Tag: Documentary

WHERE’S MY ROY COHN? – Review

Left to Right: Roy Cohn, Donald Trump.
Photo by Sonia Moskowitz. Courtesy Sony Pictures Classics

“Have you no sense of decency, sir?” was the question asked of Sen. Joe McCarthy at the Army-McCarthy hearings but right beside him was Roy Cohn. If the question instead had been asked of McCarthy’s young associate, the honest answer would have been no. A famously vicious lawyer and Donald Trump’s mentor. Roy Cohn is the subject of director Matt Tyrnauer’s fascinating documentary WHERE’S MY ROY COHN?

That question directed at Sen. McCarthy was asked by Sen. Joseph Welch, and brought an end to McCarthy’s reign of terror in the 1950s. The documentary takes a close look at the man sitting beside McCarthy, a ruthless lawyer and power broker who many have described as the embodiment of evil. With young attorney Roy Cohn whispering in his ear, Sen. Joe McCarthy conducted Senate investigations during the “Red Scare” on a witch hunt for hidden communists, and then another directed at weeding out homosexuals working in government during the 1950s, arguing that their homosexuality made them targets for blackmail and therefore security risks.

The hearings launched Roy Cohn into the public spotlight, although he had already played an important historical role by unethically pushing the judge for the death penalty for Ethel and Julius Rosenberg during their espionage trial, despite scant evidence against Ethel. Today, many younger people might better know Roy Cohn as a character in Tony Kushner’s play “Angels In America,” if they have heard of him at all. But his influential role in Donald Trump’s career elevates Cohn’s historical significance and, in fact, the documentary’s title comes from a quote attributed to Trump in 2018.

There is a kind of chilling fascination in taking a close look at a man many considered the embodiment of evil, but the fact that Roy Cohn, a brilliant but vicious lawyer and political power broker know for his always-attack style, was also Donald Trump’s mentor makes the documentary WHERE’S MY ROY COHN? timely as well as morbidly engrossing.

Why would one want to see a documentary about such a distasteful figure? Tyrnauer makes a compelling case for the enduring impact Roy Cohn and his “take no prisoners” style have had on the country, and it indirectly offers insights on our current political landscape. The documentary is engrossing, although there is a kind of sick fascination aspect to delving into Cohn’s monstrous, immoral world.

Tyrnauer crafts a fascinating, frightening biographical documentary that takes us into the heart of darkness of Roy Cohn, beginning with his childhood. The only child of a woman from a wealthy family and an unhappy marriage, Cohn’s mother both doted on her son and was dissatisfied with him. With a brilliant mind, an astounding memory, and boundless ambition, Roy Cohn developed an aggressive legal style where he attacked first, never apologized, and lied freely without remorse.

Cohn first shot to public prominence as Sen. Joe McCarthy’s right-hand man at the infamous 1950s “Red Scare” witch hunt, but he had already illegally influenced the judge in the espionage trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg. Described in this documentary as a classic “self-hating Jew,” Cohn was also a closeted gay man, who died of AIDS in the 1980s, yet assisted McCarthy and J. Edgar Hoover, another closeted gay man, in their witch hunt for homosexuals in government, arguing they were a security risk because of the potential they could be blackmailed in that homophobic era.

The film is packed with archival footage of Cohn at work, stills of him partying at nightclubs and on yachts, and interviews commenting on his life. Among those featured in the documentary are political strategist Roger Stone and gossip columnist Liz Smith. Cohn was close to Barbara Walters and Ron and Nancy Reagan, among others of the rich and powerful.

Roy Cohn is undeniably a remarkable if horrifying historical figure, whose life of excess embodies an era and whose junkyard-dog legal and public style continues to influence our world today. After Sen. McCarthy’s fall from influence, Cohn shifted from politicians to defending the heads of crime families in court, famously getting one gangster off with a light sentence even though he murdered his victim in front of witnesses.

One interviewee in the documentary describes Cohn as being where the political powerful meets the criminal underworld. Known for his loyalty to his friends and clients as well as his vicious legal style, Cohn cultivated friendships with Ronald and Nancy Reagan and other power elites of the ’70s and ’80s. Cohn hobnobbed with the rich and famous at exclusive hot spots like Studio 54, leading a lavish and high-profile life.

As the documentary explores the personal and political sides of Roy Cohn, it makes a strong case for how he shaped our current political landscape. On one hand, the documentary has the “can’t look away” draw of a train wreck but it also provides valuable insights on how his attack-style of public behavior continues influence the world we live in.

WHERE’S MY ROY COHN? is essential viewing for everyone in this country, for this insights it provides on Trump’s playbook, if for no other reason. It opens Friday, Oct. 18, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL – Review

A still from MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL by Stanley Nelson, an official selection of the Documentary Premieres program at the 2019 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute | photo by Guy Le Querrec. All photos are copyrighted and may be used by press only for the purpose of news or editorial coverage of Sundance Institute programs. Photos must be accompanied by a credit to the photographer and/or ‘Courtesy of Sundance Institute.’ Unauthorized use, alteration, reproduction or sale of logos and/or photos is strictly prohibited.

Both jazz fans and those less familiar with the jazz legend will find much to like in Stanley Nelson’s fascinating, well-made introduction to Miles Davis, particularly the abundant use of Davis’ music and the evocative black-and-white photos. If you are not already a fan of Miles Davis’ music, the documentary MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL may change that.

