Documentary

Life, Animated

Director: Roger Ross Williams (2016) BBFC: PG

There are elements of artifice which sit uneasily with the uplifting message of this well meaning documentary.

At three years old Owen Suskind developed severe autism. This left him unable to process the world around him, so he withdrew into himself and spoke only gibberish.

However through watching classic Disney animated films such as The Lion King, he found a way to understand and reconnect with the world. Through adopting the voices of Disney characters, he became able to express himself.

Twenty years later we follow him as he prepares to leave home and find a job, sharing the same dreams and fears as his contemporaries.

There are interviews with his family and doctors, plus home videos and some beautiful specially commissioned animations illustrating Owen’s own stories.

A couple of Disney voice stars turning up to Owen’s film club is a cute stunt, presumably orchestrated by the filmmakers.

More damaging to their carefully constructed narrative is the brief and unexplained reference to Owen’s medication regime, suggesting there’s a lot more science involved in Owen’s miracle recovery than they want to let on.

★★★☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett

Gimme Danger

Director: Jim Jarmusch (2016) BBFC cert: 15

This energetic, informative and even touching documentary is a raucous celebration the career of the wildly influential proto-punk band, The Stooges.

Fronted by drummer turned singer Iggy Pop, his provocative stage persona saw him perform semi-naked in silver marigold gloves and a red dog collar. They recorded three blistering albums in an unruly six year period before imploding in 1973.

The band invented stage diving, were banned from gigging by their own record company and suffered arrests, addictions and deaths.

A relaxed, chatty and surprisingly lucid Iggy regales us from a gold throne with a couple of human skulls in attendance. He discusses his trailer dwelling childhood, is sweet about his parents, realistic about his lyric writing ability and scathing of music industry management.

Director Jim Jarmusch keeps the energy levels up with footage, photos and animations and lots of great music.

It’s the bands story in their own words so there’s no one to offer an indictment of their behaviour. Which in the words of Iggy, was ‘pretty damn rocking’.

★★★★☆

@ChrisHunneysett

 

 

 

Francofonia

Director: Alexander Sokurov (2016) BBFC cert: 12A

Russian director Sokurov follows up his masterful film Russian Ark (2002) with this intriguing documentary about the Louvre during the Nazi occupation.

For most of the war the galleries were empty with priceless art squirrelled away from the pilfering fingers of the German high command. So instead of a traditional narrative of dates, famous works and the artists responsible, we are presented with a meandering, opaque and strangely captivating confusion of scenes.

Dramatised meetings of real people are mixed with historical fact, war footage, family photographs and images of a modern day container ship, sinking. Conversations between the Emperor Napoleon and the French national symbol Marianne are used to explore the relationship between art, war, the state and its citizens.

Like many a museum visit it may take a sudden downpour to convince you to drop in, but once inside it is full of unexpected treasures.

★★★☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett

You’ve Been Trumped Too

Director: Anthony Baxter (2016) BBFC cert: PG

This random, repetitive and hastily made documentary to attempts to give the US presidential election a Scottish accent.

A sequel to his investigation into Donald Trump’s executive golf course in Aberdeenshire, Anthony Baxter struggles to move the story on.

The golf club is still there, the many promised jobs aren’t and 92 year old Molly Forbes still hasn’t had a regular water supply since her pipeline was cut during its construction in 2011. Her son Michael is taken to the US to meet Trump supporters and describe his experiences.

In its best moments this raises important questions about who the local authorities relationship with Trump’s business. There’s plenty of anger and forthright Scots opinion, but no clear narrative and never a clear idea of what is hoped to be achieved.

★★☆☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett

Lo And Behold: Reveries Of The Connected World

Director: Werner Herzog (2016) BBFC cert: 12A

This sketchy documentary by intense German filmmaker Werner Herzog is a series of musings on the history, perils, benefits and future of the internet. Sadly it’s only intermittently amusing or informative.

Travelling across the US, Herzog interviews among others, a robotist, an astronomer, a cosmologist and a hacker. Criminally, Brit genius and inventor of the web Sir Tim Berners Lee barely gets a mention.

It touches upon the development of driverless cars, manned missions to Mars and the chances of robotic football winning the World Cup. Better than England’s, probably.

Some interesting points are made, but the lack of an overarching philosophy to bring the material together betrays the initial premise for the film as a series of short Youtube clips.

It wanders off into electronic existentialism to question whether the internet is self aware and if we can live without it. With a healthy disregard for his own brief, Herzog seems far more interested in the people he meets than in the technology he’s investigating.

We learn the transmission of the first ever internet message was interrupted due to the computer crashing. At least the future began as it intended to carry on.

★★★☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett

My Scientology Movie

Director: John Dower (2016) BBFC cert: 15

In this vaguely entertaining but aimless documentary, Louis Theroux adds nothing to our understanding of the Church of Scientology. With his tall frame, peculiar air of detachment and his ‘take me to your leader’ approach, he is a strange, almost alien-like creature, and not necessarily out of place in Los Angeles.

In the absence of anyone from the organisation for Theroux to interview, he flies in former scientology Inspector General Mark Rathbun. They enlist actors to recreate the techniques for intimidation and brainwashing Rathbun claims to have employed on new recruits on behalf of the Church.

The organisation is notoriously super secretive, highly sensitive and quickly aggressive when it feels threatened. Soon the filmmaker is under siege from other camera crews claiming to be making a documentary about him. As multiple cameras and smartphones are brandished, these sidewalk stand-offs offer fleeting moments of humour.

With no-one else to question, Theroux desperately and disgracefully attempts to turn the screw on his ally, Mark.

