Category Archives: Releases

Coming to DVD and VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 11: BRIDGEND

John Michael Williams’ exploration of a rash of teen suicides seems to have bypassed film festival screenings and to go directly to to DVD, as well as to VOD exclusively via Netflix.

Beginning in 2007, the titular South Wales town has seen scores of deaths by suicide – mostly by hanging, absent suicide notes, and by young people. From the first reported discovery of the body of eighteen-year-old Dale – who had been missing for several months – in an amusement park, to the subsequent suicide of one of his best friends, David, six weeks later, theories have abounded of a serial killer, suicide pacts, Internet cults, or other nefarious explanations. As more teenagers fell victim, the media circus grew, particularly when young women started to kill themselves. Williams’ film examines this unusual incidence rate from an inside perspective, through interviews with family members and friends of the deceased, witnesses who found bodies, and coroners and other authorities. While some offer explanations – the dead-end nature of Bridgend itself, a former market town with no major industry or opportunities left save its nightlife, or the idea of contagion, with the first suicide serving as a trigger to others predisposed to taking their own lives – the film’s strength lies in the haunting presence of the departed – one young man interviewed here was later to take his own life – and in the emotional resonance their loss has had on those left behind.

Coming to DVD tomorrow, Tuesday, November 11: PORTRAIT OF JASON

Shirley Clarke’s seminal look at black gay male identity debuted at the New York Film Festival in 1967. Milestone Films and the Academy Film Archive debuted the restored film at Berlin last year, followed by a theatrical re-release and festival screenings at London, Poland’s American Film Festival, CPH:DOX, and the upcoming IDFA. This release also marks the first time the film has ever been available on Blu-ray.

I wrote about the film upon its theatrical re-release here.

Coming to theatres today, Friday, November 7: VIRUNGA

Orlando von Einsiedel’s chronicle of Congo’s imperiled national park bowed at Tribeca. Its extensive fest circuit has included Hot Docs, DOXA, Mountainfilm at Telluride, AFI Docs, Edinburgh, Traverse City, Melbourne, Camden, Reykjavik, Antenna, and Abu Dhabi.

Congo’s Virunga National Park is a breathtakingly beautiful UNESCO World Heritage site that serves as a sanctuary for the world’s dwindling population of mountain gorillas, not to mention a rich diversity of other fauna and flora. Charged with overseeing this national treasure are Belgian park warden Emmanuel de Merode and his deputy, Rodrigue Mugaruka Katembo, dedicated to protecting the wildlife from poachers, and increasingly concerned by the presence of armed guerrilla fighters M23, who threaten to reignite civil war. Joining them at the center of von Einsiedel’s film are Andre Bauma, a caretaker of the park’s endangered gorillas, and Melanie Gouby, an intrepid French journalist whose undercover work here lends the doc some of its most enraging moments. As is soon revealed, the park, and this quartet, are threatened by a far more dangerous foe – the oil industry. British company SOCO International is deadset on exploiting Virunga for its oil deposits, and is willing to partner with M23 to clear out the park of anyone that stands in their way. Expertly melding elements of social issue doc, investigative journalism, and thriller, von Einsiedel crafts a compelling, vital exposé of corporate greed and environmental disregard.

Coming to theatres this Friday, November 7: ACTRESS

Robert Greene’s study of a woman seeking a different life had its world premiere at True/False earlier this year. It went on to screen at Hot Docs, Nantucket (claiming the Best Storytelling in a Documentary award), AFI Docs, Art of the Real, Sarasota, DMZ Docs, Camden, and the upcoming CPH:DOX, RIDM, and IDFA.

I previously wrote about the film for Nantucket’s program, saying:
Approaching documentary as melodrama, director Robert Greene presents this mesmerizing portrait of a woman who finds herself having to choose between family and career. Actress Brandy Burre was on the verge of breakout success with a recurring part on HBO’s THE WIRE when she discovered she was pregnant. Putting acting to the side, she fled the city for the suburbs to begin a family. A few years later, dissatisfied despite her best efforts to embrace her new role, the compelling Burre seeks a comeback, ultimately upsetting the fragile balance of her present domestic life in unpredictable ways.

Coming to theatres today, Wednesday, November 5: NATIONAL GALLERY

Frederick Wiseman’s exploration of the London museum bowed at Cannes. It has gone on to screen at Toronto, NYFF, Deauville, Biografilm, London, Chicago, Rio, Zurich, Vancouver, Sydney, and Busan, among several others.

In line with the documentary master’s studies of institutions, Wiseman’s latest film offers an expanded look at the titular museum, both from the perspective of a visitor and of an insider. At the same time, the film is not only concerned with exposing works of art and those who display them, but also in interrogating the very act of viewing them. As Wiseman’s camera travels through the exhibits, it mimics the behavior of a patron, surveying the artwork both at a distance and in detail, then listening in as guides provide historical context, or, for younger attendees, guidance on how to find stories among the pieces. Later, Wiseman goes behind the scenes, as the work of restoration is intriguingly revealed, including the discovery of unexpected treasures from the application of modern technology to centuries’ old canvases; audits staff meetings in which a debate ensues about accessibility vs elitism; and follows curators as they meticulously arrange pieces to maximize the impact of their presentation and avoid unseemly shadows. The director also offers a survey of other activities taking place at the gallery, from art appreciation for the blind, nude model drawing, and even poetry or dance performances. While some of the latter feel like they cross the line into excess, as a whole these scenes demonstrate on a key theme – public access to art – of which the well-constructed film itself serves as a self-reflexive example.