see a smiling Amy shake a bag of weed at a camera her friend is holding. "You're doing this on camera? Really?" her friend says, dubiously. She and her mother speak of her childhood naughtiness, and of her mother's exhaustive inability to tell her "No". It’s all too easy to make judgements with hindsight - but thus far this is nothing out of the ordinary for a talented creative. Certainly the potential for self-destruction is evident - Amy is periodically depressed, volatile, and prone to wildness - but she is nothing particularly unusual. Only her talent makes her situation incredible - and it is this which will ultimately lead to her meteoric rise and tragic downfall.

Blake

Enter the man who many Winehouse fans consider to be the ultimate villain of the piece - Blake Fielder-Civil. Amy is a young, bright singer just beginning to forge her way in the music business under the novice management of Nick Shymansky - who comes across as an endearing if bumbling presence in Amy’s life. Then Blake comes along. Blake has since denied that he was responsible for the later turbulence of Amy’s life, but the evidence presented in the documentary paints their relationship as disturbingly volatile - a case of mutually assured destruction. We see photographs of her in a London park with him, worryingly skinny, her shorts falling down her bare-boned pelvis. Then he leaves her for his ex girlfriend. This is considered to be something of a breaking point by her old friends. She is discovered in a state of crisis - drunk, bulimic and filthy. They book her into rehab - but her father insists that she is fine. A recurring theme within the documentary is the impossibility of forcing someone who does not want to recover to give up substances. This is the first instance - and it's a pivotal one. From her initial breakup with Blake came Amy’s astonishing ‘Back To Black’ album - but Nick is not sure that it was worth what followed. He believes that she should have gone to rehab then and there, and wishes that he and her friends had convinced her to. “I think that was a moment we lost a very key opportunity...she wasn’t a star, she wasn’t swarmed by paparazzi. We could have just fucked Back To Black off...She’d have had a chance to have be dealt with by professionals before the world wanted a piece of her”, he says.

Fame And Decline

But Back To Black is released - an outpouring of her trauma and pain after Blake leaves her. And success swiftly follows. Suddenly, Blake is back on the scene. He films their lips as they kiss. There’s something disturbingly voyeuristic about these scenes - but worse are the concert scenes in which she is frenetic, slapping at her face, tugging at her shorts while the crowd’s mood turns ugly. Blake’s voice speaks calmly of how he introduced her to crack cocaine and heroin. She is sent to rehab - but Blake insists he goes with her. One of her doctors states that he did not want her to get clean, because then she would leave him and "the gravy train" would end. She goes through damaging cycles of recovery and relapse. At the Grammy’s, after winning a much-coveted award, she tells the stalwart Juliette that “This is so boring without drugs”. She’s hounded shamelessly by the media.

Amy And Mitch

Much has been made of Blake, but if this documentary has a villain, it’s Mitch Winehouse. He has since hit out against the documentary, but in all fairness it never explicitly demonises him, and allows him to tell his own story. We see Amy struggling with constant harassment by the press and paparazzi - and we see Mitch continually inviting the media into his clearly very sick daughter’s life. While she is in St Lucia, trying to escape from media pressures, Mitch brings a camera crew to film her. He insists that she have her photograph taken with some tourists, despite her evident distress at having her privacy invaded. He persuades her to continue with a tour which she clearly dreads. Ultimately, she is bundled into a plane while passed out drunk, and wakes up on a tour she does not wish to do. The drugs and alcohol which ultimately kill her are seen by her as a way out - a way in which to get people to stop demanding things of her. It's a terrible, tragic situation - and one which Mitch seems immune to. The final chapters of Amy’s life have a ring of inevitability about them. There’s a brief resurgence when she gets an opportunity to turn to her true passion - jazz - but the industry swiftly demands that she continues with the old, painful, money-making material. We all know the end of Amy’s story, and it’s hard to watch - but nobody who has witnessed this poor, talented, exploited woman’s journey will be able to switch off without that final closure.

Have you watched Amy? As always, comments are welcome

Reviews of documentaries (part 4)

Continuing my marathon, in which I share mini-reviews of documentaries I've watched over the last two years or so. For this post, we'll look at a variety of different subject matters.

Bus 174 (2002) (multiple directors)
Despite having to read subtitles for two hours, this was a very captivating watch. The filmmakers know what they are doing by maintaining the suspense about the hostage situation, while intercutting scenes about life in Rio for the homeless children and youths. It’s easy to empathize with their struggles, living on the streets with no support, the questionable police behavior, and the wretched conditions of prisons and juvenile delinquency facilities. Yet the documentary is not totally biased as the kids at times are quite evil in how they steal and threat to torch their victims if they don’t hand over their money.
If you’ve seen City of God (2002), this documentary is a good companion piece, which goes deeper and attempts to analyze what’s wrong in contemporary Brazil. How the kids feel like they are invisible and looked upon as trash. I didn’t expect the documentary to have such a profound effect on me and the way I look at Rio de Janeiro. See it.
Rating 8.5/10

