what (not) to doc

Coming to National Geographic this Sunday, July 7:
APOLLO: MISSIONS TO THE MOON

Director:
Tom Jennings

World Premiere:
Grimaldi Forum 2019

About:
An archival-driven exploration of NASA’s Apollo program.

One of several nonfiction projects commemorating the 50th anniversary of Apollo 11’s success in the Space Race, Tom Jenning’s doc takes an expansive view, focusing not just on that 1969 mission, but instead covering the range of the Apollo space program from 1961 until 1972. Eschewing talking heads for a more dramatic, lived-in viewer experience, the film is well constructed using archival video, audio, and photographic footage, from contemporary media reports, official NASA documentation, and home movies. Though it’s arguable that there’s really a need for quite so many space-focused docs at the same time – while this one does offer a good overview, so too does PBS’s upcoming CHASING THE MOON, albeit via more conventional storytelling – these projects all serve as a welcome reminder of a time when this nation’s government embraced the world of science rather than disparaged it, and found the political will to work together to tackle a seemingly insurmountable challenge.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, July 2:
OLD DOG

Director:
Sally Rowe

World Premiere:
Sarasota 2018

About:
A famed New Zealand dog trainer prepares for retirement.

When he first began to work with sheepdogs, farmer Paul Sorenson observed that it was a common practice to use harsh discipline on disobedient dogs. As he explain in filmmaker Sally Rowe’s approximately hourlong portrait, he devoted the rest of his adult life to developing a more intuitive system to working with dogs by studying canine psychology and behavior. This modest film observes his interaction with his animals, but also allows him to reflect on his life, family history and relationships, and legacy as retirement approaches. In particular, Rowe focuses on Sorenson’s mission to share his non-punitive dog training techniques with other farmers, having already been established within his field as a respected expert. Sorenson and his wife are likeable figures, and the overall message of being in tune with nature as opposed to trying to dominate it is welcome, but the film as a whole feels a bit slight to merit feature length.

Coming to DVD today, Tuesday, July 2:
COMBAT OBSCURA

Director:
Miles Lagoze

Premiere:
True/False 2018

Select Festivals:
AFI Docs, Jihlava, Dallas, FID Marseille, Virginia, DocuWest, Brisbane

About:
A candid, insider look at the lives of US Marines.

I previously wrote about the doc here.

Coming to VOD tomorrow, Tuesday, July 2:
ZULU SUMMER

Directors:
Joseph Litzinger and Eric Michael Schrader

World Premiere:
Santa Barbara 2019

About:
A Zulu trio from a small South African town travel to Butte MT.

In Butte MT, a pair named Dark and Clark run a small community radio station that has a pretty small audience. Online, however, they can be reached across the world, including 10,000 miles away, in Nongoma, South Africa. There, the operators of a small radio station tune in to learn how to better use radio and, through it, to improve their own struggling community. Prince Siboniso “Sbo” Zulu reaches out to Dark and proposes a crosscultural ecxhange, eventually working out a plan for the Prince and two of his colleagues to spend the summer in Butte. Though some townsfolk are skeptical, the Zulu delegation follows through, visiting Butte and meeting all the nice, curious people. Litzinger and Schrader’s film is well-meaning, with the aim of showing a conflict-free example of crosscultural understanding, but this does not make for a compelling feature. With countless scenes of the Prince and his companions meeting random Butte residents, explaining the purpose of their visit, hugging one another, and having an innocuously pleasant time sightseeing and sharing stories, the project ends up feeling like a quirky short stretched far too thin.

Coming to OVID today, Friday, June 28:
ALIVE!

Director:
Vincent Boujon

World Premiere:
Lussas 2014

Select Festivals:
Inside Out, BFI Flare, MIX Brasil, LGBT fests in Rio, Hong Kong, Glasgow, Taiwan, Lisboa, Copenhagen, Amsterdam

About:
A group of HIV-positive gay men train to skydive.

In filmmaker Vincent Boujon’s simple but well-shot film, he trains his camera on five gay men with HIV who discusses their status, relationships, and history while participating in skydiving training. Repetitive scenes of class safety training are balanced out with some more cinematic shots of the jumping itself, but it’s the interpersonal interactions that are meant to be the true focus of the film rather than the confronting-one’s-fears backdrop. While the men’s conversations are intimate and candid, and offer viewers insight into their experiences living with HIV, the film as a whole never feels natural. This group of strangers wouldn’t be in this setting absent being subjects in this doc, and this unfortunately lends a forced, manufactured sense to the proceedings.