Tag: Documentary

IT AIN’T OVER – Review

Yogi Berra smiling. Photo credit: Getty. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

It doesn’t get any more delightful than the surprising, warm documentary about beloved baseball legend Yogi Berra, IT AIN’T OVER. Surprising? Yes, as this well-made bio documentary looks back at Yogi’s outstanding baseball career as player, something overshadowed and even forgotten by fans, as he became best known as a lovable pop culture icon and for his “Yogi-isms,” quotable phrases like “it’s deja vu all over again,” “when you come to a fork in the road, take it” and “it ain’t over until it’s over.” Yet Yogi Berra was a baseball player whose record put him among the greats of the game, As actor and baseball fan Billy Crystal put it, Yogi was “the most overlooked superstar in the history of baseball.”

The numbers are impressive, jaw-dropping even, considering what we might think we know about Yogi Berra. With 10 World Series rings (still a record today for a player), three MVP awards in the American League, 18 All-Star Game appearances, Yogi Berra was a Hall of Fame catcher who caught the only – still the only – perfect game in a World Series in 1956. He was a powerhouse slugger who could turn balls that were not even over the plate into home runs.

IT AIN’T OVER starts with Berra’s baseball-playing childhood and his career as a big leaguer. There are plenty of thrilling moments with other baseball greats, including Jackie Robinson and Joe DiMaggio, as well as how Berra was treated by the press who had trouble giving credit to a player who did not look like the tall, blonde baseball ideal. The stats are impressive. In 1950, Berra had 597 at-bats, hit .322 with 124 RBI and 28 home runs and struck out only 12 times. A factoid from the record books, and the film’s notes, in 1950 “Berra hit 2.33 home runs for every strikeout. He drove in 10.33 runs for every strikeout. When Babe Ruth hit 60 home runs in 1927, he hit 0.67 home runs for every strikeout and batted in 1.85 runs for every strikeout…In MLB history, there are only two players with more than 350 home runs and fewer than 500 strikeouts: Joe DiMaggio and Yogi Berra.” As a catcher, Berra still hold the record for most RBI for players primarily at that position, and he caught a record 184 shutouts in his career, followed by Cardinals great Yadier Molina at 175. And there are more records and firsts in this should-be-storied career.

How could this be? Yogi’s baseball career should have made him a legend. Instead, we tend to remember him as a clownish figure, a lovable fellow with a knack for managing the English language. Somehow, Yogi Berra’s impressive baseball career got overshadowed, as he became a manager, then an advertising pitchman, even a cartoon character, and a beloved pop culture figure known for his memorable if puzzling sayings. IT AIN’T OVER goes a ways towards setting the record straight, while providing audiences an entertaining cinema experience.

This excellent, entertaining, even heartwarming documentary goes a long ways to giving us a fuller picture of the man and the athlete, with interviews from former Yankee greats Derek Jeter, Joe Torre, Mariano Rivera, Willie Randolph, Don Mattingly, Tony Kubek and Ron Guidry. along with interviews with Whitey Herzog, Bob Costas, Vin Scully, Billy Crystal and Yogi’s childhood neighbor and friend Joe Garagiola. There is plenty of archival footage, on and off the baseball diamond, and lots of family stills, along with interviews with his granddaughter (and producer) Lindsay Berra, and his sons Tim, Larry and Dale. The documentary covers Berra’s career as a player, his personal life with his wife Carmen, his career as a coach and later an ad pitchman and of course those famous “Yogi-isms,” not all of which he actually said. Even that famous “It ain’t over until it’s over” actually started as “It ain’t over until it’s mathematical” which makes more sense but is less memorable. Real Yogi-isms have a strange kind of logic that the fakes don’t.

The documentary gives us a glimpse into the real Yogi. A kid from an Italian immigrant family, Yogi grew up in the working class Italian neighborhood in St. Louis known as the Hill. Yogi was born Lawrence Peter Berra (the Americanized version of the Italian name his parents gave him). As a kid, he loved playing baseball, as did his older brothers, and earned the nickname “yogi” for his tendency to sit cross-legged on the ground while waiting for his turn to bat. Across the street in his old neighbor was his pal Joe Garagiola, the second best baseball player on the street. A die-hard Cardinals fan, Yogi hoped to play for the home team but while Joe became a Cardinal, Yogi ended up with the New York Yankees. Yogi met and fell in love with his wife Carmen when she was working as a waitress at the legendary Hill restaurant Biggies. The documentary tells in better, with plenty of colorful baseball details but it doesn’t get any more classically St. Louis than that.

The story of Yogi Berra is so fascinating because he is a figure people think they know but in fact are missing whole aspects of his real life, of the man himself and his amazing accomplishments. There is great fun, and plenty of “wows” as this doc peels back the layers on this accomplished but modest man, a big personality who made others feel welcome and included, as he did for Jackie Robinson. While Jackie faced discrimination and racism from some other players, Yogi reached out to make Jackie feel welcome and part of the gang.

Lots of these tales are told by the people who were there or the people who knew Yogi personally, giving this documentary both warmth and the ring of truth. Funny stories abound but so do those that are touching, including of slights, towards a kindhearted, down-to-earth man who was smarter that people assumed. Yogi did not look like the era’s ideal of tall, blonde, handsome baseball player. At a mere 5-foot-7 and rather squat, with an odd face with a gap-tooth smile and wingy ears, the press compared him to a gnome and worse. But he was kind of cute, good-natured, and fun-loving, but most of all, a giant on the playing field.

There is hardly a dull moment in this thoroughly delightful film, with astounding revelations, interesting inside baseball facts, heartwarming and even heart-tugging stories, and an unparalleled human warmth, as you gain a deeper understanding of a man you thought you knew. You will leave realizing that Yogi Berra was one of baseball’s all-time greatest players, despite pop culture’s resistance to letting him be who he really was, and not just a funny character it has presented him as.