★★☆☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett

 

 

The First Monday In May

Director: Andrew Rossi (2016) BBFC cert: 12A

Ever since Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour was satirised by Glenn Close in The Devil Wears Prada (2006) she has been aggressively addressing her public image.

Following in the well heeled footsteps of Vogue documentary The September Issue (2009) and her cameo in Zoolander 2 (2016), comes this immaculately attired documentary about her charity fund raising.

It’s an inside look at the build up to New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art annual Met Gala, is held on first Monday in May. The star-studded event is a multi-million dollar fundraiser for the museums fashion wing, the Costume Institute.

The glitzy evening is also the opening night of the Institute’s Spring exhibition. Titled China: Through the Looking Glass, it focuses on the influence of the orient on western fashion.

Our backstage British guide is the engaging chief curator Andrew Bolton. A charming Lancashire lad who wears his trousers ever slightly too short.

Bolton and Wintour demonstrate great knowledge, passion and enthusiasm as they trip arm in arm through delicate negotiations with the Chinese, financial issues, creative conflicts, building delays and a monumental seating plan.

Interviews with designers such as Jean Paul Gaultier, Karl Lagerfeld and John Galliano provide support to their occasionally fluffy endeavours.

Fashionistas will simply adore the many fabulous outfits and the film successfully argues that haute couture deserves to join high art in the most prestigious galleries.

But despite her best efforts, Wintour’s carefully crafted public persona fails to disguise her disdain for the general public.

★★★☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett

 

 

The Beatles: 8 Days A Week

Director: Ron Howard (2016) BBFC cert: 12A

This rock and roll documentary examines how the touring years of the Fab Four affected their musical output and consequently the cultural landscape of the world.

It’s a triumph of research and editing. Though hugely enjoyable even for a casual fan such as myself, there isn’t much new and the genius you can hear has been around for over fifty years.

Clearly a passion project for director Ron Howard, he mines exhaustively from a wealth of archive material. This allows the band to speak for themselves with their trademark goofy charm and sharp wit.

Journalists from the time contribute their memories and various famous people pop up to declare how much the band meant to their youth, such as an entertaining Sigourney Weaver.

We follow their meteoric rise from the cramped belly of Liverpool’s Cavern Club to become the first ever band to conduct a stadium tour of the US.

Despite unparalleled period of chart success, an exploitative recording contract encourages the ambitious band to hit the road to make some real money.

Due to the boys unprecedented popularity, US authorities were worried about fans’ safety and insisted the group play giant stadiums, leading to their selling out the 56,000 seater Shea Stadium in Chicago.

The bands innate decency and fearless naivety results in their successfully challenging the segregation of audiences in the US south. They also deal with bomb threats, riots and hordes of screaming teenage fans wherever they go.

Decisions are made democratically, albeit it’s a democracy where John Lennon is the first among equals. Though we’re spared the creative differences which were to tear the group apart, the on-stage placing of George Harrison between Lennon and Paul McCartney suggests a temporary buffer to the schism to come. The much maligned Ringo demonstrates his almost violent musical contribution to their success.

We see how crucifying schedule of recording and performing contributes to their collective decision to quit touring in August 1966 to focus on recording. A superb montage to A Day In The Life shows how they develop physically, emotionally and artistically.

After a three year hiatus their last ever gig was performed unannounced from the roof of their Savile Row Apple office. This places it firmly in context and it becomes an act of spiritual and creative catharsis.

★★★☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett

Gary Numan: Android In LA LA Land

Director:Rob Alexander, Steve Read (2016) BBFC cert: 15

1970s synth rock superstar Gary Numan is the very human subject of this refreshingly candid and entertaining documentary.

We follow the surprisingly engaging singer as he decamps from England to LA to reboot his career in the internet era.

A meteoric rise aged 21 with global hits such as Cars and Are Friends Electric? was followed by years in the industry wilderness, massive financial problems and a fall out with his manager, his dad.

Super-fan wife Gemma proves a dab hand with a soldering iron as she keeps their three daughters entertained in their new home. In true rock god style it looks like a castle.

Numan talks with endearing humour and self awareness about the challenges of performing live while coping with Aspergers, depression and anxiety attacks. And the music sounds electric.

★★★☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett

 

Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words

Director: Stig Bjorkman (2016) BBFC cert. PG

This comprehensive and sincere documentary explores the lengthy career and complicated home life of the triple Oscar winning actress.

The statuesque Swede overcame childhood adversity to become a star of the golden age Hollywood. A scandalous affair with a married director saw her leave LA to work in Europe before a before a triumphant return to Hollywood late in her career.

She remains most famous for starring with Humphrey Bogart in the classic romance Casablanca (1942) and her stellar career saw her co-star opposite Gregory Peck and Gary Cooper among other leading men.

Plus there were three films with Hitchcock as well as opportunities with Victor Fleming and George Cukor.

The 1949 affair with Italian director Roberto Rossellini called time on her Hollywood career but led to work in Europe. There was  still time for a successful return to Hollywood in Sidney Lumet’s Murder on the Orient Express (1974) and a third Oscar win.

Bergman’s actress daughter Isabella from her marriage to Rossellini contributes her thoughts among the many clips home videos and chat show appearances.

Fellow Swede and Oscar winner Alicia Vikander reads from Bergman’s diaries which reveal an earnest, restless and strong willed woman who was unashamedly ambitious in her pursuit of the best roles and directors.

However there’s little gossip in her diaries, probably because the thrice divorced mother of four was too busy to record it.

In Her Own Words is entertaining but Bergman’s words are an argument actors should never be allowed to write their own lines.

★★★☆☆

@ChrisHunneysett