A coal miner silhouetted and barely visible in the darkness of a coal mine calls out a warning three times, “fireinthehole,” the words all run together melodiously, letting all know he’s about to detonate an explosion. So begins HARLAN COUNTY USA, 1976, 104 minutes Directed by Barbara Kopple, Winner Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary 1976. DVD Criterion Collection
Harlan County USA begins in the mine with the coal miners; the work they do and the environment they work in. Dark, damp, dusty, cold, cramped spaces, underground where an accident can cost everyone their lives. The camera goes with the miners as they are taken into the mine lying down on a conveyer belt, the roof of the shaft inches from their heads. You are with the miners as they crawl through tunnels and mine the coal. The processed coal makes its way on another conveyer belt to the surface and the light long before the miners who will spend their day in the shadows.
If you had to pick one of the most important social documentaries made in America at any time Harlan County USA would be at the top of the list. This documentary is the story of coal miners and their families trying to achieve better wages. It’s also the story of working people demanding to be treated with dignity and respect. It’s the struggle of people living in run down shacks, in a company town in 1976 with no running water or indoor plumbing in rural Kentucky, and it’s the story of women making their voices heard.
After the coal miners at Brookside voted to join the United Mine Workers (UMW) the Duke Power Company, owners of the mine, refused to accept the contract with the union, so the workers went on strike. Duke Power Company then attempts to bust the union and intimidate the workers with violence. This was not the first time workers had rebelled against the coal mine owners. There are scenes in the documentary using archival footage that show previous strikes and some of the history of the area.
The notion of people striking for better wages and working conditions is important but what makes this story unique is the fact that the wives of the miners decide to take an active role in the process. In this Kentucky version of “women’s liberation” the women don’t burn their bras. Instead one woman, Lois Scott uses her bra to also carry a gun. Since any restrictions on the number of picketers applies to the workers, she and other women start working the picket line to support their husbands and the strike. Things get tense on the picket line with both camps armed.
Early in the documentary Carl Horn, President of Duke Power Company, is seen claiming to have made the workers dozens of offers that have been turned down. The workers want a union contract. An official from Duke Power is asked if the company keeps workers in houses with no water and no indoor plumbing. He answers yes, but that they are working on getting them some trailers. Other individuals with anti-union sentiments are also interviewed.
Initially the coal miners and their families do not trust Barbara Kopple and her crew. Once the filmmakers’ demonstrate that they intend to record the actual facts of the situation they are accepted by the miners. However, this does not apply to the thugs hired by the mine company and led by a well known strike buster named Basil Collins. Collins drives or walks around brandishing a 45-caliber pistol hanging out of his pocket or on the seat of his pickup as he leads a convoy of cars with strike breakers (“scabs”) down the road to the mine area.
One night, out on the picket line, Collins and his thugs, who are obviously out to hurt or possibly kill Kopple, attack the film crew. Kopple is the focus of the attack. The filmmakers’ fight back but it’s the coal miner’s wives who come to the rescue. The filmmakers’ manage to get a warrant for Collins arrest. The sheriff, in one scene of the film serves the warrant.
Making this documentary required being on location for many months. The documentary style is a mixture of observer, interviews and cinema verite activist. This is not the nightly news with some false notion of objectivity. The documentary has a POV that is from a humanistic perspective. The plight of these Americans, living in third world conditions, and being denied their constitutional rights by the mining company is certainly a cause worth advocating.
Because the filmmakers identify with the the miners and are drawn into events, to some extent the filmmakers become a catalyst to what happens at these events. It’s clear that the mine company and others are intimidated by the fact that their activities and the attacks on the miners are being filmed. In some ways the workers and their families may have felt enabled by the film crew being there and being empathetic to their problems. The filmmakers allow the viewer to see into lives of the miners, their families and the reality of Harlan county. To accomplish this Kopple needed to gain the confidence of the miners and their families.
From scenes of strikers and state police confronting each other to the meetings of strong women supporting the strikers. Harlan County USA is a real life drama observed, recorded and edited in to a powerful statement that meets the criteria of what a documentary should be. This is a must see documentary for anyone interested in making documentaries or learning about the history of America.
Primary, 1960, 53 minutes, directed and filmed by Robert Drew and Richard Leacock initiated a documentary style in which the filmmakers became observers. This form of documenting actuality became known as “Direct Cinema.” According Richard Leacock, the style of filmmaking used in Primary is not Cinema Verite, which he equates with the notion of a constantly moving camera.
