Music documentary Written by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud and Emmanuel Gétaz Directed by Pierre-Yves Borgeaud It's sad when a great idea and an important subject lose their way. I don't know whether to blame filmmaker Pierre-Yves Borgeaud or the film's subject, singer/song-writer Youssou N'Dour, but Return to Gorée isn't the film it should have been. Part of … Continue reading Youssou N’Dour: Return to Gorée
Category: Documentaries
What’s Screening: September 5-11
The Godfather Parts I & II, Castro, Friday through next friday. Francis Coppola, taking the job simply because he needed the money, turned Mario Puzo's potboiler into the Great American Crime Epic. Marlon Brando may have top billing, but Al Pacino owns the film (and became a star) as Michael Corleone, the respectable son inevitably … Continue reading What’s Screening: September 5-11
American Teen
Documentary Written and directed by Nanette Burstein I can't think of another documentary that felt so much like narrative fiction. American Teen follows four kids in their last year in a Warsaw, Indiana high school. They apply for college, they get drunk, they fall in and out of love. In other words, they do what … Continue reading American Teen
Trumbo
Documentary Written by Christopher Trumbo Directed by Peter Askin Trumbo walks a fine line between performance art and documentary. Like any conventional showbiz biodoc, it delivers plenty of film clips, old photos, home movies, and interview clips of people close to the subject. But it also spends much of its time on famous actors (Joan … Continue reading Trumbo
Standard Operating Procedure
Political Documentary Directed by Errol Morris We all know Lynndie England--or we think we do. She's the young, seemingly carefree soldier photographed taunting prisoners in those infamous Abu Ghraib prison photos. In other words, she's the very bad apple that ruined the worldwide image of the brave American soldier. Errol Morris want you to see … Continue reading Standard Operating Procedure
Everything’s Cool
Documentary Directed by Daniel Gold and Judith Heifand The first question Everything's Cool brings to mind is "Why do we need another documentary about global warming?" The people distributing Everything's Cool must have aksed that themselves, and came up with an answer: "Because this documentary about global warming is funny." But calling Daniel Gold and … Continue reading Everything’s Cool
Helvetica
Documentary Produced and directed by Gary Hustwit Director Gary Hustwit clearly feels passionate about typefaces. So do the graphic designers he interviews. Some consider the ubiquitous san serif font for which the movie is named to be brilliant and almost sacred--the perfect choice for everything. Another, only half joking, blames Helvetica for the Iraq war. … Continue reading Helvetica
Dirty Country
Music Documentary Written and directed by Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher You’ve got one night--Friday, November 9--to catch Dirty Country at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts. And if you like raunchy humor, you should catch it. Joe Pickett and Nick Prueher of Found Footage Fame (or Found Footage obscurity) built this documentary around … Continue reading Dirty Country
The Price of Sugar
Documentary Written by Bill Haney and Peter Rhodes Directed by Bill Haney Catch this film if you need another reason to feel guilty about eating sweets. In fact, catch this film if you care about basic human decency. It's one of the best documentaries of the year. Billy Haney’s expose of the Dominican Republic’s sugar … Continue reading The Price of Sugar
How to Cook Your Life
Documentary Written and directed by Doris Dörrie Cooking and Buddhism make a tasty combination in Doris Dörrie’s documentary. And in the world view of its subject, Edward Espe Brown--Zen master, gourmet chef, and author of The Tassajara Bread Book. The camera does little more than follow Brown as he gives cooking classes, discusses the importance … Continue reading How to Cook Your Life
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