kanopy

CITY HALL (2020)

January 15, 2021

(kanopy/MUBI) A doc from legendary filmmaker Frederick Wiseman that details the human infrastructure that allows a city to operate, primarily through Boston mayor Marty Walsh (who happens to be Biden’s pick for Labor Secretary).

I don’t know enough about Boston politics to properly judge the players in the doc’s spotlight, but I don’t think you need to. CIYT HALL pulls back the curtain to allow you to spend time — a lot of time, as the doc runs over four and a half hours — to see how the municipal sausage is made. You’ll watch politicians discuss agendas, but you’ll also be a fly-on-the-wall in parking ticket disputes, observe a community meeting concerning a cannabis shop, find yourself mesmerized by the mechanical power of a garbage truck, eavesdrop on 311 calls, and more.

While most filmmakers would focus solely on the impassioned bits — of which there are many — Wiseman showcases full twenty minute meetings and exchanges where, more than once, you can feel the boredom radiating from the room. CITY HALL lets you sit with the procedure and banal back-and-forth that it takes to help people, to try and make sure that Boston is operating as smoothly as humanly possible.

There’s a moment near the end of the film where you’re simply slowly shown a number of quiet spots throughout Boston, and the pacing and range of imagery instills the feeling that the city itself is breathing, fueled by the efforts of everyone and everything Wiseman has shown us over the past four hours.

THE TRUE ADVENTURES OF WOLFBOY (2019)

January 13, 2021

(hoopla/kanopy/Prime/VOD/Vudu) Paul (Jaeden Martell, IT (2017), THE LODGE) is a thirteen-year-old boy with Hypertrichosis (also known as ‘Werewolf Syndrome’), whose body is fully covered with hair. He’s grown up without his mother and feels ostracized and misunderstood by all — even his loving but somewhat misguided father (Chris Messina, SHARP OBJECTS, BIRDS OF PREY) — so, when he gets a birthday present from his mom, marking a spot in Philadelphia and promising answers, he takes off in search of her.

What follows is a misfit coming-of-age story as Paul encounters all sorts of threats and oddball friends along the way, many of whom mirror those Odysseus met during his adventure, including Sophie Giannamore (TRANSPARENT) as a singer who loves water, executive producer John Turturro as a predatory carnival owner — Turturro should really play more villains — and Eve Hewson (TESLA, previously recommended) as an energetic eye-patched punk who loves to steal.

WOLFBOY’s penned by Olivia Dufault (a playwright who has also written for LEGION and PREACHER — the very definition of an epic misfit adventure) and while the unique folks Paul meets along the way are the focal point of the film, she inserts whimsical elements while keeping them grounded in the real-world. First-time feature director Martin Krejcí manages to instill artistic wonder and scale into traditionally humdrum urban locations. A soundtrack featuring the delightfully melancholy DeVotchKa and Timber Timbre also imbue WOLFBOY with swoony charm.

In my opinion the trailer shows too much but, with this film, it’s about the journey.

LUXOR (2020)

January 12, 2021

(hoopla/kanopy/Prime/tubi/VOD) A quiet drama about British Aid doctor, Shea (Andrea Riseborough, MANDY, CHRISTINE), who is currently on leave because she’s ‘seen some things no one should see’. She embarks on a trip to Luxor, Egypt and, quite quickly, runs into her former lover of twenty years ago, Sultan (Karim Saleh, TRANSPARENT, COUNTERPART), who is there on an archeological dig.

While the above may sound like a ‘late-in-life rekindled romance’, it isn’t, although the looks and stumbled phrases they exchange upon seeing each other after so many years ensure they’ll be orbiting each other for the rest of the film. The core is a human story about a woman who is not confident that she will feel broken for the rest of her life. While the undercurrent of revitalized romance is there, it’s just one facet of Shea’s present time.

