Category Archives: Film

May 11, 2018 · 12:01 PM

In Theatres & On VOD: THE LAST HORSEMEN OF NEW YORK

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.

1 Comment

Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases

May 10, 2018 · 1:31 PM

On DVD: THE SECRET LIFE OF LANCE LETSCHER

Image ©Jason Gamble Harter

New to DVD this week:
THE SECRET LIFE OF LANCE LETSCHER

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.

Leave a comment

Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases

May 10, 2018 · 12:01 PM

In Theatres & On TV: WHAT HAUNTS US

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, May 11 and to Starz on Monday, May 14:
WHAT HAUNTS US

Director:
Paige Goldberg Tolmach

Premiere:
Boston 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Washington West, Boulder, Austin, Sedona

About:
A personal investigation into the reasons behind a string of suicides from the same school.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Why are the men of Charleston SC’s Porter Gaud School killing themselves? Alarmed by the latest in a long-running series of suicides from her high school in 1979, filmmaker Paige Goldberg Tolmach returns to her hometown for answers. Stonewalled by administrators, she mines her own memories, and those of her former classmates, to uncover long-held secrets, revealing a disturbing cover-up centered around a popular teacher and sports coach.

Leave a comment

Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases

May 9, 2018 · 3:02 PM

On VOD: TOTO AND HIS SISTERS

New to VOD this week:
TOTO AND HIS SISTERS

Director:
Alexander Nanau

Premiere:
San Sebastian 2014

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Tribeca, Transilvania, Sarajevo, Camden, Flahertiana, Yamagata Doc, DOK.fest Munich, Dok Leipzig, Zurich, Warsaw, Stockholm, Vilnius

About:
In Bucharest, a pre-teen and his sisters cope with their mother’s imprisonment for drugs.

Taking a strictly observational approach, Nanau provides viewers with a remarkably intimate look at the lives of Roma siblings Toto (10), Andreea (14), and Ana (17). Though theoretically in the care of their uncles, the latter’s drug use has meant that the trio basically have been forced to raise themselves while their mother is serving out a seven-year drug sentence. Over the months covered in the film, young Toto seeks some sense of joy in an otherwise harrowing environment through his love of hip-hop dance, while middle sister Andreea takes up the slack in keeping him safe after eldest Ana seems fated to continue the dead end cycle of drugs. While never sugar-coating the bleak circumstances of this marginalized family, this exceptionally crafted film nevertheless is well able to demonstrate the younger children’s amazing resilience despite the uncertainty of their futures.