New York City officials weren’t exactly helpful when Ken Burns and his daughter were making a documentary about the racially charged 1989 Central Park jogger case, but now they’re hoping the finished film, The Central Park Five , will be useful to them. The film, which got a special screening in New York on Tuesday night, explores the lives of the five men who were convicted and later cleared in the case which became a symbol of racial tension in a metropolis besieged by crime. (The terms “wolf pack” and “wilding” were added to the media’s lexicon of fear-inducing terms as a result of the case.) The documentary, which was shown at the Cannes, Telluride and Toronto film festivals, scrutinizes the initial convictions of the Central Park Five, noting, for instance that the five men did not appear to be in the area of the park where the rape occurred, that their DNA was not found on the victim and that their confessions did not jibe with one another’s. Despite the movie’s perspective, the New York Times reported that lawyers for the city of New York have subpoenaed notes and outtakes from the documentary, which Burns directed with his daughter Sarah Burns and her husband David McMahon, in order to determine whether the material can help them fight a $50 million federal civil rights lawsuit that five men filed nine years ago as a result of their experience. In 2009, on the 20th anniversary of the incident, their lawyer Jonathan Moore called that experience “the most racist prosecution that occurred in the City of New York.” Ken Burns told the Times that the Sept. 12 subpoena came after the city had spent years declining the filmmakers’ requests for interviews to explain the actions taken by law-enforcement officials involved in the case. “There is a great deal of disappointment that it came to this, given the fact that we had given so many of the factions in this complicated story many, many opportunities, on a regular basis, to comment,” Burns said. The city insists that cops and prosecutors acted appropriate given the information that they had available to them then.. “We believe that based on the information that the police and prosecutors had at the time, they had probable cause to proceed, and the confessions were sound,” a city spokeswoman told the Times. [ New York Times] Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
The Hamptons International Film Festival released its 2012 slate with a lineup of festival circuit notables as well as World, U.S. and East Coast premieres. HIFF released its Opening Films, including Love, Marilyn , Silver Linings Playbook , Argo and Not Fade Away recently. Today’s list includes the festival’s Spotlight Films section including Tim Burton ‘s latest, Frankenweenie and Cannes Palme d’Or winner Amour . And The Girl with Toby Jones , Sienna Miller and Imelda Staunton will have its worldwide debut at the upcoming event. Also in the roster are five films each competing in the Hamptons’ Narrative and Documentary feature competitions. The 20th anniversary edition of the Hamptons International Film Festival takes place October 4 – 8 in East Hampton, NY and other towns in Long Island’s East End. The lineup follows with descriptions provided by HIFF: Spotlight Films Frankenweenie Director: Tim Burton Cast: Martin Landau, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, Winona Ryder, Charlie Tahan, Frank Welker From Tim Burton, the visionary filmmaker behind Beeteljuice , The Nightmare Before Christmas , and Alice in Wonderland , comes Frankenweenie , a feature-length adaptation of his debut 1984 short film. Budding young scientist Victor Frankenstein loses his beloved dog Sparky in an accident. Soon after, Victor’s science teacher, Mr. Rzykruski (Martin Landau) conducts a class experiment showing the effects of electricity on a dead frog. In a flash of inspiration, Victor vows to bring Sparky back to life––with unexpected, monstrous consequences. Heartwarming and hilarious, this 3D stop-motion animated feature is a ghoulish good time for the whole family. Amour Director: Michael Haneke Cast: Jean-Louis Trintignant, Emmanuelle Riva, Isabelle Huppert Legendary French actors Jean-Louis Trintignant and Emmanuelle Riva deliver career-capping performances as Georges and Anne, octogenarian retired music teachers living in a lovely Paris apartment. When Anne suffers a stroke, her condition rapidly deteriorates as George tries his best to cope and care for his ailing wife, all while his promise to never place her in a nursing home strains his relationship with his daughter (Isabelle Huppert). Director Michael Haneke ( The White Ribbon ) won an unprecedented second Palme d’Or in four years for this uncompromising and masterful drama about the true meaning of growing old together. The Details , East Coast Premiere Director: Jacob Aaron Estes Cast: Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Banks, Laura Linney, Ray Liotta, Kerry Washington, Dennis Haysbert Playing against type, Toby Maguire delights as the morally ambiguous Dr. Jeff Lang in this dark comedy with no shortage of laughs and gasps. When he attempts to rid his suburban Seattle backyard of raccoons, quickly earning the ire of his eccentric neighbor (Laura Linney), Jeff sets off a chain of events that leads to domestic rifts, adultery, blackmail, and murder. As his marriage to Nealy (Elizabeth Banks) and his life teeter dangerously on the brink of destruction, he seeks redemption by helping a friend in need, but it may be too late to stop the dominos in Jacob Aaron Estes’ offbeat dramedy. The Girl , World Premiere Director: Julian Jarrold Cast: Toby Jones, Sienna Miller, Imelda Staunton Alfred Hitchcock is not only perhaps the most famous film director of all time, creator of such classics as Vertigo and Psycho , but among the most