Giving you our points of view on the latest docs in release and on the circuit.
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.
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
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
The Donut King sees a passing of the crown as a new generation stakes its claim on an empire. Besides fatty foods, what is more American than that?
Atsushi Sakahara’s Me and the Cult Leader tells of an encounter between a survivor and a member of the cult that harmed him.
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
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
Here is a strange and bitter crop. Billie goes against the grain amid the nostalgic music docs of 2020 with a dark, true-crime exploration of a musical icon
9to5: Story of a Movement is a fiery feminist essay about equality and labour—a fitting mark for Reichert to leave in a career devoted to giving voice to women and unions alike.
The Last Out (USA, 88 min.) Dir. Sami Khan, Michael Gassert With his Oscar-nominated short St. Louis Superman, Sami Khan confirmed that a great character often makes for a great documentary. The film, directed with Smriti Mundhra, followed Ferguson resident Bruce Franks III on his growth from Black Lives Matter activist to state representative. Khan’s first feature doc The Last Out, directed with Michael Gassert, amplifies the number of key characters by three and the formula holds. The Last Out gives sports documentaries a unique spin by chronicling the journey that Cuban athletes take with hopes of securing their dream to play baseball professionally in the USA.
