AltWeeklies Wire
PBS Puts a Human Face on Native American Historynew
In terms of exposition, inspiration, and cross-cultural outreach, you can think of We Shall Remain as the Native American Eyes on the Prize. Like that landmark documentary, this series reminds us that true glory lies in the honest histories of people, not the manipulated histories of governments.
Boston Phoenix |
Clif Garboden |
04-08-2009 |
TV
'The Least of These' Looks at the Incarceration of Immigrant Familiesnew
To the list of bizarre, wasteful and cruel failures of the Department of Homeland Security under the Bush Administration, add this program to imprison children.
Doc Finds the Flaws in North America's Approach to Intellectual Propertynew
A new "open source" documentary is a look at the battle between copyright and "copyleft."
Fast Forward Weekly |
Lindsay Bowman |
03-19-2009 |
Reviews
A New Film Imagines Vietnam If Kennedy Had Livednew
A new documentary makes the case that Kennedy's nonconfrontational tactics on the world stage during his presidency would surely have carried over to preventing that "quagmire" known here as the Vietnam War (and over there as "the American War"). Had he lived, of course.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Dennis Harvey |
03-18-2009 |
Reviews
A Damning Look at Watts Goin' Onnew
Hand wringing about the rise of gang activity traditionally combines equal parts racial panic and blame deflection. What marks director Stacy Peralta’s turf is his dedication to undermining these reflexes.
Willamette Week |
Aaron Mesh |
03-11-2009 |
Reviews
A Filmmaker and Her Subject Chronicle an Epic Immigrant Experiencenew
The Betrayal fascinates like other rare, intimate documentaries shot over long periods -- Michael Apted's Seven Up series being the most famous example.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Dennis Harvey |
02-25-2009 |
Reviews
Fungi Doc Too Goofy to Alter Mindsnew
Ron Mann's Know Your Mushrooms struggles with its own identity. Too goofy and light-hearted to be genuinely interesting but too shallow and ham-handedly "stoner-friendly" to appeal to the incense and Animal Collective set, the end result is stuck in limbo.
Fast Forward Weekly |
Patrick Doyle |
02-12-2009 |
Reviews
Animated Documentary 'Waltz With Bashir' Works Well on Every Levelnew
Waltz With Bashir is about the process of coming to remember, and how we should present those memories. In the way it acknowledges its own myopia and self-concern, it's one of the most honest and innovative films of the millennium.
Tucson Weekly |
James DiGiovanna |
02-05-2009 |
Reviews
Cash Documentary Says Nothing Newnew
Johnny Cash at Folsom Prison is not especially penetrating; it's more of a puff piece using archival photographs and current-day interviews.
The Portland Mercury |
Ned Lannamann |
02-05-2009 |
Reviews
Filmmakers Page and Pomerenke Ask the Ultimate Musical Questionnew
There's probably no better way of describing music's regenerative powers and fleshing out its abstract properties than through the equally powerful and abstract medium of film.
Phoenix New Times |
Serene Dominic |
02-03-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
'Waltz With Bashir'new
Ari Folman's surreal remembrance of Israel's 1982 war with Lebanon, ends on the most wrenching note imaginable, yet leaving the theater offers no relief to the audience. The real world only amplifies the movie's disheartening themes.
Creative Loafing (Atlanta) |
Curt Holman |
01-28-2009 |
Reviews
Daydream Believer: 'Waltz With Bashir'new
Israeli filmmaker Ari Folman reconstructs a tragedy using animations and his own experiences as a grunt soldier.
Philadelphia City Paper |
Sam Adams |
01-27-2009 |
Reviews
Jean-Pierre Gorin and the Art of the Essay Filmnew
UC San Diego film professor Jean-Pierre Gorin claims that the "unruly" version of the essay film on display in his collection "flirts with genres" but "attaches itself to none" in true Gerber termite fashion.
East Bay Express |
Kelly Vance |
01-23-2009 |
Profiles & Interviews
New Doc Reveals Many of Scott Walker's Mysteriesnew
In a new documentary, Stephen Kijak takes us through Scott Walker's history, methodology, and cultural relevance by collecting interviews with the underground legend and the musicians he's influenced, as well as vintage performance and modern studio footage.
Catching an Elusive Icon's Drift As He Sings About Pasolini and Mussolininew
Time stood still yesterday in the music Scott Walker made, and it stands still today when 30 Century Man languishes in the songs from Walker's quartet of self-titled Philips solo albums from 1967 through 1970.
San Francisco Bay Guardian |
Johnny Ray Huston |
01-21-2009 |
Reviews
