How often do you see a documentary on volcanoes that's also a romantic love story? Katia and Maurice Krafft – a very happily married couple – spent their lives studying the dangerous powers that occasionally break through the earth's crust. But I didn't watch it the way I should have seen it. I first saw … Continue reading Fire of Love on the very big screen
Category: Documentaries
Bitterbrush on the open range
A- cinema verite documentary Directed by Emelie Mahdavian Yes, there are real cowgirls - but probably not for long. Hollyn and Colie travel through what's probably the least populated part of the American West - doing temporary work. Mostly, they herd cattle. And judging by Emelie Mahdavian's documentary, these women know what they're doing. As … Continue reading Bitterbrush on the open range
Midwives at SFFilm
There are very few matinees on weekdays in this year's SFFilm Festival. So, I've been attending one film a day. And Monday, the movie I saw was a powerful documentary called Midwives. Snow Hnin Ei Hlaing, the young Burmese woman who made Midwives, has far more courage than I do. Over several years, she followed … Continue reading Midwives at SFFilm
Dinner from the petri dish may be coming with Meat the Future
D+ Documentary Directed by Liz Marshall A Bay Area tech startup called Upside Food is working to help the environment and end animal cruelty. They take tissue from living animals (cows, chicken, ducks and others), and grow the meat in test tubes and petri dishes. Few living animals are involved, and none are slaughtered. For … Continue reading Dinner from the petri dish may be coming with Meat the Future
Doc Week at the New Parkway
April Fool's Day seems like a strange time to start a documentary film festival. It would be more appropriate for a mockumentary fest. Nevertheless, Doc Week 2022 opens on Friday, April 1, and ends on April 7. It happens at the New Parkway in downtown Oakland. Unlike most documentary festivals, this one doesn't focus on … Continue reading Doc Week at the New Parkway
Who We Are & why this country is so messed up
A Documentary Directed by Emily Kunstler & Sarah Kunstler Jeffery Robinson's powerful documentary, Who We Are - A Chronicle of Racism in America, should be shown in every school in this country. Perhaps, just maybe, it would help understand our racial problems. When the movie started, my first response was "Am I going to be … Continue reading Who We Are & why this country is so messed up
Julia Child and French Cooking
B documentary Directed by Julie Cohen & Betsy West I didn't really want to watch or review this documentary about Julia Child. Why? First of all, current cinema is overflowing with documentaries about the lives of famously beloved people. If you're not a fan of the subject, the movie doesn't mean much. And I've never … Continue reading Julia Child and French Cooking
Ascension: The Rat Race in “Communist” China
A Documentary Directed by Jessica Kingdon If you think America is the land where people desperately fight for a piece of the pie, you should see how it works in so-called "socialist" China. Jessica Kingdon's spellbinding, narration-less documentary shows the People's Republic as a country of paupers scrambling to raise themselves financially - or at … Continue reading Ascension: The Rat Race in “Communist” China
UNAFF: The United Nations Association Film Festival
The United Nations Association Film Festival (UNAFF) sees itself as a "two-decade-long celebration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, emphasizing our readiness to resume resolute strides towards lasting solutions." It opens Thursday. Although most of the festival will happen on the peninsula - Stanford and Palo Alto - UNAFF will have one day in … Continue reading UNAFF: The United Nations Association Film Festival
Mill Valley Film Fest: Preview 1
Here's my first set of capsule movie reviews of films playing at this year's Mill Valley Film Festival. Some of these capsules are unusually short; the festival requires many of the films to be reviewed in 50 words or less. You'll probably guess which ones. A- Like a Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of … Continue reading Mill Valley Film Fest: Preview 1
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