Baraka (1992) (Ron Fricke)
Named after a Sufi word that translates roughly as "breath of life" or "blessing". A collection of beautiful images shot in 24 countries on six continents over a 14-month period.
An attempt to capture the essence of life. A wordless documentary with ambient music by Michael Stearns. Probably the idea is that words can’t do the images justice. For nature, the religious rituals, and man's destructive powers to speak for itself. Some viewers may find the approach with no voice-over shallow. I found it to be a meditative and moving experience. The aerial shot taken above the flock of birds is one of the most breathtaking, as are the sped up clouds, and the architecture. You can make parallels between the flock of flying birds, and endless field of man-made aircrafts. The assembly line of chickens a parallel to the busy subway exits.
The scenes in urban cities I thought were more beautifully captured at night in Koyaanisqatsi (1982), which focused strictly on America, while Baraka has a global reach.
Baraka takes you on a visual journey to exotic locations which you might not know about. A documentary that will be loved by those who appreciate beauty, and loathed by the impatient viewer who may find it too random and pretentious.
While there is social commentary about pollution and the rain forest, it’s also a life-affirming film in reminding us how magnificent the planet is, both what is already here and the man-made architecture. Watch it in the best picture quality available. If you are a photographer, this is a must-see.
Rating 8/10

Hawking (2013) (Stephen Finnigan)
While it does cover things we saw in the movie The Theory of Everything (2014), this 2013 documentary provides easy to understand summaries of his theories, narrated by Hawking himself. Also looks at his celebrity and how he deals with that. He says he wants the world-wide celebrity, he enjoys the media attention. Hawking embraces it which is not necessarily very good for the family and the children. This was a problem in his marriage.
Despite relationship problems, he is an inspiration to everyone for his determination to survive and achieve things despite his handicap.
According to Hawking, the universe came into existence all by itself, without the need of a god. His theory is it happened with the big bang, which he claims was the beginning of the universe.
Important Hawking theory in 1970: When two black holes collide and merge, he realized that the surface area of the new black hole could only get bigger, it could never decrease in size. This revealed some fundamental properties of the universe, even though few physicists could understand it at the time. He was writing the rule book for black holes. He had been recognized as someone with great potential, now he had a discovery to his name.
Second discovery in 1974: Contrary to all previously held theories on black holes, he discovered that they must free particles like a hot body losing heat, this evaporation theory meant that a black hole could eventually disappear. Causing shock in the world of physics at the time, the discovery later became accepted and known as Hawking radiation.
Rating 7/10

Gates of Heaven (1978) (Errol Morris)
About pet cemeteries and the desire to build them. Roger Ebert championed this film and considered it among his great movies. For me, it was decent, but too unfocused to be great.
My feeling is the director got distracted and decided to just make a documentary about the people he met. Maybe that improvisation is a good thing, who knows. It’s also a film that may put people to sleep, as there is not much insight, and some of the interviews of elderly folks are a bit dull.
Can be watched as a portrayal of animal lovers, a warm-hearted message about the love the owners have for their pets, the painful loss, and how reuniting with animals in heaven gives the owners a degree of hope.
The other theme has to do with people who dropped out of their former jobs and decided to run a pet cemetery. The maintenance of the grounds is not really explored, instead Errol Morris has them talking about their life in very general terms.
I liked how the cemetery is divided into sections of companionship, devotion, memory and honour(for police dogs who died in line of duty). It’s a shame we aren’t shown footage of these cemeteries while the old man is talking about them. The director waits until the final moments of the film to show us images of the graves.
The old lady on the porch with the red apron and red hair was my favorite to listen to, even though her comments do stray off course with her talking about her grandson. For whatever reason, Errol Morris leaves the camera on, and she rambles. Many of the other participants are given less time to talk.
Another favorite was the guy with the trophies in his office who offers motivational quotes, although, again, it didn’t have much to do with loss or pet cemeteries, so I don’t quite know why all the stuff he talks about is included in the film.
Favorite quote: “I’ll climb Mountain Everest. Mountains don't grow, but men always will"
Rating 6/10

Grey Gardens (1975) (multiple directors)
A cult classic and a precursor to Big Brother reality-TV, in which we follow a 54-year-old daughter living with her elderly mother, the aunt and cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis. On the property, only caretakers and the occasional friend stop by.
The daughter yearns for freedom but stays because she is supported financially. Her three favorite things are famously the catholic church, swimming and dancing. Her mother is a bit controlling and likes to spontaneously sing. These two people shouldn’t fascinate and yet I couldn’t take my eyes off their eccentric behavior, which takes place almost out of time, outside the 70s. Reminded me of the song Man Out of Time by Elvis Costello.
Interestingly, the decaying mansion mirrors their bodies in decline. Yet they still keep their spirits up with the company of one another. The pair are experts at doing nothing. The daughter is bitter over missed opportunities in her youth and has a thing for wearing head shawls, which covers up her greying hair, and her changing outfits give the film a distinct visual look.
Her mother remembers the past fondly and talks of the men in her life in a very positive way, yet is overly critical of the men in her daughter’s life.
Favorite quote, in scene thumbing through old photos. “Did she look like a girl who had everything?”
Rating 8/10

They Call Us Misfits (Swedish: Dom kallar oss mods) (1968) (Stefan Jarl)
A Swedish classic, the first instalment of the Mod Trilogy. Similar to the Up Series, we see them gradually getting older. The second instalment is A Decent Life (1979), the third Misfits to Yuppies (1993).
So far, I’ve only seen the first one in which we follow rebellious, opinionated teenagers with long hippie hair. Hanging out with their peers at the subway, talking about getting high, yelling at strangers, and so on. The two male leads are colorful characters and quite entertaining to listen to.
I heard about the documentary because it was referenced in We Are The Best (2013) in the scene when the girls are begging for money at a station. That film also takes its title from a piece of dialogue in They Call Us Misfits.
I loved the first 30 minutes, but the interviews that came next were a bit dry, and I liked the characters less as the documentary went on.
Even though I live in the same region, I couldn’t really identify with their life style of alcoholic parents, taking drugs, and having several girlfriends at once. It’s difficult to empathize with any of them despite their problematic upbringing. But then it is real life, and you have to take the positive with the negative in each person you meet.
The filmmakers are non-judgmental and just observe. However I think the documentary suffers from too many young people being interviewed, so isn’t as focused on the two leads as it could have been. The group situations were the highlights for me.
If this is all real and non-scripted, it’s amazing how naturel the participants are. It’s as if they forget the camera is on them in the group moments. I imagined they would behave in exactly the same way if the camera was off.
I think I’ll just read the summaries for the remaining two instalments. Wasn’t gripping enough for me to continue watching the follow-ups.
Rating 7/10

