Category Archives: Recommendations

Coming to PBS’s American Experience tonight, Monday, April 19:
AMERICAN OZ

Director:
Randall MacLowry, Tracy Heather Strain

World Premiere:
American Experience (April 2021)

About:
A portrait of L Frank Baum, best known for his popular series of children’s books that began with THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ.

THE WONDERFUL WIZARD OF OZ was first published in 1900, becoming an instant success, and spawned more than a dozen sequels, a traveling multimedia show, a popular stage musical, several less successful silent films all in the lifetime of its creator, L Frank Baum. Of course, the most enduring version of the Oz story came in 1939, two decades after his death, with THE WIZARD OF OZ, and since then, the story has inspired further adaptations and reworkings, from THE WIZ to WICKED. Randall MacLowry and Tracy Heather Strain take a comprehensive look at Baum’s life and experiences and how they influenced the creation of his legendary children’s story. As with all entries in the venerable PBS series, their profile is informational and educational rather than particularly cinematic, presented through extensive narration and talking heads, but is successful nevertheless. The doc traces Baum’s story from a privileged upbringing through a series of entrepreneurial ventures to make his own fortune and support his family, from poultry breeder and actor to traveling salesman, general store manager, and newspaper publisher, before he was encouraged by his mother-in-law, a suffragist and author, to publish his own stories. In some ways, Baum reflected the small-minded sentiments of his times, particularly in his racist – and even disturbingly genocidal – views of indigenous people, but in other ways, surprisingly progressive, such as his support of women’s equality. MacLowry and Strain contextualize these contrasting elements, and demonstrate how they played out in his writing, from stereotypical, racialized characters on the one hand to the more positive focus on a young, empowered heroine. Further, the profile explores how OZ resonated as a distinctly American fairy tale of perseverance and achieving the American Dream, both upon its initial publication at the turn of the century and then again, notably, at the end of the Great Depression with the Judy Garland-starring MGM musical.

Coming to VOD today, Friday, April 16:
CLASSIC

Director:
Tim Kaminski

World Premiere:
Denver 2019

Select Festivals:
Anchorage, Virtual Crossroads, Chagrin Doc

About:
A portrait of a small town through its unique annual tradition: waiting for the ice to melt.

Nenana AK may be a small town with only approximately 400 residents, but its annual Ice Classic lottery has long attracted attention from across the US. Tim Kaminski’s affectionate portrait chronicles the 100th anniversary of the event, held in 2016, which includes a cash prize of over $300,000 to those entrants who correctly predict the exact date and time that the ice on the Tanana River will finally give way. Of course, the film isn’t really focused on watching ice melt, but instead uses this quirky, singular event as a way to capture small town life and profile some members of the community, including former winners and organizers of the Ice Classic, one of the only sources of work in the town. While one suspects that a short version of the film might be just as or perhaps more successful than a feature treatment, the doc remains a warm, pleasant look at a community.

New to DVD this week:
MY MEXICAN BRETZEL

Director:
Nuria Giménez

World Premiere:
Gijón 2019

Select Festivals:
Rotterdam, New York, Barcelona, Monterrey, Guanajuato, RIDM

About:
Home movies reveal a couple’s life in the 1950.

Ostensibly, Nuria Giménez’s film tells the story of Vivian Barrett and her husband Leon – plus her lover, Leo – through glorious technicolor home movies Leon shot mid-century, largely silent save for the stray sound effect, and accompanied by on-screen text from Vivian’s private diary. It’s only at the end of the film that the viewer sees the curious credits noting that Vivian and Leon were played by Isle G Ringier and Frank A Lorang, and that Lorang actually shot the footage. It turns out that the “documentary” that preceded was constructed, and neither Vivian nor Leon – not to mention Leo, and Vivian’s oft-quoted favorite author/guru, Paravadin Kanvar Kharjappali – existed. The footage was from and featured the director’s grandparents, instead (though this relationship is not explained within the film itself), and the entire film is an exercise in imaginary biography. Giménez’s use of silence and on-screen text force the viewers attention, encouraging easy belief in the lie of the narrative. While the deceit is so subtle and innocuous as to beg the question of ultimate intent, the film is thoughtful and unique enough to justify the viewer’s time.

Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, April 16:
GUNDA

Director:
Victor Kossakovsky

World Premiere:
Berlin 2020

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, New York, IDFA, Zurich, Hamburg, Camden, Hamptons, Bergen, Montclair, Virginia, Denver, Philadelphia, Hawai’i, Stockholm

Notable Recognition:
The doc was shortlisted for the Academy Awards.

About:
An immersion into the experiences of several animals on a farm, focused on a sow and her new litter of piglets.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

New to DVD this week:
THIS IS NOT A MOVIE

Director:
Yung Chang

World Premiere:
Toronto 2019

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, IDFA, Palm Springs, Docs Against Gravity

About:
A portrait of legendary foreign correspondent Robert Fisk.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, April 13:
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.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to PBS’s Independent Lens tonight, Monday, April 12:
DOWN A DARK STAIRWELL

Director:
Ursula Liang

World Premiere:
True/False 2020

Select Festivals:
DOC NYC, New Orleans, Human Rights Watch, BlackStar, Los Angeles Asian Pacific, San Diego Asian, Montclair, Hot Springs Doc, Milwaukee, Ashland,

About:
A death in a Brooklyn housing project sets off a complex fight for justice by two marginalized communities.

The film screened as part of DOC NYC, for which our program notes read:
In 2014, Peter Liang, a Chinese-American police officer, shot and killed an innocent, unarmed Black man named Akai Gurley in the dark stairwell of a Brooklyn housing project. In the midst of high racial tension surrounding police conduct, Liang becomes the first NYPD officer to receive a guilty verdict in such a case in over a decade. The highly publicized incident polarizes New York’s Asian and African American communities in this insightful look into the complexities of police reform.

Coming to Discovery+ tomorrow, Saturday, April 10:
FUTURE PEOPLE: THE FAMILY OF DONOR 5114 

Director:
Michael Rothman

World Premiere:
Discovery+ (April 2021)

About:
The offspring of the same sperm donor form an alternative family when they discover each other’s existence.

The subjects of director Michael Rothman’s affectionate film were all conceived via sperm donated by the same individual, the anonymous and prolific donor 5114, at a cryobank in California. Using easily accessible DNA information and the connectivity of social media, these half-siblings found one another – and keep finding more – and start to develop an unusual bond. Over the course of eight years, Rothman profiles the photogenic kids and their moms, and follows them as they organize meet-ups, discover similarities and differences, and consider their unusual connection through donor 5114. As time passes, the first of the half-siblings turns 18, and thus is legally able to attempt contact with the donor through the sperm bank, leading to further contemplation about nature vs nurture. As a whole, the film is strengthened by its longitudinal approach, moving from a simply curious story to something more measured and thoughtful.