Looks like I’m accredited for RIDM…now I gotta figure how I’ll cover at least a fraction of the festival amidst the film I’m making and the gazillion (photo) essays I have due for school + a weekend horror class next weekend. Holy shit…!
Some films I’m interested in seeing:
American Passages
Paradise Lost 3
Mondo Cane, 35mm print! ‘Nuff said.
Putty Hill
Resurrected Dead: The Mystery of the Toynbee Tiles
The Vanishing Spring Light
Dragonslayer
Better this World
Inside Lara Roxx
Les Trois Disparitions de Soad Hosni
What I’ll be missing, for sure:
The Jorgen Leth retrospective
The Frederic Wiseman retrospective (and Crazy Horse)
Despite being overlong for my personal taste and tackling a subject matter I’m barely - if even - interested in, I can safely say Wim Wenders latest film is one of the definitive works done about contemporary dance, in any medium. Love letter to the late Pina Bausch, which cinephiles might know from her appearance in Almodóvar’s Hable con ella, Wenders (who was at the screening to give an incredibly heartfelt introductory speech which placed the film back into the context of Pina’s passing) transforms what was initially going to be a documentary about Pina into a celebration of her legacy, work and craft. Constructed around extended sequences of gorgeous 3D(!) choreographies, Pina is one of the rare films to fully understand 3D and successfully use as an enhancer of depth-of-field, a visual tour-de-force which, as impressive as it is and as good an introduction to Pina Bausch’s work as it might offer, has - because of its unconventional structure and pace - a very little audience outside of modern dance enthusiast and Wenders completionists, which - and rightfully so - should be delighted by this impressive visual homage.
The Story of Film: An Odyssey (Mark Cousins, 2011)
Holy crap! I’ve just discovered this, Irish film critic and all-around badass Mark Cousins’ epic 15h(!!!) documentary about the history of cinema, looks and sounds absolutely phenomenal! It played at TIFF in its entirety earlier this month (5 screenings, 3 episodes per screening) and is currently airing on Channel4 - which sadly, doesn’t stream in Canada. Hopefully it reaches DVD or some other alternative sooner than later!
Bloodied But Unbowed looks at the short-lived & fast-paced Vancouver, BC punk scene. Episodic, Tabata interviews all the major players - all of which are incredible characters. Tight, energetic editing, awesome music and great stories collide into one great music documentary. Tabata, Randy Rampage of D.O.A. as well as notoriously rowdy scene member Simon Snotface were present for the screening. Rowdy fun!
Phil Ochs: There But For Fortune is devastating and wonderful. Covering all of Ochs’ short-lived career - he committed suicide at the age of 35 - from the historical outlook on protest songs and folk to his relationship with Bob Dylan, notably, this chronological look is the perfect introduction to one of music’s most talented - and sadly, mostly forgotten - heroes. Must see for anyone remotely interested in folk music & great portrait documentaries.
Julien Temple’s new film Oil City Confidential is my favorite film of the selection, telling the story of Canvey Island’s notorious pub band Dr. Feelgood with an array of innovative and engaging filmmaking techniques - ranging from very dynamic interviews, stock footage, narrative recontructions and film clips. One of the best rockumentaries I’ve had the chance to see, I can’t wait to explore the rest of Temple’s work. For that reason as well, this is the perfect introduction to Dr. Feelgood’s iconoclastic members and awesome music. Highly, highly recommended.
Oil City Confidential opens at Montreal’s Cinéma Parallèle this Friday so if you’re local, go and support it!
Heavy Metal Parking Lot is a no-brainer. Screened with its overwrought “sequel”, Heavy Metal Picnic, which, while quite entertaining as a full-fledged documentary - retracing some of the people in the new & hilarious 1980’s footage - could definitely benefit from a tighter edit. Heavy Metal Parking Lot completionists will also get a kick out of Leslie Supnet’s 2min animated version, which you can watch HERE.
Not pictured here: The atrocious and not-music related The Wolf Knife, only film Kier-la did not program and as vacuous, pretentious and irritating as “art” films can get; the amazing Dream Deceivers: The Story Behind James Vance vs. Judas Priest, which played before Heavy Metal Picnic; all the film’s I’ve missed (Color Me Obsessed: A Film about The Replacements, Crazy Thunder Road, Surrogate Valentine, Paper Promises, Upside Down: The Creation Records Story, Freaks in Love: Alice Donut and PJ Harvey: Let England Shake) and Teen Routines: The Self-Made Magic of R. Stevie Moore, a great introduction to a musical genius, compiled and edited by Kier-la Janisse. I sadly missed seeing R. Stevie Moore live on Friday night, due to extreme fatigue and my having to get home at the ass-end of town. Apparently it wasn’t that great though, so I can sleep on that.
The Film POP weekend was insane, rowdy and exhausting. It didn’t use my all-access volunteer pass half-as-much as I should’ve (saw Neil Hamburger, The Spits & Fucked Up, but that’s about it. Could’ve seen Sweet Mother Logic, Redd Kross, Sheezer (all-girl band doing Weezer!!!) and more, if things had worked out differently) but overall, I’m thankful this brief and unexpected bout of insanity is over. Now back to more-or-less normal life, until FNC begins in a couple weeks.
Lessons From a Calf (short; Hirokazu Kore-eda, 1991)
Early manifestation of Kore-eda’s gift for photographing children, Lessons from a Calf, an early TV documentary from the director of Nobody Knows (one of my all-time favorites), Air Doll (brilliant), After Life (fascinating) and Still Walking (modern day Ozu - how?) follows an alternative elementary school class as they raise their bovine everything named Laura - learning much about life in the process. Running about 47 minutes, the film showcases their routine, their progressive learning, attachment to the beast and inevitable separation - which ends the short film on one of the most heart-sinking and cute manifestations of loss ever put to screen - showing how much one’s life can be affected by caring from someone. Immensely recommended.
Such Hawks Such Hounds (Jessica Hundley & John Srebalus, 2008)
Members of Pentagram, Comets on Fire, Dead Meadow, Sleep, Om, Earthless, Sunn O))), High on Fire and countless others star in this chronological, cultural and personal overview of the hard rock underground, from its roots in 1970s and crossed paths with hardcore punk in the 80s to its stoner, doom and drone-defined scenes of today. Watch the whole thing HERE.
American: The Bill Hicks Story (Matt Harlock & Paul Thomas, 2009)
Incredible photo-animated biography and certainly the best documentary film I’ve seen in a while. Moving, inspired and loving, the man and the craft will blow you away. Montrealers, don’t miss your chance! This is playing again tomorrow at the Blue Sunshineand it’s the only theatrical showing it’ll get in this city! After that it’ll be gone!
This great documentary takes you into the world of musician and activist Femi Kuti, examines his music, Nigeria’s deplorable socio-political situation and the legacy his father Fela Kuti, political activist, genius multi-instrumentalist and Afrobeat pioneer, has left behind. Stunning, depressing and enlightening, this is a great introduction to both father and son, two great artists I can’t wait to discover more of. Filled with fantastic music - that oughta make anyone want to dance - and great photography, this documentary suffers from its short runtime, but is otherwise entirely recommended. If you’re into world music, seek it out!
This is a documentary Heather Langenkamp did with her sister-in-law Arlene Marechal, examining the phenomenon of Nightmare on Elm Street through the prism of Nancy: why isn’t Nancy as popular as Freddy, what is her place in the horror canon, what does she represent to fans, etc. etc. Very DIY and homemade, this concentrates on the fan (read: convention) experience and is, although charming at times, quite bland and pointless. For the hardcore Nightmare on Elm Street fan/special features fiend/completionist only. More info here.
The Upsetter: The Life and Music of Lee Scratch Perry (Ethan Higbee & Adam Bhala Lough, 2008)
This documentary portrait/homage of reggae & dub producer and pioneer-turned-madman was great, despite and considering my total lack of interest for reggae music. Lee Scratch Perry is an incredible character to commit to screen, a total weirdo and legend, having produced a gazillion albums - Bob Marley, the Clash, Paul McCartney -, recorded a handful himself and appeared in songs such a the Beastie Boy’s Dr. Lee Phd, before going completely bonkers. It was the Canadian premiere at the Blue Sunshine on Thursday, and while I didn’t initially plan to go, I’m glad I stayed for it because it was totally interesting and I got to see CJLO and the Blue Sunshine - arguably, with Fantasia, two of the best things about Montrea l- come together at last! One of the CJLO DJs - Adrian “Solespin” Warner - attended the screening, loved the place and as a result, invited Kier-la and Dave to spin some tunes on his show in the near future…
This is my new favorite documentary. It does more than examine the day-to-day lives of the Corner Parking Lot attendants of Charlottesville, Virginia: if offers a look into post-graduate socio-economic interactions, class struggle and the transcendence of menial jobs. These are the nerds of the world having to face hordes of self-entitled fraternity douchebags and SUV-driving assholes, basically expressing all of the hatred I have for mankind in a smaller, car-infested microcosm. Undeniably punk in its aesthetic and values, The Parking Lot movie is an all-around fantastic film which you absolutely need to get your hands on.
