By: Henry J. Fromage –
I’ve been awfully busy with work, hence this late post, but I still found some time to check out some documentaries and short films.
235. La Guerra Civil
Evan Longoria steps behind the camera for the first time in this recounting of a watershed Latin American cultural moment- the 1990s fights between canny working-class Mexican boxer Julio César Chávez and the younger, more glamorous Mexican-American boxer Oscar De La Hoya. This is a straightforward yet still fascinating examination of the cultural divides these matches provoked, and the continued resonance they have. Two Beers.
236. La Recua – The Mule Pack Train
I always make a point to check out the DocLands film festival- it’s one of the premiere documentary film festivals out there and always makes some room for virtual offerings (as much as I’d like to be an independently wealthy film critic about town, this is not the business for making a buck). Anyway, this documentary covers a historic re-enactment of the mule trains of the Old El Camino Real on the Baja Peninsula, as a group of adventurous family and friends make the arduous trip to keep the memories of this once common trading trip alive. Two Beers.
237. Exposure
Discovery remained the name of the game with this DocLands overall winner (which I appeared to have picked a ticket to nicely on a whim). The subject is a brave international group of women who embark on a perilous journey to the North Pole, one that may never be repeated due to the shifting and breaking ice that once provided a solid passage but may no longer due to global warming. An incredible and inspiring expedition. Two Beers.
238. Sarah Squared
This short film about two marine ecologist Sarahs was packaged with Exposure above. They share reminiscences of their careers as they study the terrifying and beautiful elephant seals of Point Reyes beach. A perfect pairing of short and feature documentary films. Two Beers.
239. Meltdown: Three Mile Island
This Netflix documentary series examines the Three Mile Island nuclear disaster both in procedural detail and in the long-lasting effect it had on American attitudes towards nuclear energy (a new reactor has never been built in the five decades since). As much a study of institutional a capitalistic failure than an indictment against one of the ‘cleaner’ sources of energy, this documentary is also quite slickly produced. Two Beers.
240. Wasp
MUBI has an interesting selection of short films right now, starting with those that launched Andrea Arnold’s career. It doesn’t get much more kitchen sink Brit drama than this story of a single mother struggling to survive with her four children in the tenement housing of Dartford, and it landed Arnold an Oscar for her efforts. Two Beers.
241. Dog
I actually prefer her earlier short film here, a tight, devastating story of a teenage girl in love who finds out that deeply damaged possibly homeless cute boys are best avoided (even if it does make your clearly flashbacking mom satisfyingly angry). A Toast
242. Milk
Arnold’s first showed many of the same traits that would go on to define the early portion of her career, with a focus on naturalistic performances and storytelling set among the struggling economically bereft of England (and, eventually, America). It’s too solidly miserabilist for my tastes, but a fascinating first step to a distinguished career. Three Beers.
243. Life is But a Dream
This short film is from this year, shot by Park Chan-wook fully on an iPhone (if they’re going to keep giving great filmmakers cash to do interesting things like this, I’m all for it, and there’s no denying the films look good). It’s a kaleidoscopic and often surprisingly silly folk tale about a couple of dueling spirits claiming rights to a coffin for their eternal rest. Two Beers.
244. My Fat Arse and I
Another MUBI short, this one I spied and couldn’t resist, because how could you? Yelyzaveta Pysmak animates her struggles with body image and the incessant beauty standards that torment women the world over with humor, style, and just a bit of welcome insanity. Two Beers.
245. Soul of a Man
It‘s Bill Skarsgård adapts the Edgar Allan Poe short story “Bon-Bon” in his directorial debut, a short film starring his father Stellan as an alcoholic who has a long night of the soul talking to the literal devil. Moody and philosophical, if a bit overly talky, it still feels like exactly the treatment this material demanded. Three Beers.