We all know the popular image of Miles Davis, the angry man who would not compromise his music, but this thoughtful documentary goes well beyond that simplified image, peeling back layers of a gifted, complicated, flawed person devoted to music. Both jazz fans and those less familiar with the jazz legend will find much to like in this fascinating, well-made introduction to Miles Davis.

The documentary generally follows Davis’ career and life chronologically. It covers pivotal aspects of his personal life and adds historical context of the times but there is a strong emphasis on his music. The documentary spotlights his remarkable genius and his innovative impact on jazz, making it the height of cool and taking it to a wider popularity, but it also offers an honest portrait of a talented complicated, flawed man who lived for his music.

Miles Davis’ own words are a focus, read by actor Carl Lumbly in a gravelly voice that evokes Miles’ own. This well-made documentary is also filled with his Davis’ music and lots of gorgeous black-and-white stills and film footage that captures the man and his era in an immersive and enjoyable fashion.

Jazz is complicated, often difficult music, much admired by classically-trained musicians but sometimes difficult for other ears. Miles Davis’ particular genius was in transforming jazz with groundbreaking innovations while simultaneously making it into a wildly popular with a wider audience, an astonishing feat that this documentay explores skillfully.

Local connections abound in this documentary. Davis was born in Alorton, Illinois, and grew up in East St. Louis, the son of the second-wealthiest man in Illinois, a rare thing for a black man in early twentieth century America. The local debut of this film on Sept. 6 at the Tivoli theater was attended by members of Miles Davis’ family and the filmmakers.

Despite his father’s wealth, this was also a time of Jim Crow and open racism, and Davis’ childhood was also marred by his parents’ contentious relationship and his father’s abuse of his mother. Davis was a dreamy, odd child who was always enamored with music but his parents battled over his musical direction. His father insisted he learn trumpet rather than violin, but his mother saw to it that he attended Julliard. While studying at Julliard, Davis played in bands in Harlem, and haunted clubs searching for his musical idols.

His studies at Julliard were complicated when his high school sweetheart showed up, with his child in tow and another on the way. The demands on him were enormous, but he focused on music and his family suffered. By the end of the ’40s, at Julliard, he was working with his another musician on something called Birth of the Cool, a melding of jazz and classical. That work took him to Paris. Bebop was the jazz at the time, complicated brainy music and post-WWII Europe was particularly open to this new jazz. Miles Davis loved Paris, where he met French singer Juliette Greco and fell in love. She introduced him to French intellectuals and artists including Satre and Picasso, who treated him as an equal and who considered jazz the height of art. those experiences helped Davis realize not all white people were prejudiced, which had been his experience in America.

Coming back from France, was a hard adjustment, He lost his focus and developed a heroin habit living in NY. His father came to get him and take him back to East St. Louis. Eventually, he returned to music and beat the habit but addiction continued to haunt him at time throughout his life.

The documentary is affectionate and sympathetic but honest about Miles’ flaws and mistakes, his drug used and failed marriages. All the same, the major focus is, as it should be, on his music. There are interviews with several musician who worked with Miles dotted throughout the documentary, as well as commentary from musical experts and academics. Some of the best insights come from musicologist Tammy Kernodle. Among the interviewees are also Washington University professor Gerald Early.

Davis recognized early on that his classical-training gave him an edge over many other popular musicians, and he made use of that fully. A few albums get a special spotlight, particularly the groundbreaking “Kind of Blue,” which shot Davis to fame as well as bringing jazz new fans and a wider popularity. Samples of the music illustrate why in enjoyable fashion. The documentary also delves into Miles’ unique improvisational style, the creative freedom he gave his band members, and his generosity in mentoring other musicians, particularly John Coltrane.

This is a wonderful, insightful introduction to the man and his music, both complicated but worthwhile subjects. The film. MILES DAVIS: BIRTH OF THE COOL opens Friday, Sept. 6, at the Tivoli Theater.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

FIDDLER: A MIRACLE OF MIRACLES – Review

Looking back on the previous century, we see that the good ole’ U.S. of A. gave birth (or at least nursed and nurtured) several, vibrant art forms. A revered trio springs to mind, ones originally looked down upon by “the cultural elite”, but now celebrated worldwide. There’s jazz, graphic sequential story art (a “fancy-schmancy” term for comic strips and comic books) and the theatrical musical comedy. And amongst the hundreds produced (many barely made it past opening night), a couple of dozen or so could be called perennials ,shows that are constantly revived on the “great white way” while still being staples of community theatres, along with colleges, high schools, and even middle or “grammar” schools. Of those, the Rogers and Hammerstein classics (“Oklahoma”, The King and I”, etc.) get the most “play”, followed closely by another duo, Lerner and Lowe (“Brigadoon”, “My Fair Lady”). Then there are those singular classics from the 50s and 60s that may have made that time a real golden age of Broadway musicals: “West Side Story”, “Guys and Dolls”, “Cabaret”, “Hello Dolly”, and the focus of this new documentary, “Fiddler on the Roof”. Yes, it has wonderful songs and characters, but it’s also set in a dark time for an oppressed people. In a time when most producers avoided it, this was a show that was proudly “ethnic”. So how did it become a beloved piece of entertainment? The filmmakers and interview subjects do their best to answer that query in FIDDLER: A MIRACLE OF MIRACLES.