One of the key differences between Direct Cinema and Cinema Verite is that Direct Cinema is about observing and not interfering with events. The subject and events are observed, recorded and later edited into a story. Cinema Verite in many instances provokes events and involves the filmmakers in the actuality in hopes of finding some truth as an outcome of that involvement. Both approaches were facilitated by the invention of lightweight, portable camera and sync sound equipment that was developed after World War II.
There is no clear style of Direct Cinema or Cinema Verite in Primary. It seems like Robert Drew, the director, was still experimenting with various techniques based on a number of innovations. The first innovation was sync sound shooting. Drew and Leakcock, with the help of others, developed lightweight equipment that would allow them to record picture and sound synchronously (sync sound). It was Drew’s basic idea to record events without asking questions or doing interviews. To simply record events as they happened. In the editing room they would structure story out of this footage “directly” recorded and not interfered with in anyway.
But Drew was making Primary for television so a number of concessions appear to have been made. The film opens with a voice over, third party introduction. It then intercuts actuality footage of both Hubert Humphrey and John F Kennedy campaigning in Wisconsin in a lead up to the Primary elections in that state. This footage is observationally recording events and action. A number of times it is obvious that an interview question has been asked of someone. There are man-on-the-street interviews and interviews in the poling place on Election Day. Probably for legal reasons the interviews in the poling place are heard voice over shots of the feet of people at counters filling out ballots.
Primary is an interesting documentary in that it captures the campaign process from behind the scenes in both camps. It does not favor either candidate. What it does show by simply recording actual events is the basic “rock star” status of JFK as he makes the rounds as opposed to Hubert Humphrey pounding the pavement passing out cards to prospective voters and their families. The film covers the campaign right up to election night with scenes of John F Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey listening to the election results as they come in. Viewing Primary fifty years after that election shows that some things have not changed and others have changed quite a bit.
Much of the footage was shot hand held but it is not jerky or moving around all the time. It’s shot in an intimate, spontaneous fashion. In addition to the sync sound camera, non sound cameras were used to get additional footage to be used in editing.
As a documentary, breaking new ground, Primary is well worth watching. There are some interviews and commentary included on the DVD in which the filmmakers explain what they were trying to do and how they got started.
JRMartin
INTERVIEW AND TRAILER PRIMARY
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BOB DYLAN – DON’T LOOK BACK – 1965 – 96 minutes – Produced by Leacock-Pennebaker Inc – Directed and Edited by D. A. Pennebaker is, by American standards, a “Direct Cinema,” or in a broader context, Cinema Verite documentary. For example in the opening scene, Dylan is standing in a back alley as he flips through a large number of cue cards with some of the words to Subterranean Homesick Blues on them. He flips them over in sync with the song being performed voice over. Alan Ginzberg can be seen in the background having a conversation with someone. The idea to do the scene for the film was Dylan’s. The filmmakers agreed to film it.
From the time Dylan arrives in London and throughout the documentary there is a sense that we are there with Dylan and his entourage as they meet news reporters and fans. D.A. Pennebaker’s camera work is intimate and observational. This approach is internal rather than external. The camera is observing from the POV of the subjects rather than from the outside or a third person perspective.
In Don’t Look Back there are no interviews conducted by the filmmakers. However, Dylan is interviewed by a number of reporters. These observed interviews become part of the story and are recorded from Dylan’s POV. At one point a reporter representing Time Magazine attempts to interview Dylan. Dylan turns the interview around and basically interviews the reporter when he’s not lecturing him.
At this point in his career Dylan is essentially known as a folk singer whose songs are socially relevant. Dylan on several occasions rejects the notion that he’s a folk singer, that his songs have a message or that he is angry about anything. When he sits down to be interviewed by a patronizing BBC reporter he is asked how he got started and if he felt any hostility because of his humanitarian stand and songs about racism. Before we can hear the answers there is a dissolve to footage of Dylan singing The Times They Are A-Changing to some migrant farm workers. As the workers applaud him the scene dissolves to a concert performance in England where the audience applauds his singing the song as well.
Don’t Look Back has a great blend of concert footage and many moments behind the scenes as Dylan and his staff deal with fans, reporters and schedules. Also times relaxing, attending a party or listening to Joan Baez singing “Turn, Turn Again” in a hotel room as Dylan types something on a typewriter. Dylan and Baez have just finished a tour together and she was visiting his tour of England. At one point Dylan meets up with Donavan, a popular Scottish folk singer. Dylan’s manager negotiates an appearance with an agent and BBC in another scene.
The notion to observe and not interfere with the action yields and intimate and spontaneous feel to the characters and the story. This is achieved through an observational Direct Cinema documentary approach. While inserting a film crew into any situation cannot help but have some influence on the participants, this style of documentary filmmaking tries to make itself as invisible as possible thereby brining the viewer into the story as if they were there too. The ability to do this was made possible by the introduction of lightweight camera and sound equipment.