controversial, plagued for years with accusations about his personal treatment of his frequently blonde leading ladies. The Girl stars Toby Jones as Hitchcock and Sienna Miller as actress Tippi Hedren, delineating their on- and off-set relationship while filming the seminal horror film, The Birds . Director Julian Jarrold stages the filming of many of The Bird ’s most famous sequences with wit and flair, and the central performances of Jones and Miller dig into the lives and personas of two icons of cinema in this penetrating docudrama. A Late Quartet , US Premiere Director: Yaron Zilberman Cast: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Mark Ivanir, Imogen Poots, Christopher Walken, Catherine Keener As the world renowned Fugue Quartet celebrates its 25th anniversary season, their patriarch Peter (Christopher Walken) discovers he may be forced into retirement by illness. Long held resentments surface, leaving the musicians to contemplate not only their future, but whether the quartet has trumped all other personal relationships. Tempestuous fights, long held rivalries, and adultery are offset by timeless, beautiful classical music in first time fiction director Yaron Zilberman’s engrossing drama, with pitch-perfect performances from Phillip Seymour-Hoffman, Catherine Keener, and Mark Ivanir, and a lovely turn from Imogen Poots. Lay the Favorite , East Coast Premiere Director: Stephen Frears Cast: Bruce Willis, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Rebecca Hall, Joshua Jackson, Vince Vaughn Beth Waymer, played with humor and radiance by Rebecca Hall, is a dancer who heads to Las Vegas with dreams of becoming a cocktail waitress. When she meets Dink (Bruce Willis), a professional sports gambler, he notices her considerable talent for numbers amidst her bubbly demeanor. Pulling herself up by her wit instead of her bra straps, she discovers the lofty highs and sobering lows of the professional and underground gambling world. Based on a true story, Stephen Frears ( The Grifters , The Queen ) directs a star-studded cast in this smart, fast paced, and entertaining comedy set in Sin City. Rust & Bone , East Coast Premiere Director: Jacques Audiard Cast: Marion Cotillard, Matthias Schoenaerts From the BAFTA Award-winning director of A Prophet , Jacques Audiard’s Rust & Bone is a compelling and gritty drama starring Oscar® and BAFTA winner Marion Cotillard and Matthias Schoenaerts ( Bullhead ). Stephanie trains orca whales, and Ali is an emotionally broken, unfit single father and aspiring boxer. When Stephanie is crippled after an accident with one of her beloved whales, they begin an intense romance that doubles as an examination of human weakness and strength. Schoenaerts and Cotillard deliver sharp and subtle performances that drive this drama to powerful emotional heights. The Sessions , East Coast Premiere Director: Ben Lewin Cast: John Hawkes, Helen Hunt, William H. Macy One of the most surprising and winning films of the year, The Sessions follows the true story of Mark O’Brien, childhood polio survivor paralyzed from the neck down and confined to an iron lung. Far from melancholy, Mark, a poet and journalist by trade, vows to fulfill a lifelong goal: to have sex with a woman. To lose his virginity, Mark contacts a professional sex surrogate (the effervescent Helen Hunt) with the help of his therapist and his priest (William H. Macy). John Hawkes stars as Mark O’Brien in his best performance yet, more than matched by Hunt and Macy. Seven Psychopaths Director: Martin McDonagh Cast: Colin Farrell, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Tom Waits, Woody Harrelson Martin, a morally conflicted screenwriter played by Colin Farrell, battles writer’s block on his new feature, Seven Psychopaths . Writer’s block is the least of Martin’s worries when his best friend Billy (Sam Rockwell) places ads seeking psychopaths in the paper. Billy’s side job of kidnapping dogs is no less of a nuisance when he and his partner Hans, played by a startlingly on-point Christopher Walken, accidentally snatch an L.A. crime boss’ prized pooch. From director Martin McDonagh ( In Bruges ), Seven Psychopaths subverts the traditional psychopath genre by infusing it with humor, self-awareness, and pitch-perfect performances, while still maintaining an absurd body count. Shadow Dancer , East Coast Premiere Director: James Marsh Cast: Andrea Riseborough, Clive Owen, Gillian Anderson, Domhnall Gleeson Shadow Dancer , directed by BAFTA Award-winner James Marsh, is a brilliant spy thriller set in the politically volatile Northern Ireland of the early ‘90s, is gripping from its intense opening sequences to its shattering climax. A guilt-ridden young Irish woman, Colette (Andrea Riseborough), has devoted her life to the IRA cause since her traumatic childhood. An MI5 agent (Oscar® nominee and BAFTA winner Clive Owen) intercepts a planned bombing attack in London, and Colette is handed a devastating ultimatum: to go to jail as a terrorist and be separated from her small son, or return to her family as a police informer and spy. Smashed , East Coast Premiere Director: James Ponsoldt Cast: Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Aaron Paul, Octavia Spencer, Nick Offerman, Megan Mullally, Mary Kay Place Mary Elizabeth Winstead delivers a career-making performance as Hannah, one half of an alcoholic couple with Aaron Paul (TV’s Breaking Bad ). After Hannah hits an all time low—puking in front of her first grade students—her colleague Dave (Nick Offerman, TV’s Parks & Recreation ) encourages her to seek help with his AA group. Making progress, she bonds with Jenny, a fellow alcoholic turned baker played by Academy Award® winner Octavia Spencer ( The Help ). However, her new sobriety places her marriage in peril. A surprisingly funny and