Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, July 6:
WHITNEY

Director:
Kevin Macdonald

Premiere:
Cannes 2018

Select Festivals:
Edinburgh, Sydney, Munich, Biografilm

About:
A candid exploration of the rise and fall of Whitney Houston.

Kevin Macdonald’s film on Houston is the second within a year, following the compelling WHITNEY. “CAN I BE ME” by Nick Broomfield and Rudi Dolezal. While the latter drew largely from interviews with friends and associates of the late singer, as well as intimate backstage footage, this latest, heartbreaking biography has the participation of Houston’s family and close confidantes, and through them an archive of early recordings of Houston. In the tragedy of the celebrated but troubled singer’s life, there’s ample room for both films, and, to Macdonald’s credit, he hasn’t created a bowdlerized version of Whitney’s story to placate the family. Elements that one might have feared would be excised in a semi-authorized film remain, such as a consideration of the performer’s same-sex relationship with Robyn Crawford, even if given less import or space as in the previous film, and with the homophobic resentment displayed by one of Houston’s brothers left unexplored. The helmer also is provided with a bombshell of childhood sexual abuse suffered by Whitney (and at least one sibling) by a family member, a charged revelation that unfortunately is not unpacked enough and instead is left to linger menacingly and somewhat irresponsibly in the background. While Macdonald’s treatment of Houston’s rise puts to the fore the influence of family members on the development of her talent and career, correcting the long-propagated myth that Clive Davis “created” her, the director seems far more interested in exploring the singer’s sad decline and tragic death at 48 – as well as the even sadder fate of her neglected, troubled daughter soon after. Perhaps fittingly, Whitney is felt more as an absence than a presence as this aspect of her story develops, with only occasional moments of her singing coming through to remind us of what was lost.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, July 6:
RYUICHI SAKAMOTO: CODA

Director:
Stephen Nomura Schible

Premiere:
Venice 2017

Select Festivals:
IDFA, CPH:DOX, Tokyo, Tribeca, Belgrade, Singapore, Stockholm, Seattle, Dallas, Nashville, IFF Boston, Berkshire

About:
An intimate portrait of the Oscar-winning composer.

Filmed over a five-year period, Schible’s subdued but engaging profile quietly captures the musician, exploring his history, creative process, and social activism, while he reckons with a diagnosis of throat cancer. At 65, forced to confront his own mortality after his health scare, Sakamoto reflects on a long and varied career, gaining acclaim as an electronic music performer before composing score for films as varied as MERRY CHRISTMAS MR LAWRENCE, THE LAST EMPEROR, and THE REVENANT, as well as a disparate series of influences. While avoiding a strict chronological recitation of his biography, the film presents an appropriate sampling, interwoven with revealing scenes of the master at work, demonstrating his creative process, and, tellingly, how his activism is often intertwined with this creativity, from environmental awareness to the war on terror.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, July 6:
CONSTRUCTING ALBERT

Directors:
Laura Collado and Jim Loomis

Premiere:
San Sebastian 2017

Select Festivals:
SXSW, Hot Docs, Seattle, BAFICI, Palm Springs, Guadalajara, DocPoint, Napa Valley, Newport Beach

About:
After the legendary success of elBulli, chef Albert Adria pursues his follow-ups.

Though known for developing wildly creative dishes as the pastry chef of elBulli, the three Michelin starred Catalonian restaurant where his brother, Ferran, was the head chef, Albert Adria has been referred to by some as underrated, lost in the shadow of his sibling. After they shut down their famed establishment in 2011, Albert took a break to start a family, but just a couple of years later, he re-emerged with an ambitious plan to make his own mark. Over several years, Collado and Loomis’ film follows Albert as he sets out to open five new restaurants exploring different concepts – all within a single year – and trace what happens when they don’t all meet his exacting standards. The filmmakers’ verité approach helps immerse the viewer in the fast-paced world of haute cuisine, but does sometimes skimp on details, assuming a level of familiarity with the culinary world – and with Albert’s various eateries – that not all viewers will share. Despite this, they succeed in spotlighting a creative and determined culinary genius.

Coming to NYC’s Anthology Film Archives this Friday, July 6:
A SKIN SO SOFT

Director:
Denis Côté

Premiere:
Locarno 2017

Select Festivals:
Toronto, IDFA, CPH:DOX, New York, London, Karlovy Vary, Reykjavik, Doclisboa, Vienna, Denver, AFI Fest, Melbourne, Tempo Doc, Vilnius, Singapore, BAFICI, Docaviv, Seattle

About:
A portrait of six bodybuilders.

