rolling documentary thread 2018

I'm good, thanks. pic.twitter.com/wmzMYXBghC

— 𝕿𝖗𝖔𝖚𝖇𝖑𝖊 𝕰𝖛𝖊𝖗𝖞 𝕯𝖆𝖞 (@NickPinkerton) June 21, 2018

I posted last year about an Expo 67 documentary that ended up being a bit of a disappointment for me. Design Canada is basically the film I wanted that one to be. It starts with a nice segment on how our flag came into being in the mid-'60s, then moves into all the iconic design that characterized Canada for the next decade, from the Montreal Expos and CBC logos to Roots, CN Rail (including a clip from Mad Men--Pete on the train--where their logo can be seen), and the Skydome. I think I internalized the spareness and clean lines of these logos growing up without ever thinking about them; I used to love designing the covers when I put out a fanzine 25 years ago, and all except two could be said to be in that style. Could have done without so much George Stroumboulopoulos, otherwise excellent--the graphic designers, all wry old men in their 70s and 80s now (plus one key woman), are very engaging.

Tried to link to the trailer...here's the abbreviated address.

vimeo.com/263571655

Saw this back in May, and it's absolutely stunning. One of the greatest music documentaries I've ever seen.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/12/movies/milford-graves-full-mantis-review.html

Anybody watching "America to Me?" It's the new Steve James doc, being broadcast as a 10-part series on Starz. He filmed it at the high school my daughter is now attending. Looks pretty illuminating/moving/interesting/educational:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-uNhmWJ4l5k

The/a hook is that rather then being set in an underprivileged inner city school, OPRF is well-funded and diverse and the hub of a self-consciously "progressive" community. So why doesn't everything work out, particularly for students of color?

First episode was great, btw.

Of the many people I've seen speak before their films, Steve James was far and away the best.

The Mike Myers film was sort of okay, but I'm really looking forward to this in a couple of weeks:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rW-eehvrJnI

Saw My Generation this afternoon, a Michael Caine-narrated thing on England in the mid-'60s. Kind of a mess--really obvious for the most part, and there isn't a single surprise in a soundtrack with ~15 songs. Some good footage anyway. The funniest clip involved Woody Allen and Twiggy. Lots of beautiful, um, birds. (Except for Caine, you don't see anybody today--wanted to see Twiggy.)

So is anyone watching "America to Me?" It's over halfway through now, but there hasn't been a single episode so far that wasn't equally heartbreaking and inspiring. It's pretty remarkable, the way it started out one way and has been slowly expanding to address all sorts of other high school issues without losing sight of those initial themes.

seen this? maybe my 2nd fave doc this year after Wiseman.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=etwjMcdvxx8

Who needs classy when you can have this?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TAW0LcCs35s

pissssssssssssssssss

Wang Bing's 8-hour Dead Souls opens in NYC for a week.

https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/review/dead-souls

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnB-4IP50Bk

The Fruit Machine, about Canada’s attempts to ferret out and fire/discipline/embarrass/collect names from LGBT people working in government service and the military in the mid 20th century, is pretty basic as a documentary, but after sitting through so much quick editing and busy visuals in a lot of recent docs (the Big Star one from a few years ago far from being the worst offender, but the most recent example that I happened to have watched), I found its strategy of just letting its subjects talk refreshing and effective. It helps that the subjects, particularly the military servicewomen who take up the film’s second half, are so forthcoming and engaging, but I could have probably spent another 90 minutes listening to them. I do bring a little bit of personal baggage to the film: I found out a few years back that my late uncle was involved (whether by assignment or just as a hobby, I don’t know) in busting queer people in the Canadian forces back around the same time that a lot of the people interviewed in this film were being harassed and, yes, even raped by their higher ups and colleagues.

I don’t know how accessible the film is outside of Canada, but well worth a look if you’re interested and you can find it. The trailer:

https://youtu.be/xgRnAyo6bJQ