honest look at addiction and recovery, director James Ponsoldt breathes new life and poignancy to an oft-told story. Whole Lotta Sole Director: Terry George Cast: Brendan Fraser, Colm Meaney, David O’Hara BAFTA nominee, Oscar®-winner and Hamptons resident Terry George ( Hotel Rwanda ) brings his immense talents to this entertaining comedy of errors set in Belfast. Jimbo Reagan owes local gangster Mad Dog Flynn five thousand dollars, but when he robs a fish market to secure the cash, things go from bad to worse, and he ends up with multiple hostages in a local antique shop currently run by the American cousin (Brendan Fraser) of its proprietor. With amusing turns by Colm Meaney as a cantankerous detective and David O’Hara as Flynn, this delightful comedy is a joy for film fans on both sides of the pond. Golden Starfish Award: Narrative The Almost Man (Mer eller mindre mann), US Premiere Director: Martin Lund Cast: Henrik Rafaelsen, Janne Heltberg, Tore Sagen, Per Kjerstad, Tov Sletta Thirty-five-year old Henrik and his girlfriend Tone still act like teenagers, pulling pranks and having impromptu dance parties in their new apartment, but the responsibilities of adulthood are finally beginning to loom. When Tone becomes serious about a new career, Henrik pulls in the opposite direction by partying with his hard drinking buddies and playing hooky from his job. Preoccupied by that familiar “Peter Pan” longing for perpetual adolescence, Henrik navigates his state of arrested development in increasingly oddball ways in this fresh and charming Norwegian comedy. Dead Man’s Burden , East Coast Premiere Director: Jared Moshé Cast: Barlow Jacobs, Clare Bowen, David Call, Joseph Lyle Taylor, Richard Riehle New Mexico, 1870. A lone rider gallops through the New Mexico terrain and a troubled young woman looks on. She aims her rifle. A shocking scene sets the stage for Jared Moshé’s first feature, a pitch-perfect Western about the bonds of family and the slow, inevitable tide of progress. The young woman, Martha, and her husband find a ticket to a better life in San Francisco when they ready the sale of her family’s land to a mining company. Riding in from the horizon, though, is her oldest brother Wade—whom she had thought killed during the Civil War. The siblings reunite, but tensions, mysteries, and suspicions bubble to the surface. La Demora , US Premiere Director: Rodrigo Plá Cast: Roxana Blanco, Carlos Vallarino, Oscar Pernas Agustín forgets things; he is aging and he knows it. María is never alone: she watches over everyone, sleeps very little, and works too much. She’s increasingly overwhelmed. One day, on impulse, María decides to abandon Agustín. The tightening grip of old age and the guilt of familial responsibility loom over this absorbing drama from rising director Rodrigo Plá. With an exacting gasp of the internal and external struggles María must endure, Plá explores the challenges of a timeless issue and society’s conflicted responses to life’s central questions. Kuma , US Premiere Director: Umut Dag Cast: Nihal Koldas, Begum Akkaya, Vedat Erincin, Murathan Muslu, Alev Irmak From debut director Umut Dag comes the powerful yet quiet family drama KUMA, which explores the relationship between Fatma, a dying woman clinging to old traditions, and her husband’s 19-year-old second wife, Ayse. As their close-knit Turkish family living in Vienna is forced come to terms with this new addition, friendships, jealousy, and hidden passions take unexpected turns. Heightened by strong performances, the film captures the complexities of a closed-circuit world living in a modern society. One of the most acclaimed films out of the Berlin Film Festival, KUMA is the story of different generations and cultures intersecting. Lore , US Premiere Director: Cate Shortland Screenwriters: Robin Mukherjee, Cate Shortland Cast: Saskia Rosendahl, Kai Malina, Nele Trebs, Ursina Lardi, Hans-Jochen Wagner, Mika Seidel In the twilight days of WWII, Lore’s Nazi parents have disappeared into the vortex of Allied retribution, and she must shepherd her younger siblings to safety on the grey edge of the Baltic Sea. In breathtaking images of damaged luminosity, LORE makes us see the dawning realization of WWII’s atrocities as though we had never known them before. It is the story of a tentative coming-of-age set in a maelstrom of brutality; it is a profound meditation on the insidiousness of evil and the transformative power of love; and it is nothing short of extraordinary. Golden Starfish Award: Documentary : Bay of All Saints , New York Premiere Director: Annie Eastman Filmed over six years, Annie Eastman’s debut is a lyrical portrait of three women who live on the palafitas, or shacks built on stilts, in the biggest bay in Bahia, Brazil. As the government threatens to reclaim the land for ecological reasons, generations of families, most of them single mothers, will be displaced. With Narato, the neighborhood refrigerator repairman as our guide, we meet Geni, Jesus, and Dona Maria, women with different mindsets but all compelled––in their own way––to fight for their family’s future and survival amidst the state’s urban development blunders and broken promises. Colombianos , New York Premiere Director: Tora Mårtens With a subtle and captivating storytelling style, Tora Mårtens’ documentary feature meanders gingerly, yet thoughtfully, through the relationship of two brothers, making her debut feel almost like a fable. At his mother’s behest and struggling with substance abuse, Fernando moves from Stockholm to Medellin for six months, hoping the change of scenery and his brother Pablo’s support will help him get clean. Pablo, a college student, tries different tactics to help Fernando but nothing seems to stick. As each brother begins to reassess his own path, they learn