JRMartin
SCENE FROM BOB DYLAN DON’T LOOK BACK
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SALESMAN – 1968 – 91 minutes – A film by Albert Maysles, David Maysles, Charlotte Zwerin – Janus Films – Criterion Collection – Salesmanbrings the viewer face-to-face with what it’s like to be a traveling, door-to-door salesperson, in this case selling bibles. Salesman goes beyond the notion of selling bibles and knocking on doors. The film is a first hand experience of what it’s like to be a salesperson under any circumstance.
The story begins with one of the salesmen, Paul Brennan, nicknamed “The Badger”, in a living room trying to sell a bible to a woman. Her young daughter yawns as Paul makes his pitch. It’s pretty clear he’s not going to make this sale as the young girl plunks the keys of the piano. Another salesman, Charles Mc Devitt, “The Gippper,” is introduced knocking on a door and being turned away. Each of the four Irish American salesmen, from Boston, are introduced before they meet back at the Pleasant Valley Motel where they are staying. The four salesmen exchange the days up and downs and how many sales they made that evening. After a short time the scene dissolves to a sales seminar where the salespeople are lectured about how to sell. After the sales meeting it’s back on the road following up on leads in a new territory.
The Maysles brothers, David and Albert, describe their technique of making documentaries as “Cinema Direct” a process by which they film the subject purely as observers. The only thing asked of the subject is permission to record them. They do not ask people to sit or come in the door a certain way. They record what is there with no attempt to “arrange” things. All of the handheld camera work is excellent with a variety of shots and coverage. Shooting appears to have been done with one film camera and one audio recorder that are in sync. No interviews were conducted.
Albert Maysles feels their style of documentary filmmaking is different from Cinema Verite in that they do not presume to be filming “truth;” in their view assuming this would be pretentious and arrogant. The Maysels’ feel their recording of the subject is subjective since they choose what to shoot and how to shoot it.
Once the filmmakers get into the editing room there is another layer of subjectivity apparent in deciding what footage to use. During the editing process the filmmakers look for the story and the meaning of what has been observed and recorded. The unique aspect of “Cinema Direct,” is that the footage, being edited, is purely observational, nothing has been staged.
As the film progresses the four salesmen are observed back on the road, driving in the snow, making stops with no results and moving on. During these scenes you begin to see what their life is like and how they go about selling the bibles. Their routine is going from home to home making a pitch, having conversations with their clients, and as they have lunch or take a break talking about their experiences. At times it’s like you’re sitting in the car driving with Paul as he sings, “Wish I were a rich man…,” on the way to the next lead, then trudging through the snow to the next door and next pitch. The salesmen all use various sales devices in their presentations that may go a bit far in persuading the prospects to buy a very expensive book by 1968 standards. One salesman seems desperate as he persuades a housewife to buy a bible without waiting to talk it over with her husband .
The style of filming is intimate, giving the viewer the feeling of actually being there and experiencing the days and nights with these salesmen. Part of the Maysels’ technique is that the filmmakers are unobtrusive enough that the subjects appear to forget they are being recorded. Even so, there are times when it is obvious that the subjects are performing a bit for the camera. In one scene a husband turns on some music which almost drowns out the conversation of the salesman and the wife buying the book. The salesmen make inside jokes while selling that only the filmmakers would understand.
In the case of Paul, and his decline emotionally after not making enough sales, Salesman may be the real life version of “Death of a Salesman.” Salesman is a study in what it takes to be a salesperson, and what it costs emotionally to be involved in selling people something they may not really need and possibly may not be able to afford. The salesmen in the documentary deal with rejection and other issues in this classic American “Direct Cinema” Documentary. Salesman, as a documentary about being a salesperson, offers a timeless glimpse into some aspects of that profession.
BUENA VISTA SOCIAL CLUB -1999 – 105 Minutes – Directed by Wim Wenders – Road Movies Filmproduktion – Artisian Home Entertainment
The Buena Vista Social Club documentary captures the soul of Cuba as portrayed in its music and performed by its people. A Documentary film may take many forms. Buena Vista Social Club, directed by Wim Wenders manages to bring the actuality and beauty of classic Cuban music, the singers and musicians who perform it and the world from which it was born to life on the screen. The music also known as “Son” or “Cuban soul” music has an Afro-Cuban Jazz component. The documentary also shows Cuba at the turn of the century where time, for the main part, appears to have stopped in the late fifties.
