Marc Ribot Movies
- 2009
In 1910, a revolution swept through Mexico, overthrowing the despotic rule of Porfirio Diaz on the promise of a democratic government that would truly represent the will of the people. Plutarco Elias Calles was one of the key leaders of the Mexican Revolution, and he became the nation's president in 1924. While many cite Calles as one of the true fathers of modern Mexico, time has hardly been kind to his reputation; it is now known that he was Mexico de facto leader long after he left office as the power behind a handful of presidents, and that he often used brutal violence to silence his political enemies, including priests and nuns. Filmmaker Natalia Almada is the great-granddaughter of Calles, and through her family she came into possession of a truly singular heirloom -- recordings of Calles' daughter speaking at length about her father's life and work. Almada has used these rare recordings as the basis for El General, a documentary which compares and contrasts one family's portrait of the man they knew and the leader who is seen as a hero and a fiend by the nation he led, as well as examining the parallels between Mexico in 1910 and 2009. El General was an official selection at the 2009 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
James Mangold's Walk the Line tells the life story of country music legend Johnny Cash (Joaquin Phoenix), focusing primarily on the long courtship he had with June Carter (Reese Witherspoon). The film is structured as an extended flashback opening with Cash readying to take the stage at his historic Folsom Prison Concert. The film touches on his childhood, relating a horrific early incident from his life and establishing the troubled relationship he would have with his father (Robert Patrick). Cash joins the military and leaves home. During his time in the armed services he begins writing songs and romances a hometown girl (Ginnifer Goodwin). After the end of his duty he settles down and attempts to begin a music career, but his wife has trouble adjusting to his dreams. Cash auditions for Sam Phillips (Dallas Roberts), signs to Sun Records, and soon finds himself on tour with a roster of young soon-to-be legends that includes Elvis Presley (Tyler Hilton) and Jerry Lee Lewis (Waylon Malloy Payne). On this tour he meets June Carter, the daughter of the famous Carter family, and they take a liking to each other, although she refuses any serious advances from him. Cash gains world-wide fame thanks in part to the inspiration he gets from June, but eventually his marriage crumbles and he develops a serious drug addiction. The film is based on Cash's autobiographies. Phoenix and Witherspoon performed all of their own singing in the movie, just as Sissy Spacek and Beverly D'Angelo did in Coal Miner's Daughter a quarter-century before. ~ Perry Seibert, Rovi
- Starring:
- Joaquin Phoenix, Reese Witherspoon, (more)
- 2004
- NR
Acclaimed experimental filmmaker Jennifer Todd Reeves makes her narrative-feature debut with The Time We Killed. The film stars Lisa Jarnot as Robyn, an agoraphobic writer living in New York City. Robyn retreats into her apartment after 9/11 and keeps a running commentary on her interior life, discussing her decision to withdraw from the world, watching news of the so-called "war on terrorism," reminiscing about her childhood and a multitude of former lovers (of both sexes), and reading aloud from a novel she's been writing, about a promiscuous woman named Toni who travels the world looking for sexual partners while dying of some unnamed terminal illness. Robyn also records messages for the German woman she sees as her one "true love," Valeska (Valeska Peschke). Robyn last heard that Valeska had cancer and has not had any contact with her in a long time. She assumes Valeska has died as she records her messages. Robyn is occasionally visited by a neighbor (Susan Arthur), a repairman, and her "sister," June (played by the filmmaker), whom she met when they were both patients at a psychiatric hospital. Everything is shown in high contrast black-and-white. The footage inside the apartment is shot on digital video, while the flashbacks, reveries, and footage of the world outside were shot in 16mm. Original music for the film was composed by Zeena Parkins, Marc Ribot, and Elliot Sharp. The Time We Killed was shown at the 2004 Berlin Film Festival, where it won a Fipresci Prize and had its American premiere at the 2004 Tribeca Film Festival, where it won Best NY, NY Narrative Feature. ~ Josh Ralske, Rovi
- Starring:
- Lisa Jarnot, Valeska Peschke, (more)
A much lauded but extremely versatile guitarist who straddles such variegated genres as Cuban jazz, experimental rock and post-punk, New York mainstay Marc Ribot made one of his strongest impressions as a key member of the avant-garde band The Lounge Lizards; he also performed and recorded as a solo artist, and contributed avidly to the avant garde-fusion rock ensemble Shrek. This release features a compilation of material involving Ribot, including concert clips of the performer shot in East Manhattan and on global tours, interviews, and vintage archival footage. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- Starring:
- Marc Ribot, Anthony Coleman, (more)
Part of The Blues documentary series on PBS, The Soul of a Man is written and directed by Wim Wenders and narrated by Laurence Fishburne. This installment explores the work of the filmmaker's personal musical heroes: Skip James, Blind Willie Johnson, and J.B. Lenoir. Through reenactments and archive footage, Wenders tells the personal stories of these highly influential and often underappreciated artists. Their musical legacy is interpreted through live performances by contemporary musicians like Bonnie Raitt, Cassandra Wilson, Lou Reed, Nick Cave, Lucinda Williams, Beck, and the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion. He also incorporates rare clips from two 16 mm films shot during the '60s by Steve and Rönnog Seaberg. The Soul of a Man was originally broadcast by PBS on September 29, 2003. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi
- Starring:
- Laurence Fishburne, Keith B. Brown, (more)
The Radical Jewish Culture movement flowered in the East Village of lower Manhattan during the early '90s, and embodied a successful attempt to link Jewish work in the creative arts (such as music, painting and sculpture) with extreme leftwing social activism. With her 1997 documentary Sabbath in Paradise, German filmmaker Claudia Heuermann pulls from several resources, including interviews with the movers and shakers in this movement and electrifying concert clips, to weave together a portrait of this exciting ethno-cultural phenomenon. Participants include: Jon Madof, Jamie Saft, Steve Bernstein, Shanir Blumenkranz and many others. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
- 1988
- PG
You've seen gravelly-voice actor/singer Tom Waits in meaty dramatic roles in such films as The Fisher King (1989), At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991) and Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992). And you've heard his compositions on the soundtracks of films like Divine Madness (1980), Wolfen (1981) and Let's Get Lost (1988). The 1988 documentary Big Time combines the vocal and visual Tom Waits, endeavoring to juxtapose glimpses of Waits in concert with staged dramatic scenes, allegedly inspired by his songs. Waits himself assumes several wacky characterizations during the fictional sequences. The "real" scenes in Big Time were filmed during a Waits concert at Los Angeles' Wiltern Theatre. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
- Starring:
- Tom Waits, Michael Blair, (more)
- 1987
The title Landlord Blues is a lot catchier than the film itself. Mark Boone Jr. plays a slum tenant whose landlord might well be described a scumbucket, except this wouldn't be fair to the other scumbuckets. The more Boone complains, the nastier his landlord becomes. When the last straw is broken, Boone exacts revenge in bloody slasher-flick fashion. Nary a cliché remains unturned in Landlord Blues. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi
