Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to virtual cinemas tomorrow, Wednesday, September 23:
OLIVER SACKS: HIS OWN LIFE

Director:
Ric Burns

World Premiere:
Telluride 2019

Select Festivals:
New York, Hamptons, AFI Fest, Palm Springs, Glasgow, Full Frame, Big Sky Doc, Virginia, ReelAbilities, Atlanta Jewish

About:
Facing a terminal diagnosis, the famed British neurologist and popular science author reflects on his life and work.

Filmed in the months following his February 2015 terminal cancer diagnosis, Ric Burns’ portrait of Oliver Sacks functions at once as a biography, tribute, and elegy. Best known for his 1973 book AWAKENINGS, particularly after its 1990 movie adaptation, the eccentric Sacks attracted a following for his accessible case studies of people with neurological conditions. As he looks back on his life and career in his final months, Sacks opens up about his conflicted feelings around his homosexuality, escape through sometimes uncontrolled drug use, and rebellious embrace of both motorcycle culture and bodybuilding in the earliest years of his medical practice. A long-time outsider, it’s also notable that for decades, his professional peers were dismissive of his writing and observations about other misfits – though they eventually changed their tune. While showing vulnerability and a sense of acceptance of his fate, Sacks nevertheless displays a vibrancy as he speaks with friends and loved ones, transforming his retrospection into a celebration of a life.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, September 22:
THE GRAND UNIFIED THEORY OF HOWARD BLOOM

Director:
Charlie Hoxie

World Premiere:
DOC NYC 2019

Select Festivals:
Santa Barbara, Design Science

About:
A portrait of a music publicist turned eccentric scientific philosopher.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, September 21:
IN MY BLOOD IT RUNS

Director:
Maya Newell

World Premiere:
Hot Docs 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Sydney, AFI Docs, Durban, New Zealand, Melbourne, Brisbane, DocsMX, Warsaw

About:
A portrait of a young Aboriginal Australian boy.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to OVID.tv today, Friday, September 18:
LET THE FIRE BURN

Director:
Jason Osder

Premiere:
Tribeca 2013

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Vancouver, London, San Francisco, Philadelphia, AFI Docs

About:
A reckoning with the 1985 stand-off between the black liberation group MOVE and the Philadelphia Police Department.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to OVID.tv tomorrow, Friday, September 18:
THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF NICOLAE CEAUSESCU

Director:
Andrei Ujica

Premiere:
Cannes 2010

Select Festivals:
Toronto, San Sebastian, Transilvania, New York Film Festival

About:
A masterful film essay on Romania’s despotic leader.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

New to DVD this week:
EARTH

Director:
Nikolaus Geyrhalter

World Premiere:
Berlin 2019

Select Festivals:
IDFA, Sheffield, Docaviv, Docs Against Gravity, Dokufest, BAFICI, Guanajuato, Camden, Hamptons, Diagonale, Moscow, San Francisco Green

About:
An exploration of terrestrial locations impacted by humanity in the Anthropocene.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to Netflix today, Tuesday, September 15:
HOPE FROZEN

Director:
Pailin Wedel

World Premiere:
Hot Docs 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Transilvania, Bergen, San Diego Asian, Cucalorus, Zurich, Oxford, Hawaii, Hot Springs, Guangzhou, Cleveland

About:
A family seeks a potential second chance at life for their toddler.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
After their two-year-old daughter succumbs to cancer, a Thai couple decides to make her the youngest person to undergo the cryopreservation process, with the hope that she will have another chance at life in the future. When their story becomes national news, the family faces criticism from religious and spiritual groups. Consumed with grief, the family addresses the implications of their choice, sending their teenage son on a journey around the world to discover the scientific possibilities of cryogenic revival.

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, September 15:
HOUSE OF CARDIN

Directors:
P David Ebersole and Todd Hughes

World Premiere:
Venice 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Chicago, Frameline, Provincetown, Palm Springs, Cleveland, RiverRun, Outfest

About:
A portrait of legendary fashion designer Pierre Cardin.

I previously wrote about the doc here.