2009 Special Interest Movies
Kurt Vonnegut once wrote, "We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful what we pretend to be," and while he penned those words in 1961, they seem especially apt in a time when people can easily create an alternate identity for themselves in cyberspace. Director Barbara Schroeder presents a true-life story in which creating an on-line alter ego has deadly consequences in the documentary talhotblond. Thomas Montgomery, a man from upstate New York with a failing marriage and a dead-end job, found himself spending a lot of time in internet chat rooms, where he told people he was "marinesniper," a rugged eighteen-year-old serving in Iraq. "Marinesniper" began chatting with "talhotblond," an eighteen-year-old girl from West Virginia, and their relationship progressed into cybersex sessions and a proposal of marriage. Eventually, "talhotblond" discovered that "marinesniper" wasn't who he claimed to be, and to get even she began an online relationship with "beefcake," one of Montgomery's co-workers who was on his on-line friends list. In time, the interaction between these characters led to real-life jealousy that ended with gunfire and a murder trial in which the surprising secrets about each party was revealed. talhotblond received its world premiere at the 2009 Seattle International Film Festival, where it won the Grand Jury Prize in the Documentary competition. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Barbara Schroeder, Steve Clement, (more)
From juggling to grape catching, contenders hoping for a spot in the legendary Guinness Book of World Records work tirelessly to hone their talent. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
Join filmmaker Douglas Tirola as he explores the poker renaissance by taking us from America's living rooms to Las Vegas' lavish casinos, where novice gamers mix with seasoned card sharks. Back in the early '80s, card tables were commonplace in suburban living rooms. By the end of the decade, poker had fallen out of favor, and no one was playing. Today poker isn't merely a game, but a lifestyle. In this documentary, interviews with casual players, committed gamers, and celebrity card slingers like Matt Damon and Jennifer Tilly reveal why the game of poker is back in fashion, and bigger than ever. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Take a trip back to a time when New York City wasn't all glitz and glamour as filmmaker Celine Danhier offers a look at the birth of "No Wave Cinema" and the vibrant art scene that exploded out of the East Village in the late '70s. In the years before Ronald Reagan took office, Manhattan was in ruins. But true art has never come from comfort, and it was precisely those dire circumstances that inspired artists like Jim Jarmusch, Lizzy Borden, and Amos Poe to produce some of their best works. Taking their cues from punk rock and new wave music, these young maverick filmmakers confronted viewers with a stark reality that stood in powerful contrast to the escapist product being churned out by Hollywood. Interviews with the aforementioned artists as well as Debbie Harry, Steve Buscemi, John Waters, John Lurie, Lydia Lunch, and Thurston Moore reveal how a group of young visionaries pooled their resources to birth a film movement that produced some of the most challenging art of the 20th century. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
The Gay Liberation Movement was still in its embryonic stages, the Stonewall riots were a year away, and homosexuality was rarely treated as anything more than a joke in popular culture (if it was acknowledged at all) when Mart Crowley's play The Boys in the Band opened off-Broadway in the spring of 1968. The Boys in the Band concerned a handful of gay men who gathered for a birthday party on Manhattan's Upper East Side, where the celebration turns sour after alcohol loosens the tongues of some of the guests and they share opinions they had previously kept hidden. While some critics felt some of the characters reflected negative stereotypical views of homosexuals, many others praised it for dealing openly and honestly with the gay community in a way that was unprecedented in mainstream entertainment. The play enjoyed a run of over a thousand performances, and in 1970 William Friedkin adapted the play for the cinema, using the complete original cast in his film version. Filmmaker Crayton Robey offers an insiders' look at how Mart Crowley's drama became a groundbreaking event in both theater and cinema in the documentary Making the Boys, which includes interviews with Crowley; actor Laurence Luckinbill (who played Hank in the original production); playwrights Edward Albee, Michael Cunningham, Paul Rudnick, and Tony Kushner; and Robert Wagner, who worked with Crowley on the television series Hart to Hart. Making the Boys received its world premiere as a work in progress at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Native American and Aboriginal peoples have long played a part in Hollywood filmmaking, but the picture presented of them was not always flattering or accurate. Most westerns of Hollywood's Golden Age presented "Indians" as either ruthless savages with no sense of honor or fools who were lost without the help of the white man. (Adding insult to injury, they were usually played by white actors in make up.) However, as issues of Native American rights came to the forefront in the 1960s, more filmmakers stepped forward to offer a more positive and thoughtful portrayal of Aboriginal characters on screen, and Native American performers were given a greater opportunity to present the story of their people in television and the movies. Director Neil Diamond (a member of Canada's Cree community) offers a look at the past, present and future of Native People on the big screen in the documentary Reel Injun, which includes interviews with actors Adam Beach, Graham Greene and Sacheen Littlefeather, filmmakers Chris Eyre and Zacharias Kunuk, and artists and activists John Trudell and Russell Means; Clint Eastwood and Jim Jarmusch also speak about Hollywood's history and their own experiences in presenting Native Americans in their films. Produced in cooperation with the National Film Board of Canada, Real Injun was an official selection at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Ten of the world's great filmmakers discuss their art, their influences and their creative motivations in this documentary. In Great Directors, Angela Ismailos chats with a handful of talented and influential movie directors, among them Bernardo Bertolucci, Catherine Breillat, Liliana Cavani, Stephen Frears, Todd Haynes, Richard Linklater, Ken Loach, David Lynch, John Sayles, and Agnès Varda. Along with discussing the particulars of their work (often illustrated by relevant film clips), the directors also talk about artists and events that have made a lasting impact on them, films they hope to make in the future (all ten directors were still at work at the time the film was shot), issues that are important to them (creative and otherwise), and other filmmakers that they like (or hate). Ismailos' first feature film, Great Directors received its world premiere at the 2009 Venice Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Naomi Klein's controversial best-selling book which explores how both natural and man-made disasters are used to force disadvantageous political and economic changes on unwilling governments is brought to the screen in this documentary from filmmakers Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross. Using electroshock treatment as a metaphor -- a harsh jolt to the body and brain that, after being embraced as a healing method, was in turn discovered to cause more harm than good -- The Shock Doctrine explores how the United States, with the help of the C.I.A., became enamored of Milton Friedman's interpretation of free-market capitalism and attempted to persuade developing nations of its value. However, since fully unregulated markets tended to create an unbalanced economic climate in which a small number of people became extremely wealthy and vast numbers were plunged into poverty, the United States was only successful at selling free market deregulation to countries in crisis who had no practical choice than to do what the wealthiest and most powerful nation on Earth demanded. The results led to both widespread privation and violence in Russia, Poland, Chile, South Africa and the Middle East, and The Shock Doctrine explains how this happened, where it's still going on, and what can be done to stop it. The Shock Doctrine was an official selection at the 2009 Berlin International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Naomi Klein
Filmmaker Pierre Thoretton offers a fascinating glimpse into the private life of a fashion icon with this documentary following Yves Saint Laurent's business partner and lifelong mate, Pierre Bergé, as he prepares to auction off the massive art collection that the couple had amassed over four decades. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Jeremy Seifert's muckraking documentary rests on a sad and jarring fact: each year, Americans discard around 96 billion pounds of edible food, and send it directly to landfills - when hundreds of countries around the world exist below the poverty line. In Dive!, Seifert and co. go "dumpster diving" in the back-alley receptacles of L.A.-area supermarkets. During their journey, they manage to retrieve thousands of dollars worth of decent food, which raises vital questions about why such waste continues to occur, while numerous overseas populations starve. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
For anyone who has ever wondered about the effects of partially hydrogenated oil on the human body, Registered nurse David Burton speaks with scientists, researchers, and leading health experts to expose the frightening health risks of consuming artificially engineered foods. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
