Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to Showtime for its cable broadcast premiere tonight, Tuesday, July 23: VIRGIN TALES

Mirjam Von Arx’s exploration of a family’s devotion to their children’s chastity made its debut at Visions du Réel last year. It went on to screen at Silverdocs, Denver, Woodstock, and Vancouver, among other fests.

I previously wrote about the doc out of Silverdocs for Indiewire, saying:
Making its North American premiere here, Mirjam Von Arx’s film on the bizarre new phenomenon of Evangelical Christian purity balls showcases the overly close Wilson family of Colorado Springs. The founders of the event in their community, Randy and Lisa Wilson celebrate the chastity of their daughters until marriage and hold elaborate ceremonies for all manner of events in their seven home-schooled children’s lives. Focusing on a supposedly media-savvy family whose patriarch serves as the spokesman for a Religious Right “think tank,” Von Arx manages to capture moments of pure gold – manufactured “heartfelt” confessions of familial love whose lack of spontaneity is called out by a particularly sassy daughter, or the revelation from the twenty-something daughter (who’s desperately still waiting for her husband to appear) that she didn’t go to college because it would be a “waste of money” since she just wants to be a wife and mother. If it wasn’t so infuriatingly real, the film would make for great comedy.

Coming to HBO this Monday, July 22: THE CHESHIRE MURDERS

Kate Davis and David Heilbroner’s investigation of a horrific Connecticut triple murder is making its debut as part of the cable channel’s acclaimed Summer Docs series.

Nearly fifty years after the shocking murder of the Clutter family in Kansas, the inspiration for Truman Capote’s IN COLD BLOOD, residents of Cheshire CT were faced with a similar crime. The victims in this case were the Petit family – mother Jennifer, 11-year-old Michaela, and 17-year-old Hayley – raped and murdered by strangers during a home invasion which ended in arson. The only survivor was father William, who was badly beaten but managed to escape his captors. After the perpetrators were arrested, the shocking brutality of the crime sparked outrage and renewed debate about the viability of the death penalty. Davis and Heilbroner delve deeply into the case, providing a comprehensive, and riveting, account of what happened in the Petit home and, disturbingly, why help failed to come, even though authorities had been alerted to the danger they were facing. Interviews with individuals directly and indirectly connected to the crime attempt to make sense of the perpetrators’ actions – why they targeted the family, what motivated their unthinkable assault, and why they turned to murder. While this in-depth exploration proves fascinating, if decidedly unsettling, the filmmakers use the incident to explore its larger implications on the controversial topic of capital punishment, smartly blending true crime with the complexity of social justice in a case where the undeniably guilty defendants could hope for little sympathy.

Coming to NYC’s Landmark Sunshine Cinema this Friday, July 19: THE ACT OF KILLING

Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn, and their anonymous collaborators chilling look at Indonesia’s genocidal past debuted at Telluride and Toronto this past Fall. The well-traveled doc has picked up numerous awards on the fest circuit, including at Berlin, CPH:DOX, Sheffield, Planete+ Doc, Documenta Madrid, Biografilm, and DocsBarcelona. It opens in Los Angeles and Washington DC next weekend, and expands throughout the country in August.

I included the doc in my Toronto coverage here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, July 16: AN AFFAIR OF THE HEART

Sylvia Caminer’s look at devoted Rick Springfield fans had its world premiere at the Florida Film Festival, where it picked up a special jury prize. It went on to win awards at Nashville, Sidewalk, and Boston, and also screened at IDFA, Hot Docs, Hot Springs, Sound Unseen, and Planete+ Doc, among others, before its theatrical release last Fall.

Wearing its hagiographic intentions on its sleeves, Caminer’s film unabashedly celebrates the 1980s pop star who famously sang the catchy “Jessie’s Girl” and appeared on GENERAL HOSPITAL. He’s an affable figure, consistently maintaining an active performance schedule in the intervening decades, thanks in large part to, Caminer demonstrates, the obsessive loyalty of his legion of fans. Ultimately, this is what makes her film worthwhile – for, despite its attempts to address Springfield’s history (including, to be fair, some of his missteps or moral failings), he could almost be any once huge but somewhat diminished celebrity – perhaps explaining the odd presence of former teen heartthrob Corey Feldman as an interviewee in the proceedings. What’s really at its core is a look at celebrity fandom, both a cause for inspiration and obsession in equal measures. While it steers clear of the pathological kind of fandom found in the excellent Tiffany fan doc I THINK WE’RE ALONE NOW, Caminer’s film profiles Springfield superfans, some who have been following him for decades, from middle-aged housewives taking girls’ weekends to attend his concerts to a teenager who has been regularly jamming with his idol ever since he was first pulled onstage as a toddler, or, hitting more serious notes, a woman who used a Springfield album to recover from life-threatening surgery, and a minister who gained strength to resist suicide through his music. These ordinary people elevate the project from charges of being a puff piece, speaking instead to the relationship between celebrity and fan, and celebrating it in an entertaining, if generally light, manner.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, July 16: BIDDER 70

Beth and George Gage’s look at one man’s act of defiance debuted at last year’s Mountainfilm in Telluride. Its festival run has included Cleveland, Human Rights Watch, Traverse City, Cine Montana, and several environmental events. It enjoyed a limited theatrical release this past May.

I wrote about the doc upon its release here.