Like other work by Côté, his latest is a hybrid, but distinctly geared toward the nonfiction side, with only a few scenes ostensibly staged for his camera. Otherwise, the Quebec filmmaker takes a subdued observational approach to his protagonists, a range of French Canadian men who are hyper-focused on their bodies. Eschewing interviews or text cards, the film presents each man in his quotidian routine, often involving working out, preparing meals, eating, or posing, Côté’s camera zeroing in on their muscles as some kind of unearthly terrain. A couple of the men are younger, apparently relatively new to the sport, while others seem to be old pros. One doesn’t exactly fit the same profile as the rest – a bulkier, unchiseled strongman and professional wrestler. Bodybuilding competitions are shown only fleetingly, almost besides the point. Instead, this oddly compelling film turns its gaze on hyper-masculinity and how its subjects self-consciously primp and polish, putting themselves on display to be judged.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, July 3:
THE CHINA HUSTLE

Director:
Jed Rothstein

Premiere:
Toronto 2017

Select Festivals:
Hamptons, Palm Springs, CPH:DOX

About:
An exposé of a multibillion-dollar stock market fraud centered around China’s economic boom.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, July 3:
GETTING NAKED: A BURLESQUE STORY

Director:
James Lester

Premiere:
Venice 2017 (Venice Days)

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, Cleveland, Newport Beach, Berkshire, Greenwich, Florida, SF DocFest

About:
An inside look at the lives of several contemporary burlesque performers.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Uncovering NYC’s neo-burlesque subculture, director James Lester’s film offers a lingering look at several sexy denizens of the nightlife scene, including Gal Friday, Hazel Honeysuckle, and the Schlep Sisters Minnie Tonka and Darlinda Just Darlinda, whose acts range from the classic glamorous striptease to more overtly comedic schtick. Followed on- and offstage, these gifted performers reveal the liberation and empowerment they’ve gained from burlesque, even as they contend with the physical and financial demands of their competitive art form.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, July 3:
MAYNARD

Director:
Sam Pollard

Premiere:
DOC NYC 2017

Select Festivals:
American Black, Sarasota, Martha’s Vineyard African American, Atlanta, New Voices in Black Cinema, Pan African, Full Frame, RiverRun

About:
A portrait of a pioneering African-American politician.

The film premiered at DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
Director Sam Pollard constructs a portrait of charismatic trailblazer Maynard Jackson, who became Atlanta’s first black mayor in 1973. The son of pastors raised in the segregated South, Jackson entered college at 14 and took office at 35. During his three-term tenure, he led the city through the traumatic Atlanta child murders and triumphantly hosted the 1996 Olympics, all while championing racial equality. Family and colleagues, including Bill Clinton, Andrew Young, and Al Sharpton, tell the epic story of a dynamic leader and his legacy of honor and progress.

Coming to VOD today, Monday, July 2:
HOCKNEY

Director:
Randall Wright

Premiere:
BFI London 2014

Select Festivals:
BAFICI, Doc Aviv, Minneapolis St Paul, Brighton, Vancouver, Palm Springs, St Louis

About:
A portrait of the influential British artist.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s POV tonight, Monday, July 2:
BRIMSTONE & GLORY

Director:
Viktor Jakovleski

Premiere:
True/False 2017

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Sheffield, Docaviv, AFI Docs, Dokufest, DocuWest, Ambulante, San Francisco, Sarasota, Montclair, Guanajuato, Fantastic Fest, Margaret Mead, Antenna Doc, Philadelphia

About:
An immersion into Tultepec, a Mexican city known for its pyrotechnic festival.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to VOD via Hulu tomorrow, Saturday, June 30:
EUROTRUMP

Directors:
Stephen Robert Morse and Nicholas Hampson

Premiere:
Sheffield 2017

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, CPH:DOX, Watch Docs

About:
A portrait of one of the most divisive figures in Dutch politics.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
With his signature coif, extremist views against Islam, and positioning as a populist candidate, politician Geert Wilders has been called the Dutch Donald Trump. With unprecedented access to the controversial figure, who has lived under armed guard for the past dozen years due to death threats against him, this compelling film charts Wilders’ rise to power as he seems poised to become the Prime Minister of the Netherlands. Directors Stephen Robert Morse and Nicholas Hampson explore the provocative politician and his undeniable, disturbing influence on Dutch politics.