Clear Cut: The Story of Philomath, Oregon is one of the best documentaries I’ve seen. A documentary should primarily serve the function of reflecting the subject matter without distortion, and in my estimation it is best to do this without redundancy or extraneous information. This is why many documentaries should be delivered as short films and fall flat due to lengthy non-crucial scenes or messages that seem to repeat (as if the audience wasn’t smart enough to get it the first time.) Gee, look how poorly I’ve choosen to select my dietary intake. and Did we communicate how cold and barren it is? are two recent documentary “hits” that represent this problem. Clear Cut delivers it’s reflection about the divisive battle between the conservative faction (who pull in the might of the wealthy executors of the Philomath scholarships) and the more progressive (and generally more pedestrian) education system dwellers, and the film delivers more than expected by representing a lot of America’s dischordance today. Be sure to check out the director’s blog.
Bee Season (based on the top-selling novel from Myla Goldberg — who comes across intelligently wicked (good thing) in this Fresh Air Interview for her new book Wickett’s Remedy) brings an impressive well-known cast with Richard Gere, Juliette Binoche and Kate Bosworth who serve as very talented chorus to lead child actress Flora Cross. It may have helped that I got to see this film on an IMAX screen, but the spelling scenes are beautifully psychedelic and Cross plays them wonderfully. Unfortunately for fans of the book, the climax of the book is not as well-delivered in the film and causes a signifigant short-fall in an otherwise lovely, quiet movie.
There are probably several high brow cinephiles who will bristle at the camparison, but I think Donal Logue is establishing a character manner of dialog or patter that is as identifiable and enjoyable as Whit Stillman’s. Tennis Anyone? isn’t related in any mechanically devisable manner to The Tao of Steve but the way that Logue interacts with Kirk Fox and his character’s general demeanor are practically a follow-up chapter. Don’t expect any revelatory soul-exposing events like the cult hit, Tao, but if you enjoyed Donal then you will like him now.
The Glamorous Life of Sachiko Hanai is a “pink film” about a hooker who becomes really smart after taking a bullet to the center of her head after acquiring the cloned middle finger of Bush (43). (“Pink film” is a Japanese genre of pseudo porn — no below-the-waist nudity, lots of simulated sex…imagine the merkin budget.) I heard Eli Roth before Cabin Fever was released explain that while he really loved the horror genre, if he wasn’t willing to work in horror he wouldn’t be sitting in the director’s chair. In much the same manner, the director of GLoSH knows that he wouldn’t have the opportunity to show his belief in Bush’s willingness to abuse people so literally if he wasn’t doing pink. I don’t think any of you have to worry about seeing this film. (And if you do that’s between you and…whoever.)