You can’t spend a more enjoyable and informative 98 minutes, if you are any kind baseball fan at all, than watching this delightful film about the wonderful little baseball giant Yogi Berra. IT AIN’T OVER delivers the goods – just as Yogi did, on the field, and off.

IT AIN’T OVER opens Friday, May 19, in theaters.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

TURN EVERY PAGE – Review

Robert Caro and Robert Gottlieb, in TURN EVERY PAGE. Photo credit: Claudia Raschke. Courtesy of Wild Surmise Productions, LLC / Sony Pictures Classics

What a delightful documentary is TURN EVERY PAGE – THE ADVENTURES OF ROBERT CARO AND ROBERT GOTTLIEB. This witty, warm and insightful documentary is like a double biography of two literary giants, legendary author Robert Caro and his long-time editor, the equally legendary Robert Gottlieb.

Robert Caro is the author of “The Power Broker,” an examination of the career of New York power broker Robert Moses, considered one of the most definitive non-fiction books on political power behind the scenes, and the award-winning four volume history of Lyndon B. Johnson. Robert Gottlieb is the editor-in-chief of prestigious publishing house Knopf and heads up the renown New Yorker magazine, and has edited an astonishing list of great authors and great books, including Joseph Heller’s Catch 22 (and Gottlieb came up with that number), John Le Carre, Salmon Rushdie, Toni Morrison, and so many more greats that it looks like a list of the best writers and books of the 20th century.

TURN EVERY PAGE is a delight especially if you are a reader, but even if you have an interest in politics and history or you just like meeting intelligent, charming people who have led interesting lives. The two Bobs are significant literary figures but this winning documentary surprises us with their personal stories and their quirky, appealing personalities.

These two men are among the most influential figures in publishing in the 20th century but TURN EVERY PAGE is filled with wit and affection, the personal side of two people with massive talent. Both are shy and charming, but with their prickly side and quirks. Their professional partnership yielded great writing and insightful history but telling their story also tells the story of publishing in a vanishing era.

The director is Gottlieb’s daughter, Lizzie, realized she was in a unique position to tell this story. Her closeness to both subjects is a big help in many ways, including because she knows both these men so well and therefore knows the right questions to ask, and where to find hidden gold for this documentary.

Robert Caro, 87, and Robert Gottlieb, 91, have worked together for 50 years, as partnership that continues as Caro now is working on his last volume on LBJ (which he describes as “volume 5 of a 3 volume biography”), while Gottlieb waits to edit it. But, as he has always done. Gottlieb does not ask when it will be finished, content to wait until Caro knows it is finished, despite the sense that both men are racing against time.

Not that Gottlieb is doing nothing as he waits. In fact he is impressively busy, as the documentary makes clear. He is editing other works, continues to lead the New Yorker, and helps manage a Miami ballet company! And he reads voraciously – everything.

The two Bobs are brilliant but definitely have their quirks. For one thing, they both had to be cajoled in this project. Secondly, they refused to be interviewed together, to even be in the same room. Rather a strange thing for two men who have worked together for so long. Part of the reason was they both felt what they did together, their discussions while editing a book, was too personal to share.

The title comes from something Caro’s editor at Newsday said to him, as he was just getting started as an investigative reporter -“turn every page,” meaning overlook nothing, do not assume, be diligent – you never know what will be revealed on the next page. It is a good description for both this documentary and the way these men have lived. Thorough, sincere, diligent, they both are deeply committed to achieving the highest level in their work. That goal is something that the many authors and readers featured in this documentary attest they have achieved.

The two men are charming but also very different. Gottlieb seems more sociable and funny, while Caro is more reserved and intensely private. Director Lizzie describes growing up in a house filled with literary figures, frequently gathered around the table for dinners. Everyone except Robert Caro. Caro was the distant enigma, the one who held himself apart, someone Lizzie Gottlieb describes as her “white whale.” One might expect such a figure to be cool, unpleasant, maybe curmudgeonly. Yet Caro is nothing like that. Instead he is polite, personable, smiling, but clearly a quiet, serious person who thinks deeply about his work and strives to make it as perfect as it can be. Still turning every page.

Then there was the debate over semicolons. Caro loves them, Gottlieb not so much. No really, this is serious stuff for these professionals who makes their living on words, but director Lizzie Gottlieb gives this debate a light comic touch, which makes us laugh a little, and uses it to bring out their personalities. Listening to the two of them verbally sparring over punctuation is amusing but surprisingly heartwarming.

The documentary delves into both men’s professional process and recaps some parts of Caro’s “The Power Broker,” on New York mover-and-shaker Robert Moses and his Lyndon Baines Johnson books, which reveal how the books reveal the inner workings of politics through these powerful men’s story. If you have read Caro’s books, the film gives insights on the author’s research, For those that have not, the documentary gives a taste of the kind of shocking revelations the books contain. Another thing the documentary spotlights is Caro’s equal devotion to the quality of the writing, something that makes his books a joy to read in themselves.

As much as the author and editor may battle over punctuation or Caro’s love of the word “loom,” the admiration both men have for each other comes through clearly. The documentary also captures a sense of a passing era, as these long-time collaborators reach the ends of their careers. In the end, the two Bobs finally agree to be filmed together as they work but only with the sound off, keeping what they say private. But that sense of an era gone by is captured poignantly as the two of them scour the Knopf offices in search of a number 2 pencil. It is a perfect moment with which to end this warm and insightful film.