when to let go and when to take charge. El Huaso , US Premiere Director: Carlo Guillermo Proto Carlo Guillermo Proto directs this intensely personal documentary, interviewing his father and tracing the bonds and expectations of four generations of his family. Growing up in Chile, Gustavo Proto (director Carlo Proto’s father) always wanted to be a huaso—a rodeo cowboy—but instead he became a businessman and brought his family to Toronto for a better life. Now retired and convinced that he will develop Alzheimer’s like his mother and depression like his father, he plans to live out his dream in Chile before ultimately committing suicide, a decision he announces to his family amidst general protestation. Jason Becker: Not Dead Yet , New York Premiere Director: Jesse Vile Jason Becker was a musical prodigy, picking up the guitar at five years old, performing virtuoso solos at sixth grade talent shows, and signing a record deal at 19. But the following year, about to go on tour with David Lee Roth, Becker started limping and falling during performances. He was eventually diagnosed with ALS, or Lou Gehrig’s Disease, and was soon no longer able to hold a guitar. He lost the ability to speak and was given three to five years to live. But, as Jesse Vile’s award-winning first film reveals, that was not the last we would hear of Jason Becker. Not Dead Yet is must-see cinema and a testament to a true musician. Rising From Ashes , World Premiere Director: T.C. Johnstone Narrator: Forest Whitaker Recovering from one of the worse genocides in history, the Rwandan people find something to root for in this inspiring and beautifully shot documentary. Transcending the differences that once divided them — and with the help of the first American to ride in the Tour de France — five cyclists come together to form the first Team Rwanda while racing for spots in the 2012 Olympics. Cycling has long been a national pastime in “the land of a thousand hills,” and Rising From Ashes not only gives us a glimpse of this country’s changing landscape, it invites us to share in its epic comeback story.
Cannes , Sundance , Toronto , Berlin , San Sebastian, Hong Kong, New York , Telluride – and Pyongyang? The end of Summer brought on the annual big tentpole festivals in Venice and Toronto as well as industry and celeb-heavy Telluride, ushering in the annual awards race and many of this year’s fall releases. But don’t expect North Korea’s international film festival, which opens Thursday to factor too deeply into Oscar. In fact, Americans are apparently banned. Held every two years, the Pyongyang International Film Festival is a chance for residents of the so-called Hermit Kingdom to view foreign films on the big screen. One romantic comedy, Comrade Kim Goes Flying actually had its world premiere at the recent Toronto International Film Festival. The joint North Korean and European production took almost seven years to make. The romantic comedy centers on a coal miner who dreams of becoming an acrobat. North Korean filmmaker Kim Gwang Hun shot the film in the country, which is considered one of the world’s most isolated, which is still considered in a “state of war” with its nearby democratic rival South Korea. “It’s not what you expect from North Korea, and it’s not something people have seen before,” British filmmaker Nicholas Bonner,” told A.P. about the film, which took three years to get the script both “entertaining and palatable” to authorities for viewing in North Korea. “In the end, you’re dealing with professionals. They do their job. You’re in the film world, and we’re all making a film.” The event’s first edition took place in 1987 under the country’s late founder – who holds the lofty title in the country as the “Eternal President” – Kim Il Sung. Then known as the Pyongyang Film Festival of the Non-aligned and Other Developing Countries, it came back in 1990 and is now a biennial event. Though in 2008 the event showed 110 films from 46 countries, the titles are often censored and emphasize themes of family values, loyalty and the vices of money. Its mantra reads: “For Independence, Peace and Friendship” and the event hosts a Feature, Documentary and Short film competition. Though tightly controlled, North Koreans are reportedly film-crazy. The late “Dear Leader” Kim Jong-Il was an avid film fan, reportedly owning a huge library of films in his private library, including American titles. When he was seven, he saw his first film, My Hometown , the first pic made by the government-run Korean Film Studio. It centers on a young man who returns to his village after it is liberated from Japan. The late leader wrote On the Art of the Cinema in 1973, which cites filmmaking as a method to “aid the people’s development into true communists,” according to A.P. Along with Comrade Kim Goes Flying , audiences in Pyongyang (which will also include some foreigners) will have the chance to see another North Korean production – made along with a Chinese studio – aptly titled, Meet in Pyongyang . Like their late leader, well-off North Koreans are film fans, paying as much as $5 at official exchange rates to see new releases from the Korean Film Studio as well as fare mostly from Russia and China. Television stations, however, have offered some past popular features that made big box office returns in the West, including Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Bend It Like Beckham . This year’s edition of the Pyongyang International Film Festival takes place September 20 – 27. [ Sources: A.P. , Wikipedia ]