TT3D: Closer to the Edge (2011) (Richard De Aragues)
About the Isle of Man's unique road racing history, the rivalries of the motorcycle riders, and the fans who visit.
Having a camera on the front of the motorcycle really does take you right there and gives you a sense of the speed and danger. As I didn't know the outcome of the races, this gave it added suspense. Guy Martin is quite a character and we follow his preparation and participation in the annual event.
In interviews, you get to hear what makes these guys tick. The will to compete, despite so many injuries and casualties in the race over the years, is amazing. I didn't see it in 3D.
Rating 8/10

Nanook of the North (1922) (silent film) (Robert J. Flaherty)
Considered cinema's first documentary feature. Depicting the Canadian Inuit Eskimos. A pioneering work that was notoriously difficult to make. Not only did Flaherty have to deal with the freezing cold. Back at home, the film reel literally caught fire, so he had to start over. Which he did.
What stayed with me the most was the smiling face of Nanook the Eskimo, who despite adversity, has to find food and shelter for his family in the tough conditions of the Canadian Arctic. You see how they build an igloo, go fishing, hunt for seals, and so on.
Nanook laughs with glee as his listens to a record player, the technology is totally alien to him. With no other choice, the Eskimos have got used to the harsh lifestyle. I would probably die in few hours in that environment!
A unique ethnographic time capsule. Not quite as authentic as it appears, the filmmaker staged a few sequences for the sake of entertainment value. Was picked up for distribution in 1922, proving an enormous financial success. Now almost a 100 years old, it has aged well.
Rating 7.5/10

Seen any great documentaries recently? Have you watched any of these? As always, comments are welcome

Reviews of documentaries (part 3)

Continuing my marathon, in which I share mini-reviews of documentaries I've watched over the last two years or so. For this post, we'll look at education and life at school, as well as military and war.

Bully (2011)
Shines a light on an important issue. I empathized with the victims. A town hall meeting is organized, and a victim of bully says it’s s a shame it took a suicide for people to take notice that it’s a serious problem. A girl pulls a gun on a school bus, no shots are fired, but she had simply had enough of the mean-spirited bullies. Whether she was right or not to scare them is a grey area, which ultimately put her in juvenile detention.
Not many solutions to bullying are put forward, which is a slight weakness. Teachers talk to students and say bullying will go on their disciplinary record, but it doesn’t appear to stop them continuing with other types of bullying.
The father of deceased Tyler started a facebook group Stand for the Silent, to combat bullying.
Rating 8/10

God Loves Uganda (2013) (Roger Ross Williams)
Extreme US evangelists go to Uganda, where they are able to influence the Ugandans. Brainwashing children to hate homosexuality. Intolerance is widespread, with a Ugandan priest losing his job because he supported gays to stand by who they are. This priest won a Clinton award for fighting for human rights.
Rating 7/10

At Berkeley (2013) (Frederick Wiseman)
A four hour, momentarily interesting fly-on-the-wall look at life at public University of California at Berkeley. Too much time is spent on meetings about budget cuts, which I skimmed through, because so tedious, though the student protest is quite captivating to watch. The mission of the protest is to lower student fees and secure pensions for the workers, however the protests also have a backlash, as it interrupts school life and there are some students who are against the protests even though it benefits them.
For me, the most engaging scenes are the classes and lectures with the inspiring teachers, where there was a bit of humor thrown in.
We get to see: Students building equipment for a man with a walking disability. A class on the way we can change society, examples are voluntarily work or becoming a lawyer to confront the big corporations. A lecture on leadership and the need for leaders to be encouraged by feedback. A philosophy class concerning Emerson and Thoreau and the idea of man and his place in nature; for example how violent nature is when it appears peaceful. There’s also a theatre sequence where students satirize facebook. In another class the discussion is about understanding time and Stephen Hawking’s work is touched on; the big bang theory and trying to go back to a stage when time didn’t exist. We see a female student break down crying because she is burdened by the fact her parents have to work really hard in order for her to go to college. A group of students go to a conference where they can meet civil engineers and hear about life after college in that field of work. The civil engineer talks to them about who employs him and such. How to form study groups with the underlying feeling that latino and blacks are somewhat effected by racism. The final round table discussion is about how to deal with pressure and having someone who will listen to your problems is helpful.
Rating 6/10

The War Game (1965) (Peter Watkins)
48 minute short which won an Oscar and several other awards. Uncomfortable, yet essential viewing.
I'm uncertain which genre this actually is? Wikipedia label it a drama-documentary. A dystopian view of the future, depicting worst-case scenario situations. A fictional nuclear war, told in a realistic way with handheld cameras and interviews, so you feel you are watching real events. A warning about the terrible consequences of nuclear weapons. Very scary that in the event of an attack the people would only have a few minutes to reach shelter.
The most horrifying moments involve children having their eye balls damaged from the heat, victims getting “put down” like dogs, a bucketful of rings belonging to the deceased, the boy who was bitten by a rat and yet no medication is available, riots over food, and the radiation-afflicted children who have no hope for the future.
2015 marks the films 50th anniversary. Initially banned from TV because it was deemed too disturbing. Finally saw television broadcast in the UK in 1985 as part of a special season of programming entitled After the Bomb, commemorated the 40th anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Rating 9/10