The backstory starts with a real “grabber’ (almost as good as the show’s “overture”). It’s a year or so ago and Danny Burstein emerges from a dark subway stairway to see the blazing lights of THE Broadway theatre where he stars in the latest revival of the show. He casually strolls to the stage entrance, signs his name to the list (just like all the cast) and marches into his dressing room to start “warming up”. After a few of his comments, the film pulls a near whiplash-inducing flashback to the late 1950s, when several talents met with the intention of bringing a musical adaptation of the stories created by Sholem Aleichman (a nice shot of his statue follows). They wisely decided to focus on one of the author’s most beloved characters, Tevye the milkman ( he had made to the movies in the late 30s in a Yiddish-language film). We get lots of screen time with those creators, archival interviews with composer Jerry Bock and playwright/adaptor Joseph Stein, along with recent footage of lyricist Sheldon Harnick. “Super producer” Hal Prince reluctantly signs on, as does prickly director/choreographer Jerome Robbins (fresh from his double Oscar win). An actor from that original production, Austin Pendelton, relates some juicy backstage stories (bye, bye whimsical song about the returning messiah). We’re told of the show’s long run, as it shattered Broadway records, leading to the celebrated movie version and tales from the film’s director Norman Jewison and its star Topol. The most surprising “miracle’ is the show’s astounding success outside NYC. The little town of Anatevka seems to take over the world (a lengthy run in Japan), eventually getting to the schools (we see a college in Thailand) with children pasting on beards. All along we hear from the show’s legacy: the sons of the first two Tevyes, Josh Mostel (son of Zero) and Michael Bernardi (son of Hershel who starred in an all Yiddish Broadway revival directed by Joel Grey), and “super fan” Lin Manuel-Miranda. This is all topped off with a very moving performance by Michael and a troupe of performers in the story’s real setting (looking unchanged from over a hundred years).

Director/co-writer Max Lewkowicz (with Valerie Thomas) has crafted a most affectionate and respectful cinematic “mash note” to this immortal piece of entertainment. Though it often overuses the documentary trope of ‘talking heads”, those doing the talking are most enthusiastic, having lots to tell, especially concerning the aforementioned Robbins (“prickly” is pretty tame). At first, he acts as the “villain” of the tale, but his background presents him as the story’s truly tragic real character. The film doesn’t shy away from the show’s many controversies, mainly its “toning down” of the religious persecution. We even get a glimpse of the ‘firestorm” about an inner-city school performing the show, with protesters upset about African-American and Hispanic children playing the roles. Thankfully, an audiotape of their show survives, lettering us hear the “cracking” pre-teen voices belting out those tunes. And what tunes. Most shows are lucky to have two “standards”, while this one has a couple of songs often heard at weddings. Speaking of those events, we get to see Mr. Miranda joining his father-in-law for a joyous rendition of “To Life” on the reception dance floor. Plus we’re treated to some nice animated sequences, simple watercolor-like art to set the mood (the same can be said of the famous work of Marc Chagall, whose pieces inspired the stage backdrops vis Boris Aronson, the ad poster, and even the show’s title). And there’s Topol’s (chosen for the film because he exuded more “sex appeal” than Zero) hilarious story of his agony during the filming of his “big number” (you may not look at it the same way again). For “theatre geeks” this doc will add to their already great love of the show’s history and “Tradition”. For the casual fan, FIDDLER: A MIRACLE OF MIRACLES is the best example of “infotainment”, leaving you humming those gorgeous melodies from “Sunrise” to “Sunset”! “All day long you’ll biddy-biddy-boom”.

3 out of 4

FIDDLER: MIRACLE OF MIRACLES opens everywhere and screens exclusively in the St. Louis area at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinemas and the Hi-Pointe’s Backlot Theatre.

HONEYLAND – Review

HONEYLAND is a documentary but it seems more like a narrative film with its strong dramatic arc and touching story. There is no narration and no introductory text to tells us in this visually-stunning award-winner at Sundance, which gives us a moving tale a traditional beekeeper in North Macedonia.

HONEYLAND opens with a gorgeous shot of a middle-aged woman in traditional Eastern European garb, making her way across a windswept rocky landscape. The camera follows her as she climbs up the mountainside and inches along a ledge, while the wind whips her skirts around. She then stops to pry loose a rock, which reveals a wild honeybee hive. Calmly, slowly, she reaches in and pulls out honeycombs and bees, and puts them in her basket.

It is a graceful, contemplative action, and the landscape is dramatic, setting the tone for this stunning, immersive documentary. The woman is traditional beekeeper in rural North Macedonia, a vanishing tradition, a perhaps the last of her kind, although with the film does not let us know that directly. Instead, HONEYLAND tells its human story more like an epic, with such a strong dramatic pull that one has to remind oneself that it is documentary. There is no introductory text at the start to tell us who she is or where we are, and there is no voice-over. Instead it is just the fly-on-the-wall camera, strikingly beautiful photography, and a intimate tale of a human life. The story is filled with human sweep, moments of humor, and an unspoken message about cultural change and caring for the earth.

The woman, Hatidze, lives in a small stone hut with her elderly mother, who is bed-ridden, blind in one eye and a little deaf. The landscape around their home is strewn with crumbling stone walls, and looks like it was once a small village. Now, all the other houses are in ruin, and Hatidze and her mother have only a dog and a couple of cats for company.