TURN EVERY PAGE – THE ADVENTURES OF ROBERT CARO AND ROBERT GOTTLIEB opens Friday, Feb. 10, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas and other theaters.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

SIDNEY – Review

With each passing year, the stars and filmmakers that were part of Hollywood’s “Golden Age” depart, often to, as some have said with a whimsical wink, “that great late show in the sky”. And yet there was little levity evident near the beginning of 2022 when the arts lost a man who was more than merely a “matinee idol”. He was a true inspiration for millions, the first black actor to take home a competitive Best Actor Academy Award. That was 1964, and the man was Sidney Poitier. Now, over nine months since his passing, a talented team of documentarians have joined forces in a retrospective and a celebration of the life and legacy of SIDNEY.


So, who is the best choice to take us through that decades-spanning career, and give us a glimpse of his early years of poverty and struggle? Why none other than the man himself. But it’s not just assembled clips from interview archives, although there are some truly choice bits seen here. No, this is some of the last footage of Mr. Poitier, seated in front of a muted blue-hued backdrop and talking right to us. His cadence is a bit slowed and his thinning hair peppered with grey doesn’t detract from his commanding screen presence. Every word, every phrase is riveting as those still sparkling eyes bore into the viewer. He begins with a most powerful opening tale: he was not expected to live, since he “arrived” two months early. Historical footage and photos illustrate his early impoverished life on Cat Island in the Bahamas, soon moving to Nassau. His move to Miami proved a harsh “wake-up call” as he was exposed to ugly acts of bigotry, even encountering the Ku Klux Klan. New York City proved more nurturing, especially in Harlem, as Sidney learned to read while working as a dishwasher, and eventually got bitten by the “acting bug”. Lots of hard work and a few “lucky breaks” sent him to Hollywood for a major role in the 1950’s NO WAY OUT. As he began a family with his bride Juanita, Sidney would bounce between stage and screen, all leading to the golden statue for LILLIES OF THE FIELD. He wasn’t content to stay isolated in the studio system as he became actively involved in the civil rights movement of the mid-1960s. More triumphs occurred as he became a top ten box office champ, was one of the founders of the First Artists movie studio, and eventually moved behind the camera to become an acclaimed and successful film director. Quite the resume for a man who barely survived childbirth on the islands.

We can almost feel the waves of respect and affection for the film’s focus washing over us due to the expert direction of Reginald Hudlin and the scripted structure from Jesse James Miller. But it’s not just a “mash note” as the doc delves into the darker side of stardom and doesn’t shade away from the “rough spots” in Poitier’s personal and professional life. Surprisingly they got his first and second wives to speak about him as Sidney’s long affair with a former film co-star is examined. Plus we learn that there were complaints about his screen image along with the praise, with cries of “Uncle Tom” aimed his way as he became a 60s screen superstar. It’s inferred that his too “pristine and clean-cut” characters, even dubbed too slick and non-threatening for the general moviegoing public, paved the way for the 1970s “blaxploitation” flicks. But few of those interviewed had huge “beefs’ with his choices (Spike Lee still has a problem with THE DEFIANT ONES). We hear from so many Oscar-winners including Denzel Washington, Morgan Freeman, Halle Berry, Robert Redford, and Barbra Streisand (one of the other “First Artists”). Plus there are several clips of fan turned friend Oprah Winfrey, who’s also a producer on this. But the most endearing anecdotes may come from perhaps Sidney’s BFF for over 70 years, Harry Belafonte. Though the sadness glistens in his eyes, he comes alive speaking of their early rivalry, often going out for the same role (Harry thought one script was “stupid” until Sidney won an Oscar with it), their many “falling outs” (just as a longtime married couple one person remarks), and how he steered Poitier into the “third act” as a producer/director. But the most-gripping stories are those surrounding their work for Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., earning a “target on their backs” (the tale of a nighttime car chase in the South might give you chills). Of course, along with the two Mrs. Poitiers, we get to hear loving memories from all six of his daughters as they narrate some sweet home movies and videos. As for the film fans, some of his movies may get “short shrift” or left out, but the clips are “ID’d with release years, and we hear from his GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER co-star, and Lulu belts out a few bars of that film title theme classic. What’s not to love? Like the man himself…very little. Film fanatics and historians alike should revel (and add some movies to their “streaming queues”) after savoring the splendid profile of the man known to his family and friends as SIDNEY.

3.5 Out of 4

SIDNEY opens in select theatres and streams exclusively on AppleTV+ Friday, September 23, 2022

GABBY GIFFORDS WON’T BACK DOWN – Review

Former U.S. Congresswoman Gabby Giffords and her husband Senator Mark Kelly in the documentary GABBY GIFFORDS WON’T BACK DOWN. Courtesy of Briarcliff Entertainment.

GABBY GIFFORDS WON’T BACK DOWN is an uplifting, inspiring documentary about a woman who truly knows what it means to overcome: former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle “Gabby” Giffords, who was shot in the head by a would-be assassin. Although few even survive such as injury, Giffords not only did survive but made a remarkable recovery, regaining an ability to speak and walk, although she remains partly impaired in both. Much of the credit for her amazing recovery has to go to her own indomitable, optimistic personality – and a remarkable sense of humor – but it is also due to the unwavering support of her husband, former astronaut Mark Kelly, now an Arizona senator.

Gabby Giffords certainly won’t back down, as directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West show us in this uplifting, even joyful documentary. Cohen and West were the documentary team behind the excellent documentary RBG about Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg, and bring that same skill for storytelling about a strong woman to this film.

It is a heckuva comeback tale, backed by a bouncy soundtrack (including that Tom Petty song in the title). Documentarians Julie Cohen and Betsy West focus less on the assassination attempt that nearly took Giffords’ life (although it is included) than on Giffords’ career and life before that shooting, then detailing her amazing recovery from a brain injury that would have killed most, and then on to her work against gun violence since the attack, along with her husband Mark Kelly.

Using archival footage and interviews with friends, family, and colleagues, the documentary goes over Giffords’ early life and how her budding career in economics was interrupted when her family needed her to return home and run their faltering tire business. The documentary’s footage includes some commercials that the young Giffords made for the business, showing the bubbly personality that made her immensely popular in her hometown of Tucson, and made the business a success. When the family finally sold the business, they did quite well and by then Gabby had made a name for herself, and that popularity that made a run for public office a natural choice. After serving in the Arizona House and Senate, she was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives.

