Reviews - Page 66

Giving you our points of view on the latest docs in release and on the circuit.

The Grocer’s Son, the Mayor, the Village and the World Review: Full Tënk

The Grocer’s Son, the Mayor, the Village and the World (France, 111 min.) Dir. Claire Simon Against the backdrop of Lussas, a small rural community in France, Tënk has been born. Tënk, a new streaming platform, envisions uplifting independent documentary filmmakers streaming on their format, which, down the line, would also help fund new projects. In The Grocer’s Son, the Mayor, the Village and the World, Claire Simon investigates the project’s evolution from its earliest moments to its launch. More than just a portrait of a streaming platform, Claire Simon’s film quickly becomes a portrait of the changing faces of

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Soros Review: Portrait of a Bogeyman Philanthropist

At the time of this writing, with an intransigent President refusing to leave office and a legal team for the same leader spewing lies about vote manipulation and liberal conspiracy supposedly all under the control of the titular character in this documentary, Soros remains as divisive and important a figure as any.

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Connecting the Dots Review: Healthy Dialogue

Connecting the Dots (Canada, 54 min.) Dir. Noemí Weis Spending an hour listening to stories about pain, despair, loneliness, and depression might not be atop everyone’s list during this pandemic. Everyone is feeling down and alone, and there seems to be no light at the end of the social distancing tunnel. Between the high-level anxiety caused by coronavirus and ensuing lockdowns, the stressful images (and even more stressful reality) of systemic racism and protests in response to it, and the crazy train of Donald Trump, this year hasn’t been easy. (Let’s not even add the stress of keeping up with

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The Plastic House Review: One Is the Loneliest Number

The Plastic House (Australia, 45 min.) Dir. Allison Chhorn For a film that emphasizes isolation, viewed during a prolonged period of isolation, The Plastic House conveys a remarkable sense of communion. This largely silent slice of slow cinema from director Allison Chhorn delivers a melancholy study in grief and meaning. Chhorn saturates the film in loneliness. However, the film evokes its sense of mourning quite palpably through the power of images and ambient sounds. The Plastic House implies a great sense of longing as Chhorn invites viewers to enter her world and experience her sense of walls closing in. Chhorn pulls double duty as

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Ouvertures Review: History and Legacy Interact with Present-Day Haiti

Ouvertures (France/Haiti/UK, 132 min.) Dir. Louis Henderson & Olivier Marboeuf In the opening chapters of Ouvertures, directed by Louis Henderson and Olivier Marboeuf, we are far from Haiti. The overwhelming whiteness of a wintry landscape is interrupted by a lonely Black figure, engulfed by a cold and unwelcoming world. On the soundtrack, brooks babble, and a whispering voice sets the scene of the Haitian revolution. The set-up remains vague and dense. It’s also long, drawn over nearly an entire quarter of the film’s running time. It’s an expression of Haiti existing as a Black nation in a white world and the narrative

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A Crime on the Bayou Review: The True Crime of Systemic Racism

A Crime on the Bayou (USA, 89 min.) Dir. Nancy Buirski “I have an ambivalent relationship to the term ‘allies’,” says activist Angela Davis in an archival excerpt in A Crime on the Bayou. “Because when it comes to challenging racism, I think that white people should know that they have as much of a stake in purging the society of racism as people who are the immediate targets.” A Crime on the Bayou explores a fascinating true crime tale that hinges on the power of a strong alliance. Director Nancy Buirski (The Loving Story, The Rape of Recy Taylor) revisits the case

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