The Invisible War (2012) (Kirby Dick)
The documentary persuasively and powerfully highlights an important issue of rape of women in the military. The cover ups are almost worse than the crimes.
However, everybody watching the doc agrees with the filmmakers that rape obviously is wrong, and it becomes a bit of a one-message movie, telling you the same thing 20 times. I would have liked to see a fair balance of military, as there are also good guys who do their job well, and don't rape.
There was not quite enough substance for a 90 minute feature. Maybe feature length docs get more exposure. 30 minutes would have been sufficient. The revelations obviously are important, but the trailer pretty much sums up what the documentary has to say.
Rating 6/10

Dirty Wars (2013) (Rick Rowley)
About the innocent victims of war, and how Americans are also guilty during war on terror. It’s suggested Islamic terrorists could become dangerous from being imprisoned, so the US could be making it worse.
The documentary is good, but not quite great. Not as shocking as investigative journalist Jeremy Scahill seems to think it is.
James at jjamesreviews made a good observation, that the audience “would be more impacted if the victims had been Dirty Wars' focus.
Rating 6/10

Drone (2014) (Tonje Hessen Schei)
Important documentary on the victims of the war on terror. Unmanned drone planes fly over Yemen, Somalia and Waziristan. Thousands of innocent civilians have been killed or injured by soldiers sitting in front of a screen in the US and who have eyes in the sky. The survivors live in fear of drones hovering above them. A human right’s organization attempts to let the people of Waziristan’s voice be heard.
We also get to hear from shooters, who are uncomfortable with killing people. It’s quite scary how close their job is to a video game. There’s a scene that was particularly shocking to me when we witness a soldier watching a hazy screen of black figures moving around, and then cuts to children walking in Waziristan wearing black chadors. It seems he can’t even distinguish between children and terrorists. It’s suggested that these drone attacks are increasing hatred and creating terrorists for the future.
The documentary is a bit manipulative and anti-military. The filmmakers seem to forget that terrorism is still a big problem that has to be dealt with. Alternatives to drone warfare are not suggested.
Still, illuminates important issues, so you empathize with those who suffer. The transparency and accountability of the US government in its drone warfare is questioned.
Rating 7.5/10

Seen any great documentaries recently? Have you watched any of these? As always, comments are welcome.

Reviews of documentaries (part 2) (music-related)

Today, for part 2 in this series, we'll look at documentaries about music. I have not previously shared these reviews. So let's get to it:

Amy (2015) (Asif Kapadia)
Right now Amy is my favorite documentary of 2015, I was moved emotionally by the story. A vulnerable person and even though she had problems(eating disorder,drugs) I admire her honesty in the music. For me, just as captivating as Asif Kapadia's 2010 documentary Senna was.

Rating 9/10

Gimme Shelter (1970) (multiple directors)
Interesting enough look at the Rolling Stones. Maybe the documentary is a bit overrated and not as shocking as it once was, it's considered one of the best music documentaries of all time.
Live versions of their hits, mixed with behind-the-scenes clips. We get to hear about their US tour, the audience misbehaving during concerts, the organizations of the events. About celebrity life, and the dangers of attending concerts. The disastrous 1969 Altamont concert can be perceived as the flip side of Woodstock’s peace, love, and groovy. Poses questions about community and responsibility without ever asking them explicitly.
Rating 7/10

Sinatra: All or Nothing at All (2015) (Alex Gibney)
Chronicles the ups and downs of the career of Frank Sinatra. His early success as a singer at Columbia records is derailed by rumors of him being a part of the mob and extra-marital affairs with a wife at home didn’t do him and his popularity any favors.
Touches on his connections to the mob, which at first seem to have been completely fabricated by the press, although in later years Sinatra had connections to the mafia when he was in Las Vegas with the rat pack, and asked the mob to give money towards the civil rights movement. He is depicted as a lady’s man who spent money like there was no tomorrow, this led to him losing his fortune.
He managed to get a part in From Here To Eternity (1953) which kick started his career again. He would win an Oscar for the role. He signed with Capital records and made many hits with them.
Didn’t know he fought against racism and segregation and helped colored artists such as Sammy Davis Jr into show business. Sinatra is described as restless, with many interests, in business, politics, music, movies, segregation, raising money for charity. He led an eventful and exciting life, and similar to the recent documentary about Roger Ebert, it isn’t afraid to look at the man’s faults.
It’s tough for me to be critical and comment on what was left out, because I’m a newbie to his career. I would say at over 4 hours it was detailed, but maybe overlong. Now I want to watch the original Ocean’s Eleven (1960)
Favorite quote: “He used the songs to tell the story of himself, and he tells us our story through his story”
Rating 8/10