There are a number of themes that are edited in parallel, creating a story that is both moving and entertaining. Scenes from the concert in Amsterdam, interviews with the Buena Vista Club musicians set against the backdrop of Havana and other locations in Cuba, along with the recording sessions at Egren Studios in Havana, are all seamlessly blended. Finally the musicians’ visit New York City. The last performance of the Buena Vista Social Club is held at Carnegie Hall in New York City. For many of the musicians the visit and perfomance is a dream come true.
In the opening scenes of the film, Compay Segundo one of the well known musicians, visits the neighborhood where the club once existed. These scenes are intercut with establishing shots at the Amsterdam concert. There is a sense, as the concert begins, as to the roots of the music and the musicians. The stark Cuban colors of Havana and the de-saturated, muted colors of the concert hall, contrast in the montage so that the streets and neighborhoods of Havana feel as though they are there in the concert hall.
Scenes, early in the film, of Havana in 1998 are like moving through a 1950’s auto museum housed among faded buildings. But it’s clear that the roots of the music are much older than the buildings. Each interview with a musician brings us closer to understanding the “son” of Cuban Music. As each musician or singer is introduced he or she is often seen performing in the concert venue as well as in Cuba. Camera work, including Stedicam, by Director of Photography, Jorg Widmer is excellent.
Early in the film Ibrahim Ferrer, who is 70 years old, sings with Omara Portuondo in the Havana recording studio. The scene dissolves into the same song being performed in Amsterdam. The two locations are juxtapositioned a number of times before we return to another interview or location in Cuba. The story is narrated by the music and first person interviews with the musicians and singers. There is no need for a third party voice over narrator. One thing that would have helped the story would have been graphics identifying each musician as they are introduced throughout the documentary since not every person introduces himself or herself. However they are listed in order of appearance at the beginning of the film and alphabetically at the end of the film.
The documentary was conceived out of the success of The Buena Vista Social Club CD that was produced by Ry Cooder for Nick Gold, World Circuit Records. Ry Cooder, who has worked with Captain Beefheart, Johnny Cash and the Rolling Stones, among others, feels that the Buena Vista Social Club CD was the best of his work. The sessions recorded in Cuba were brought back to LA to produce the CD, which ultimately received a Grammy, world acclaim, and sold millions of copies.
A particularly interesting segment is the interview with Barbaro Alberto Torres Degado, also know as, “Barbarito” Torres. Barbarito plays the Cuban Laud, which was brought to Spain by the Moors where it evolved, and ultimately made its way to Cuba, where it once again morphed into the instrument that Barbarito plays. This stringed instrument lends a unique sound to Cuban provincial and contemporary music.
At Carnegie Hall there is a wonderful performance by everyone; Ruben Gonzalez, a 90-year-old pianist, plays piano and is intercut with shots of the performers touring New York City. The music continues under the shots of New York City as they tour, giving the impression that we are seeing the wonders of New York City filtered by the musicians music and experience.
There are twenty plus members of the Buena Vista Social Club who play or sing at both concerts including Compay Segundo, Omara Partuondo, Pio Leyva, Eliades Ochou, Ibrahim Ferrer, Joachim Cooder and Ry Cooder to name only a few.
The Buena Vista Social Club documentary captures the soul of Cuba as portrayed in its music and performed by its people.
THE BRIDGE– 2006 – 94 minutes – Produced and Directed by Eric Steel – Koch Lorber Films. IFC . Rated “R” Suicide is a difficult subject to deal with. Some might call it morbid. The documentary, The Bridge begins with panoramic views of the Golden Gate Bridge, the bay, recreational activities, boats, rowers, people walking across the bridge, standing by the rail, talking on cell phones. A late middle-aged man, dressed casually, wearing running shoes, suddenly climbs on to the railing, stands there for a few moments and then jumps off the bridge.
The goal of a documentary film is to explore actuality, that which is known as reality, with as little interference as possible. The expectation is that the process will reveal some truth about that subject. Give some new insight into a problem or a way to deal with an issue that faces humanity. The Bridge fulfills this requirement in a way that is sensitive to the delicate nature of the subject. However, it is not a film for children.
For 365 days the crew of the documentary film The Bridge, kept their cameras pointed at the Golden Gate Bridge during the daylight hours. Their goal was to observe and record the suicides and the suicide attempts that constantly occur. In 2004, twenty-four people leapt to their deaths from the Golden Gate Bridge.
At first it’s hard to understand what motivated Eric Steel to undertake this project. He says that he read an article, entitled, “Jumpers” that inspired him to move from New York to San Francisco to make this film. Using Cameras with telephoto lenses he set up to cover the bridge from several viewpoints. Crewmembers had cell phones with speed dialing set to reach the bridge patrol in case a jumper was spotted. But many of these incidents happened very quickly. A number of scenes show people being talked or pulled back from the brink. An interesting problem for the filmmakers was how to determine who might be a potential jumper among the hundreds of tourists and others crossing the bridge.
