Author Archives: basiltsiokos

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, June 10: GERMANS & JEWS

Tal Recanati and Janina Quint’s consideration of the complex relationship between the two titular groups makes its debut today at the Greenwich film fest before opening in NYC’s Cinema Village.

Taking on a thought-provoking topic, Recanati (American, Jewish) and Quint (German, non-Jewish) host a dinner party for Jewish Germans, non-Jewish Germans, and non-German Jews living in Germany to reflect on the two people’s shared history and their ongoing modern reconciliation as the population of Jews in Germany continues to rise. Taking as a point of contrast the ways that the East and West approached the legacy of the Nazi era, the film offers viewers a concise history of how, when, and why a reckoning with the past came, and the impact this had on their respective populaces. Moving beyond the topic of Vergangenheitsbewältigung, other conversations explore more explicitly present-day concerns, including fears of the growth of anti-Semitism as the nation’s Muslim population grows, and the challenges of being de facto perceived as anti-Semitic if one criticizes Israel. While the topic lends itself to these and other engaging ideas, the conventional filmmaking approach taken, with an excess of talking heads, makes it more appropriate for the small screen than theatrical venues.

Coming to NYC’s Anthology Film Archives for a one-week run beginning tomorrow, Thursday, June 9: ‘TIL MADNESS DO US PART

Wang Bing’s immersion into a mental institution had its world premiere at Venice in 2013. Other fest berths included Toronto, Vancouver, Viennale, Busan, Docslisboa, Rio, Edinburgh, Hong Kong, Rotterdam, CPH:DOX, Sydney, and Poland’s New Horizons.

I previously included the film in my Toronto coverage here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, June 7: FANTASTIC LIES

Marina Zenovich’s look back at the infamous 2006 Duke lacrosse sexual assault case made its debut at SXSW this Spring. The ESPN 30 for 30 doc was then broadcast on the 10th anniversary of the team’s party that resulted in the scandal.

Zenovich lays out the particulars of the case as they were initially understood: During a house party held by Duke University’s champion lacrosse team, there was an argument being the white players and the African American strippers they hired for entertainment. Racial slurs were levied against the women, and, according to some reports, threats of sexual violence. Hours later, one of the dancers reported to the police that she was sexually assaulted by three of the team members while at the party. Against a backdrop of tension between the affluent, Northern, white Duke University community and its working-class, Southern, black local neighbors, the accusation set off a firestorm. Fanned by the media, public outrage denounced the culture of privilege and supposed impunity among the lacrosse players and demanded swift action from university officials against the athletes, before any charges were brought against them. When the district attorney finally did name three players party to the crime, Zenovich shifts gears, and, with the cooperation of the parents of the accused, as well as others involved with the case, demonstrates how they were exonerated, and that, eventually, the accuser recanted, at least at the time. More recently, she has affirmed that she was assaulted that night, but due to an unrelated case that finds her imprisoned and unable to appear on camera here, the filmmaker instead paints a not entirely convincing picture of mental instability through third person reports. Regardless, what Zenovich’s cautionary film does demonstrate successfully is the prosecutorial misconduct that led to the DA being disbarred, and, more importantly, the dangers inherent in the presumption of guilt in the court of public opinion.

Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, June 7: YALOM’S CURE

Sabine Gisiger’s portrait of a psychiatrist had its premiere at Locarno in 2014. The doc also screened at Mill Valley, Docs Against Gravity, São Paulo, and Jewish fests in San Francisco, Boston, and Vienna, among other fests.

Gisiger’s subject is Dr Irvin Yalom – apparently America’s most popular psychotherapist, according to the film, though it’s not entirely clear how that’s judged – it’s likely a general audience would have little idea who he is. Unfortunately, the film assumes that Yalom needs very little introduction, making this feel very much like it’s pitched to the already converted. Despite the film’s tagline – “a guide to happiness” – while Yalom emphasizes that he lives a life free of regrets, the film offers viewers little insight as to how and why. For those not already familiar with his body of work, the film offers a thoughtful but unfortunately not particularly engaging reflection on the existentialist psychotherapist’s views on life, death, marriage, and family, as well as his professional breakthroughs in using writing and group therapy to help his patients.

Coming to VOD today, Tuesday, June 7: LENNY COOKE

Joshua and Benny Safdie’s look at a would-be pro athlete debuted at Tribeca in 2013. Screenings followed at Venice, Poland’s American Film Festival, Vienna, and Geneva, among other fests. It now comes to VOD platforms including iTunes, Google Play, Amazon, Vudu, Microsoft, Vubiquity, and Vimeo.

I included the film in my Tribeca coverage here.

Coming to PBS’s America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, June 7: COLLEGE WEEK

Derek Grace’s look at an inner-city Chicago grade school’s efforts to inspire its students debuted at Black Harvest last year. The doc also has screened at the Oak Park and Chi-Town Multicultural fests.

The setting for Grace’s project is Spencer Elementary Technology Academy, located in the Austin neighborhood of Chicago, an area known for high rates of crime and poverty. Dedicated to using the love of learning, particularly technology-enabled education, to help their charges better their futures, Spencer annually devotes a week each year to tasking students in each class, from pre-K to 8th grade, to learn about a college and present their research as part of a mandatory competition. With high school graduation and college matriculation rates alarmingly low within the African-American community, Spencer’s College Week functions in an aspirational manner, giving the students hope and a sense of the possibilities education can provide. Various administrators, teachers, students, and parents comment on the importance of the exercise, with a dose of friendly competition thrown in for extra-motivation. Grace’s film is a very homegrown production, full of show-and-tell sequences, slideshows, talking heads, and very basic filmmaking that limit its reach to public television, but it’s undeniably well-intentioned in its offer of a positive message about the potential of education to make a real difference in children’s lives.