Category Archives: Documentary

New to VOD this week:
BARISTAS

Director:
Rock Baijnauth

Premiere:
VOD release (April 2019)

About:
Four national champion baristas prepare for the world championship in South Korea.

A thematic sequel to the filmmaker’s 2015 film, BARISTA, this sometimes overly slick doc trails four competitions who have already been named best barista of their own countries as they vie for world recognition. For the uninitiated, the film reviews competition rules, and then follows its subjects – from Japan, Ireland, Germany, and the US – as they develop their presentations and signature drinks in the lead up to the event, the more interesting aspect of this project. Once the action shifts over to Seoul, the competition itself is presented in a scattered, montage-driven manner, as some protagonists find themselves eliminated, and others make the final. While Baijnauth is able to convey his subjects’ personalities fairly well, and captures an appropriate hipster vibe as a whole, the film is somewhat underwhelming, and likely only of real interest for die-hard coffee aficionados.

Coming to theatres today, Wednesday, April 3:
WALL

Director:
Cam Christiansen

Premiere:
Calgary 2017

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, Edinburgh, Annecy

About:
An animated adaptation of David Hare’s play exploring the impact of Israel’s West Bank barrier.

Presented free to audiences in a one-week run at NYC’s Film Forum, Christiansen’s film will, of course, have resonance with American viewers due to the current presidential administration’s obsession with a border wall with Mexico. While that contentious project sits outside of the scope of Hare and Christiansen’s doc, another historical structure, the Berlin Wall, is invoked here, with its similarities and contrasts to the Israel/Palestine separation barrier pointed out during Hare’s meditation on mitigating conflict between the two nations. Reviewing the barrier’s origins in response to terrorist bombings within Israel, Hare notes its relative successes and failures – bombings down, but rocket attacks up – and seeks out the perspectives of individuals on both sides, literally. Christiansen provides audiences with an imaginative way to experience the wall and its various meanings, while also helping to break the project out of its theatrical origins – though there’s no fully escaping its staginess, given Hare’s monologuing.

Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, April 2:
¡LAS SANDINISTAS!

Director:
Jenny Murray

Premiere:
SXSW 2018

Select Festivals:
Lima, Southern Circuit, Maryland

About:
The female leaders of the 1979 Nicaraguan revolution look back at their unsung accomplishments.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD and VOD today, Tuesday, April 2:
THE GREAT BUSTER

Director:
Peter Bogdanovich

Premiere:
Venice 2018

Select Festivals:
Telluride, Chicago, Deauville, Mill Valley

About:
A tribute to comic screen legend Buster Keaton.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD and digital download tomorrow, Tuesday, April 2:
JIHADISTS

Directors:
François Margolin and Lemine Ould Salem

Premiere:
Biarritz FIPA 2016

About:
An unfiltered look at radical jihadist ideology.

More or less banned in France to prevent the spread of propaganda, and not released in the US until several years after its 2016 debut, Margolin and Salem’s rather rough-looking project aims to offer an inside look at fundamentalist Islam, from the mouths of adherents themselves. In practicality, this means the film consists of a parade of poorly shot talking heads espousing the virtues of sharia law, and the righteousness of whipping, mutilating, or stoning sinners, with an introduction and intermittent interjections from Margolin sitting at his desk offering brief statements or background about the content or production challenges. Filling out the project are clips from Islamic State propaganda videos, serving as a substitute for the filmmakers’ inability to access subjects in Syria and Iraq. While a strong project conceivably could be made that simply presents chilling jihadist ideology, allowing its speakers to shock the audience and perhaps motivate them to oppose its message in some way, even in the absence of counterarguments or pointed editing, this attempt falls short, its distracting, amateurish production values and approach failing to prove compelling.