Giffords was at a constituent meet-and-greet in a shopping center near Tucson, Arizona in 2011 when she was shot in the head at point-blank range. Eighteen others were shot during the attack and six died, including a nine-year-old girl. Giffords’ injury was so severe, she was reported dead at one point, and few expected her to live, much less recover.

Yet she did live, and recovered much more than anyone would have expected. The documentary shows footage her husband Mark Kelly took to record her recovery, video which he shot so she could see how far she had come, as he knew she would not remember it due to her brain injury. It is some of the documentary’s hardest footage to watch, as Giffords struggles to even respond to those around her in the hospital, but the video does give us a true picture of how very far she was able to come in her recovery. It also offers glimpses into the amazing things that physical and other therapy can do, but watching these intimate moments, one has the feeling of intruding on something private. However, the film then shows Gabby herself watching that footage, and instead of winching or looking uncomfortable, she is laughing at herself. It turns out to be the perfect illustration of her incredible, upbeat personality, as well as how far she was able to come in recovery.

Giffords’ sense of humor, and her ability to laugh at herself, buoys the film, as does it’s catchy soundtrack, which includes some of her favorite songs as well as well-chosen selections from this skilled pair of women filmmakers. The filmmakers bring the same kind of magic to this project as they woven into the story of Ruth Bader Ginsberg to this story of another strong woman, and one that, like RBG, comes with a love story.

This is also an inspiring, heartwarming documentary about a marriage. Mark Kelly’s rock-solid support for his wife is sterling, but he also take up the political work she cares so deeply about, running for office after retiring from NASA, Together they also form a foundation to work against gun violence. However, as Giffords makes clear – and as would be expected in a native Arizonan – Giffords is not anti-gun and is a gun-owner herself but the couple are determined to address the issue of gun violence, as they work together for gun safety laws and on other issues they care about. While there is some discussion of that topic, the main focus of the film is not political but personal.

The filmmakers time and again spotlight her indomitable, upbeat personality, her positive, determined approach to challenges, and her refusal to back down from her life’s work. It also shines a wonderful spotlight on her bond with her husband Mark Kelly. Gabby’s ordeal also forged a bond with Mark’s daughters from his previous marriage, who had been cool to their dad’s new wife before the shooting. Watching her battle to recover, and seeing their dad’s devotion to her, changed all that and the family is now close. The couple are very much a team. A scene of Giffords coaching Kelly in political speech-making is particularly funny and warm.

With interviewees including President Barack Obama, Julie Cohen and Betsy West take us on an inspiring, hopeful journey, spiked with perfectly selected tunes that help illustrate their points and make this a more enjoyable film than you expect from such a tragic start.

GABBY GIFFORDS WON’T BACK DOWN offers us hope, with its inspirational, warm salute to an unstoppable woman, who won’t give up no matter what.

GABBY GIFFORDS WON’T BACK DOWN is available streaming starting Friday, Aug. 12.

RATING: 3 out of 4 stars

FIRE OF LOVE – Review

Volcanologists and filmmakers Maurice and Katia Krafft studying an erupting volcanoes, in the documentary FIRE OF LOVE. Courtesy of National Geographic Films.

Volcanoes and love often paired in romantic imagery but FIRE OF LOVE documents a real case of volcanic love, that of married volcanologists Katia and Maurice Kraft, who loved volcanoes, and each other, more than anything.

Even if you have never heard their names, you have likely seen their work, as their breath-taking film footage and still photos of volcanoes erupting have been used countless times in films, as well as appearing in their own documentaries. The couple initially shot the footage as a way to capture complex phenomenon for later scientific analysis, but because they got so close and were so skilled as photographers, the images are astounding, even works of art, in their own right.

The Kraffts have been the subjects of other documentaries, including Werner Herzog’s INTO THE INFERNO. Sara Dosa’s documentary has fabulous photography and a moving story about these ground -breaking scientists, who were also surprisingly charismatic, but takes a more reflective, poetic tone, with narration by Miranda July, about their remarkable, startling life together. It is an approach that works well with the Kraffts’ dramatic footage of erupting volcanoes, with Sara Dosa’s finely-honed editing. Dosa came across some of the Kraffts footage while working on another documentary, and was so taken with it, that she tracked down more and had it digitized for this documentary.

The documentary is titled FIRE OF LOVE but could almost also be called “love of fire” as volcanoes was their shared passion. Both were French, with Maurice from the Alsace region. Both Katia and Maurice were obsessed with volcanoes from childhood so when the two met it seemed like fate. They quickly fell in love and married, but decided from the start not to have children, perhaps thinking about the perilous work they planned on doing which risked orphaning any offspring.

Despite their shared love of volcanoes, they differed in their temperaments, their scientific focus and the roles each took differed as they worked side-by-side to study volcanoes. Katia’s degree was in physics and chemistry, while Maurice studied geology, which meant they had complementary scientific skills. They decided early that the best way to study them was by recording visually what was happening, which meant learning film-making techniques in challenging, dangerous situations. Both were bold and fearless in their work but Maurice was the greater risk-taker, while Katia was more cautious and methodical. Yet she had to go where Maurice went, in part to keep an eye on him.

The Kraffts strove to be the first on site of an erupting volcano and usually were, which gained them the respect of fellow volcanologists. To fund their work, the Kraffts produced books and films of the volcanoes, and toured speaking about their work. The couple included themselves in their documentaries, which added a level of human interest that contributed to their films success.