It’s September, the unofficial start of the long road to the Academy Awards telecast on February 24, 2013. Already, awards campaigns are in the works and the end of last week’s Toronto International Film Festival already has a number of titles in play for those oh-so-very-coveted golden statuettes. One big change this year, the Oscar nominations will come out earlier this year. Nominations will be revealed January 10th, five days earlier than in the past. And that group of 5,500-plus voting members of the Academy will have the opportunity to vote electronically (conceivably a bit harder now for voting members to pass their ballots over to their more eager assistants, perhaps?) The Academy will make several voting resources available to members during the transition, including the installation of assisted voting stations in Los Angeles, New York and London, a 24-hour telephone help line during voting periods, and paper ballots. In the pre-Nominations phase, members will continue to vote via paper ballot in eight categories due to specialized screening schedules and processes. Those categories are Animated Feature Film, Animated Short Film, Live Action Short Film, Documentary Feature, Documentary Short Subject, Foreign Language Film, Makeup and Hairstyling and Visual Effects. And the key dates are : Friday, November 30, 2012: Official Screen Credits due Saturday, December 1, 2012: Governors Awards presentation Monday, December 17, 2012: Nominations voting begins Thursday, January 3, 2013: Nominations voting ends 5 p.m. PT Thursday, January 10, 2013: Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater Monday, February 4, 2013: Nominees Luncheon Friday, February 8, 2013: Final voting begins Saturday, February 9, 2013: Scientific and Technical Awards presentation Tuesday, February 19, 2013: Final voting ends 5 p.m. PT Sunday, February 24, 2013: 85th Academy Awards presentation
David O. Russell ‘s Silver Linings Playbook took top honors at the Toronto International Film Festival , winning the Blackberry People’s Choice Award Sunday. Unlike most of its top tier festival brethren, TIFF does not have a formal jury competition. Also taking an audience prize was Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths , which won the prize in the Midnight Madness category. The audience winner for Best Documentary went to Artifact by Bartholomew Cubbins. The Toronto International Film Festival prize winners: People’s Choice Award: Silver Linings Playbook , directed by David O. Russell Runners-up: Argo , directed by Ben Affleck and Zaytoun , directed by Eran Riklis Documentary People’s Choice Award: Artifact , directed by Bartholomew Cubbins Runners-up: Storm Surfers 3D , directed by Christopher Nelius and Justin McMillan, and Revolution , directed by Rob Stewart Midnight Madness People’s Choice Award: Seven Psychopaths , directed by Martin McDonagh Runners-up: The Bay , directed by Barry Levinson and John Dies at the End , directed by Don Coscarelli Best Canadian Feature Film: Laurence Anyways , directed by Xavier Dolan Best Canadian First Feature Film (A Tie): Antiviral , directed by Brandon Cronenberg Blackbird , directed by Jason Buxton Prizes of the International Critics (FIPRESCI Prize) for Special Presentations Section: In The House , directed by Francois Ozon Prizes of the International Critics (FIPRESCI Prize) for Discovery Section: Call Girl , directed by Mikael Marcimain NETPAC Award For Best Asian Film: The Land of Hope , directed by Sion Sono Award For Best Canadian Short Film: Keep a Modest Head , directed by Deco Dawson
If, like me, you’ve been lamenting the steady bleed of thoughtful, investigative journalism from newspapers and magazines, the Toronto International Film Festival offers hope via visual media. Scanning the list of documentaries that the festival will be screening, the subject — and the fresh, innovative ways in which the filmmakers are tackling them — calls to mind the original, smart, and, often, great journalism that came from the pages of Harold Hayes’ Esquire magazine in the 1960s and early’70s, arguably, the gold standard of 20th Century magazine writing. And here are the 10 docs that will have my undivided attention here in Toronto. Now I just have to find the time to see them. 1. Stories We Tell , Sarah Polley: Initial reports are that the wise-beyond-her-33-years actress and filmmaker has made a stunning auto-documentary by becoming, as she puts it, “a detective in my own life.” Polley — the daughter of the late actress and casting director Diane MacMillan Polley, who died when Sarah was 11, and British actor-turned-insurance-agent Michael Polley — delves into her murky family history to separate fact from fiction. I hear that the answers she unearths resonate like a punch in the gut. 2. Love, Marilyn , Liz Garbus: The enduring perception of Marilyn Monroe as a “Candle in the Wind” to use the title of Elton John’s exquisite song, gets an overhaul in Garbus’ close-up of the actress and sex symbol. The Bobby Fischer Against the World filmmaker uses an ensemble of actresses — including Marisa Tomei, Viola Davis, Ellen Burstyn, Evan Rachel Wood and contemporary trouble doll Lindsay Lohan — to give voice to Monroe’s never-before-seen personal papers, diaries and letters which reveal her to be a fiercely ambitious steel magnolia with a poet’s soul. 3. The Gatekeepers , Dror Moreh: The buzz has been building on this documentary since it debuted on the festival circuit in Jerusalem in July and, according to a couple of sources who’ve seen it, The Gatekeepers is an eye-opening look at the real costs of the Palestine-Israeli conflict told through the unprecedented first-person accounts of six former Shin Bet (Israeli Security Agency) leaders. Word is the film is unflinching, hair-raising and, all the more powerful, because it humanizes the agents who did their government’s dirty work in the interest of homeland security. (Sound familiar?) As former Shin Bet chief Avraham Shalom says in the film: “In the war against terror, there is no morality.” 