Bad 25 (2012) (Spike Lee)
A look at the making of Michael Jackson’s album Bad (1987). 2012 marks the 25th anniversary of the album's release. If you are a fan, there are some interesting anecdotes, and we hear from Scorsese, Quincy Jones and others. Especially interesting was the relationship between Michael and model/dancer Tatiana Thumbtzen in The Way You Make Me Feel video. Apparently he was too shy to have a romance with her, even though Jackson’s mother supposedly convinced her he was interested.
The reason I’m not giving the doc a higher rating is because a lot of it feels like padding and talking heads just praising MJ. A decent effort by Spike Lee, the doc goes into each of the songs, but most of what was said I knew already.
Entertaining enough and you may find a new appreciation for Bad, but in the end, it felt like a commercial for buying the album rather than an in-depth look at the music and its reception, which is a pity. Obviously with no new interview with the late Michael Jackson it could never be a definitive documentary.
Rating 6.5/10

Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story (1988) (Todd Haynes)
An unconventional bio-pic about the last seven years of Karen Carpenter’s life. The title is derived from The Carpenters' 1971 hit song Superstar.
The characters are presented as modified Barbie dolls, yet it still resonates emotionally. Parts of the film reminded me of Requiem for a Dream (2000), and there are horrific scenes which are equally as powerful as Aronofsky’s film.
The best film I’ve ever seen about anorexia, which Karen Carpenter was a victim of. Karen was told she was chubby as a teenager, and took this to the extreme with dieting and lost a lot of weight. It’s really a film about all women, because there is an unspoken expectation in our culture that thin is beautiful. Although the songs are used throughout, it isn’t really about her music.
Rating 8/10

New York Doll (2005) (Greg Whiteley)
Thanks to Steven at Surrender To The Void for the recommendation. A moving and unforgettable tribute to Arthur "Killer" Kane, the bass guitarist of the pioneering 70s glam rock band The New York Dolls. Following him in the 2000s, the documentary paints him as a flawed but likable musician, and with this documentary he finally gets the recognition and reconciliation he wanted. Kane lost his way after the group broke up, and didn’t have the same success that the other band members achieved. Having little money, he became a religious man and worked at a library. In 2004, The New York Dolls reunite, and Kane rekindles with lead singer David Johansen, they are now older and it’s moving to see them play again and put their problems behind them. A touching story worth seeing, even if you have no interest in The New York Dolls.
Rating 9/10

A Skin Too Few - The Days of Nick Drake (2000) (Jeroen Berkvens)

As someone who has read a book about the singer, this documentary lasting 48 min felt too slight. I’d imagine it’s a good starting point if you are new to Nick Drake, but if you know about his career already it doesn’t offer anything groundbreaking. There’s an interview with his sister and a friend from college.

Rating 7/10

Metal Evolution (2011) (Documentary TV Series)
Broken down into episodes about a different piece of metal history. The series includes interviews with many of the faces of metal. I saw the episodes that had interest to me and was interesting to follow the history of metal and how it developed into different subgenres. I didn't know Mötley Crüe were penniless to begin with. People describing the appeal of metal music was fascinating. The interviewer/presenter Sam Dunn is keen to dig into what the musicians were influenced by. I was already exploring heavy metal this summer, and now I have a new list of bands to explore.
Rating 8/10

And You Don't Stop: 30 Years Of Hip Hop (2004)
Episode 3: Gangsta Gangsta, and E4: Life After Death
A five-part look at the history of the hip-hop culture, I haven't seen E1 and E2, which I imagine look at early hip hop, Public Enemy and other bands.
I wasn't following hip hop in the late 80s and early 90s, so this was a good introduction. Very thorough with lots of artists interviewed. Considered among the best hip hop documentaries, and nominated for an IDA award in 2005.
New York is described as the mecca and birthplace for hip hop during the 1980s, and a place with racially charged incidents. The rap music depicted how the black artists felt about social issues and life on the street, and listeners could relate. I'm not surprised the movie Straight Outta Compton (2015) got made now, with the racial tension in the US at the moment.
The angry and controversial debut album Straight Outta Compton (1988) by N.W.A has been viewed as the pioneering record of gangsta rap with its ever-present profanity and violent lyrics, and was hugely influential on hip hop in the years that followed.
Ice Cube split from the group over money issues and made another defining hip hop album AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted (1990).
Later, Dr Dre also left N.W.A and released his successful debut album The Chronic (1992) on his own label, and it was a major influence on future hip hop, popularizing the G-funk subgenre and introduced Snoop Dog to the world.
Episode 4 discusses Wu-Tang Clan, a group of nine who could all rap. Nas is mentioned, but not explored in-depth. Then looks at the rise of Tupac Shakur, who wrote about thug life and the black panther revolutionaries, but saw no contradiction in that. Tupuc led a turbulent life and the east coast vs west coast rivalry he had with The Notorious B.I.G. is delved into.
Rating 8/10

Have you watched any of these documentaries? Which is your favorite music-related documentary? As always, comments are welcome.

Reviews of documentaries (part 1)

In part 1 of this series, I'll review movie-related documentaries I've seen over the last 18 months. I'm only including new reviews I haven't previously shared.

Rewind This! (2013)
If you are nostalgic for VHS, a must-see. For others I’d say it’s not essential. A lot of it is common knowledge, but the obscure references, Deadly Prey (1987), Everything Is Terrible: The Movie (2009), Best of the Worst Star Search Auditions, Leslie Nielsen’s Stupid Little Golf Video (1997), etc, were new to me.
The doc shows how the industry worked back in the 80s, the evolution of both VHS and Beta machines. Competing for a while, VHS won due to the length of the tapes.
Rental stores were opening up and they needed to fill the shelves with titles. There was a demand, didn’t matter if the films were good or bad. B-movies were making money, because the box was on equal terms with the studio movies on the rental shelf.
They had movie title contests for the employees at a rental store, if you came up with the title that was used, you got $500.
Designing the cover for the VHS box was an art form, and was the way to get you to rent the title. Bad movies had great covers. Frankenhooker (1990) infamously had a talking box that said a quote from the movie “wanna date” when you pressed a button on the box, which increased sales.
Rating 7/10

My Best Fiend (1999)

Director Werner Herzog goes on a trip, visiting countries he filmed in, looking back on the work he did with Klaus Kinski, a brilliant, troubled actor.
If Klaus Kinski had been alive today, TMZ and the paparazzi would have stalked Kinski night and day in an attempt to capture his craziness. You can’t look away.