This documentary goes beyond recording people jumping from the bridge. It examines events leading up to the act itself. It appears that many individuals have contemplated and planned committing suicide before actually attempting it. Teen suicide, and suicide in general is a constant problem in all cultures. Interviews with friends and family of suicides are intercut with a great deal of footage of the area around the bridge. The bridge is viewed, in the background, from many different points-of-view where life proceeds in a normal, everyday fashion.
One survivor is interviewed about his experience. His father is also interviewed. The thought process of the young man and how he came to jump reveal much about what led him to this desperate act. He talks about how he felt immediately after jumping and the moments it took to hit the water. He relates how immediately after jumping he discovered he did not want to die.
As emotionally difficult and voyeuristic as it may feel to watch a number of people actually jump from the bridge, the documentary brings to light some of the issues and clues as to what brings humans to the point of taking their own lives. It also looks at the impact on family and friends of someone taking their own life. The editing of shots of the bridge with both potential jumpers and jumpers, scenes of the area and interview footage, tells a story that is tragic, informative and emotional. The filmmakers did not dramatize or sensationalize the subject in anyway. What emerges is a thoughtful exploration of a human condition that concerns everyone.
1999 – 90 minutes – Color – Produced and Shot by: Roko and Adrian Belic – Written, Directed, Edited by Roko Belic - Wadi Rum Productions – DOCURAMA
Gengis Blues is a road trip that pulls you in and takes you on an incredible voyage to the lost land of Tuva. This is a wonderful nonfiction story. Paul Pena, a blind blues musician living in San Francisco, hears some strange music, coming from Radio Moscow, on his ham radio one day. He ultimately discovers that what he’s hearing is throat singing; a form of singing that produces multiple harmonic vocal tones and is unique to the Tuvan people in Central Asia near Outer Mongolia. An area the size of South Dakota that has essentially held on to its culture and traditions, despite being an independent country for only a short period of time in its history. Tuva resisted, to a large extent, the attempts of the Soviet Union to bring it into the Soviet culture.
After much research Paul finds a CD called TUVA – Voices from Central Asia. Listening to the CD Paul masters the technique and at a concert demonstrates it to Kongor-ol Ondar , a Khoomei throat singer from Tuva. Kongor-ol was invited to do the concert by Friends of Tuva, a small group interested in Tuvan culture. Kongor-ol is so impressed with Paul that he invites him to come to Tuva for a festival and Khoomei competition. Friends of Tuva begins work on getting Paul to Tuva for the competition.
In short order some filmmakers and others come aboard to go with Paul and a few other people to Tuva for the competition. Judging by the extensive coverage included in the film, Roko and Adrian Belic, aided by others in the crew were able to shoot events in an intimate and personal fashion. The filmmakers did not make an ethnographic or anthropological documentary, however, they did capture many unfiltered aspects of Tuvan life at this time in their history.
This documentary is an intimate look into not only the notion of throat singing but also how music can bring people with diverse cultures together. The filmmakers go along as both participants and observers to record the trip, Paul’s meeting with the Tuvan people, the culture, competition, and the music. The idea of documentary filmmakers including themselves in the actuality of the story goes back to attempts by filmmakers in the 1920′s to create a pure cinematic language. Dziga Vertov’s,The Man With The Movie Camerais one example of this style.
Filming a road trip, gathering footage, is not easy. The most difficult part comes in the editing of the footage. Reviewing the footage and coming up with a story that gives the viewer the actual feel of the journey. A story must be constructed that reaches back into Paul Pena’s life, his work in San Francisco, his discovery of throat singing, and the time spent with the Tuvan people. The editing of the documentary manages to keep the viewer involved and participating in the events as they unfold. Archival footage of Paul Pena and also historical footage of the Tuvan people is used in the film.
There is a darker side to the trip in which we learn something about what it is to be blind and uprooted from the world you know to another world where you have no familiarity. Paul becomes anxious and stressed after days on the road where he is constantly meeting new people. Friendly people, all wanting to talk to him and hear him sing. But it becomes obvious that the experience is taking its toll on him.
One of the most wonderful aspects of the documentary is Paul’s time with the children of the area. They are fascinated with this American who Kongor-ol has nicknamed “Earth Quake.” The children do throat singing and Paul plays some blues for them.
Paul performs once at the beginning of the competition and once at the end. He not only sings traditional Tuvan songs, he composes new songs which he sings and plays in a blues style. The Tuvan people love the fact that he has tried to learn their language and their style of singing. The music used in the film is either Tuvan singing or Paul Pena’s original music.
