Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to theatres today, Friday, May 26:
BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB: ADIOS

Director:
Lucy Walker

Premiere:
May 2017

About:
The Grammy Award-winning musicians who engendered worldwide interest in Cuban music take a final tour.

I previously profiled the doc when it was originally scheduled to debut at Sundance this past January here. It was unexpectedly withdrawn from the festival before its premiere, reportedly due to post-production delays.

Coming to PBS’s American Masters tomorrow, Friday, May 26:
JACQUES PÉPIN: THE ART OF CRAFT

Director:
Peter L Stein

Premiere:
American Masters (May 2017)

About:
A celebration of the acclaimed French chef and his impact on American food culture.

Stein’s entry into the long-running PBS biography series hews close to its conventions, but despite some minor superfluous re-enactments, still manages to serve up an appealing overview of Jacques Pépin’s life and culinary career. The film traces his path from apprentice work in Lyon, success as a young chef in Paris, and appointment to serve French heads of state, only to risk everything by leaving for New York City. Successfully re-establishing himself in a foreign land, he surprisingly declined multiple invitations to serve as the Kennedy White House chef in favor of taking on the challenge of running a test kitchen for Howard Johnson’s. A near-fatal auto accident a decade later set Pépin off on yet another path, putting him in the spotlight as a food writer and television host, and inspiring generations of professional and amateur chefs with his attention to the mastery of the fundamental techniques of cookery. Stein capably covers the culinary icon’s achievements, even as a minor stroke begrudgingly slows down the affable and now octogenarian Pépin from his active schedule of travel and appearances.

Coming to theatres tonight, Wednesday, May 24:
RESTLESS CREATURE: WENDY WHELAN

Directors:
Linda Saffire and Adam Schlesinger

Premiere:
NYFF 2016

Select Festivals:
Palm Springs, Miami, RiverRun, Athena

About:
After three decades with the New York City Ballet, a prima ballerina faces the reality of impending retirement.

As Saffire and Schlesinger’s film begins, Wendy Whelan is in her mid-40s, pushing her body far past the typical limits for a professional ballet dancer. Not yet ready to leave the NYCB, her home since 1984, the celebrated dancer is determined to push past an injury that requires hip surgery and a long rehabilitation period. Still, facing the prospect of a decline from the perfection demanded of ballet, she eventually bows to the inevitable. This intimate film chronicles Whelan’s resilience and adaptability as she shifts her attention to contemporary dance, embarking on a project in collaboration with acclaimed male choreographers, while also making plans for her grand exit from the ballet.

New to DVD this week:
BIRTH OF A MOVEMENT

Directors:
Susan Gray & Bestor Cram

Premiere:
Independent Lens (February 2017)

About:
An African-American newspaper editor led a civil rights struggle against DW Griffith’s THE BIRTH OF A NATION.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, May 23:
SCOTT’S PIZZA TOURS

Directors:
K Ryan Jones and Shawn Willis

Premiere:
DOC NYC 2016

About:
A man transforms his love for pizza into a career.

I previously wrote about the film for DOC NYC’s program, saying:
Scott Wiener probably knows more about pizza than anyone else in the world. Channeling his infectious enthusiasm into a successful pizza-tasting tour business, the New Yorker has found unlikely fame, winning fans around the world, who contribute to his massive collection of pizza boxes. Jones and Willis’ film delectably demonstrates Wiener’s appeal, following him on several tours, on a trip to Naples – the birthplace of pizza – and as he organizes his annual charity event to feed the hungry.

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, May 22:
THEY CALL US MONSTERS

Director:
Ben Lear

Premiere:
Los Angeles Film Festival 2016

Select Festivals:
AFI Docs, Austin, Human Rights Watch, Hot Springs Doc, Antenna Doc, Heartland,

About:
A consideration of juvenile offenders who are tried as adults.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to Hulu tomorrow, Saturday, May 20:
BECOMING BOND

Director:
Josh Greenbaum

Premiere:
SXSW 2017

Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Cinedelphia

About:
The unlikely story behind George Lazenby’s single turn at portraying Agent 007.

Greenbaum blends extensive semi-fictionalized re-enactments with interviews in this fun look back at the remarkably quick rise and fall of Lazenby’s James Bond. He bluffed his way into the starring role in 1969’s ON HER MAJESTY’S SECRET SERVICE, but even after his ruse was discovered, his charm – and later positive notices – would have kept him Bond for several other pictures. Against expectations, Lazenby bristled at the idea of losing his life to the celebrity spotlight and instead walked away. The debonair Australian model-turned-actor, now in his late 70s, confessionally spins his yarn directly to the camera, with actors recreating key developments in his freewheeling career. Greenbaum embraces the camp and tell-all nature of the project, making the usual clunky technique of re-enactments actually work much better than expected.