Still, they seem content with their simple life in the hut lit by candles and a wood stove. Chatting and joking in a way that reveals their close relationship, and the daughter’s good-naturalness and basic decency shine through in her care for her feisty mother. Occasionally, the beekeeper travels to the nearby city of Skopje to sell her honey, where her traditionally garb, of headscarf, high-neck blouse, flowing skirt and heavy stockings, make her look like she stepped out of another time. She socializes with vendors at the market, and does a little shopping. Hatidze is no beauty but we learn through conversations with her mother she once had other ambitions for her life. Her gentle personality, devoted care for her mother, and her unfailing politeness make her shine, winning out hearts.

At first, it looks as if the documentary will continue in this quiet fashion. But then neighbors arrive, and the quiet changes to chaos. Arriving in a mobile home, a couple move in across the street, with lots of noisy children, chickens, and a herd of cattle, none of which they seem to know how to manage. The father, Hussein, may be well-meaning but he is clearly in over his head, and has a tendency to blame others around him for his mistakes, particularly the children. The beekeeper and her mother are wary at first but since the newcomers speak the same Turkic language they are hopeful. Soon the children come over, and then the parents cone to visit. Gentle, good-natured Hatidze seems to enjoy the company, particularly the children, with whom she plays sweetly.

But the neighborly warmth doesn’t last, things grow tense when Hussein starts doing things that endanger Hatidze’s bees, ignoring Hatidze’s gentle helpful advice and then her complaints. There is tension and conflict, and the story takes unexpected twists as the two families try to figure out if they can indeed be neighbors.

The human drama on the screen is remarkable, all the more so because this is real life unfolding before our eyes. In the process, our admiration grows for Hatidze’s basic character, her resilience, warmth, and even a natural nobility. HONEYLAND is a documentary that is beautifully filmed, has a moving human story and unforgettable people, as well as something important to say about the value of traditional sustainable practices.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

ONE CHILD NATION – Review

A scene from the documentary ONE CHILD NATION. Courtesy of Amazon Studios

Sundance’s grand jury prize winning documentary ONE CHILD NATION examines the impact of China’s brutally-enforced “One Child” policy, from the viewpoint of people who experienced it. This is an eye-opening documentary about a policy that shaped modern China in many ways, but told from a very personal and human perspective. Director Nanfu Wang was born under China’s One Child policy, which restricted families to one child only from 1979 to 2015, but has lived in the U.S. as an adult. Growing up, she thought little about the policy which seemed a part of ordinary everyday life – until she had a child of her own.

Returning with her infant son to visit family in China, director Wang began to peel back the layers of this pervasive policy by talking to people directly impacted by it – doctors and local officials that enforced it, and family and neighbors who experienced its devastating effects. What Wang uncovers, through personal experiences, is something much darker and deeper than we expect, far beyond an idea for family planning.

While any documentary might have taken a straight-forward historical approach to the one-child policy, Wang’s ONE CHILD NATION focuses on individual people, both those impacted by the policy and those who carried it out. That choice makes this documentary more harrowing and gut-wrenching than a conventional documentary might have been.

As Wang notes, the policy was instituted at a time when China’s large and growing population was sparking fears of famine among Chinese Communist government officials. The policy included a propaganda campaign promoting the “One Child” policy, public social pressures to reinforce that and a host of local government officials and doctors to see that it was strictly enforced. Those enforcement efforts went much further than many suspected, as Wang’s investigation reveals.

Wang takes a very warm and personal approach, starting off by noting that her family was a bit different that most Chinese ones under the One Child policy in that her parents were granted permission to have a second child, an exception sometimes given to rural families like hers. Wang talks about how as a child in China under the policy, it was a source of social embarrassment at school that she had a younger brother. The consequences for having a second child without permission were severe.

The director’s return home with her baby sparks her curiosity about the One Child policy. Wang starts out with just questions for her family about how the now-abandoned policy might have impacted them directly. Her questions reveals a lingering reluctance to discuss the topic, one tinged with fear perhaps, and also lead her to discover a long-held family secret.

She interviews a retired local official who reveals some of the harshness of the policy before her inquiry is shut down with implied threats from the official’s wife. The official describes talks with people and admits that families who violated the policy by having another child often had their houses knocked down but the interview sparks her journalistic curiosity about other consequences. She tracks down a doctor who participated in enforcing the policy, who now helps families with infertility as a form of atonement, and finds that enforcing the ban extended far beyond talks or the destruction of houses the official described.

This is shocking, bracing stuff that makes clear the reason for the reluctance to talk about it. Wang delves into what happened to pregnant women, to babies born in violation of the policy, and the rise of the international adoption industry, which has a darker side than one might expect.

Wang’s focus on person stories and first-hand experience brings home the way this policy impacted people, with more emotional impact than a drier documentary approach would. Wang also expresses her opinion that this restrictive, strictly-enforced government policy limiting families has parallels, through the common theme of government dictating decisions on child-bearing to women, to forces in the U.S. pushing to pass laws restricting access to abortion. Some viewers may disagree but Wang notes that in her opinion both are cases of outsiders intruding in making family decisions.

This deep dive into the One Child policy uncovers how it transformed Chinese society and impacted individuals, an impressive piece of investigative journalism from a personal, human perspective. This is an eye-opening revelatory documentary n

The results of Wang’s inquiry are startling. Her personal investigation takes us deep into this strictly-enforced edict which had a profound impact on the lives of all Chinese people, revealing heartbreaking, even horrifying details about this how this family planning policy was carried out and its consequences. Wang’s skillful, probing style makes us feel like we are going down a deep rabbit hole of secrets long held, connecting dots unsuspected between the one-child policy and its legacy in the present. The searing documentary gives us insights on the people who endured it and the Chinese government that enforced it. ONE CHILD NATION is a revelatory documentary no one should miss.