Rating 8/10

Video Nasties: Moral Panic, Censorship & Videotape (2010)

A fascinating look at the furore the so-called "video nasties" caused in Britain during the late 70s and early 1980s. I wasn’t aware it took so long for age certificates to be assigned to VHS, and I didn’t know distributors and rental owners went to jail and were fined.

The documentary begins by listing 72 video nasties, such as Driller Killer, I Spit on Your Grave, and Cannibal Holocaust. We see short clips, but the films themselves are not discussed in detail.

Surprisingly, these films were freely available to anyone, and kids saw them at birthday parties. This lead to a censorship.
It is suggested the doctoring of reports and censorship by the government was worse than the content of the films. It is also suggested the regulators and police were not knowledgeable about horror films and therefore incompetent.

The people who defend the ”nasties” are very passionate, so a slight disappointment it’s only in the last few minutes the arguments for allowing these films to be available is discussed.
The makers of the doc do seem to be supporters of anti-censorship, although the pro-censorship talking heads are given enough screen time for us to make up our own opinion on the matter. It’s really a historical documentary, which asks the audience to question where they stand on violence in film.
A recent extreme horror A Serbian Film (2010) is labelled as too slick, and without the grainy VHS quality it is not as scary, because with the higher quality visuals you can see everything.
Rating 8/10

Video Nasties: Draconian Days (2014)
I also watched the sequel, made by the same people, which looks at the years 1984-1999. If you're interested in controversial horror films, the doc references, among others, The New York Ripper (1982), Nekromantik (1987), and Child's Play 3 (1991), the latter is given special attention because scenes in the film were linked with real-life murders.
This follow-up documentary isn't essential viewing, but it was interesting to see how things changed, underground movements rebelled, and surprising horror movies were still edited by censorship groups in the UK in the 90s. It's amazing The Exorcist wasn't available on home video in the UK for years.
Favorite quote: ”The bbfc were cutting them to the point, it was worthless, there was no horror in them at all”

Rating 7/10

Midnight Movies: From the Margin to the Mainstream (2005)

El Topo (1970) became a success by word of mouth, Going to see it at midnight became the thing to do, especially for the counter culture. It became a genre of its own that had a forbidden feeling about it. It was against the system. The movies had to be funny and/or shocking in a surprising way, against the mainstream. Today, everything that was in Midnight movies, is in Hollywood movies (i.e. Kill Bill, Pulp Fiction American Pie, South Park)

El Topo was sold as a midnight ritual, a trip.

According to George A Romero, there was a feeling that the 60s revolution had failed. Made in the aftermath of the Kennedy and Martin Luther King assassinations. Night of the Living Dead (1968) is about revolution, the new society basically swallowing up the old, but the old society don’t see it coming because they are too trapped in their own circumstance.

Pink Flamingos (1972) could be interpreted politically as a film about rejects being celebrated. Like serial killer Charles Manson got a lot of attention, the characters in the film said thing that frightened you and were Manson-esque. The director says that maybe his mission was to make bad taste a little bit funnier and a little bit more accepted.

Rating 8/10

A Dream Within a Dream: The Making of Picnic at Hanging Rock (2004)
After having watched this, I’m glad the mystery remains intact about the movie.
The author of the novel was asked by director Peter Weir, is it a true story? Joan Lindsay answered: Do not ask me that question again! She did however admit ”it’s based on fact”. Weir also asked her, do you think it’s wide open what happened to these girls? Do you think the girls fell down a hole? Were they abducted by aliens? She replied: ”Any of the above”
To some people, the film is about something lost, hope, promise, potential, romance, suspicion, fear of the unknown, a whodunit. Maybe people are happy to accept it as true, because there’s a longing for those sort of myths in our time.
According to the screenwriter, the story has two major themes, the ill treatment of children, and the anachronism of Europeans in Australia, symbolized in the neo Italian building out in the middle of nowhere. The building is like a great ship.
Rating 7.5/10

Side By Side (2012)
Narrated by Keanu Reeves. What you see in the trailer is what you get in the film, that is mostly soundbites. So if you want longer interviews with each director, you won't find it here. Film students, cinephiles, and other people related to the movie business are presumably the key audience. About the pros and cons of recording on film or on digital. Does become a bit technical. The last 30 minutes or so are about 3D, I didn't know the entire jungle in Avatar was made in a computer.
Favorite quote, by Sin City director: "Technology pushes the art, and art pushes the technology"
Rating 6/10

Michael H. Profession: Director (2013)

Michael Haneke is interviewed. He refuses to interpret his own films, and is personally afraid of suffering. The actors describe Haneke as a director who doesn’t want to sweeten his movies in a manipulative way. Haneke seeks honesty even when he doesn’t like something.

In regards to White Ribbon, he does admit the visual memory he has of that era is colored in black-and-white, and the scene when the son asks his sister about death is taken from Haneke’s own life.