Filmmaker David Bond explores the practical issues of privacy in a world of prying electronic eyes in this documentary. As the public and private sectors stockpile more data on ordinary citizens and a growing number of people are willing to share the details of their lives on line, how secure is an average individual? Bond decided to find out -- he opted to "disappear" for a month, and hired a detective firm to find him. The detectives had nothing to go on but Bond's name, but before long they knew where he lived, where his father lived, that his wife was pregnant and could easily track Bond to most of his hiding places as he struggled to outsmart them. Erasing David exposes the realities of our culture of surveillance as well as Bond's mounting anxieties as he learns how few secrets he (and most people like him) truly have. Erasing David received its North American premiere at the 2010 South by Southwest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Belgian surrealist painter Rene Magritte (1898-1967) epitomized the iconoclastic and the unclassifiable, so fittingly, the treatment of the artist afforded to him in this documentary checks in as both, as well. In lieu of essaying a straightforward biographical treatment, director Henri de Gerlache casts Charlie Dupont as an actor hired to play Magritte, who then begins exhaustively researching the painter's life and work and uncovering the meaning of one painting after another. As the various facts and insights about the figure come to light, de Gerlache intercuts his dramatic narrative with more straightforward documentary elements, such as cutaway interviews with art historians and experts - among them, photographer Duane Michals. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi
The story of how a friendship between two of Europe's most important filmmakers turned into a rivalry is recounted in this documentary. François Truffaut and Jean-Luc Godard first met in 1949; in many ways they were very different people -- Godard came from a wealthy and supportive family, while Truffaut had troubles with both school and the law during a hardscrabble youth -- but they were both passionate devotees of the cinema, and became star writers at the pioneering film journal Cahiers du Cinéma. Ten years later, Truffaut and Godard were the most visible figures in the New Wave of French cinema, having enjoyed international success with The 400 Blows and Breathless. But as the two men became more successful, each developed a greater confidence along with differing opinions about art and politics, and by the time Truffaut died in 1984, they hadn't spoken in years. Les Deux de la Vague (aka Two in the Wave) uses vintage interview and newsreel footage of Godard and Truffaut to illustrate their friendship, their rise to fame, the films and filmmakers who influenced them, and the changing times and attitudes that drew them apart. Two In The Wave received its world premiere at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 2009
- PG13
- Add See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary to Queue Add See What I'm Saying: The Deaf Entertainers Documentary to top of Queue
Follow the journeys of four deaf entertainers who refuse to be held back by their common disability. Actor Robert DeMayo specializes in translating English to American Sign Language and teaches at Juilliard. Rendered homeless following a miscommunication with his landlord, DeMayo wages a daily struggle to get back on his feet. Drummer Bob Hiltermann pounds the skins for Beethoven's Nightmare, a deaf rock band that's been going strong for three decades, and has recently begun preparations for the biggest concert of their career. TL Forsberg falls somewhere between two worlds; she can hear well enough that she doesn't qualify as deaf, yet wages a daily struggle to be accepted by mainstream society. When Forsberg opens for Beethoven's Nightmare, her fate takes a sudden and remarkable twist. Meanwhile, deaf African-American comic CJ Jones has achieved noteworthy success in the deaf community, but fails to break through into the mainstream standup circuit. When Jones becomes the producer of Los Angeles' inaugural International Sign Language Theater Festival, an interesting opportunity opens up for down-on-his-luck thespian DeMayo. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
In 2002, as America was poised to go to war in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Pat Tillman, a defensive back with the Arizona Cardinals, joined the United States Army, believing he had a duty to serve in a time of need even though he had signed a lucrative deal to play professional football. Tillman served a tour of duty in Iraq and was on patrol in Afghanistan when, on April 22, 2004, he was killed during a reconnaissance mission near the border of Pakistan. When word spread about Tillman's death, the Army issued a press release declaring he'd been shot down while trying to heroically block the fire of a band of Taliban insurgents. While the Army's story painted a glowing picture of the fallen soldier and athlete, some of the details sounded suspect to Tillman's family, and in time they began asking questions. As it happens, Tillman's parents were outspoken in their opposition to the war in Iraq, and after he had seen what was happening firsthand, so was Tillman, who had been a sharp student with an interest in politics during his college years. In time, Tillman's parents demanded an investigation into their son's death, and the testimony of several witnesses revealed that Tillman wasn't felled during an act of heroism -- his death was the result of "friendly fire" by men from his own company, shooting indiscriminately at an unknown target. Filmmaker Amir Bar-Lev examines Pat Tillman's unusual life and times, the facts about his death, how and why the military created a cover story to hide the truth, and his family's battle to bring the real story into the open in the documentary The Tillman Story, which received its world premiere at the 2010 Sundance Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Josh Brolin