ONE CHILD NATION opens Friday, Aug. 23, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

RATING: 3 1/2 out of 4 stars

DAVID CROSBY: REMEMBER MY NAME – Review

David Crosby (center), jamming with Neil Young (l), Stephen Stills (r) and Tim Drummond (bass), during a Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young concert at Texas Stadium, Dallas-Ft. Worth, Texas, August 31, 1974. Photo by Joel Bernstein. Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics.

David Crosby has a golden voice and has had a storied career as part of Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young, and the Byrds, having sung or written songs that were the soundtrack of the Woodstock generation. Even if you don’t know his name, you recognize some of his songs. You have to admire his talent but as a person, David Crosby is less admirable and more complicated, as interviewer Cameron Crowe reveals in the first-rate documentary DAVID CROSBY: REMEMBER MY NAME.

The title is apt, as one of the first thing that comes up when others talk about the singer/songwriter is his ego. Cameron Crowe is the producer, not the director, of this documentary but he is the perfect choice as interviewer, since he has known Crosby since his days as a rock journalist in the ’60s, and parts of Crowe’s semi-autobiographical film ALMOST FAMOUS is based on that experience. The documentary’s director is A.J. Eaton, who lets Crowe draw out Crosby, while offering us a wealth of archival footage and background material on a remarkable time, a remarkable career and a complicated man.

Like him or not, there is no denying David Crosby has had a storied career. Blessed with a beautiful singing voice and a gift for songwriting, Crosby was a member of the Byrds, then a founding member of Crosby, Stills, and Nash, who shot to fame after Woodstock. Crosby knew immediately that his voice was the perfect match for Graham Nash’s, and the two created thrilling harmonies on hit after hit, including “Suite: Judy Blue Eyes,” “Our House,” “Wooden Ships” and “Guinevere.” The addition of singer/songwriter Neil Young created the super group Crosby, Stills, Nash, and Young. The groups’ songs gave the ’60s and early ’70s much of its signature soundtrack, including the Kent State political lament “Ohio.”

You don’t have to remember the ’60s to enjoy this marvelous documentary. DAVID CROSBY: REMEMBER MY NAME takes us on a musical trip through some of the most important cultural moments of the Sixties, with concert footage featuring many of the songs, and putting the songs and the bands in perspective of the era and of Crosby’s life. It is an enjoyable and enlightening journey.

To its credit, the film does not shy away from or gloss over the central fact that, as talented as he is, David Crosby has a reputation as, well, a jerk. Yet on camera in this film, Crosby is charming, engaging and a natural storyteller. The legendary musician talks about other rock and folk music greats of the era, praising Jerry Garcia and Bob Dylan, and revealing his personal dislike of The Doors’ Jim Morrison. Crosby’s eloquence and frankness make the interviews with him one of the most engrossing parts of this film.

But another thing we quickly learn about the singer/songwriter – from other interviewees – is that he is famously prickly and has legendary temper. We don’t see the temper but we do see some of the prickly, difficult personality, although maybe less than would have been the case with another interviewer. With Cameron Crowe, whom he has known so long, Crosby is relaxed. He seems honest and open, although not always with good insight on himself. However, the film offers some insights, through background on Crosby’s family and upbringing, and also covers his current musical career, touring with younger musicians and making new music, while he faces declining health and his own mortality.

While the documentary has a lot of footage of Crosby, his wife, and interviews with some fellow musicians, others are notably absent. There is a little bit of interview footage with Roger McGuinn of the Byrds, with Neil Young and Graham Nash of CSNY but none with Stephen Stills, who only appears in concert footage and archival shots. Crosby mentions a daughter from whom he is estranged, and past lovers such as Joni Mitchell, but they also are absent from interviews.

There is, however, a great deal of fabulous concert footage and archival stills that recaps Crosby’s storied career, and the ups-and-downs of his personal life. Crosby ultimately comes across as someone who is often his own worse enemy, with a capacity to alienate those closest to him, yet lucky enough to have found happiness with his beloved, supportive wife Jan. Crosby is frank about his many affairs and his drug usage, including the heroin addiction that sent him to jail, an ordeal that helped him kick that habit. His band mates, including Graham Nash, were there for him when he got out of prison, along with his now-wife Jan. Jan is still with him but his former band mates no longer speak to him. There is a story there that interviewer Cameron Crowe skirts around, trying to tease it out, yet Crosby remains enigmatic.

This is an insightful, intriguing documentary about a talented but flawed man, as well as a essential and entertaining musical journey through a pivotal era. No matter what you think of David Crosby personally, this musical journey is a long strange trip well worth taking.

