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10 years ago
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One great thing about living in NYC is the wide range of new movies to pick from. These two have just opened in theaters: serial killer horror/comedy or backstage ballet documentary? Your choice...
The Voices
Whatever one might have expected from director Marjane Satrapi after the acclaimed adaption of her autobiographical graphic novel Persepolis (2007) and the poignant, surreal fable Chicken with Plums (2011), The Voices is not it. (Unlike those earlier films, she had no hand in writing this movie; that honor goes to Michael R. Perry, known mainly for TV work.) A queasy crime thriller disguised as an office romcom, The Voices stars the usually inoffensive Ryan Reynolds as a very disturbed man. Melding the blackest imaginable humor, scenes of bloody horror and some impressively solid acting -- Reynolds hasn’t had a role this challenging since 2010's Buried -- Satrapi has created something quite unique. While not exactly a masterpiece of filmmaking, The Voices is twisted, harrowing and funny, the latter mainly due to a pair of talking animals.
Reynolds plays Jerry, a seemingly upbeat, nice-guy shlub with a dark past, who works for a bathroom fixture company that also employs luscious Fiona (Gemma Arterton) and down-to-earth Lisa (Anna Kendrick). Sharing his home are dog Bosco and cat Mr. Whiskers, who give Jerry advice when he’s off his meds, which is often. Bosco’s a lovingly supportive type, while Whiskers is a taunting, foul-mouthed provocateur -- talk about an[...]
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10 years ago
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The words “prodigy” and “wunderkind” have often been used to describe filmmaker Xavier Dolan, with good reason. Not yet 26, the French-Canadian auteur has recently released his fifth feature, Mommy, to general acclaim, including a Jury Prize win at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival. A sort of bookend to his first film, 2009's J'ai tué ma mère (I Killed My Mother), Mommy stars Dolan regular Anne Dorval as Diane, the desperate mother of violence-prone, ADHD-addled Steve (a very believable Antoine Olivier Pilon). Their raucous, codependent relationship is tempered by the arrival of a quiet, secretive neighbor, played by Suzanne Clément (in a complete departure from her outgoing persona in Dolan’s 2012 Laurence Anyways). As each of the characters in this unsettling, emotional film struggles with personal demons, they form an unusual bond.
Contrary to his previous films I Killed My Mother, Heartbeats (2010) and Tom at the Farm (2013), Dolan -- an actor since toddlerhood -- did not cast himself in Mommy. Like most of his movies, Mommy features complicated mother-son dynamics, arresting visual sequences and a potent soundtrack. In just five years, the filmmaker has created a distinctly unique body of work, all the more remarkable considering his relative youth.
Recently I sat down with a few other journalists for a conversation with Dolan, who was both introspective and forthright. The following are excerpts.
Do you feel different now that you’ve received all this acclaim? [...]
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10 years ago
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For some of us, historical dramas – when done well – are endlessly fascinating, both educational and escapist. Part of the allure is the seductive aspect of losing oneself in another time (and often, place), complete with noble sentiments, picturesque settings and lush period costumes that were undoubtedly uncomfortable as hell but look fabulous on screen. Bringing history and historical figures to life is no easy feat – how to create a compelling and (yes) entertaining film without completely distorting the facts? Throw in a passionate romance and it can all easily become overblown.
Prolific German film and television director Dominik Graf has done a very good job with Beloved Sisters (Die geliebten Schwestern), which uses both fact and liberal conjecture to tell the story of celebrated German poet/playwright/philosopher Friedrich Schiller (Florian Stetter) and his relationship with the film’s titular siblings, Caroline von Beulwitz (Hannah Herszsprung) and Charlotte von Lengefeld (Henriette Confurius). Along with the evolution of the trio’s complicated ménage a trois, the film depicts an era when poets like Schiller (and his pal Goethe) were the equivalent of critically-acclaimed, convention-flouting rock stars; at a time when flouting convention was truly scandalous. From the moment the penniless Schiller meets shy, intelligent Charlotte and, a bit later, outgoing, equally astute Caroline, he is smitten – as are they – both physically and intellectually. The aristoc[...]
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10 years ago
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Though it’s ubiquitous this time of year, you probably never thought too hard about Christmas music. For people like Mitchell Kezin, however, it’s practically all they think about, all year long. Kezin is the filmmaker behind the documentary Jingle Bell Rocks!, which delves into the world of holiday music aficionados, guys like himself (all of the movie's subjects are male) who obsessively collect holiday-themed songs and albums, the weirder and/or more obscure, the better. At the end of each year they put together a compilation mix of their best finds. It’s safe to say that the general public have never heard most of these songs (“Santa Claus is a Black Man,” “Séance with Santa”).
As the film shows, it all started for Kezin at the age of five, when he first hears Nat King Cole’s melancholy “The Little Boy That Santa Claus Forgot,” which includes “The laddie didn’t have a daddy” among its depressing lyrics. The young Kezin, whose parents were in the process of getting divorced, became fascinated with the song. Another revelation occurs in his teens upon first hearing Miles Davis and Bob Dorough’s caustic “Blue Xmas (To Whom It May Concern),” from the Jingle Bell Jazz compilation LP. Thus began the filmmaker’s obsession with alternative, not necessarily upbeat, Christmas tunes.