Death takes one man on a journey that is by turns beautiful and terrifying in this feature from writer and director Gaspar Noé, who describes it as "a psychedelic melodrama." Oscar (Nathaniel Brown) is a small-time drug dealer who sells his wares at a club in Tokyo called "The Void." In the midst of a deal that goes sour, Oscar is shot dead, and finds himself crossing from one plane of existence to the next. When he was younger, Oscar made a pledge to his younger sister, Linda (Paz de la Huerta), to always look after her, and as his soul leaves his body, the spirit is led on a journey through Tokyo, past traditional consciousness, and into the moment of human creation as he struggles to be reunited with Linda, who now works as an exotic dancer. Soudain le Vide (aka Enter the Void) received its world premiere at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- Starring:
- Nathaniel Brown, Paz de la Huerta, (more)
It's no great surprise that making your way into the United States as an illegal alien can be a dangerous business, but for many getting close enough to the border to make the jump is one of the riskiest parts of the journey. A significant number of undocumented immigrants are from Central America and they must cross through Mexico in order to reach the American border. Filmmaker Rebecca Cammisa follows a handful of youngsters as they make their way across the continent with the United States as their ultimate goal in the documentary Which Way Home. Many of the kids travel by train, hopping rides on a rattletrap line known to locals as "The Beast." This is dangerous enough, with the youngsters riding on top of the cars or holding onto the sides when they can't find an open boxcar, but that's hardly the only risk they face, as violence and criminal predators lay in wait for them along the load road into Mexico and the land of their dreams. Which Way Home was an official selection at Toronto's 2009 Hot Docs Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
In 2004, filmmakers Roger Weisberg and Vanessa Roth produced and directed the documentary Aging Out, which focused on a handful of teenagers who had spent years in the foster care system without being adopted and faced the prospect of becoming legal adults without a family. One of the people profiled in the film was Risa Bejarano, who had been in the California foster care system since she was nine. Less than a year after Aging Out was completed, Bejarano was shot and killed by Juan Jose Chavez, who took her life so she could not testify in an upcoming murder trial. After Chavez was found guilty of Bejarano's murder, the prosecution screened Aging Out during the penalty phase of the trial in hopes the jury would be more inclined to sentence Chavez to death. Filmmakers Weisberg and Roth found their work brought into an argument about the death penalty in California, and in No Tomorrow the same filmmakers examine Bejarano's murder, Chavez's blighted personal history, the way in which the state of California used Aging Out in the courtroom, and the reactions of the defense, the prosecution and the jury to the penalty phase and its outcome. No Tomorrow was an official selection at the 2010 Cinequest Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
This documentary based on interviews, backstage footage, and personal video diaries follows the rise of model Sara Ziff as she and then-boyfriend Ole Schell use a camcorder to document her career from her start as a newly discovered 18-year-old to her success as an in-demand model, flying all over the world and pulling in six figures before her 20th birthday. Through intimate, first-hand accounts from Ziff's peers in the business, the film also touches on issues in the modeling industry such as eating disorders, drug use, sexual harassment, and the increasing demand for adolescent models. ~ Tracie Cooper, Rovi
Filmmaker Johan Grimonprez draws a surprising parallel between the anxieties of the Cold War and the Master of Suspense in this fusion of documentary and dark comedy. In Double Take, Grimonprez explores the paranoia of America during the Cold War while using clips of the classic television series Alfred Hitchcock Presents as a commentary on America's mood during the 1950s and '60s. As Grimonprez ponders the symbiotic nature of politics and popular culture, he also presents a fictional narrative (inspired by a short story by Jorge Luis Borges) in which Hitchcock (played by Ron Burrage and voiced by Mark Perry), while on a studio lot, encounters a man who looks exactly like him, a situation that popped up more than once in the great director's films. Hitchcock once said, "If you meet your double, you should kill him," but is that advice the great man takes himself? And how do these doubles reflect a world in which fear and nationalism have taken center stage? Double Take was an official selection at the 2009 BFI London Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 2009
- PG
- Add The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story to Queue Add The Boys: The Sherman Brothers' Story to top of Queue