The Kraffts’ research led to a better to understanding of volcanoes and a new way to classifying them. They spent most of their career studying one kind of eruption, the type that erupts with a continuous flow of lava. Yet it is the other kind, the type that erupt suddenly with an explosion of gas and a pyroclastic flow, that is most deadly. In the documentary, the Kraffts refer to these as red and black, with the latter being the more dangerous kind. At one point, the Kraffts felt an need to research this more deadly, unpredictable volcano, and it was while studying one in Japan that they died.

The insightful, moving documentary FIRE OF LOVE is filled with the Kraffts’ fiery and beautiful images, as well as images and a wealth of information on the groundbreaking work and remarkable lives of this scientific couple.

FIRE OF LOVE, partly in French with English subtitles, opens Friday, July 29, in theaters.

RATING: 3.5 out of 4 stars

HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG – Review

Leonard Cohen. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Leonard Cohen Family Trust. © SONY PICTURES ENTERTAINMENT INC.

The new documentary HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG is a double biography of sorts, of beloved Canadian-Jewish songwriter/singer Leonard Cohen, who has had a cult-like following, particularly among musicians, and his most famous song “Hallelujah,” a song that seems to be everywhere and has taken on a life of its own, transforming from a more sacred form about King David to more secular form that appears in countless movie soundtracks and has become a favorite at weddings, funerals and singing contest. This excellent documentary, from co-directors Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine, has plenty for both long-time fans and those new to the musician’s work.

Unlike some previous documentaries about Leonard Cohen, who passed away in 2016, this one focuses more on his career and its evolution than on his personal or romantic life. The admiring, insightful documentary also incorporates a look at how the musician’s Jewish background, and his explorations of Judaism and Buddhism, impacted his work.

The well-researched HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG has a wealth of material, including plenty of concert footage, archival photos and interview footage with the late musician. Inspired by Alan Light’s non-fiction book “The Holy or the Broken: Leonard Cohen, Jeff Buckley & the Unlikely Ascent of Hallelujah,” the documentary features interviews with fellow musicians and admirers Judy Collins, Rufus Wainwright, and Glen Hazard, along with former Rolling Stone music journalist Larry “Ratso” Sloman, Cohen’s producer/co-composer/collaborator John Lissauer as well as long-time friends and even his rabbi. Directors Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine structure the documentary in a different way, bracketing their tracing the journey of that song, with the story of Cohen’s career and his personal and often spiritual journey as a songwriter.

The documentary follows Cohen’s early career and his transition from poet and literary light to musician and songwriter, up to his release of his famous song, then switching to tracing the journey of that song as others recorded it and altered it, and then returning to the tale of its creator, including how the growing fame of the song altered his life and career.

Born to a wealthy Orthodox Jewish Canadian family in Quebec, Leonard Cohen came to music a bit late, at age 30 when he was already a novelist and a poet acclaimed in literary circles. First a poet and later a songwriter, his lyrics were honest and open rather than comforting, with a knowing, dark humor. His Lithuanian-born mother was the daughter of a rabbi and Talmudic writer and there were prominent figures of Jewish life on his father’s side as well.

When Cohen turned to music in the late ’60s, he was embraced by Judy Collins, Bob Dylan and other folk rock greats and developed a cult following, but wide fame eluded him. Other musicians loved Cohen’s songs, with their poetic, deeply-thoughtful lyrics that didn’t always fit into neat categories. His song “Suzanne” became a hit for Judy Collins, but wider popular fame like Judy Collins and Bob Dylan achieved, remained elusive for Cohen. A partnering with famed producer Phil Spector proved unsatisfying and Cohen found a better producing partner in John Lissauer

Cohen’s most famous song is thought to have as as many as 150 verses, which allows for its many versions. Cohen worked on the song for about seven years, a time that overlapped with his exploration of kabbalah and the Torah. He first performed it it was as a more sacred song, about King David, He recorded that version with producer John Lissauer in 1983 for his album “Various Positions,” an album that his label Columbia Records disliked and declined to release in the U.S. (although another label later did release it).

The label later dropped him, but Cohen kept working on the song. As he toured, the song lyrics evolved from sacred to secular, with some verses frankly sexual. Meanwhile, other musicians took note of the song. John Cale recorded a cover of it, combining verses from the sacred and secular versions, which was followed by Jeff Buckley’s recording of that version. A music producer working on the animated movie “Shrek,” took the Buckley version, sanitized the lyrics, and included it in the soundtrack. A phenomenon was born.

The documentary follows the song’s long and winding road, which took some very unusual turns. It might be true that at one point Leonard Cohen’s song was famous than he was, and certainly there are people who know the song and have no idea he wrote it. Many people who may never have heard of Leonard Cohen first became familiar with the song as part the sound track for the animated movie SHREK. The song has been included on countless other movie soundtracks, has been used for singing contests and has become a favorite at both weddings and funerals, often with singers or listeners unaware of its strange history.

It is a strange situation for such a revered songwriter but the success of the song enabled a wider audience for the musician later in his career, a satisfying outcome. Cohen himself was pleased with the success of the song, as he says in one of the many interviews in this fine documentary. We hear Cohen reflect on his song, the impact it had on his later life, with a kind of paternal pride that it has gone so far, a satisfying insight.

One intriguing aspect of the film are excerpts from Cohen’s song-writing journals, giving a rare glimpse into his process. Interviews also support this focus, delving deep into Cohen as a poet/songwriter and Jewish spiritual explorer. A long period of living at Zen monastery is followed by a return to Judaism and life as a musician. In featured interview clips, Cohen seemed at peace with his moderate career, as he returned to touring, enjoying an extra level of late-life fame that came with the popularity of “Hallelujah,” until his death at age 82 in 2016.

There is so much that is surprising, intriguing, and deeply insightful about Leonard Cohen’s life in this film, and co-directors Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine do a marvelous job of bringing all that out and weaving it all into an very enjoyable and informative experience.

HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG opens Friday, July 29, in theaters.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

“Inventions That Changed History” – TV Series Review

The Super Soaker Patent on set backdrop lit up blue, in a scene from the Discovery+ TV series “Inventions That Changed History.” Courtesy of Discovery+

Despite the aura of gravitas implied by its title, “Inventions That Changed History” is a six-part documentary series streaming on Discovery+ that is delightfully quite the opposite. It’s a light-hearted look at many mundane-to-silly devices that have made make our lives a bit more enjoyable. Each episode presents the story behind the development of a half-dozen or so items that grabbed the public fancy or improved our quality of life within the past century. The products’ histories are related by a series of narrators, interspersed with a slew of quick takes from comedians and other pop-culture figures.

Comedian Piff the Magic Dragon, Jeff Ross, Flula Borg and “The Simpsons” ‘ Yeardly Smith are some of my own favorites among the many celebs lending their reactions to using the products or facts about their development. Subjects range from kitschy toys (Mr. Potato Head, Super Soakers, Easy Bake Ovens) to useful items (George Foreman Grill, boxed wine, flush toilets, exercise devices), to short-lived fads (pop rocks, fidget spinners, pet rocks), to nostalgia gear (lava lamps and mood rings).

Not all segments will be equally interesting to any given viewer but the presentations are short and perky, so you’ll soon be off to the next one. Viewers of any age will find items evoking fond childhood memories, since the shows cover things from all eras.

The episodes are themed. The first set is water-related; the next showcases food and drink. Those are followed by shows on fun stuff, relics from simpler times, convenience items and workout equipment. Based on the first two episodes available for review, these shows offer interesting and entertaining reminders of many things we enjoyed as kids, or used as adults, or both. The tone of these shows is family-friendly, and might stimulate cross-generational chats about everyone’s respective childhood experiences via some of the items that played a role in shaping them.

Learning is rarely less onerous. At least that’s what I recall from school days of yore.

“Inventions That Changed History” debuts streaming on Discovery+ on Mar. 31 with two episodes, followed by two more on Apr. 7 and the last two on Apr. 14.

RATING: 2.5 out of 4 stars

Jeffrey Ross with big cup of Sea Monkeys, in a scene from the Discovery+ TV series “Inventions That Changed History.” Courtesy of Discovery+

WRITING WITH FIRE – Review

One of the Dalit women journalists of Khabar Lahariya (‘Waves of News’), India’s only women-led news outlet, reporting a story, in the Oscar-nominated documentary WRITING WITH FIRE. Courtesy of Music Box Films.

WRITING WITH FIRE, a nominee for this year’s Best Documentary Oscar, is about India’s only women-run newspaper, a news source that has gone in digital since its founding in 2002, and one that covers stories overlooked by other news outlets, particularly on abuse, rape and corruption, with hard-hitting reporting and high journalistic standards. That is astonishing enough but the fact that all the women are also Dalits, the cast formerly known as untouchables, makes this news source seem nearly miraculous. But this is not fiction: these hard-working female reporters are the real thing.

WRITING WITH FIRE is one of two documentaries this past year about small news outlets doing journalism right, covering stories larger outlets won’t cover and serving their community and its right to know. The other one, STORM LAKE, tells an admirable story about an award-winning small town newspaper in the American heartland that is doing everything right, in a way so many larger news outlets no longer are. There is something hopeful in having two such uplifting documentaries, about the triumph of the “little guy,” in a year dominated by so much grimness.

In many ways, filmmakers Rintu Thomas’ and Sushmit Ghosh’s documentary WRITING WITH FIRE is the more amazing story. In 2002, a group of women in India established a women-run newspaper, Khabar Lahariya (‘Waves of News’). That is astonishing enough in a country where men dominate the news industry, and much of life generally. More amazing is that this group of women were also Dalits, the people once called “untouchables” who exist beyond the lowest level of India’s caste system. No one expected their newspaper to survive, yet it did. It still remains the only women-run paper in India.

Documentarians Rintu Thomas and Sushmit Ghosh follow these women as they engage in a fearless kind of journalism, reporting abuses and corruption no one else covers. Led by journalist Meera Devi, they investigate and report, but also train and encourage other Dali women who want to join them in doing what journalism is supposed to do: speaking truth to power. And they do that while battling both sexism and caste discrimination every day.

The title refers to several things, including the fiery devotion these women have to the mission of their news outlet for truth-telling, and their determination to covering stories that are too hot, too incendiary, for most other Indian media outlets. Often these are issues of particularly concern to women or to Dalits generally, who face prejudice and often live at the lowest rung of the economic ladder. But the title might also refer to their fierce commitment to each other.

These women journalists are committed to reporting untold stories with courage, but the whole operation serves another purpose: to encourage women who otherwise have little power to take control of their lives. The news outlet welcomes any woman who wants to join their effort, training them in reporting and giving them educational and job skills they never had before. All the staff work as a team, with a commitment to uplifting and supporting women like themselves. At the time the documentary was shot, the news outlet was actively embracing new media, arming their female reporters with smartphones for their work, women who have never owned a cell phone and might have little formal education. And it is impressive what these women can achieve with those tools and that encouragement.

The documentary follows the women journalists as they report on a series of stories, including one of serial rapes that have been ignored by both other media and the police. By digging deep and by dogged persistence, the reporters force both other media to recognize the crime and authorities to address it. The film also follows several individual stories, including one new young recruit with no education who discovers a self-confidence and ability she didn’t know she had before. Another thread focuses on a young woman who becomes a star reporter, and with eyes newly opened to life’s possibilities, embarks on higher education. Watching Meera Devi’s devotion to high journalistic standards and to covering the stories others won’t, combined with her skill and warmth as a mentor, is truly inspiring. The women are not only hard working but joyful in their work and fellowship with each other.