“For me it was a matter of telling a story about a group of young people, who apply, in an absolute manner, the ideals preached to them by their parents’ generation. And whenever you take an ideal and apply it in an absolutist way, you make it inhuman. That, is, so to speak, the root of all terrorism.”

Actress Isabelle Huppert (from The Piano Teacher) compares Haneke’s humor to the Austrian tradition, that for her includes writers Karl Kraus and Thomas Bernhard, which unites both darkness, humor and wit.

Haneke: “The role of music is very ambiguous in the film(The Piano Teacher). On the one hand, it’s extraordinarily beautiful, and on the other it’s horror. You might say Jelinek’s novel is a sort of parody of a classical psychological novel of the 19th century. And the film is a sort of parody of a melodrama, just as Funny Games was a parody of a thriller. I wanted at all costs to avoid making a psychological film. Because then it becomes a personal case, the specific study of someone who is sadomasochistic, because of what-have-you. This doesn’t interest me. I don’t want to make a film that is a clinical study. I wanted to make an “existential” film, which is obscene, but not pornographic. And I’ve always said, I hope my films are obscene. The obscene is that which transgresses that which is permitted.”

Haneke on Code Unknown: “Because with words, one is amongst all the difficulties of language. And, of course, Code Unknown is about the difficulty or impossibility of communication. At all levels. (…) Although perhaps it has more speech, which takes as its central theme of not knowing the code of one’s interlocutor. Much talk doesn’t imply communication”

SPOILER: Haneke on The Seventh Continent and Amour: “The Seventh Continent was about unlivable lives, that result in death. Amour is about something else. It’s about people who have very livable lives, and who live them, and do, but due to physical suffering, find themselves obliged to leave”

Rating 7.5/10

Gambler (2005)

About Director Nicolas Winding Refn and his bankruptcy after the flop that was Fear X, a film he describes as his best film up to that point, that he had spent three years working on. His journey to get out of his debt is to make Pusher 2 and Pusher 3, sequels to his breakthrough 1996 film. A former drug addict who’s an actor in Pusher 2 complains that he’s not playing himself, which the media claims. The actor is also on the verge of falling back into drugs, and the director helps me to avoid that.
Remarkably Refn is able to make a hit film in Denmark despite the financial pressures.

Interesting to see movie merchandise in his apartment, likely the violent cinema which inspires him, he has posters from controversial films such as Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Cannibal Holocaust (1980), A Grande Trepada (1985), Winchester 73 (1950). Refn goes to a shop and looks at posters from You'll Like My Mother (1972), Revolver (1973), and mentions Sergio Sollima’s Violent City (1970) as one of his favorites.

Rating 6/10

All The Presidents Men Revisited (2013)
With only a superficial knowledge of Watergate, it was interesting to learn, to what extreme lengths Nixon went to cover up his mistakes in the Watergate scandal. He was a complex man, who was paranoid in the white house recordings, and friendly in other situations.The behind-the-scenes about the making of All The Presidents Men surprisingly takes a back seat.
How the pen is mightier than the sword made it a different kind of violent movie, with the enhancement of banging on typewriters. Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman also discuss their acting, in which they learnt each other’s lines, so they could make the dialogues sound very natural, and cut off each other’s sentences in an improvisational manner.
But if you know your history, and what subsequently happened about Deep Throat, this probably doesn’t offer any major revelations.
Rating 5/10

Have you watched any of these documentaries? Which is your favorite movie-related documentary? As always, comments are welcome

Documentary review: Life in a Day (2011)

An assortment of screenshots from the 2011 documentary, funny, touching, thought-provoking, or just beautiful photography. You can watch the doc on youtube. The film was shot by amateur filmmakers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010.

Reflects the diversity of people and cultures all around the world. The beauty of the doc is that each individual can take different things away from watching. So many moments crammed into 90 minutes, maybe too many? Have you seen it yet, what did you think?

(The funniest moment in my opinion, maybe its a guy thing)

(We've all been there, we smile when the cameras are off, and when we are supposed to be happy it feels so awkward)

(We all want to make a connection, to understand, and to be understood)

(Kid's are often unintentional comedians, and ask the weirdest questions!)

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Documentary review: Tintin et moi (2003)

Like many kids, I grew up reading Tintin albums. Great escapism, which rivalled the Bond films for exotic locations, and had a humour all of its own. Today Tintin is about nostalgia for me.

With the new movie out in cinemas, seems to be a good time to review this documentary about the author of Tintin, which is regarded as one of the most interesting documentaries about Belgian Herge and his famous comic universe. The first film where Herge talks about himself, and not just other people talking about him.

Based in part on previously unreleased archive tape footage. Herge was animated using old TV-interviews. The animation of Herge felt like a ghost from the past, and watching encourages you to rediscover the comics and watch the new Spielberg movie, and see Tintin in a new light.

The film is a co-production between Denmark, Belgium, France, and Switzerland. The film is based on Numa Sadoul's revealing interviews with Hergé from the 1970s (Herge died in 1983), and goes into detail about Hergé's life and how the success of Tintin affected him.

Several people upon the release of Tintin et moi questioned that not all the albums were looked at and thought the doc was too dark and Freudian considering the comics are funny and dramatic adventures. The director defended himself by saying that Herge had a dark side, which revealed itself in the audio interview, and that insecurity and doubt was also part of Herges life.

Approximately 350 million Tintin albums have been sold worldwide. Written for children, although adults can also enjoy the comics and relate to the characters.