This film also shows how the culture of these people has survived. Their way of life is close to nature, their needs not complicated. It provides the viewer with cultural information, an understanding of this form of singing and at the same time is entertaining.
Paul Pena born January 26, 1950 passed away on October 1, 2005.
ORIGINALLY OPENED IN 1955 THE MUSEM OF MODERN ART, NEW YORK
A DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHIC EXHIBIT AND BOOK
It must be a wonderful experience to walk though this exhibit of photographs documenting “The Family of Man,” and to linger and examine each picture depicting so much human life and activity. No narration and/or interviews are needed, each photograph speaks for itself and then joins the overall collection of pictures creating a myriad of impressions. This exhibit is a testament to the fact that documentary actuality and explorations come in all forms, not just on film or video. The title of the exhibit was inspired by the expression “family of man” found in a speech by Abraham Lincoln.
The Family of Man Exhibit Clervaux
The Family of Man Exhibit, created by Edward Steichen, is a documentary employing still photographs hung in an exhibition environment. It began life in The Museum of Modern Art, New York and ultimately traveled around the world to thirty-seven countries. It is now housed in Clervaux, Castle in Luxembourg, Edward Steichen’s birthplace. The exhibition is undergoing restoration and will not be open to the public until 2012.
Photographs from the exhibit can be viewed in The Family of Man book version, with an introduction by Steichen and a prologue by Carl Sandburg. While the book cannot give us the same experience as viewing the exhibit, it does present the photographs as a documentary compilation of the exhibit.
In the introduction to the book Steichen writes, “The exhibition, now permanently presented on the pages of this book, demonstrates that the art of photography is a dynamic process of giving form to ideas and of explaining man to man. It was conceived as a mirror of the universal elements and emotions in the everydayness of life – as a mirror of the essential oneness of mankind throughout the world.”
Photograph by Dorthea Lange - Migrant Mother
The pictures come from all over the planet. Steichen with the help of his wife and staff culled 503 photographs from the two million photographs submitted by amateurs and professionals. Two hundred and seventy-three photographers, male and female, from sixty-eight countries took the 503 photographs used in the exhibit. Included in these numbers were many photographs from the US Library of congress and Life magazine. The exhibit traveled worldwide during the Cold War. Steichen felt that it might help for the world to see the “essential oneness of mankind.” The photographs are grouped in themes including love, birth, work, play, death, pleasure, pain, fears, hopes, tears and laughter.
All of the photographs in the book are black and white. Photographs that depict love in many forms begin the story of The Family of Man. Not only lovers embracing but also love demonstrated in many forms including the love of parents for their children. There are photographs by well known photographers like Henri Cartier-Bresson, Dorthea Lange, Robert Capa, Margaret Bourke-White, Diane and Allan Arbus, Mathew Brady and many more.
Until 2012 when the exhibit reopens in Luxembourg, the book version of The Family of Man, on its own, is well worth a visit.
With One Voice explores the world of mysticism and it’s role in spirituality and religion. The documentary is a quest to learn from mystics, representing major religions, about their own spiritual journey and what they have learned from it. In the words of Father Keating in the film, “We are all mystics seeking to solve the mysteries of existence.”
The filmmakers who created With One Voice have produced a documentary that is not an external point-of-view of mysticism. Even though, it does use a narrator, it also makes extensive use of first person interviews. The unique quality of this story is that its point-of-view, while still subjective, is from the inside looking out. Viewing the documentary brings the audience into the world of mystic spirituality, religion and to some extent exposes the viewer to the notion of inner peace.
Many people like to say that they are “spiritual.” rather than religious. But what does that really mean? What is spirituality? Where does spirituality begin and religion end? How do spirituality, religion and mysticism relate to each other? In a subtle way the answers to many of these questions are examined in this beautifully shot and edited documentary with original music by Michael Josephs.
The film is divided into eight areas: Personal Mystical Experiences, Religious Intolerance, The Essence of Love, Spiritual Transformation, The Mystical Perspective, The Way To Peace, The Many Paths To Truth and Messages To The World.
In each segment we hear the thoughts of mystics from many religions. In the first segment we learn from the voice over narration of Peter Coyote, that “mystics seek spiritual awareness by exploring their own intimate connection with the divine.” Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev speaking of his first mystical experiences relates that, “…suddenly I did not know who is me… I was all over the place… Everything had become me.”
The documentary builds on interviews with mystics on each subject painting a picture of the spiritual enlightenment mystics from all faiths wish to share with the world. The journey is never boring or in anyway an attempt to win converts to mysticism. It simply seeks to share the knowledge of these seekers of enlightenment with others.
