Week Of June 12, 2006 - Mon / Wed / Fri

June 12, 2006

Seattle, Part Deux

I almost saw the mountain on the way out of Seattle… almost.

What I did get to see since we last spoke included a number of documentaries that didn't fly magnificently for me, a couple that did (in addition to the one mentioned Friday), an adaptation of Beowulf that played a bit like Shakespeare in the park… an art film in the midst of some remarkably beautiful backgrounds, and another French film (second year in a row) that has real commercial potential if the right company picks it up.

It's always a bit frustrating to knock a documentary down a peg. There is nothing easy or less than sincere in the making of a documentary. Well, maybe a little in somes cases. One of my disappointments was George Michael: A Different Story, which I have to say I found entertaining. But it pretty much played as "an authorized biography." There was a tendency to suggest that Mr. Michael was being all-so-candid. And he was… for a pop star, not unlike Madonna in her self-serving self-exposures. Still, interesting to know what happened since the bathroom bust, because although he has all but fallen off the map in America his career has gone on in Europe, at least to some degree.

Sensational episode of Beyond The Music. Not a great doc.

Not quite as glammy, but equally restrained in really pushing its subject is What Remains, a bio-doc on photographer Sally Mann, best known for her controversial photographs of her family, which were first beloved then questioned, including child nudity and growing up pains.

I really like Sally Mann after watching this film, though I can easily see how she would drive a lot of people crazy. She is very smart and very bubbly. The most interesting thing about this movie is the struggle that Mann is having in getting her next great success after Immediate Family made her internationally famous more than a decade ago. But the film takes a passive approach, which is good if your subject is in the midst of something, but that is not the case here. I found the movie extremely frustrating and I found myself thinking how much more interesting England's South Bank Show has always been because it always seems to decide on a strong point of view.

A deeply felt film, Beyond Hate, tells the story of a family dealing with the murder of a son by skinheads who killed him randomly for being gay and, perhaps, for having the temerity to resist. This French production, which really starts as the family and the accused prepare for the trial, is powerful in the way it lingers in the slow processing that people go through in dealing with tragedy. But after a half hour or so, I was ready to hit the fast-forward button.

It's hard to complain too much. The way the film sits with this family and their inability to process as quickly as a normal movie might is powerful and daring. But is it good cinema? I was also very taken with the discussion between the defending attorneys about strategy. But again, after a while, it seemed like the point had been made and made and made again.

And Walking To Werner, a film about a guy emulating Werner Herzog by walking from Seattle to Los Angeles to see the director was… well… uh…

On the other hand…

Black Gold is the story of the inequitable compensation given to coffee growers, coffee pickers, coffee sellers and on the flip side, coffee roasters, coffee sellers, and coffee houses. The film reminded me more than a little of last year's Oscar contender, Darwin's Nightmare, which deals with abuses of native Tanzanians in favor of fish processors that have left nothing to the locals, and China Blue, which is about a blue jean-producing sweatshop in Shaxi, China, the layers of abuse are fascinating. (I saw that one in Bermuda.)

The only problem with the movie is that after about 45 minutes, the narrative flow starts wandering and the themes start repeating. There are interesting moments after that, like an irony-laden trip to the very first Starbucks store. But knowing what's going on is the most enriching part of the story. (If only I could stop myself from drinking coffee.)

The great doc I saw (in addition to Who Is Harry Nilsson (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?), mentioned Friday) was … More Than 1000 Words, a film about Israeli photographer Ziv Koren who - like James Nachtwey, the focus of the great doc War Photographer - gets right into the action with an unshakeable relentlessness. But in addition to Koren's work itself, there is the story of his family. His wife is a breathtaking blonde model/television presenter and they have a bright young daughter on whom they both dote.

Koren is almost comedically made for being photographed; tall, handsome, shaved head, motorcycle riding renegade. And then add the impossibly blonde wife, who is no dumb cookie, a news junkie after years with her husband watching little else on TV and mother to this tough young daughter. But his story is real. And his passion for getting into the ugliest of human moments is profound.

The one real complaint I have about the film is an effect where the digital movie camera seems to be mounted onto one of Ziv's cameras, giving us a weird, kitschy, overused floating feel. I would cut almost all of that out. (You can tell it's one of director Solo Avital's darlings.) But aside from that, this is a unique story, told smartly, with no real tales untold. By the end, you know how the family feels and how Ziv feels about his family. And you can feel the drive to get the work done. Terrific. (Take a look at the trailer here.)

Okay… due to a late flight, it's now 2:20am. So the discussion of OSS 117: Nest of Spies - a modern retro, smart, kitsch, hilarious spin on the original Pink Panther movies with a lot of Bond and Hitchcock kicked around for good effect that should be bought and probably dubbed, but can play art houses or as a wide release targeting kids and the adults who will have an even better time than the kids - that I was so looking forward to writing about and of Sturla Gunnersson's surprisingly culty Beowulf & Grendel will have to wait until Wednesday. See you then.

E Me: How many docs would a doc dir wreck if a doc dir could wreck docs?

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