Between Sisters

— A subtle and intimate look at two sisters: Teresa, 89, whose health is failing, and Ornella, 68, who spends much of each day helping her older sister. Viewers witness the day-to-day interactions, sometimes strained and sometimes loving. Teresa is moody and often unhappy, refusing to discuss death or much about the past. Ornelia wants to know more about their family’s history and pushes Teresa for information. What emerges is a sensitive look at siblings, aging, and the secrets we all hold. (Shown at True/False Film Fest 2016.)

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[2016. 75 min. Directed by Manu Gerosa.]
http://www.voxmagazine.com/arts/movies/between-sisters-offers-the-pain-and-love-of-family/article_fafe27ee-dbe6-11e5-a7ed-47eaac2d8081.html

The Bad Kids

— A good look at kids on a downward path and a high school with teachers and administrators who care. Each student has their own set of problems and circumstances and Black Rock High School is the last chance for them to stay within the educational system. It’s hard not to feel their pain or rejoice over their successes, and the film does provide hope that some, perhaps many, can succeed. It adopts a cinema verite look in the present, not filling in too much backstory, particularly with respect to teachers and administrators and sometimes we’d like to know more, but it is a good look at at-risk situations and a reminder that kids can be successful if nurtured and given a chance. (Shown at True/False Film Fest 2016.)

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[2016. 101 min. Directed by Keith Fulton and Louis Pepe (a.k.a. Lou Pepe)]
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/bad-kids-sundance-review-856417

Life, Animated

— An emotionally charged look at Owen Suskind, a young man whose autism caused him to stop communicating when he was three, and his parents who slowly began to feel they’d lost their son forever. Hope returned when Owen’s father realized a garbled few words Owen was saying were a line from an animated Disney film. In time they came to realize that Owen had memorized the dialogue from every animated Disney film and did, in fact, engage in complex thought within his animated world. The Disney films became the hook with which they started again communicating with their son. Now in his 20s, Owen’s moved to his own apartment and has a part-time job. There no denying the appeal of this film—it just makes you feel good and seems joyous. It’s also great that this is such a well done documentary. (Shown at True/False Film Fest 2016.)

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[2016, 99 min. Directed by Roger Ross Williams. Featuring Owen Suskind and Ron Suskind.]
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/05/22/books/life-animated-by-ron-suskind.html

The Music of Strangers

— A beautiful look at a multicultural group of world-class musicians making up the Silk Road Ensemble. Although Yo-Yo Man may have been the instigator, it’s clear each of these visionary musicians shares his belief in making a difference through music and finding that space where cultures overlap, in adopting ideas from each other and changing the world. This is a wonderful film from a filmmaker with a good track record (“20 Feet from Stardom” and “Best of Enemies”) and it doesn’t disappoint. In addition to the larger picture, it also offers interesting looks at the individual struggles some of the musicians face. (Shown at True/False Film Fest 2016.)

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[2015. 96 min. Directed by Morgan Neville. Featuring Yo-Yo Ma, Kinan Azmeh, Keyhan Kalhor, Cristina Pato, and Wu Man.]
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/music-strangers-yo-yo-ma-824992

Thy Father's Chair

— A look at unmarried, no-longer-young, identical-twin, Orthodox Jewish brothers living with a couple of cats in the NYC house they inherited. They are surrounded by the accumulation of years of non-functioning electronics, old clothes, newspapers, trash, and who knows what else. There are bedbugs. It’s clutter and dirt that's been out of control for more than a year or two. The unseen upstairs tenant somehow forces the issue and a cleaning company patiently works with them to get the place cleared, cleaned, and fumigated. The film is old school documenting and, although I was a little worried about where things were going early on in the film, I’m glad I stuck with it. It is more than a Jewish hoarder’s tale. These brothers have more than one problem but they also have a great sense of humor and an openness that makes it hard not to like them. Appropriately, it is dedicated to Chantal Akerman. (Shown at True/False Film Fest 2016.)

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[2015. 74 min. Directed by Alex Lora and Antonio Tibaldi.]
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/thy-fathers-chair-idfa-review-846197

Sonita

— The story of Sonita Alizadeh ends up being the inspirational tale of a female teen rapper in Iran whose music decries the injustice she and other Afghan women endure. Her mother and brothers discourage her music, insisting she find a man willing to buy her for marriage, the only suitable path for a young and single woman, but she persists. It’s a dangerous road she travels, continuing with her music and trying to secure a passport to leave Iran, ending up with a scholarship to attend school in Utah. Her story is uplifting but it’s impossible not to think of all the women in Afghanistan who continue to suffer oppression and abuse. (Shown at True/False Film Fest 2016.)

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[2015. 90 min. Directed by Rokhsareh Ghaem Maghami.]
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/review/sonita-idfa-review-843610

Kate Plays Christine

— Oh dear. Sometimes you see a documentary film that you have trouble describing as a documentary and sometimes you see a film you just don’t like watching even if it’s kind of intriguing. That’s the way I felt about “Kate Plays Christine”, Robert Greene’s latest sort-of-documentary. To be fair, I felt the same luke-warm way about “Actress”, at an earlier film of his that was also well received by critics. “Kate Plays Christine” is a look an actress preparing for the role of news reporter Christine Chubbuck in a biopic about her life and on-air suicide in 1974 at the age of 31. By the end, it’s clear the actress and the director were in cahoots to make the audience unsure of the line between documentary and fiction. Ostensibly the film is documenting the actress preparing and researching for the role but there evidently isn’t really a role because the film will never be made, only some scenes of it which will become part of the “documentary” and we're not sure if the actress knew this at the onset or found out later. Add to that the fact that the scenes that are made are so overacted as to be bad, maybe intentionally. It’s all so confusing and that’s evidently was Greene wanted. As with “Actress”, the main character just isn’t very likable and it was hard for me to care much one way or the other. Oh, and the film really could have used a bit more editing—obviously the editor finds the nitty gritty of an actor’s method more interesting than I did (or the 20-30 people I watched bolting for the door about halfway through). It’s an interesting film, but I’m not convinced it’s worth thinking much about. (Shown at True/False Film Fest 2016.)

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[2016. 112 minutes, Written and directed by Robert Greene. Starring Kate Lyn Sheil.]
http://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/kate-plays-christine-review-1201690902/

Weiner

— In 2013, Anthony Weiner and Huma Abedin allowed filmmakers access to Weiner’s NYC mayoral campaign but, instead of recording a comeback, the filmmakers ended up documenting a campaign and a relationship stressed to their limits by a second scandal, a media frenzy, and a spotlight that wouldn’t go away. The film successfully casts a wider eye on Weiner, sometimes tender and sometimes less so. As interesting is the picture that evolves of Huma Abedin. In the end, it’s hard not to admire Weiner’s dedication to his constituency and Huma’s support of him in spite of his personal issues. In one scene we watch as he skillfully turns an angry audience to a supportive one thanks to his own likability and believability and, maybe, his own compassion and tenacity. The connection between Huma and Hillary Clinton, while only referenced in the film, echoes the background as we view things during the 2016 primary season. The film was paced well and interesting. I’d recommend it. (Shown at True/False Film Fest 2016.)

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[2016. 96 minutes, Directed by Josh Kriegman and Elyse Steinberg.]
http://www.indiewire.com/article/sundance-review-weiner-is-the-best-documentary-about-a-political-campaign-ever-made-20160124