Category Archives: Film

Coming to theatres and VOD tomorrow, Friday, December 18: NOMA: MY PERFECT STORM

Pierre Deschamps’ intimate look at René Redzepi’s revolutionary Copenhagen restaurant debuted at San Sebastian this Fall. It went on to screen at DOC NYC, CPH:DOX, and the food-focused Tokyo Gohan fest.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC, saying:
When René Redzepi set out to create Noma, a restaurant in Copenhagen that only used Nordic ingredients, the culinary community thought he was mad. Within a relatively short period of time, Noma bested longtime champion El Bulli to be named the best restaurant in the world. The acclaimed chef’s continual updating of Nordic cuisine allowed Noma to keep that title three years in a row, but after a surprising upset costs him the top spot, Redzepi seeks redemption through reinvention in Pierre Deschamps’ delectable documentary.

Coming to theatres today, Wednesday, December 16: DREAMS REWIRED

Manu Luksch, Martin Reinhart, and Thomas Tode’s exploration of 21st century hyper-connectivity through the history of 20th century technological innovations had its world premiere at Rotterdam at the beginning of the year. Its fest circuit has also included Seattle, Jerusalem, Milan, Message to Man, Hamburg, Jihlava, CPH:DOX, Kansas, and Tehran’s Cinema Verite.

Working from the premise that the roots of our modern technological- and information-focused age may easily be found in the advances made in the early part of the previous century, Luksch, Reinhart, and Tode’s essay film offers a whimsical look at the impact of the telephone, radio, and especially cinema on our imagination, interactions, and aspirations. Assembling a selection of clips from both classic early cinema – Vertov, Marey, Edison, Melies, Keaton, and Eisenstein, among them – and much more obscure industrial and experimental material, the film underscores how this technology and other 20th century innovations offered us a new way to view the world, each other, and, recursively, the technology itself. In a welcome instance of a celebrity narrator lending something more than substantial than simple name recognition to a work of nonfiction, Tilda Swinton here offers intriguing commentary and often funny, cheeky dialogue imaginings that underscore the modernity of the decades-old clips employed, suggesting connections between on-screen utilizations of then-new telephony and radio to today’s online sphere and our immersion within it.

Coming to theatres today, Wednesday, December 16: THE WINDING STREAM

Beth Harrington’s look at the influence of the Carter and Cash families on country music bowed at SXSW last year. Further fest play included Cleveland, Nashville, Atlanta, the Southern Circuit, Woods Hole, Sound + Vision, DokuFest, Hot Springs Doc, New Orleans’ filmOrama, Galway, and St Louis, among others.

Harrington’s history lesson begins in the late 1920s at the dawn of modern country music, when the fledgling music industry sought to record Appalachian musicians as a source for new albums. Responding to the advertisements was AP Carter, who convinced his wife Sara and his sister-in-law Maybelle to travel from their rural mountain home to Bristol VA to perform for the big city music producer. As a result, the Carter Family was born, with AP also inspired to seek out other old Appalachian songs to add to their repertoire. As royalties from their recordings came in, they began to tour and amassed an appreciative audience via medical quack John R Brinkley’s powerful XERA radio station (Brinkley’s own bizarre story is the subject of upcoming Sundance documentary NUTS!). Among the listeners was Johnny Cash, appearing here in a 2003 interview just before his death, who would later go on to marry Maybelle’s daughter June. The charismatic June had joined her mother together with her two sisters in a permutation of the Carter troupe, further extending the family’s domination of the burgeoning music genre. Harrington weaves in the stories of these two families and their offspring – incorporating generous amounts of music, from old archival recordings to new renditions by the likes of Sheryl Crow and George Jones – to create an affectionate and often compelling tribute that’s accessible to both longtime fans and newcomers alike.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, December 15: DIVIDE IN CONCORD

Kris Kaczor’s look at local activism debuted at Hot Docs last year. It went on to screen at Nantucket, DOC NYC, Martha’s Vineyard, Traverse City, Portland, Planet in Focus, Big Sky, Cleveland, Princeton Environmental, Washington DC’s Environmental, UK Green, and Wild & Scenic, among others.

I previously wrote about the doc for Nantucket, saying:
The residents of Concord, Massachusetts take pride in their town’s role in the American Revolution and celebrate direct democracy at annual town meetings where all citizens may propose and vote on bylaws. Jean Hill knows the process well – for two years running, the feisty octogenarian, concerned about the environmental impact of our disposable culture, has unsuccessfully lobbied to ban the local sale of plastic bottled water. She’s giving her bylaw one last try, facing off against her nemesis, celebrity publicist turned pundit Adriana Cohen, who balks at having her freedom encroached upon. Kris Kaczor’s film is an engaging and humorous exploration of participatory democracy and the power of individuals to enact change.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, December 15: TOP SPIN

Sara Newens and Mina T Son’s profile of teenage ping pong players debuted at DOC NYC last year. Other fests included Big Sky, Salem, CAAMFest, Am Doc, TIFF Kids, Nashville, IFF Boston, LA Asian Pacific, Montclair, and SF Docfest, among others.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to HBO tonight, Monday, December 14: VERY SEMI-SERIOUS: A PARTIALLY THOROUGH PORTRAIT OF NEW YORKER CARTOONISTS

Leah Wolchok’s look at the storied magazine’s inimitable cartoons had its world premiere at Tribeca this Spring. Other fests included San Francisco, Seattle, Montclair, AFI Docs, and Traverse City.

I previously wrote about the film here.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Friday, December 11: JOBRIATH AD

Kieran Turner’s portrait of a would-be glam rock star made its debut at the BFI London LGBT fest in 2012. Other screenings included Florida, Don’t Knock the Rock, Provincetown, Frameline, Outfest, and a host of other LGBT fests, including Seattle, Vancouver, Copenhagen, Portland, and Toronto. While previously only available in a deluxe edition with an accompanying LP, the DVD is now being released in a stand-alone version.

In the early 1970s, Jobriath was touted as the “next Bowie,” an heir apparent who pushed the theatricality of glam rock to the next level and who eschewed suggestions of hip bisexuality for unequivocal proclamations of an effeminate gay male sexuality. Partnered with Carly Simon’s former manager, Jerry Brandt, in a pseudo-Elvis and the Colonel arrangement, the young singer-songwriter secured a two-album deal with Elektra Records, the first such contract for an openly gay performer, and was at the center of an extensive media campaign that included a gigantic Times Square billboard, bus-side advertisements, and talk of an extravagant upcoming Paris Opera show. The only problem? Though receiving some good reviews, his album tanked. His contractual follow-up fared no better, and his rock star dreams faded, to be replaced, years later, with a go as a cabaret piano player and frustrated playwright, under the names Cole Berlin and Bryce Campbell before becoming part of the first wave of NYC gay men to die from AIDS-related complications. This intriguing excavation of pop culture history benefits from the presence of Brandt, who unconvincingly explains away every bad decision he made in Jobriath’s career, recounted by the performers friends, fellow performers, and family members, and by some creative animated sequences. Turner is somewhat hampered by a lack of much archival footage of Jobriath himself, and what is on display frankly doesn’t immediately convince the viewer that he actually was an unparalleled musical genius or performer – perhaps a simpler explanation for his failure to live up to his hype machine than what is otherwise offered here.