DAVID CROSBY: REMEMBER MY NAME opens Friday, Aug. 16, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

MARIANNE AND LEONARD: WORDS OF LOVE – Review

A photo of Marianne Ihlen from MARIANNE AND LEONARD: WORDS OF LOVE. Photo Credit: Courtesy of Roadside Attractions

Leonard Cohen and his one-time lover and muse Marianne Ihlen are the subject of the documentary MARIANNE AND LEONARD: WORDS OF LOVE. Leonard Cohen is a legendary figure in pop music, whose songs include “Hallelujah,” “Susanne,” and “So Long, Marianne,” the later written about his muse. However, music fans hungry for a film that offers insight on the Canadian-born poet/novelist/singer/songwriter and his artistry may feel let down by this documentary. The order of names in the documentary title is important, as the film focuses more on Marianne and her sad decline after the end of their romance, shortly after Leonard achieved a degree of fame in the folk music movement of the 1960s. However, Marianne’s story is really only told in terms of her relationship with Leonard, rather than in her own right. The film is a sad, at times gossipy, examination of the fall and decline of a muse more than it is a exploration of Leonard Cohen’s work that was inspired by her or her role as the muse he called her. While one might expect the film to give insight into Marianne’s role in Leonard’s life over their long friendship, how she inspired and supported him emotionally, the film settles for merely repeating that she was his muse.

Still the documentary does have some value. Early concert footage of Cohen is one of the highlights of the film, as well as interview footage with music legend Judy Collins,offering insights on Cohen in his early days as a performer. A little biographical background on Cohen and his family in Canada is included, although not as much as one might want.

The title includes the phrase “words of love” but the romantic love fades pretty quickly in this sad story, although Leonard continued to acknowledge Marianne’s role as his muse and early supporter, as their relationship evolved into friendship. Leonard and Marianne met on the Greek island of Hydra, when Cohen was still a novelist. Marianne Ihlen was a beautiful, young, recently-divorced Norwegian woman with a small son named Axel, and they fell in love. The couple seemed to have had an idyllic domestic life as the writer worked on his last novel. But when that book, much of it written under the influence of LSD, met with withering criticism and failure, Cohen decided a change was needed and traveled alone to New York. There he discovered – and was discovered by – the vibrant folk music scene of Bob Dylan, Judy Collins and other musical greats. Leonard did not intend to abandon Marianne and, if fact, sent for her after achieving some success as a singer/songwriter, but the spell of the island was broken. Not an artist herself, Marianne did not feel comfortable in New York, so she and her son, to whom Leonard had been a father, returned to the once-quiet artist colony on Hydra. Unfortunately, Hydra itself had changed, becoming a drug-drenched party playground for the rich and famous, such as Jackie Kennedy Onassis, in the sex, drugs and rock-n-roll ’60s.

The documentary enthusiastically spends a great deal of time detailing the ’60s party excesses on Hydra. The film traces Marianne’s tragic decline, although the more tragic story is the fate of her son, who was neglected in her heartbreak at the end of her love affair. Although Leonard continued to provide financial support, Marianne was still in love with him and felt his absence strongly.

There is often a shallow, tabloid feel to this biographical film. Director Nick Bloomfield spends a lot of time detailing Cohen’s heavy drug use and his sexual exploits, often including splashy period headlines and archival footage of the excesses of the ’60s, particularly on Hydra. The facts may be true but the sensationalist approach are probably not what Leonard Cohen fans most want in a documentary about the singer/songwriter, nor does it give a full telling of Marianne’s own personal story. Hopefully, someone will make another documentary that offers more insight on the multi-talented Leonard Cohen.

MARIANNE AND LEONARD opens, Friday, July 26, at Tivoli Theater.

RATING: 2 out of 4 stars

MAIDEN – Review

Left to right: Tracy Edwards and Mikaela Von Koskull, in MAIDEN.
Courtesy of Tracy Edwards and Sony Pictures Classics.

Surprisingly exciting, with the narrative drive of a fiction film, the documentary MAIDEN tells the epic tale of the first all-women yachting crew to challenge the men in an around-the-world sailing race. With the spirit of high adventure, this documentary follows a young British woman, skipper Tracy Edwards, and her scrappy international crew as they take on the all-boys’ club world of yachting in the 1989-1990 Whitbread Round the World Race. This polished documentary is filled with exciting footage of the grueling, nine-months-long sailing race, as the women shatter assumptions about what women can do, in the fiercely competitive, physically-demanding world of sail racing. The docu also features archival interviews with Edwards and her crew, their opponents in the race, news footage and interview, combined with present-day interviews of Edwards and others.

The documentary’s title MAIDEN is the name of the sailboat that the crew led by British Tracy Edward and her international crew entered in the Whitbread race. It was a clever choice for a name, referencing the all-female crew, the re-built sailing ships’ maiden voyage, and their first-ever challenge to the all-male world of sail racing. The media eagerly followed the women’s attempt to break in to that highly-sexist world, but often with a gleefully expectation of failure. That changed to astonishment, when the determined women upended that pre-conceived notion.

Young Tracy Edwards fell in love with sailing in an era when women were excluded routinely from crews. Edwards talked her way on to her first crew by offering to serve as ship’s cook, although she was a rarity even in that lowly position. Despite the opposition, she managed to learn the craft largely on her own. After being repeatedly being excluded from joining an all-male crew in the era’s hyper-male boys club of competitive sailing, the frustrated young Brit decided to form an all-women crew to compete in the 1989-1990 Whitbread around-the-world sailing race. Tracy Edwards figured there were other women out there who were skilled sailors but who also had been relegated only to the role of ship’s cook.

Boy, was she right! When she put out the call for women to join the yachting crew, highly-capable women sailors showed up from around the world. Despite a lack of funding, opposition from racing officials and fellow yachting crews, false-starts in melding a team, and a crisis shortly before the race’s start, these admirable women came together to get the job done. Through pulse-pounding sailing footage, the docu details the the Whitbread race, a grueling competition, which required the competing crews to cover 33,000 miles spanning the globe in three stages over a total of nine months.