Screenwriting cousins Jeff and Gregg Sherman team up to craft this documentary exploring the darker side of the relationship shared between their famous fathers, Robert and Richard. Back in the 1960s, Robert and Richard Sherman rose to fame penning upbeat songs for such classic children's films as Mary Poppins and Chitty Chitty Bang Bang. But the pair's catchy, optimistic ditties masked a contentious brotherly bond -- which ultimately grew so sour that their sons Jeff and Gregg weren't aware of one another despite the fact that they only lived a few blocks apart. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
- Starring:
- Richard M. Sherman, Robert B. Sherman, (more)
Walt Disney Pictures has been the leading name in animated filmmaking since the 1930s, but the studio's crown was looking more than a little tarnished in the 1980s after a series of expensive commercial and critical disappointments such as The Fox and the Hound, The Black Cauldron, and The Great Mouse Detective. At that time, a handful of Disney executives were questioning the wisdom of continuing to make animated films, as the company was making more money in live-action movies, theme parks, and television. That changed when Roy Disney -- Walt's nephew and the last figure from the studio's Golden Age management team still on board -- teamed up with newly hired studio executives Michael D. Eisner and Jeffrey Katzenberg to restore their reputation for both quality and commercial appeal. With the success of Who Framed Roger Rabbit in 1988, the team sparked a new interest in animation on the big screen, and a string of smash hits that began with The Little Mermaid and Beauty and the Beast launched a new era of both acclaim and box-office success for the company. But those successes didn't come without behind-the-scenes conflict, and Don Hahn, a longtime producer at Disney, offers an inside look at the creative squabbles and battles amongst the management that came during Disney's climb back to the top of Hollywood's mountain in the documentary Waking Sleeping Beauty. Along with behind-the-scenes footage and rare personal artwork created by the studio's animation staff (including some unflattering cartoons of their bosses), the film includes interviews with many key figures of this era in Disney history, and several people who enjoyed greater success after leaving the company, such as Tim Burton and John Lasseter. Waking Sleeping Beauty was an official selection at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
- 2009
- Add Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Süss to Queue Add Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Süss to top of Queue
Many Germans who collaborated with the Nazi regime during the Third Reich later found themselves standing trial for crimes against humanity, but only one was an artist prosecuted for his work. Veit Harlan was a film director who, unlike many noted German auteurs, chose to stay in his homeland after Adolf Hitler rose to power, and made films under the supervision of the Nazi propaganda authorities. Harlan's best-known picture was Jud Süss (aka Jew Süss), a vehemently anti-Semitic drama that was required viewing for Hitler's top brass, a frequent attraction in Germany and occupied countries, and with the possible exception of Leni Riefenstahl's Triumph of the Will, the most notorious film to emerge from the Third Reich. Harlan was tried for his work as a Nazi propagandist, though he insisted he was coerced into making Jud Süss and other pro-Nazi films (a contention disputed by a number of his colleagues); two trials failed to convict Harlan, and he continued to work in Europe until his death in 1964. Filmmaker Felix Moeller presents a look at the life and work of this most notorious director in the documentary Harlan: Im Schatten von Jud Süss (aka Harlan: In the Shadow of Jew Süss), which examines Harlan's career as well as the impact his legacy has had on his descendants, some of whom have struggled to right Harlan's wrongs while others have preferred to keep their distance from his tainted reputation. One of the distant relatives interviewed for the picture is Christiane Kubrick, Harlan's niece who later wed the great director Stanley Kubrick. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi
Troll 2 star Michael Stephenson steps behind the camera to explore the phenomenon behind the low-budget Italian-produced horror sequel that young movie fanatics have christened "the Rocky Horror of our generation" in this documentary which proves that just because a movie is awful doesn't mean it won't find an audience. Twenty years ago, a group of inexperienced Utah actors teamed with an Italian-speaking production crew to shoot Troll 2. At the time it seemed like the production was a complete fiasco; little did they realize that they were making cinematic history. Flash forward two decades, when Troll 2 is playing to packed theaters across America, and fans of the film get the unique opportunity to find out just how this messterpiece came to be. Can director Claudio Fragasso come to terms with the fact that his biggest failure has since defined his cinematic legacy? And what ever became of the Alabama dentist-turned-cult-icon who delivered the immortal line, "You can't piss on hospitality!" Discover the answer to both of these questions and more as Troll 2 star Stephenson reveals why the film that should have been a forgettable horror sequel is still being celebrated 20 years later. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi
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