4. The Act of Killing , Joshua Oppenheimer, Christine Cynn: That documentary masters Errol Morris and Werner Herzog came aboard as executive producers after seeing this film in various stages of completion should tell you that this is no ordinary documentary. But wait until to you hear its cinematic conceit: Oppenheimer and Cynn filmed Indonesian paramilitary leader Anwar Congo and his cohort — who participated in the murder of more than a million alleged Communists, ethnic Chinese and intellectuals in the 1960s — proudly and chillingly reenacting some of their murders in the style of their favorite movies: westerns, musicals and film noir. This should give new life to the debate over violence in the movies sparked by the Aurora tragedy in July. 5. Reincarnated , Andrew Capper: Capper, the global editor for Vice magazine, chose a compelling subject for his first feature-length documentary: the evolution of pot-loving rapper Snoop Dogg to pot-loving Rastafarian Snoop Lion during a trip to Jamaica to record with the DJ named Diplo. Whether Snoop is merely trying on a new career-rejuvenating persona the way that David Bowie did (multiple times) in the 1970s, or looking for a more spiritual reason to inhale a buttload of chronic, the musical artist born Calvin Broadus has a playful-but-knowing charisma that I bet will play well on camera. I think he’s ready for his close-up. 6. Mea Maxima Culpa: Silence in the House of God , Alex Gibney: The Taxi to the Dark Side director takes on another powder-keg subject — sexual abuse in the Catholic church — and I hear that fireworks ensue. Gibney begins with the headlines-making case of Father Lawrence Murphy, who beginning in the 1950s, is believed to have molested as many as 200 boys at the St. John’s School for the Deaf in St. Francis, Wisconsin. Although the Vatican was made aware of the priest’s actions in 1963, he was never defrocked and, in fact, was allowed to remain at the school until 1974 (when he was transferred). Mea Maxima Culpa , which translates to “My Most Grievous Fault,” takes Gibney all the way to the Vatican where he scrutinizes the roles that the late Pope John Paul II and his successor Pope Benedict XVI (then Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) played in this tragic tale. 7. Artifact , Bartholomew Cubbins: Based on the coy picture I found on the Toronto Film Festival’s website, the Dr. Seuss-monikered director of this film is actually also its subject: actor and Platinum-selling 30 Seconds to Mars front man Jared Leto. (He has used the pseudonym before.) Since Leto has, so far, defied my predictions that he would be a musical flash in the pan, I’m eager to see whether he can cut it as a filmmaker. (I like his acting, but let’s say I’m skeptical that he can direct.) Artifact is about Leto and his band battling their record label Virgin/EMI in court while writing songs for a new album and, according to the TIFF synopsis, “struggling with big questions over art, money and integrity.” I suspect that droves of pretty young things will want to see this documentary, too, albeit for different reasons. 8. How to Make Money Selling Drugs, Matthew Cooke: With candid assists from Eminem, 50 Cent, Susan Sarandon and other celebrities, Cooke’s directorial debut is getting good word-of-mouth for its satirical Trainspotting -meets- Casino approach to a subject that makes most people’s eyes glaze over: the United States’ ineffectual drug policy. Cooke even employs a video game within the film to make his point. Donkey Bong ? 9. First Comes Love , Nina Davenport: Another auto-doc that taps into the, um, ripe subject of single motherhood as a choice. Unattached at the age of 41, Davenport decided to have a baby on her own — in New York City, no less — and to film the process. I’m hoping that it’s a candid corrective to The Back-Up Plan. 10. The Central Park Five, Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, David McMahon: I’m not a dedicated fan of Burns. His PBS Jazz documentary series irritated me, but I get why this particular project, which has been acquired by Sundance Select for distribution, is generating buzz. The subject of this collaborative effort with his daughter Sarah (who wrote a 2011 book about the Central Park Five) and son-in-law, McMahon, speaks volumes about race, crime and politics in New York City. In 1989, five black and Latino teenagers from Harlem were arrested and later convicted of raping a white woman in New York City’s Central Park. They spent between 6 and 13 years in prison before a serial rapist confessed that he alone had committed the crime, leading to their convictions being overturned. For more from Movieline at the Toronto Film Fest, click here. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
There are few things more satisfying in this world than hearing Christopher Walken say the word “fuck.” Yes, his now-classic Saturday Night Live declaration of “I’ve got a fever and the prescription is more cowbell” is one of them, but let’s stay focused here. Walken and his co-star Colin Farrell let their filth flags fly in the Red Band trailer below for In Bruges director Martin McDonagh’s Seven Psychopaths . Indeed, save for their spirited f-bombing, the trailer recycles a number of scenes from the last clip we brought you — but it’s still damn funny. The movie is about a struggling writer, played by Colin Farrell, who finds himself in a whole lot of trouble after his friend, out-of-work actor and moonlighting dog-napper Sam Rockwell and his partner-in-crime (Walken) make off with a canine that belongs to a brutal gangster. The new trailer also gives the barest hint that Tom Waits, who’s also in the picture, definitely qualifies as one of the seven titular psychos. Check it out below. Follow Frank DiGiacomo on Twitter. Follow Movieline on Twitter.