MAIDEN is an inspiring underdog tale, a story of determination and grit against myriad enormous challenges. No one made things easy for this tough team of resourceful women. The thrilling documentary MAIDEN tells their story,in entertaining fashion, in the tradition of tales of high adventure long associated with the sea.

Director Alex Holmes skillfully builds drama in telling the story of this little-known race. The sea-going sequences are undeniably thrilling and watching these young women scramble to meet the force of the sea is exciting. The women faced daunting conditions at sea but hostility in the yachting and sports worlds as well. It is amazing to see the amount of sexism these women, who only wanted the chance to sail, faced in the late 1980s. The documentary includes jarring archival footage of sports commentators and sailing officials disparaging the women and news footage of Edwards diplomatically responding to the attacks.

The press were eager to cover the all-women team, but often with a smug expectation they would fail. The media were happy to put the photogenic Edwards on camera, but this tiny, pretty young woman was also bold and outspoken Edwards, a small woman with an iron will who would not back down.

Media flocked to cover the story, many clearly revealing their sexist bias, peppering their coverage with mocking comments about mused makeup, cat-fights, and silly musings about who would fix the engine. While it sounds odd to contemporary ears to hear Edwards refer to herself as a girl or to decline to call herself a feminist, it is clear her focus is on breaking down barriers to women in sailing and that nothing will stop her, not the sea and not the men in media, sports organizations or the other crews in the race.

But tiny but mighty Edwards and her talented crew had a steel in them that the media didn’t guess but which comes across clearly. The crew of the Maiden set out with the goal only to finish the race, keenly aware that if they did not it would negatively impact women sailors ever after, but they did much more. It wasn’t easy, as the documentary shows, and the women faced both the challenge of finding sponsors, rebuilding a dilapidated sail boat, and public ridicule and more. And then they faced the life-threatening, unpredictable challenges of the sea.

MAIDEN is a tale of determination and high adventure, showing that you can’t keep a good woman down. It opens Friday, July 19, at Landmark’s Plaza Frontenac Cinema.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM – Review

Toni Morrison in TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM, a Magnolia Pictures release. ©Timothy Greenfield-Sanders / Courtesy of Magnolia Pictures

This biographical documentary has an advantage most documentaries about a literary giant lack: the living artist herself. And boy is that as a bonus. The charismatic, iconic Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison helps director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders tells her remarkable story in TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM and, better yet, Morrison offers insightful commentary on her own lauded, beloved novels.

Director Timothy Greenfield-Sanders’ wonderful documentary TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM is a comprehensive look at a true American treasure, Toni Morrison. This intelligent and entertaining documentary covers the life, the work and the times of this giant of literature and of American culture. Morrison is certainly a worthy documentary subject:. Morrison is the author of such works as SULA, BELOVED, and THE BLUEST EYE, and recipient of a Nobel Prize, a Pulitzer, the American Book Award, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, among other honors. Her works speak particularly to the black experience and women’s experience, while at the same time being universal.

The documentary not only spotlights Morrison’s work but puts it in the context of the social shifts of the 1960s and 1970s, and beyond. Timothy Greenfield-Sanders is actually a friend of the author, which helped the director coax the usually private Morrison to agree to this project. It also gives him special access and insights on her personal and professional life, all which gives this finely crafted, stirring film a great boost.

TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM covers the author’s early life, her struggles as a divorced mother and an academic in a time when both women and blacks faced barriers and discrimination. It also follows her shift to publishing, and then her transition from editor to novelist.

Morrison speaks plainly, bluntly even, but with such personal charm and sharp humor, that the audience can’t help but fall under her spell. She offers insights on the unique neighborhood where she grew up and her family’s own history of standing up to racism, Morrison has some pointed things to say about early ’70s feminism and its relationship to black women, as well as offering praise for her colleagues at her small publishing house, and those later at the large publisher, Random House, that acquired it, the editors and others who encouraged her work as an emerging author in the way publishers once did.

Morrison was a true ground-breaker, not only in her own writing but in the way she opened the door to other black and women writers as an editor at Random House. This documentary is packed with information on her life and work, presented through archival footage and stills, interviews with notable figures such as Oprah Winfrey and Angela Davis, and commentary from numerous scholars and others, discussing the impact of her work.

Director Greenfield-Sanders crafts a strong, engrossing story but this documentary does greatly benefit from extensive interview footage of Morrison herself. This is particularly so when offering analysis of her writings, by critics or readers. How often have you read a novel that raised questions that you would like to ask the author? This documentary lets us hear the answers to some of these questions from the author directly. That is a rare treat but especially nice in this case as Morrison, a former teacher, knows exactly how to address these topics in the most thoughtful and thought-provoking manner.

Interviews with Toni Morrison are scattered throughout the film, as is archival footage of the author throughout her life. Morrison speaks about her work, her life, and her views on various topics. Hearing her commentary in her own voice gives this excellent film a singular insight into not only this author, but into a pivotal moment of American culture and history. It is a unique aspect that makes this documentary a must-see for everyone.

TONI MORRISON: THE PIECES I AM opens Friday, July 12, at Landmark’s Tivoli Theater.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars

PAVAROTTI – Review

Pavarotti performs at the People’s Assembly in Peking, China. Photo by Vittoriano Rastelli/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images.