If you need a dose of uplift, in the face of all the negative things happening in the world now, WRITING WITH FIRE delivers that, just as these female reporters deliver the news their community needs. WRITING WITH FIRE, in Hindi with English subtitles, debuts on VOD on all major digital platforms on Mar. 22, and will have its TV debut on PBS’s “Independent Lens” on Mar. 28.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

THE AUTOMAT – SLJFF Review

AUTOMAT_film_Mel Brooks drinking coffee photographed by Carl Reiner while the two were writers for Your Show of Shows, c. 1950-1954 in The Automat. Photo courtesy of A Slice of Pie Productions

Mel Brooks, Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Colin Powell, Carl Reiner and Elliot Gould were all fans of the Automat, the iconic automated cafeterias that dominated New York and Philadelphia in the first half of the 20th century. THE AUTOMAT, Lisa Hurwitz’s delightful, enlightening documentary, serves up pure charm, and Mel Brooks, in this look back at the Horn and Hardart Automat, a now-vanished beloved, and unique, American institution.

THE AUTOMAT is available to stream as part of the virtual St. Louis Jewish Film Festival through Mar. 13. For tickets and more information, visit their website https://jccstl.com/arts-ideas/st-louis-jewish-film-festival.

THE AUTOMAT delivers a dazzling array of memories from those who ate there, alongside the history of the rise and fall of the Automat. It delivers the same warm appeal as the Automat’s own delicious slice of pie and perfect cup of coffee.

It was once the country’s largest restaurant chain, although it was only in two cities. Founded in the last 19th century and enduring into the middle of the 20th, the Automat was a magical combination of contradictory things. It was single company but was known by different names in its two cities. In New York, it was the Automat, while in Philadelphia, it was called Horn and Hardart.

Before there was fast food, the Automat served up food fast but it wasn’t “fast food.” It was fine dining, delicious food served on real plates, in a beautiful space. The high-quality food was key to its success, but it was sold at low prices, with no tipping because the food was dispensed by an innovative coin-operated system that seemed thrillingly futuristic in the early 20th century.

On top of that, the dining rooms were opulent Art Deco palaces, with marble floors and tables and brass fittings. The high-quality coffee came out of spouts designed to look dolphin heads, inspired by Italian fountains. The food was dispensed from banks of gleaming metal and glass doors behind which were tempting dishes. Put a nickel in the slot and the glass door popped open so you could to take your pie, mac and cheese, sandwich or Salsbury steak.

Founders Joseph Horn and Frank Hardart wanted it to be a luxurious place but welcoming to everyone – immigrants, secretaries, kids, rich, poor, celebrities alike. The Automat welcomed both whites and Blacks, at a time when integrated spaces were rare.

You might meet anyone at the Automat, which helped make it a popular setting for movies. If you are a fan of classic films of the ’30s, ’40s or ’50s, you have likely seen the Automat on screen.

Lisa Hurwitz’s fine documentary gives you a glimpse of all that storied history, through entertaining interviews with famous people who went there, people who worked there, and historians and collectors who preserve its memory. Researching the Automat, Hurwitz was struck by the deep nostalgia it evoked.

Mel Brooks is a big part of the documentary, pretty much its star. Brooks composed a song for it, and even sings it in the film.

The documentary gets off to a quirky start, with Mel Brooks being interviewed about whether the wants to participate, and footage of the director Lisa Hurwitz entering a dilapidated old antique shop, in which there are the dusty and decaying remnants of the once glorious Automat’s food dispensers. We are not sure what to expect at first but THE AUTOMAT quickly finds its footing and draws us in.

The fascinating interviews include those with members of the Horn and Hardart families, former employees, customers, and historians. The well-researched film offers interviews with the famous, telling tales of other famous names, such as Jack Benny, who once hosted a red-carpet dinner at the Automat, handing out rolls of quarters to tuxedo-ed and fur-wrapped party-goers. Another interviewee is the founder of Starbucks, Howard Schultz, who credits the Automat for inspiring his own restaurant chain. Along with the interviews and stories, there is a wealth of rare archival images and footage.

The documentary, which was shot over the course of eight years, has a string of celebrities that is impressive. As mentioned, these include not just Mel Brooks but Elliott Gould and the late Carl Reiner, plus the late Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg and Secretary of State Colin Powell. RBG did her homework there, and Powell says he was introduced to the idea of integrated spaces there, which would serve him well in his military career. Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner met there regularly while working as gag writers for Sid Caesar;s comedy show. It was a favorite hangout for Broadway show people, particularly bit players and those in the chorus, who appreciated its low prices and egalitarian atmosphere.

It was one company but the each of the two founders ran it in its two cities, Horn in Philly and Hardart in NY. Horn came from the restaurant trade and wanted a place where office workers of all walks could have lunch, breakfast or dinner. Hardart came from New Orleans, with a commitment to fine food and especially outstanding coffee. There were no waiters but their excellent treatment of the staff, who were well paid and well-treated, built unparalleled loyalty.

The automated service seemed futuristic in the early 20th century, but the beautiful brass and marble fixtures spoke of Old World elegance. For kids, the coin-operated dispensers were a magnet. With a handful of nickels, they could get whatever they wanted.

The documentary’s rise and fall of an American business pattern gives the documentary a dramatic arc. The documentary has a exhilarating energy, tracing the blossoming of a clever food delivery idea into a beloved empire that once seemed unstoppable. Its heights are followed by tragedy, as it faded after it was no longer in family hands.

Changing times, the flight to the suburbs, and the rise of fast food all contributed to the decline and demise of the Automat. Director Hurwitz steers us through this chapter gently, and like most of the film, it is the interviewees, the people who witnessed it or their descendants who tell the tale. The sweet, wistful fondness of so many is captured by Mel Brooks, who comments near the end that someone should bring it back.