With the out-of-nowhere success of 2016: Obama’s America , the nation could finally have a conservative counterpart to Michael Moore . I say the nation rather than the Republicans, because a balanced box office is good for us all, at least as a reminder of our right to oppose the current government and make a profit in doing so. Similar to Moore’s release of Fahrenheit 9/11 during the summer of 2004, author-turned-filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza offers a one-sided, first-person documentary that challenges the incumbent President during his campaign for re-election. Unlike his liberal predecessor, however, D’Souza, who co-directs with writer/producer John Sullivan ( Expelled: No Intelligence Allowed ), doesn’t have much to fall back on in the way of entertainment value and so only delivers a transient attraction for the anti-Obama crowd. You could say that a film like 2016 shouldn’t be entertaining, and maybe it is true that the left’s overdependence on jokesters and satire have hurt their efforts in the past. But while Fahrenheit 9/11 might not have influenced enough voters eight years ago, it remains a popular work of cinema in its own right primarily because of Moore’s appeal to a certain audience both personally and stylistically. D’Souza is neither engaging as a character nor as a storyteller, but even worse here is his lack of intensity. As a pressing piece of propaganda, the film could use a louder voice and edgier tone. To truly be an effective Moore equivalent, frankly, D’Souza could stand to be more of a nuisance. Basing the documentary on his best-selling books The Roots of Obama’s Rage and Obama’s America: Unmaking the American Dream , D’Souza, retains a very subjective angle for his exploration of the President’s true identity and political motives. In fact, before really even addressing the titular subject, the filmmaker takes the first portion of the film to set up his own biographical relevance, which aside from his being born outside the U.S. (oh, hush) corresponds quite uncannily as a way of comparing his own background to Barack Obama’s and then raising the question of how they ended up on such contrary idealistic paths. Through interpretation of passages from Obama’s book Dreams From My Father and an interview with a psychologist, D’Souza comes up with a thesis involving the President’s daddy issues. Paralleling the last administration’s critics, 2016 at times comes off like a slightly deeper kin to Oliver Stone’s W. without the fun of caricaturistic portrayals. More complex than Bush’s supposed need to make his still-living father proud, the deal with Obama is that he’s apparently impaired by a romanticized adoration of his never-there father as well as a desire to honor the elder Obama’s anti-colonial principles. On that track to expose the President’s ultimate goal of turning America into a flaccid, non-imperialistic country that is run with outdated collectivist policies, D’Souza’s intended ace in the hole is an appearance from Obama’s half-brother George, whose tiny abode in Kenya D’Souza refers to as “something out of Slumdog Millionaire .” The filmmaker fails to get the young man to talk negatively of his powerful brother’s neglect of poor family members abroad, even with literal attempts to “rephrase the question.” Finally, he settles on simply revealing George’s belief that the third world was better off under colonial rule. So what? Other than potentially inspiring an interesting and metaphorical novel about two brothers with divergent relationships to an unknown father in a long-post-colonial world, the disconnect between geographically and temporally distant siblings doesn’t provide much substance for the film’s argument that the President is the worst leader in U.S. history. And really neither does Obama’s presumed paternal problem, which borders on an obsession for D’Souza. Still, it’s a reflection of a certain concern Americans have with the singularity of the executive branch and our compulsion to focus on the individual character of our Presidents over the plans and actions of their overall administrations. Eventually, 2016 does get into real criticisms with Obama’s initial election, which is basically credited to white guilt and the allure for people to be a part of history, and with his first term, which, it’s claimed, shows hints of a larger anti-colonialist agenda. A shot at the relevancy of NASA seems especially misdirected given the excitement of the Curiosity rover landing on Mars earlier this month, however. And further speculation of the President’s full-on dismantling of the U.S. as a superpower once he’s over the hump of re-election is again too hypothetical. Meanwhile, given the concentration of the Romney/Ryan campaign, it’s unfortunate that only a couple minutes near the end of the film are devoted to Obama’s handling of the national deficit. Of course, this isn’t a documentary in support of Mitt Romney or any Republican candidate so much as it’s an extensive attack ad against Barack Obama. It should illuminate just how much of a repeat this election year is of 2004. Then, it wasn’t about voting for Kerry; it was about voting against Bush. Now it’s just politically reversed, not about voting for Romney but against Obama. And if Romney does win, someone, whether Michael Moore or another liberal filmmaker, will give us the next documentary in the cycle of opposition. If there is one major thing I’ll give 2016 credit for, it’s that much of the film plays almost as well to a pro-Obama audience as to those against him. It preaches to both choirs in that a lot of the intentions and policies of the President, which D’Souza sees as negative, are those which the leader’s fans see as positive. Much of the left would surely love it if Obama truly transformed the United States into a nuke-free nation with socialized medicine and education. Some might watch this documentary and think, “well, yes, that’s our Obama.” Of course, there is the occasional blast of clear vitriol, such as when the President is baselessly said to be less concerned with helping the poor than stripping the wealth of the rich. But that’s to be expected with these films, which are less concerned with what kind of President is good for America than what kind of President is not. And I’m sure it’s expected of me to be less focused on what would have made this a good film than what makes it a bad one. I can only say it’s not a very memorable one, and regardless of the outcome this November, after Election Day I guess it doesn’t need to be. Christopher Campbell is an Atlanta-based movie blogger specializing in documentary. Follow him on Twitter @thefilmcynic . Follow Movieline on Twitter .