In PAVAROTTI, director Ron Howard spotlights opera superstar Luciano Pavarotti, the most famous tenor of the past 50 years, so famous that even people who had never heard an opera knew his name.

Even if you don’t know anything about opera, you have probably heard of the Three Tenors – Luciano Pavarotti, Jose Carreras and Placido Domingo. If you are an opera fan, you know Pavarotti as one the great voices, the best tenor of the second half the last century and beginning of this one. Ron Howard’s affectionate but honest documentary has something for both of those audiences.

Pavarotti was a rock star of an opera star, a pop culture celebrity whose fame reached beyond the rarefied world of opera, something that didn’t always please opera fans. Pavarotti not only sang on opera theater stages but performed in events promoted like rock concerts and taking place in sports stadiums, and even shared the stage with rock stars like Bono of U2.

Ironically, as the film points out, opera started as popular entertainment, and was still popular in rural Italy where Pavarotti grew up. With melodramatic, over-the-top stories, opera featured singers with voices so big they could fill theaters with sound without amplification, in the centuries before sound systems. And of course the singing had to be beautiful too. Pavarotti possessed a uniquely beautiful voice.

Director Ron Howard’s PAVAROTTI is about as well-crafted and entertaining a biographical documentary as one could ask for, hitting the highlights of the singer’s career, his strengths and failings, and telling his personal story. It is a warts-and-all documentary, that looks beneath the famous exterior but which still leaves the audience feeling like they have gained an understanding of the man and a sense of why he has was both a great artist and a beloved star.

Pavarotti had one of the best voices of the late 20th-early 21 centuries. On top of that, he had charisma by the ton, a true star in any era. .Born in the small Italian town of Modena, he grew up in the aftermath of WWII. The son of a baker who was an amateur tenor, Pavarotti was working as an elementary school teacher when he decided, encouraged by his mother, to pursue his dream and switched to opera. He became the “King of the High Cs,” then an international superstar, whose fame reached far beyond the world of opera.

Pavarotti had a golden voice and impressive technique but he had charm and a common touch along with all that talent. Pararotti not only had that voice that he called “a gift from God” but sang with great feeling, great expression, and was very much a performer who brought drama to his roles.

Footage of Pavarotti singing makes this point better than any scholar could, and the film is filled with wonderful, thrilling clips that might make a fan of anyone. Ron Howard has said he wasn’t particularly an opera fan when he started this project but the more he learned – and heard – the more he fell under Pavarotti’s spell like so many before. Howard takes us on that same journey, introducing the non-opera public to this unique man. Yet, opera fans who already know this great artist well will enjoy this journey as well.

Despite the wealth and fame, there were struggles with heartache, self-doubt and loneliness. The documentary features interviews with family and friends, including – notably – both his wives, Adua Veroni and Nicoletta Mantovani. Pavarotti’s three daughters with his first wife Adua Veroni talk about family life and moments with their famous father. Very much a people person, Pavarotti was noted for his warmth and his sense of humor and fun, which comes through particularly with his daughters.

Clips of interviews on television talk shows are shown as well as previously unseen home movie footage, helping create a well-rounded portrait. Ron Howard weaves all this material about the man and his music into a masterfully-constructed documentary, one that sweeps us up into its narrative of Pavarotti’s professional and personal life.

Much of that story is told through stirring, gorgeous performances, which generously dot the narrative. There is no narration, as none is needed – Pavarotti’s singing tells the story.

To Ron Howard’s credit, the documentary does not shy away from the scandals and controversies that were part of Pavarotti’s life but it treats those aspects fairly and factually. Mostly, it offers the audience a wealth of footage of Pavarotti singing, and uses that footage as a way to get to know the artist.

And what a glorious voice it is. The film features some of the best of his performances, with a particularly strong sampling of Pavarotti at his vocal peak, but including other strong examples of his later work. The clips illustrate Pavarotti’s power as an actor as he sang, conveying the emotion of the lyrics with remarkable depth. His stage presence and his expressive delivery have an electric vibrancy, thrilling us as we watch and listen.

Pavarotti embraced his peasant roots and set out to bring the beauty of opera to everyone around the world. The film includes interviews with Pavarotti himself and intimate moments with friends and family. Sequences with children are particularly touching.

Pavarotti’s place as a pop star as well as an opera star comes through especially in the sequences with Princess Diana, who was among his friends, and interviews with Bono talking about their unlikely collaboration. Interview footage with Placido Domingo, one of those famous “Three Tenors,” illustrates that worldwide phenomenon they became, as well as Pavarotti’s big heart in organizing the first concert, partly as a fundraiser and partly to bolster the spirits of Carreras as he recovered from cancer. Later in his career, Pavarotti turned his talents to helping others through charitable events, as he made a remarkable career commitment to charitable works.

It illustrates the singer’s open nature and generous, collaborative spirit. But when Pavarotti’s embrace of other musicians put him on stage with rock stars, there were critics among both fans and music experts. Certainly the rock stars themselves were both awed and intimidated to share the stage with such a talent.

PAVAROTTI is a marvelous documentary that strikes the perfect balance to please both opera-loving Pavarotti fans who know his work well and those who are new to opera and Pavarotti. It is an almost magical feat, but Ron Howard pulls it off. Pavarotti was not elitist and neither was his view of opera, and this entertaining, enlightening documentary delightfully captures that same joyful view of Pavarotti and his music.

PAVAROTTI opens Friday, June 21, at the HiPointe Backlot Theater.

RATING: 4 out of 4 stars