Ashamed of his unusual hobby, Kezin initially thought he was alone in his Christmas music fixation, but to his joy it turns out that there are others as fanatical as he. Several of these fello[...]
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10 years ago
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“Beauty is intimately engaged with darkness, with chaos, with destruction. From the depths of darkness, beauty transforms and transcends.”
Thus Lily Yeh explains the philosophy of her art, through which she has engaged denizens of traumatized communities and impoverished areas all over the world for nearly three decades. The Chinese-born, Philadelphia-based artist runs the nonprofit Barefoot Artists (“recognizing that creativity and beauty are powerful agents for healing and change”) and is the subject of new film The Barefoot Artist, co-directed by documentarian Glenn Holsten and her son, Daniel Traub, a photographer and cinematographer. (The two previously collaborated on OC87: The Obsessive Compulsive, Major Depression, Bipolar, Asperger’s Movie, among other projects.)
The film combines two threads: first, it’s the story of Yeh’s development as an artist and her work with various communities. There’s footage of the Village of Arts and Humanities in North Philadelphia, which Yeh created out of an abandoned lot; her transformation of a garbage/hospital dump in Korogocho, Kenya, into a vibrant environment of communally-produced murals and sculptures; and, most poignant, scenes of a genocide survivors camp in Rugerero, Rwanda. There we witness deadened souls who have suffered unbearable loss come alive by telling their stories through drawing and painting, under Lily’s tutelage.
The film’s second thread is Yeh’s exploration of her family, including a hidden side. Her desi[...]
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10 years ago
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Though only in its fifth year, DOC NYC seems like a city institution already. The annual event, which ran from November 13 through 20, has become the largest documentary film festival in the country. This year’s DOC NYC encompassed 153 films and events, ranging from screenings of classic docs (Hoop Dreams) and high-profile films (Citizenfour) to premieres from first-time feature filmmakers (Opposite Field, Vessel, many, many others). There were also educational panels and master classes (Finish Your Doc) for aspiring auteurs. Opening Night Film was David Thorpe's funny, poignant Do I Sound Gay?; Closing Night Film was The Yes Men Are Revolting, which chronicles the prankster-activists' past five years, directed by Laura Nix and The Yes Men.
DOC NYC is a testament to the ever-growing popularity of documentaries, due to a number of reasons including an increase in movie outlets, the stylistic crossover between narrative fiction and non-fiction films, and accessibility of digital technology, now that practically everyone can make movies. (Imagine the various permutations that would exist of 1970 classic Gimme Shelter, had Altamont audiences owned smartphones.)
Festival screenings took place at Bow Tie Chelsea Cinemas, IFC Center and SVA Theatre; in many cases filmmakers were present to introduce their work and answer questions afterward. Every sort of documentary was represented, broken down into categories including American Perspectives, International Perspectives, Cente[...]
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10 years ago
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The word “sweet” has appeared in almost every description of Hoje Eu Quero Voltar Sozinho (The Way He Looks), the feature debut from Brazilian director Daniel Ribeiro. (He used it himself during our conversation.) That might be off-putting to some, especially when describing a coming-of-age story with a blind protagonist.
But Ribeiro’s film isn’t all sentimentality and charm. His main character, Leonardo (beautifully portrayed by Ghilherme Lobo), while very likeable, is also stubborn, as are most teens. He also happens to be gay, something he discovers when he falls in love for the first time, with the new boy at school (Fabio Audi). There’s also jealousy (via Leo’s best friend Giovana, played by Tess Amorim), bullying and parental friction, all handled with admirable restraint.
The movie is a poignant, low-key drama from a filmmaker who describes himself as an activist. His first short was 2007’s Café com Leite (You, Me and Him); The Way He Looks is an elaboration on his 2010 short Eu Não Quero Voltar Sozinho (I Don’t Want to Go Back Alone) — which also starred Lobo, Audi and Amorim. Recently I spoke via Skype with Ribeiro, who was in his hometown of São Paulo, taking a break from his travels for international screenings and promotional duties.
Your film opened in April in Brazil and has been screening all over the world; do you get the same sort of feedback from people everywhere?
Yeah, it’s interesting; the reaction is usually the same, because it is such a [...]
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10 years ago
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I am delighted to be blogging (every 8th and 25th of the month) about film for Art for Progress. The organization/site’s dual mission – supporting emerging artists and arts education – is an admirable one, especially given the stratospheric real estate prices in New York and other cities that have traditionally incubated arts scenes, and the deep cuts in pubic school arts education. The ever-escalating mainstream media coverage of celebrity-driven — as opposed to talent-driven — arts and entertainment doesn't help the current climate. Fortunately, blogs such as this exist!
In the past 20-or-so years of writing about movies for a variety of print and digital outlets, I’ve covered everything from major Hollywood releases to little-heralded films, interviewed (i.e., was allotted 15 phone minutes with) major movie stars and had long, insightful conversations with extremely independent filmmakers. It’s all been good, but I especially relish writing about lesser-known films and their creators; it’s always satisfying to encounter a fresh cinematic voice and easy to get caught up in the excitement of the filmmakers themselves. That's mainly the stuff I plan to cover here.
The Heart Machine, which received a lot of positive attention at this year’s SXSW Festival, is the first feature from writer/director Zachary Wigon, who used Kickstarter to help fund it. A 2008 graduate of NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, Wigon has a background in film journalism. While at school he started[...]
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