Tintin is a brave reporter, always fighting against injustice. Tintin’s faithful dog Snowy accompanied him on his adventures. Some have pointed out the Tintin character is boring, and doesn’t have many emotions. It’s the surroundings, which make the albums special, the places he travels, and supporting characters he meets.

Captain Haddock was very different to Tintin, yet they were friends, Haddock had a bit of a temper and drinking problem. During the comics, we also meet other colourful characters such as Dupond and Dupont, the clumsy detectives, as well as hearing-impaired Professor Tournesol.

The albums are graphically of a high level, beautifully drawn, an artful quality. Herge had a rare talent of combining skilful drawing with great storytelling. The stories have elements of fantasy and realism.

Deep down the stories are about Herge himself, made during a time span of 47 years. The Tintin albums are at times contemporary journalism, about 50 years of politics, wars, cars, trains, airplanes, businessmen, dictators, and scientists. You can follow the time line of the 20th Century by reading the adventures of Tintin. On top of that, we get paranormal happenings, dreams, scary moments, things connected to the soul.

Tintin is Herge’s method of expressing himself, his problems, for example in Tintin in Tibet. During the making, Herge was going through a personal crisis and contacted a therapist. He dreamt only in white, and yearned for purity.

Further, Herge admits Tintin is a projection of himself, his alterego. The hero without fear, who Herge dreamed of being and strived towards. During the years, characters emerged with flaws and weaknesses. Captain Haddock had many faults, but we accept him anyway. Dupond and Dupont are idiots, which Herge admits he was too sometimes. There is a desire to be a hero, which Herge seldom was in real life, maybe never. Perhaps he was a hero for other people, but it was difficult for Herge to look upon himself as a hero.

Herge was a scout just like Tintin, and Herge thought promises and loyalty were very important up until his death, just as a scout has those principles. Herge was brought up as catholic, and always had trouble in life ignoring the idea of sin. He suffered when he didn’t keep his word.

Herge felt his childhood was grey and average, he didn’t look back on it fondly. Things started to lighten up when he met Abbed Wallez, editor of a catholic newspaper. Wallez apparent admired Germany and supported the Italian fascism. The youth section of the paper was intended to influence young people politically. He discovered Herge in the ad department. He asked him to create a young hero, a catholic reporter, who fought for good in the world. In 1929, Tintin came to life.
Tintin’s first adventure took place in Soviet Russia. The weekly comics were a success. In the beginning, Tintin was no more than an illustration of the propaganda the boss had submitted to Herge, for example Tintin in Congo, where the Belgian reign is the only way the Africans could get by. Herge didn’t really know what he was doing at the time and drew out of ignorance.

The Blue Lotus was a turning point and is by many regarded as a masterpiece. When Herge announced that Tintin was going to Asia he received a letter from editor Abbed Wallez to not make the Chinese fake and not to make fun of them, which could cause much damage. So he contacted a young Chinese man who was a painter and sculptor named Tchang-Tchong-Jen. He taught Herge many new things, Chinese poems, signs and words used in China. The big street images in Shanghai in Tintin in Tibet with Chinese banners and posters are all genuine Chinese words. Down with imperialism for example. From then onwards, the subsequent albums became very detailed.

Tintin travelled all over the planet, Herge travelled nowhere. He was an armchair tourist. Through extensive research and cuttings, Herge new of these countries. One of his favourite places to go was the Ciquantenaire museum in Brussels. For instance the sculpture in the album The Broken Ear can be found in the museum.

In King Ottokar’s Sceptre, Herge clearly criticizes a country called Bordurien, which obviously is Germany during WW2. For instance they have fighter planes. It was dangerous for him to question Germany in the late 30s. The villain is Müsstler, a combination of Mussolini and Hitler.
The newspaper where he worked was closed down by the Nazis, when Germany occupied Brussels. Herge was offered to continue working for Le Soir, however the newspaper was controlled by the Nazis.
During this period Herge began writing stories about hidden treasures and meteorites. Politics disappeared from the albums, the adventures became neutral and pure escapism.
In a way, Herge now turned into captain Haddock, the grumpy, cynical, middle-aged man who wanted to be left alone. In the album The Shooting Star, an apocalypse is near, perhaps Herge is talking about how he imagines WW2 will end.

The British liberated Brussels in September 1944. Herge was arrested, as it was assumed he had been working for the Germans.
Herge was released after one night in jail, his editor received 4 years.
After the war, Herge worked at a youth magazine for Leblanc, they wanted Herge to write 2 pages a week, and the workload started to take its toll on him, and he had several nervous breakdowns, where he escaped abroad.
Herge wrote to his wife, that he was tired of always writing the same story, sick of grinding out new adventures all the time. His view of the world had changed.

Creating his own studio was the solution, it gave him artistic freedom. He hoped to liberate himself from commercial pressure, so he could work in peace together with capable assistants, whom he could assign some of the legwork.

It was a period of great precision, and a passion for realism. Herge thought realism was the key to a great adventure. In the album The Calulus Affair the scenes from Geneva are completely accurate, the road to Nyon exactly as today.

The documentary Tintin et moi/Tintin and me/Tintin and I/ is available on dvd with English subtitles, if you can find it. On my top 10 list of documentaries. Full of interesting facts, some of which I’ve listed above. A candidate I think for most underrated documentary ever! So obviously recommended ( :

A poster for the 2011 Spielberg motion capture Tintin movie:

What do you think of Tintin? Did you grow up reading the comics? Have you seen Spielberg’s new film The Adventures of Tintin: The Secret of the Unicorn? I plan to see it tonight!

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