Author Archives: basiltsiokos

Coming to theatres this Friday, January 19:
KANGAROO

Directors:
Kate McIntyre Clere and Michael McIntyre

Premiere:
Santa Barbara 2017

Select Festivals:
NYC Wildlife Conservation, Wildlife Rotterdam

About:
An exposé of the brutal treatment of kangaroos in Australia.

While synonymous with Australia, particularly in tourist-friendly images, the kangaroo has a more complicated relationship with the people of its home country than the international community might suspect. Some want to protect the animal, others wish to exploit it for meat, and some see it as vermin needing to be exterminated. Clere and McIntyre reveal these disparate viewpoints in their earnest but at times clunky film, but it becomes fairly clear that their sympathies rest with the conservationists – and it’s hard to imagine how any viewer would disagree, given the disturbing slaughter revealed here – making their film a would-be THE COVE for kangaroos. Unfortunately, the filmmakers incorporate some questionable storytelling techniques – from re-enactments to shock freeze frames and spot color effects – that have a cheapening effect. Despite this, they succeed in revealing the troubling treatment of the iconic Australian animal, as well as how it’s been combatted.

Coming to DVD this Friday, January 19:
EVERY 40 YEARS

Directors:
Eric Goldrich and Ben Friedberg

Premiere:
Santa Barbara 2017

About:
A folk rock trio that once achieved some success reunites after four decades.

Together with Friedberg, Goldrich profiles his father, Steve, and his bandmates in the group Gunhill Road, who are remembered as one-hit wonders for “Back When My Hair Was Short,” a Billboard charting song, but had a few other minor successes in the 1970s before they disbanded. They and past collaborators, family, and fans detail Gunhill Road’s emergence and what went wrong, including running afoul of bad record deals. An event that pays tribute to their former manager at the Bitter End gives an excuse for a reunion about 40 years after their heyday, shown in the final scenes here, and paves the way for a new album. While clearly a labor of love for the filmmakers, they struggle to find enough material to sustain even an hour-long doc, and what’s here is really only of interest to the band’s small fanbase.

Coming to theatres this Friday, January 19:
POW WOW

Director:
Robinson Devor

Premiere:
Locarno 2016

Select Festivals:
New Orleans, CPH:DOX, Art of the Real, Mar del Plata, Seattle

About:
Life in the Coachella Valley.

Described as an ethnographic study, Devor ambles around the Inland Empire Colorado Desert terrain best known for Palm Springs and the Coachella spring music festival, briefly training his camera on a wide range of inhabitants, from country club reveler to Las Vegas comedians, Native Americans to elderly transplants. Through this survey, a not altogether coherent thread runs, covering the contested history of the region and the story of Willie Boy, a Native boy who managed to outrun a mounted posse in 1908. While at times breathtakingly shot, the intriguing and thoughtful project never quite manages to come together in a wholly satisfying way, making it more of a strange curio than a fully successful film.