Category: recommendations

This documentary provides probably as much of the story of outsider artist Henry Darger as you are ever likely to learn. Darger was a recluse who avoided all but a few people during his relatively long life. Upon being admitted to a hospital late in life, his life’s work, an enormous and truly unique trove of artwork and writings titled “In the Realms of the Unreal”, was discovered in his apartment by a neighbor who had been aiding in his care. What was contained in his work, the complexity of it, and his extreme antisocialism are captured in this film.

Before seeing it, I was incredulous how the life of a man of whom so little was known could provide enough substance to carry a feature-length documentary. However filmmaker Jessica Yu’s approach is utterly captivating, masterfully combining narration drawn from his writing, animated images from his paintings, and memories of the few people who knew him. The result is a remarkable tribute to a mad genius whose intense commitment to his art rivaled Van Gogh and whose reputation as an artist will surely continue to grow.

Available in Media Services. DVD 1308

What starts out as a humorous take on the food chain from a middle-class Brazilian perspective suddenly evolves into a scathing indictment of the social system as it looks at what becomes of the garbage produced by the inhabitants of Porto Alegre, Brazil. This 13-minute film is little-known in the US, but it garnered enough votes on IMDB.com to rank #14 on its list of the Top 50 Documentary Films by average vote.

Though much more clever in how it jolts it’s audience’s sensibilities, the light narrative style that belies the film’s dead serious subject matter is in the vein of Fahrenheit 9/11 (DVD 775), Supersize Me (DVD 955), and Atomic Cafe (DVD 536).

Roma or Gypsies are among the most historically persecuted ethnic groups in Europe. Stereotyped as thieves and con men, Rom groups still find it difficult to peacefully exist in many towns, particularly in Eastern Europe. Yet there is much to admire in their fascinating culture. Their traditional music and dance can be simultaneously joyful and haunting. Their devotion to their extended families, their nomadic lifestyles, and their pride and resilience in the face of humiliating discrimination are essential elements to their character.

Media Services has several very good documentaries and feature films on this intriguing but often secretive group.

Documentaries
American Gypsy: A Stranger in Everybody’s Land VHS 7478
Latcho Drom VHS 6510
Porraimos: Europe’s Gypsies in the Holocaust VHS 7464
The Romany Trail VHS 3270
Suspino: A Cry for Roma VHS 7428

Feature Films
Black Cat, White Cat VHS 6547
Gadjo Dilo= Crazy Stranger VHS 7076
Time of the Gypsies VHS 5751
Vengo DVD 972

link

When filmmaker Michael Moore is invited to speak at Utah Valley State College, local residents and conservative students pull out all the stops to try to pre-empt the engagement. Neither protests, threats, bribery, or a last-ditch speech by Fox News commentator Sean Hannity can sway the determined student government leaders though. Driven by their plain-spoken belief that in a democracy people should have an opportunity to hear dissenting points-of-view, their story plays like a real life Frank Capra/Jimmy Stewart movie. First-time filmmaker Steven Greenstreet’s work is a bit long-winded but vividly captures the many elements of this engrossing story that received little attention outside of Utah at the time.

The filmmakers have a blog worth reading.

Aspiring filmmakers can probably learn a thing or two from young auteur Timmy Page. From the paneled basement of his home in Connecticut, he explains how he came to be a movie producer/director, his philosophy of film making, his view of other more established film makers (Charlie Chaplin, etc.), and the art of plot development. Page also discusses his career as an actor and his philosophy for handling actors. This wouldn’t normally sound very captivating except for the fact that Page was only 12-years old at the time. The 18-minute film, directed by Iris and David Hoffman, was an award winner at several major film festivals in 1968 and still retains its humor and charm. VHS 5827

Incidentally Tim Page grew up to be a Pulitzer Prize winning author and classical music critic for the Washington Post.

Peter Watkins’s Punishment Park was made and released in 1970. Watkins had set out to make a film about the Chicago Seven but instead wound up making a fictional film about a civilian tribunal hearing the cases and passing sentences on anti-war protesters. In lieu of long prison sentences, those found guilty are given the option of three days in Punishment Park where they must travel across the desert to a designated spot without being captured. Watkins used a mix of professional and non-professional actors and much of the dialogue was improvised. Though the film’s premise was extreme the rage expressed, both by the student protesters and the conservative tribunal participants, reflected the passions people were really feeling at the time. The reaction to the film was instant and hostile. It was shown in a single theater in New York for four days in 1970 and then withdrawn. It has rarely been screened since and has never aired on television. Fortunately it is now on video and we have a copy. DVD 1714.

Other Peter Watkins videos available in Media Services: Edvard Munch (1976) VHS 5970; The War Game (1965) VHS 3583; and Culloden (1964) VHS on order.