Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love
Filmmaker Nick Broomfield recounts his memories of Marianne Ihlen and singer/songwriter Leonard Cohen in his documentary Marianne & Leonard: Words of Love.
Documentary
Maiden
By: Jolie Featherstone Maiden opens in the middle of a cold and unforgiving ocean. Waves as tall as houses tumble and crash. A preternaturally calm voice is heard over the roar: “the ocean is always trying to kill you.” The roar continues. A storm brews in the increasingly agitated sky. “It doesn’t take a break.”
Melody Makers: Should’ve Been There
Sam Tweedle, a local theatre critic for KawarthaNow.com, is one of the most well-versed music wiz’s I know. We occasionally run into each other at local productions he’s writing about, but I’m almost more familiar with his online takes on his favourite musicians and underrated albums. During our run-ins, he picks my brain about movies. We agree on Kirk Cameron, we disagree on 1st Summoning, but I digress.
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am
Toni Morrison: The Pieces I Am is an efficient documentary, even if it’s as standard as biopic docs get.
Iliza Shlesinger: Over & Over
Comedian Iliza Shlesinger gives at-home viewers an up-close-and-personal look at her career leading up to her latest Netflix special in the “fan-u-mentary” Iliza Shlesinger: Over & Over.
Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki
At just over an hour, Never-Ending Man: Hayao Miyazaki is a rare opportunity to watch Studio Ghibli’s master at work as Miyazaki comes out of a temporary retirement to experiment with CGI animation.
Paris Is Burning
Jennie Livingston’s award-winning documentary Paris Is Burning has received a 4K restoration twenty-eight years after its initial release, and it’ll screen in select theatres across Canada throughout the year. I believe the re-release was planned in part to curate the footage, but also because the documentary is relevant as ever.
Pavarotti
Pavarotti is a celebration of Luciano Pavarotti’s career and his achievements as a legendary opera singer and performer. Ron Howard’s documentary is jovial, just as Pavarotti was known to be. As someone who had limited knowledge of the timeless tenor, I walked away from Howard’s enlightening documentary with a new appreciation for music.
Framing John DeLorean
By: Trevor Chartrand Framing John DeLorean is a unique documentary about the man behind one of most iconic car designs in automobile history. Much like John DeLorean himself, the film takes some big risks with an interesting and flashy approach. Many of DeLorean’s risks did not pay off, and the same can be said for some things in this film.
Meeting Gorbachev
I don’t take umbrage with why Werner Herzog and André Singer made a documentary about former Soviet Union president Mikhail Gorbachev. Considering how elated both filmmakers are when they’re on screen with Gorbachev, the audience can see how much interest they have in this passion project. However, I feel that their starstruck smokescreen stunted this project from resembling a movie worth watching.