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 It was unexpectedly withdrawn from the festival before its premiere, reportedly due to post-production delays.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
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.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to theatres and to VOD via Netflix tomorrow, Friday, May 26:
JOSHUA: TEENAGER VS SUPERPOWER
Director:
Joe Piscatella
Premiere:
Sundance 2017
Select Festivals:
Los Angeles Asian Pacific Film Festival, Human Rights Watch London, Hot Docs,
About:
The story of an unlikely champion for Hong Kong’s sovereignty from China.
My pre-Sundance profile of the doc may be found here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to theatres across the US for tonight only, Thursday, May 25, and through June 2 in NYC/LA:
LONG STRANGE TRIP
Director:
Amir Bar-Lev
Premiere:
Sundance 2017
Select Festivals:
True/False, SXSW, San Francisco, Hot Docs, Full Frame,
About:
An epic history of the legendary Grateful Dead.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
New to DVD this week:
ON THE WAY TO SCHOOL
Director:
Pascal Plisson
Premiere:
Champs-Elysées 2013
Select Festivals:
Locarno, COLCOA LA, Athens, Mill Valley, Portland,
About:
Kids from Kenya, Morocco, Argentina, and India walk hours just to go to school.
Plisson’s earnest project aims to educate viewers of the challenges faced by children around the world in seeking basic education. To that end, he follows four tykes on treacherous trips to school which in some cases take four hours, traverse punishing terrain, and run afoul of dangerous wild animals. It’s well-meaning family programming, but this overly slick production is clearly scripted and stretches its concept ridiculously thin, eschewing providing any substantive information – or proper sense of personality – about its subjects in favor of milking as much audience sympathy as possible from the premise.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
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.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
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.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Recommendations, Releases
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, May 23:
UNLOCKING THE CAGE
Directors:
Chris Hegedus and DA Pennebaker
Premiere:
Sundance 2016
Select Festivals:
Hot Docs, Full Frame, Sarasota, Minneapolis/St Paul, Montclair, Visions du Réel, DocAviv, New Zealand, Melbourne, deadCENTER
About:
Animal rights activists champion legal rights for chimpanzees.
I profiled the doc before Sundance here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Film Festivals, Recommendations, Releases, Sundance
Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, May 23:
ALL GOVERNMENTS LIE: TRUTH, DECEPTION, AND THE SPIRIT OF I F STONE
Director:
Fred Peabody
Premiere:
Toronto 2016
Select Festivals:
IDFA, Thessaloniki Doc, CPH:DOX
About:
A consideration of the work of independent journalists, through the lens of the pioneering I F Stone.
I previously wrote about the doc here.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
Coming to the World Channel’s America ReFramed tomorrow, Tuesday, May 23:
BREATHIN’: THE EDDY ZHENG STORY
Director:
Ben Wang
Premiere:
CAAMFest 2016
Select Festivals:
Asian/Asian Pacific fests in LA, DC, Sacramento, NYC, Austin, San Diego, Boston, and Philadelphia
About:
The story of a Chinese immigrant who entered the US criminal justice system as a juvenile and emerged a leader of prison reform.
Less than four years after arriving in America from China, 16-year-old Eddy Zheng took part in a crime that resulted in charges of armed robbery and kidnapping. Tried as an adult, he became the youngest prisoner at San Quentin, and served over 20 years behind bars. While incarcerated, he embraced the opportunity for rehabilitation and betterment, learning English, completing a college degree, and turning his experience into a cautionary tale about youth violence to share with others. Wang chronicles Zheng’s turn to and away from criminality, his work in prison reform, and his attempts to reconcile with both his family and the victims of his crime. While Zheng is an interesting subject emblematic of rehabilitation and redemption, the film’s structure unfortunately offers little dramatic development, and its running time is too brief to allow the impact of his story to fully resonate.
Filed under Documentary, Film, Releases
what (not) to doc 