Quiet tales like these, about people with lived lives, of adult reflection, are rarer and rarer nowadays, and writer/director Zeina Durra (THE IMPERIALISTS ARE STILL ALIVE!) does an exceptional job realizing her script, letting the camera follow the actors and allow the silence to speak volumes.

SPACESHIP EARTH (2020)

January 9, 2021

(Hulu/kanopy/VOD) Released in May 2020, this doc focused on the first real attempt to create a self-sustaining, human-made biosphere, was perfect pandemic fodder, and remains that way. It’d be enough to just hear the tale of those who lived through two years of isolation, but the doc’s juiced by the corporate intrigue and mismanagement that occurred. A fascinating, bewildering experiment that calls for a slightly grander film than this, but I’m just happy to be able to experience it.

BANANA SPLIT (2020)

January 8, 2021

(hoopla/kanopy/Netflix/VOD) A delightfully filthy ‘last summer before college’ tale co-written by and starring Hannah Marks (DIRK GENTLY’S HOLISTIC DETECTIVE AGENCY, the previously mentioned I USED TO GO HERE). Marks plays April (coincidentally, also the name of her character in I USED TO GO HERE) who, after a whirlwind senior year relationship with Nick (Dylan Sprouse, as in the Sprouse that -isn’t- in RIVERDALE) — swiftly conveyed through a montage set to X-RAY SPEX’s -Obsessed With You- — the two break up. Nick rebounds with new-to-town Clara (Liana Liberato, THE BEACH HOUSE (2020)) who, much to April’s surprise, isn’t a terrible person. In fact, the two hit it off and become fast friends, despite their shared history with Nick.

It’s a winsome look at the intensity of both young love and teen friendships, earnest and honest but never too serious, and features in-jokes that are earned as opposed to a litany of pop culture riffs. First-time director Benjamin Kasulke (hard-working indie cinematographer who has shot everything from Guy Maddin’s BRAND UPON THE BRAIN to BETWEEN TWO FERNS: THE MOVIE) keeps the pace lively, embellishing bits here to wring the most from a scene, but often gets out of the way and lets Marks lead the way.

“We are going to have -one dinner- that doesn’t end in kissing fat asses or sucking dicks!”

SAINT FRANCES (2020)

January 3, 2021

(kanopy/Starz/VOD) SAINT FRANCES won me over within the first five minutes by spooning out an absolutely perfect introduction to the protagonist, her whims, persona, and obstacles. It expertly sets up the achingly human story of Bridget (writer Kelly O’Sullivan), a thirty-something Chicagoan woman working through a lot of issues while being a nanny to Frances (Ramona Edith Williams), an extraordinarily interesting misfit child.

The end result is a delight, and pairs well with PRINCESS CYD — not just because it too was shot in Chicago.

“I don’t know why I’m crying! I’m an agnostic feminist!”

HAM ON RYE (2020)

January 1, 2021

(kanopy/VOD) An oddity that starts off as a Linklater-ish teen prom courtship drama and then ever so slowly becomes something else entirely.

BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS (2020)

December 31, 2020

(kanopy/VOD) Today is New Year’s Eve 2020, so I’m recommending a documentary about the last night of a faux bar but with very real people, because of course I am.

Of everything I’ve watched this year, this is the sole film I’ve felt the most conflicted about.

My favorite solo activity is to read in bars. I’m not a gregarious person, but I like to surround myself with camaraderie, to hear people bonding, all while edifying myself because I’m a dumb nerd.

Don’t get me wrong! If someone talks to me, I’ll put my book down and indulge them — I’m not that aloof! (Although, more often than not, that’s presented more problems in the past than it’s worth, but it always bestows a story.)

The last time I indulged in a proper public outing was to drink-and-read at Andersonville fixture -Simon’s- way back in March, the week before Chicago’s lockdown. It was a Monday, I was two-thirds through Sarah Waters’ THE PAYING GUESTS, and TCM was playing on their two screens. The -Simon’s- crew had shaped a contest out of some wind-up toys, while engaging more than a few of the locals during the sleepy night. I hit my reading word count, quaffed a final drink and left, fully knowing this would probably be the last time I’d sit on one of their barstools for some time.