Rabbi David A Cooper explains in one segment that he feels it is impossible to adequately describe and convey the smell of a rose. “…But if I hand someone a rose and ask them to smell it, we now have a commonality we can speak about. This is what the mystic experience is like.” This is also what the experience of viewing the film is like.
J R Martin
WITH ONE VOICE – AWAKEN TO THE BEAUTY THAT UNITES US ALL 2009 – Forest Way Productions – Directed by Eric Temple – Produced by Matthew Flickstein and Carol Flickstein – Narrated by Peter Coyote
2005 – THINK FILM – 79 Minutes – Directed by Matt Mahurin
When I next get to New York City, I’m planning to visit Greenwich Village and see if perhaps I might prove “worthy” enough to eat at Shopsin’s restaurant at its new location. After watching the documentary I Like Killing Flies, directed by Matt Mahurin, I have no choice, I must go there and try one of 900, made from scratch, dishes that chef Kenny Shopskin cooks from scratch. I will definitely not go there with more than three other people. I hope I don’t get thrown out because I’m not a regular customer.
I Like Killing Flies is an intimate, funny, cinema verite style documentary that pulls you in and makes you feel as if you were there in Shopsin’s small kitchen as he cooks one amazing concoction, after another and at the same time talks to you about his life, experience and philosophy, often in a humorous, bawdy context. Kenny Shopsin also appears to be one of those New Yorkers who believe that the “F” word has a number of grammatical uses as a verb, noun, adjective, pronoun etc. But in his case it never seems gratuitous or out of place.
The film begins with Kenny Shopsin starting his day and explaining how he has jury-rigged the kitchen over the years, so that everything is user friendly. He also talks about his ongoing battle with killing flies which he occasionally does when a fly dares to enter his kitchen space. He even has a zapper up near the ceiling to catch the “high flyers,” which he explains are similar to terrorists and hard to kill. The film covers quite a bit of kitchen wisdom from a philosophically prone Shopsin, much of which seems to make sense!
Whatever the film lacks in production value (in one scene the interviewee is holding the lavaliere mike and in another scene the filmmaker appears to be holding it out in front of the camera) it makes up in spontaneity and actuality. The editing is good and the story doesn’t lag. Editing of scenes in the kitchen while food is being prepared capture the pressure of preparing food from scratch during busy times of day. The camera work is steady even though it appears handheld. One of the interviews with Kenny is done while he is driving in his car.
One enjoyable aspect of this documentary is watching Kenny cook up a huge number of unique dishes as he talks about his various beliefs. Customers talk about their experiences ordering, the types of food they eat, why they frequent Shopsins’ and why they are willing to take some abuse occasionally. Shopsin family members give their feelings about Kenny and life in the restaurant. In one part of the film some people who were turned away because they were a party of six who came into the restaurant, recount their experience of being thrown out. According to Kenny, since they did not read the sign on the door that stipulates that only up to a party of four is allowed, they will now always be a party of six and never allowed in the restaurant. Kenny’s believes that he “does more” than the customer and so they need to prove to him that they are worthy of being fed. If they don’t like his policy they can go “fuck them selves,” he says.
As the documentary proceeds we learn that Kenny will soon need to move to another location because the new landlord has raised his rent to a point that it would not be profitable to stay there. Part of the film follows Kenny, his wife and other family members hunting and ultimately finding a new location not far from the old one.
This humorous, intimate documentary explores not only the notion of a quirky restaurant owner and his philosophy of life it also takes a look at how in an urban environment this restaurant does more than just feed people. Shopsin has created an environment where people come to eat and meet the rest of the family.
I Like Killing Flies is informative, fun and well worth spending seventy-nine minutes watching, maybe more than once.
2006 – LIONS GATE – 96 minutes – Directed by David Leaf & John Scheinfeld
Anyone who lived through the sixties and the seventies can’t help but relive the turbulent times depicted in The US vs John Lennon. For those too young to have experienced that time, the documentary will bring insight in to those years and how John Lennon seems to have evolved from mop top Beatle to political activist. Set to Lennon’s and the Beatles music, this is a fast paced, well made documentary that shows how John Lennon came to be what the Nixon administration called an “enemy of the state,” and someone who needed to be deported.
John Lennon was born October 10, 1940 in Liverpool, England. The documentary covers some of his childhood days where we learn about his childhood experiences and his tendency to rebel against authority. Archival footage of the Beatles and Lennon are used in conjunction with remarks, made by Lennon, that “The Beatles were more popular than Jesus.” At the time right wing Christian groups and the KKK protested the Beatles and burned Beatles records.