Let the slander ensue. 2016: Obama’s America didn’t come up short this weekend. The new conservative film that depicts Obama as defending his Father’s dreams of revenge debuted at Number 4 in the box offices this past Friday. It’s not clear where Obama’s America, distributed by Rocky Mountain Pictures, will end up for the weekend, although most box office observers believe it will end up in the $6 million range. On Friday, the documentary upped its theater count from 169 to 1,090, just as Republicans began heading for Tampa, Fla., where the Republican National Convention begins on Monday. Obama’s America did well in a number of large cities where it opened Friday, including Denver, Phoenix and San Diego. Smaller markets also turned in steller numbers, including Baton Rouge, La., Wichita, Ks., Grand Junction, Co., and Albany, NY. Posing as a fairly measured and informative recap of Obama’s personal history, the film is trying to get us to sway our decision come November. Don’t believe the hype! Source Images via WENN/Youtube
The demise of film and the seeming triumph of digital has been a hot topic of discussion for insiders and hardcore enthusiasts for a number of years. But Keanu Reeves is taking the topic into the mainstream(ish) realm with his latest project, Side by Side , which bowed recently in Los Angeles and is set to hit cities around the U.S. in the coming weeks. Co-produced and narrated by Reeves, the 98-minute documentary landed the likes of James Cameron , David Fincher , David Lynch , George Lucas , Danny Boyle , Martin Scorsese , Christopher Nolan and Steven Soderbergh to weigh in on movie-making’s (d)evolution. Nolan, he noted, was the most difficult to reach among the people who appear in the doc, which features interviews with 70-plus filmmaking powerhouses. To lure The Dark Knight Rises filmmaker, Reeves went snail mail. “I actually wrote to him on an old-fashioned typewriter,” Reeves told Reuters . “I think he got a kick out of that and we finally shot him in his trailer on the Batman set in LA.” Reeves noted that Nolan’s schedule was “so crazy” because he was in the midst of filming The Dark Knight Rises , but wanted the filmmaker because of his long-standing opinions about the film vs. digital debate, which caught Reeves’ attention in earnest while finishing on a previous project a couple years back. While working on Henry’s Crime , which he also produced a couple of years back, Reeves and the film’s production manager, Chris Kenneally, began talking about the rise of digital technology. “We were sitting in the post-production suite trying to match the photochemical image with the digital image, side by side, and it just hit me – film is going away, and we should document this whole evolution,” Reeves told Reuter. “So Chris and I gradually put a team together to make the documentary.” A champion of film himself, none other than Martin Scorsese said earlier this summer he’ll probably go digital with his upcoming projects including The Wolf of Wall Street . His previous effort, Hugo was a de facto call for film preservation, something near and dear to the filmmaker’s heart. His longtime editor Thelma Schoonmaker told Empire magazine at the time, “I think Marty just feels it’s unfortunately over, and there’s been no bigger champion of film than him.” And as Side by Side gets set to expand, Reeves appears to agree that film will continue to disintegrate into the annals of movie history. “Even Chris Nolan admits that film, if not dead, is now on life support, and it’s just going to become more and more difficult to even get film. Personally I’m a big film fan and it’s sad to see it go but the future is digital.” Reeves himself is directing a big screen feature about a a young martial artist set in Beijing titled Man of Tai Chi and he has apparently also accepted – even if begrudgingly – the comparatively cheaper technology. “”We did [go digital],” he said. “I developed this project for five years and we’re shooting on location in Beijing and Hong Kong. I’m having a great time directing and I definitely plan to do it again.” [ Source: Reuters ]
