A Tibetan Buddhist master and his westernized son clash over the young man’s place in the old man’s cultural and religious world. It’s a story as old, or older, than The Jazz Singer. But in My Reincarnation, a documentary by Jennifer Fox, it’s made new again. B+ Documentary Directed by Jennifer Fox Chögyal Namkhai Norbu [...]
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B- Documentary · Written and Presented by Robert X. Cringely · Directed by Paul Sen Even an Apple cynic like myself must admit that Steve Jobs drastically changed the world we live in, and mostly for the better. I’m writing this on a Windows computer, I have a Creative Zen music player, and my smartphone [...]
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B+ Documentary Directed by Göran Hugo Olsson The nature of the civil rights movement changed dramatically in the mid-to-late 1960’s, abandoning non-violence and attacking the heart of the American government. This American/Swedish documentary tracks the Black Power movement from Stokely Carmichael’s 1967 heyday until heroin ravaged Harlem in 1975. The picture starts out by explaining [...]
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I wrote this review in 2008, after previewing this documentary before its screening at the San Francisco Asian American Film Festival. I held back the full-length review for the film’s planned theatrical release. I feel now that I’ve held it back long enough, so I’m posting it now. Unfortunately, Wings of Defeat isn’t available in any form. Historical [...]
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B+ Documentary Few filmmakers understood color as well as British cinematographer Jack Cardiff. And those who did understand have Cardiff to thank for it. Early in Craig McCall’s documentary, an aged Cardiff (he died in 2009 at the age of 94) describes his first interview with Technicolor, which had just opened a lab in England. [...]
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I attended two San Francisco Jewish Film Festival events at the Castro today. Here’s what I saw: C In Heaven Underground: The Weissensee Jewish Cemetery The last thing you’d expect to find in Berlin is a Jewish cemetery that was consecrated in the 19th century. But Weissensee is just that—a final resting place that the [...]
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A- Documentary Directed by Werner Herzog Only Werner Herzog would ask a scientist about his dreams. But that’s precisely why Herzog was the perfect choice to make this documentary about very ancient cave paintings—amongst the earliest works of art in existence, and works that show significant talent. Other documentarians would ask about how the paint [...]
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Managed to get to one movie at the Kabuki today—the last one I’ll see there at this year’s festival. B+ The Black Power Mixtape 1967–1975. The nature of the civil rights movement changed dramatically in the mid-to-late 1960’s, and this American/Swedish documentary tracks the black power movement from Stokely Carmichael’s heyday until heroin ravaged Harlem. [...]
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After the Kanbar Award event, I caught two other films at the San Francisco International Film Festival. Coincidentally, both were about teenagers. Both were also very good. B+ Children of the Princess of Cleves. In France as in every other country, adolescents must deal with ranging hormones, overly-strict parents (in their eyes, at least), tests [...]
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Two years ago, the San Francisco International Film Festival screened the animated film Battle For Terra. Although the film was made in 3D, and screened for press that way, it was shown flat at the festival. A lot has changed in two years. To my knowledge, Cave of Forgotten Dreams is the first feature screened [...]
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