But the real focus of the film are his days with Yoko Ono and their “Give Peace a Chance” demonstrations including their honeymoon “Bed In” peace protests in Amsterdam and, after the U.S. denied them entry, in Canada. The archival footage is skillfully edited with interviews and appearances of John and Yoko on the Dick Cabot show and other interviews.
Also highlighted is the relationship that developed between Lennon and activists like Jerry Rubin, Abby Hoffman and Bobby Seales, where it appears Rubin and Hoffman used the celebrity status of Lennon to help their causes. In particular the case of getting John Sinclair released from a ten-year sentence for giving two joints to an undercover agent. This event also shows how the potential power Lennon’s celebrity might be used in the protest movement.
The documentary makes use of a great deal of restored archival photographs, film and video footage of John and Yoko plus the events of the years from the late sixties up to Lennon’s murder in December of 1980. Interviews with John Lennon, Yoko Ono Lennon, Carl Bernstein, G.Gordon Liddy, Walter Cronkite, Mario Cuomo, George McCovern, John Dean, Bobby Seale, Gore Vidal and many others gives candid insight into the events surrounding John Lennon’s life at this time.
At times it seems that story is more about the Viet Nam War and the peace movement, rather than John Lennon, but after awhile the historic footage serves as back story to his activism and the US government’s attempts to have Lennon deported as an undesirable alien. Behind this attempt is the fear of the Republican establishment and Nixon administration that Lennon might be able to rally young voters to vote against the war and Nixon. Lennon made Nixon’s well known “Political Enemies” list and was followed and wiretapped. In addition J. Edgar Hoover’s FBI took steps whenever possible to neutralize these supposed “enemies” of the state.
Today thirty years after Lennon’s death it seems that history is repeating itself in Iraq and Afghanistan without the protests of peace activists like John Lennon who would have been seventy years old today. This is a documentary film worth seeing from many standpoints including a unique time in the history of the world.
All that can be heard in the opening moments of Murder Ball are the ambient sounds of Mark Zupan getting himself into his wheel chair, lifting his body and legs into place and the sound of a compressor. In some ways the opening images of MurderBall are deceiving in that you might imagine a very different scenario for the documentary that follows and what Mark’s life is actually like.
MurderBall – 2005 – Think Film/MTV/1 More film – 88 minutes. Directed by Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro.
Murder Ball focuses on the USA Paraplegic Rugby team’s path to the 2004 Olympics in Greece, their rivalry with the Canadian team; it’s coach Joe Soares and the US paraplegic players themselves. The pace of the film does not slacken as it takes you with these warriors on their quest to win the Olympic Gold in Athens.
In the opening scenes you quickly get to know several players through their words and actions and from interviews with their friends and families. It’s obvious that the sport of wheelchair rugby is extremely competitive, as are the participants. The rivalry between the USA and Canada is intensified by the animosity of the US team members toward Joe Soares, an ex US player who has “defected” to become the coach of the Canadian team. This angst is even more apparent after the US team, undefeated in eleven years, looses a game to the Canadian team, coached by Soares, in Vancouver. After the game one of the US players asks Soares “how it feels to be a traitor his country?”
One of the unique aspects of this documentary is that you are drawn into the lives of the players and given an understanding of their disability in a non-condescending fashion. Instead there is empathy and respect for these athletes who have overcome adversity and ask for no sympathy. This is a documentary about a sport and athletes who have overcome adversity to play it.
Murder Ball is a documentary; nonfiction structured in the same way an action/drama fiction film is scripted, in three acts. The rivalry between the two teams, the US players versus Joe Soares and the Canadians gives us clear a protagonist and antagonist. Joe Soares aggressive and often insensitive behavior makes him the person to dislike, although toward the middle of the film he does get some redeeming value when he attends his non-jock son’s concert. Another, more subtle antagonist in the film is the personal physical limitations the athletes must overcome to play this contact sport.
Murder Ball was nominated for an Oscar as Best Documentary Film and has an impressive list of awards including one for editing. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0436613/awards
JRMartin
“Murder Ball directed by Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro, produced by Jeffrey Mandel and Shapiro, photographed by Rubin, works like many great documentaries to transcend its subject and consider the human condition.”– Roger Ebert – July 22, 2005
A coal miner silhouetted and barely visible in the darkness of a coal mine calls out a warning three times, “fireinthehole,” the words all run together melodiously, letting all know he’s about to detonate an explosion. So begins HARLAN COUNTY USA, 1976, 104 minutes Directed by Barbara Kopple, Winner Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary 1976. DVD Criterion Collection 
