Category Archives: Documentary

Coming to theatres today, Friday, May 11:
MOUNTAIN

Director:
Jennifer Peedom

Premiere:
Sydney 2017

Select Festivals:
CPH:DOX, London, Melbourne, New Zealand, Helsinki, Tallinn Black Nights, Hamptons

About:
A meditation on the allure of mountains.

Set to a classical score performed by the Australian Chamber Orchestra, and featuring an almost non-stop barrage of breathtaking images of mountains and the various adventure sports performed on them, Peedom’s film is a celebration of mountains and their mystique. At its best, the film mesmerizes the viewer with vertiginous shots, montages of extreme climbing, skiing, parachuting, BASE jumping, and whatnot, with the musical accompaniment underscoring the grandeur. Unfortunately, these moments are almost immediately undercut by the tiresome faux philosophical narration, never as profound as it apparently is meant to be taken. While drawn from a like-minded reflection on the influence of mountains on us, Robert Macfarlane’s memoir, MOUNTAINS OF THE MIND, this element of the film serves as a distraction, one that tries to hard to seem profound when set against the actual profundity of nature itself.

Coming to theatres and to VOD today, Friday, May 11:
ONE OCTOBER

Director:
Rachel Shuman

Premiere:
Full Frame 2017

Select Festivals:
IFF Boston

About:
A portrait of New York City in October 2008.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, May 11 and to VOD this coming Tuesday, May 15:
THE LAST HORSEMEN OF NEW YORK

Director:
Mary Haverstick

Premiere:
Theatrical release (May 2018)

About:
NYC’s horse-drawn carriage workers defend their livelihood.

New York City’s horse-drawn carriages have been the subject of intense debate for several years. While many view them as a quaint, old-fashioned throwback catering to tourists around Central Park, opponents have claimed that the industry is inhumane to horses, subjecting them to cruel treatment and exposure to inhospitable conditions. Fighting for their profession are the carriage drivers, men and women who deny the allegations of mistreatment to their animals, and argue that there are more powerful interests behind the controversy, as shown in Haverstick’s project, one decidedly sympathetic to the latter. The carriage drivers and their allies instead allege that real estate developers with an interest in the property currently housing the horse stables are influencing political will against the profession. While believable, this thesis is unfortunately undercut by the inclusion of defensive and at times suspect arguments, and by largely sidestepping legitimate concerns about the welfare of the animals.

Image ©Jason Gamble Harter

Director:
Sandra Adair

Premiere:
SXSW 2017

Select Festivals:
Dallas

About:
A candid profile of a collage artist and his process.

In her directorial debut, Adair, Richard Linklater’s longtime editor, profiles artist Lance Letscher, whose work consists of collaged images meticulously cut out of a variety of sources, from children’s books to scientific journals, as he takes on a commission in metal, a material in which he has not typically worked. As the artist demonstrates his painstaking and not uninteresting process, admirers offer somewhat too fawning praise. While the film attempts to make a case for his renown, and despite representation by a NYC gallery, there’s an overwhelming feeling that Letscher is very much primarily a local Austin art scene figure. This regional specificity broadens out a bit with more universal themes as he reveals some of the personal, often traumatic history that has informed his work, but this project remains primarily of interest to a specialized audience.

New to DVD this week:
THE SYNDROME

Director:
Meryl Goldsmith

Premiere:
Kansas 2014

Select Festivals:
Fargo, New Hampshire, Twin Cities, Newport Beach, Arizona

About:
An investigation into a disputed child abuse theory that has ruined lives.

I previously wrote about the doc here.