I watched BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS midway through July, shortly after it was made available via VOD. By this point in time, I was fully reminiscing daily about my actual local — Jerry’s, where everyone there actually did know my name — which had already closed and re-opened as a tasty Israeli/Middle Eastern restaurant.

I’d love to say that BLOODY NOSE, EMPTY POCKETS made me wax poetic about bar families.

It did not.

This is not a fault of the doc itself, even though the doc is constructed to basically facilitate that sort of faux-bonding through many, many free drinks via centrally located bar-going folks.

It’s simply that I missed weaving my own bar narrative, of being my own editor, ‘documentary writer’. Given everything I’ve lived over the last uh, unsaid number of years, this felt like a pale copy and made me long for the real thing, which will still be a long time coming based on current vaccination numbers.

Again, not a fault of the film, and I realize my opinion is unpopular. I still highly recommend the film, because most folks experiences aren’t my own, and the experiences detailed here -are- authentic. Despite the bar being a construct, the interactions are real — it’s documenting a moment and all of the interactions occurring in that moment. The emotional heartbeats here are true, folks seeking out connections — manufactured or not — which I think is something we’re all can relate to right now.

And with that said: good riddance to 2020.

Apologies if you hoped for a proper NYE recommendation. If you really want one, you can’t go wrong with BILL & TED FACE THE MUSIC which, despite the fact that it doesn’t take place on NYE, has the best feel-good countdown of the year.

EXTRA ORDINARY (2020)

December 30, 2020

(fubo/hoopla/kanopy/Showtime/VOD) EXTRA ORDINARY is an extremely charming and winsome Irish horror-comedy about a woman named Rose (comedian Maeve Higgins) who has been bestowed with paranormal talents, which include the ability to see ghosts. Unfortunately, those powers backfired on her, resulting in the death of her father, so she swore them off and instead became a driving instructor. Unfortunately, local man Martin Martin (Barry Ward, THE END OF THE F***ING WORD) and washed up musician Christian Winter (Will Forte, MACGRUBER, THE LAST MAN ON EARTH, clearly having fun playing a villain) will severely test that resolution.

EXTRA ORDINARY could coast along on the quality of its low-key goofs and gags and be a fun hangout horror rom-com, but the overarching story (penned by the directors Mike Ahern and Enda Loughman, with contributions from Higgins) jauntily moves along and escalates into one very fun but very odd climax. Literally.

It also features several finely produced video segments that recall GARTH MERENGHI’S DARKPLACE and LOOK AROUND YOU, fully rounding out the film into a terrifically satisfying film. Sadly, it was released in the US right before lockdown, but hopefully it’ll find an audience sooner rather than later.

DRIVEWAYS (2020)

December 24, 2020

(Fubo/hoopla/kanopy/VOD) Kathy, a struggling Asian-American single mom travels with Cody, her pre-teen son, to settle the affairs of her dead sister’s estate. While there, the son befriends an aging-but-able Vietnam veteran, who welcomes them into his small town.

While it’s a standard indie film premise, DRIVEWAYS excels in a number of ways, first and foremost by having Brian Dennehy (RIP, Brian — I’ll never forget you in THE BELLY OF AN ARCHITECT) as the neighbor, secondly by having a simple human story play out simply and, lastly, how it’s visually framed — lots of tight shots instead of expository shots, which are disarming for the first half of the film until it settles into a familiar sort of comfort.

While Dennehy is fantastic, I’d be remiss to neglect both Hong Chau (WATCHMEN’s Lady Trieu) and Lucas Jaye as the mother-and-son pair, who have an exquisitely honest mother/son relationship. Chau is especially brilliant as she tries to compose herself as everything around her is falling apart.

All of that said, my favorite part of the film is how much everyone swears around this kid.

It’s a film filled with melancholy, but is also a very sweet slice of life.