This documentary is a treat not to be missed. Combining rock-solid scholarship with charming storytelling, THE AUTOMAT casts a wonderful spell, making one wish they could be transported back in time to have a cup of coffee there with Mel Brooks and Carl Reiner.

THE AUTOMAT is available to stream as part of the 2022 St. Louis Jewish Film Festival through Mar. 13.For tickets and more information, visit their website https://jccstl.com/arts-ideas/st-louis-jewish-film-festival.

THE CONDUCTOR – SLJFF Review

Conductor Marin Alsop, the first woman to lead a major American symphony orchestra, in a scene from the documentary THE CONDUCTOR. Courtesy of St. Louis Jewish Film Festival.

Joyful is a good word for Bernadette Wegenstein’s delightful, inspiring biographical documentary THE CONDUCTOR, about Marin Alsop, the first woman conductor of a major American orchestra, the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. It is still an exceedingly rare thing, even in the 21st century, for a woman to lead a major American orchestra, rarer even than a woman leading nations.

THE CONDUCTOR is part of the 2022 St. Louis Jewish Film Festival, which is virtual again this year, meaning all films can be streamed through the festival website through March 13. For tickets and more information, visit their website https://jccstl.com/arts-ideas/st-louis-jewish-film-festival.

The documentary, one of the featured films at the 2022 St. Louis Jewish Film Festival, spotlights the career and life of Marin Alsop. Alsop has led a life of firsts and impressive accomplishments, including winning a MacArthur genius grant. This enjoyable, informative documentary also offers insights on what conductors do and why they are necessary, and features including some archival footage of Leonard Bernstein speaking on the subject.

It was Leonard Bernstein who inspired Alsop to want to become a conductor, and later became her mentor. We get plenty of Bernstein in archival footage encouraging young Alsop.

Alsop herself is a funny, smart, charismatic woman who projects immense charm and down-to-earth wit, and an amazing commitment to music. Even if you are not particularly a classical music fan, the documentary will still delight. However, for those who are serious music fans, they are endless delights in this excellent documentary, full of glorious music along side insights on conductors, and one heck of a underdog story. THE CONDUCTOR’s beautiful music will lift hearts, as Alsop’s remarkable story inspires, a tale of a woman musician who dreamed of being a conductor and just wouldn’t take no for an answer.

As the only child of struggling Jewish professional classical musicians in New York City, it was often a lonely childhood for Marin, as her freelancing parents worked as many as four jobs a day. It was a foregone conclusion Marin would be a musician, but at about age nine, she had an life-altering experience, when she attended a children’s concert led by Leonard Bernstein. Bernstein spoke directly to the young audience about the music and, immediately, he became her hero. She knew instantly what she wanted to do in life: become a conductor.

However, when she excitedly shared her new ambition with her teacher at Julliard, she was told flatly women couldn’t be conductors. It seemed everyone opposed the idea – except her musician father. And later, her mentor, Leonard Bernstein.

Marin Alsop’s love of music, and people, is infectious and her personal charm is part of the appeal of this wonderful documentary. The music is a delight, woven throughout this wild but true story, much of which is told by Marin Alsop herself. Alsop is a spellbinding speaker, quick-witted and accessible, and director Wegenstein combines those wonderful scenes with Alsop with archival stills and footage, additional interviews, and a few scenes dramatically recreating Alsop’s childhood experiences.

Alsop is also determined and stubborn. At one point, Alsop tells us that the best way to get her to do something is to tell her she can’t.

Although music seemed always in her future, Alsop’s journey was no straight shot. I tried to turn every struggle into an opportunity, Alsop says at one point. Chafing under the strict rules and controlling teachers at Julliard, which she felt smothered individuality, Alsop suddenly veered from the Julliard track. She switched to attend Yale, considering pursuing a career outside music.

Breaking away from classical, she decided she wanted to play rock and roll violin (something unheard of at the time, she notes) but instead paired with a jazz composer and started a Swing-style jazz orchestra – even though she didn’t know anything about the genre. She assembled an all-woman band, named Swing Fever. They were all from Julliard, so they were used to playing exactly what was on the page. But to succeed, they had to learn how to swing the music. They did, and the group became a hit.

Trying to return to Julliard to study conducting, Alsop found her way blocked. So with the help of a Japanese businessman investor, she formed her own orchestra, began to conduct and gain experience. In 1989, she won a prize to be a student conductor at Tanglewood, which brought her back to her hero, Leonard Bernstein, who became her mentor.

The documentary’s section on her work with Bernstein is particularly appealing, capturing the warm and closeness between the two. The film’s inspiring upward arc of firsts really takes off as we follow Alsop’s upward trajectory. Among her accomplishments was being the Creative Conductor Chair for the St. Louis Symphony from 1994 to 1996.

In 2007, Alsop found herself in the running to lead the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. At the time, no woman had ever led a major American symphony orchestra like the BSO. The documentary details her challenging journey, facing bracing sexism, even from the orchestra members who had never met her. So she introduced herself, and won them over.

THE CONDUCTOR not only details Alsop’s professional triumphs but aspects of her personal life, and her commitment to opening doors for others, so they don’t have to face the obstacles she did. There is footage of Alsop teaching and her mentorship projects, including a music programs for disadvantaged city kids. Not content to be the first woman to lead a major orchestra, Alsop is determined not to be the last.

THE CONDUCTOR is exhilarating in its uplifting, underdog story, a wonderful inspiring story made even more heartwarming by the presence of the charming Marin Alsop and backed by wonderful music. It is nearly impossible to leave this film without a smile on your face. THE CONDUCTOR plays the virtual St. Louis Jewish Film Festival, along with a free virtual discussion between the director and Erik Finley, Vice President and General Manager of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.

THE CONDUCTOR is available to stream as part of the 2022 St. Louis Jewish Film Festival through Mar. 13. For tickets and more information, visit their website https://jccstl.com/arts-ideas/st-louis-jewish-film-festival.