Category Archives: Documentary

Behind the Music, Documentary, Rock 'n' Roll

Tribeca 2023: Let the Canary Sing (***)

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on June 17, 2023)

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The biggest surprise in Alison Elwood’s engaging portrait of Cyndi Lauper is the thoughtful, articulate, and soft-spoken woman who reflects on her life and career; a far cry from the goofball New Wave Judy Holliday shtick that defined her public persona. By the time her slyly feminist anthem “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” put her on the map in 1983, she’d already been toiling in the music biz for over a decade (mostly fronting cover bands; it was interesting to learn that she was once a backup singer for Patti LaBelle). She freely admits that the graph of her career is a classic roller coaster, but it turns out she’s more of a polymath than one might suspect and has never compromised her vision. I confess losing track of her post-80s output, but I came away with newfound respect for her ongoing dedication as an artist and an activist.

Cold War, Documentary, Nuclear Paranoia, The Environment

Tribeca 2023: Richland (***)

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on June 10, 2023)

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[Shame mode] All the times I’ve zipped by the I-82 turn-off to Richland, Washington while driving on I-90 and thought “hey, isn’t that where that Hanford superfund nuclear thingy is?” I’ve never stopped to ponder its historical significance. Adjacent to the Hanford Nuclear Site that was built in the early 1940s to house nuclear government workers at the height of the Manhattan Project, Richland is, in essence, a company town; a true-to-life “atomic city” with a problematic legacy.

Then again, according to Irene Lusztig’s absorbing documentary, how “problematic”  depends on who you talk to. For example, many current residents don’t see why anyone would make a fuss over the local high school football team’s “mascot”, which is a mushroom cloud. The town manufactured weapons-grade plutonium for decades following the end of WW2 (to which  they had a direct hand in “ending”, via providing the plutonium for the ”Fat Man” nuclear bomb that was dropped on Nagasaki).

Lusztig incorporates archival footage for historical context; these segments reminded me of the 1982 documentary The Atomic Café. With Christopher Nolan’s anticipated biopic Oppenheimer looming (July 21st), this is a perfect primer for brushing up on America’s complex relationship with nuclear energy.

Conspiracy a-go-go, Documentary, On Politics, Politics

Tribeca 2023: Against All Enemies (***)

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on June 10, 2023)

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In a post examining reaction from the Right when news broke this week that ex-president Trump was being indicted by federal prosecutors for alleged mishandling of classified documents, Digby included this disturbing tidbit:

What makes that even more chilling for me was that this all came down mere days after I saw Charlie Sadoff’s (incredibly) timely documentary. Sadoff’s study (which he co-wrote with Sebastian Junger and Kenneth Harbaugh) begins with an unsettling statistic: out of the approximately 1,000 people who have been officially charged for storming the U.S. Capitol building on January 6, 2021, 15% worked as police or military personnel. These are, of course, the folks who take an oath to support the Constitution of the United States.

The film not only delves into how military vets become radicalized but builds a timeline of modern right-wing extremism from the Ku Klux Klan’s public resurgence in the 1920s to current groups like the Proud Boys. The most revelatory “hidden history” aspect for me concerns the mid-70s to mid-80s-a period that saw a surge of Vietnam vets into various anti-government and racist groups, as well as the advent of “Liberty Net”, which holds the dubious distinction of being the first social network engineered by and for members of the neo-Nazi/white power movements.

Sadoff covers so much ground that this engrossing history begs a Ken Burns extended dance mix (occasional narration by Burns stalwart Peter Coyote adds to that flavor). That said, this is enough nightmare fuel for most viewers. You have been warned.

Con Game, Documentary, Religion

SIFF 2023: Satan Wants You (***)

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 20, 2023)

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Raise your hand if you remember Dana Carvey’s recurring SNL sketch character “The Church Lady” and her catchphrase: “Could it be…SAY-tan?!” Yes, me too-I always fell about the place when she would say that.

But do you remember what precipitated the creation of that character? Ol’ Scratch enjoyed a major comeback for a spell (sorry) back in the 1980s; I can recall the daytime talk shows being agog with people who told bone-chilling tales of being swept up in blood-drinking satanic cults and barely escaping with their souls intact. But was there a possibility that these were just “tales”? Why so many, and so suddenly?

According to Sean Horlor and Steve J. Adams documentary, the genesis of this “satanic panic” can be traced to the 1980 book “Michelle Remembers”. Co-written by Catholic psychiatrist Lawrence Pazder and his patient, it was based on deep hypnosis sessions he conducted with Michelle Smith, in the course of which she allegedly “remembered” being abducted and abused by a satanic cult when she was a child (the book was a bestseller).

A fascinating study of mass hysteria, and a cautionary tale (not lost on the filmmakers) that points to contemporary phenomenon like Q-anon. I won’t sink to quoting P.T. Barnum, but (sadly) there will always be “someone” out there poised and ready to cash in on ignorance and fear.

Documentary, Movie Movie

SIFF 2023: Douglas Sirk-Hope as in Despair (***)

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 20, 2023)

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I’ve never thought of director Douglas Sirk (best-known for vivid technicolor 50s melodramas like Written on the Wind and Imitation of Life) as a personal filmmaker, but Roman Hüben makes a convincing argument in his fascinating portrait (it turns out that elements of Sirk’s personal life were quite…Sirkian, and formative to his work). Pigeonholed during his heyday as a purveyor of “women’s weepies”, Sirk has gained critical appreciation and influenced filmmakers like Rainer Werner Fassbinder.

60's Counterculture, Documentary, Movie Movie

SIFF 2023: Desperate Souls, Dark City, and the Legend of Midnight Cowboy (***1/2)

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 20, 2023)

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Aside from its distinction as being the only X-rated film to earn Oscars, John Schlesinger’s groundbreaking, idiosyncratic character study Midnight Cowboy (1969) also ushered in an era of mature, gritty realism in American film that flourished from the early to mid-1970s. The film was Schlesinger’s first U.S.-based project; he had already made a name for himself in his native England with films like A Kind of Loving, Billy Liar, Darling, and Far From the Madding Crowd.

As pointed out in Nancy Buirski’s absorbing documentary, what came to be called the “New Hollywood” movement was fueled in part by ex-pat European filmmakers (like Schlesinger) bringing their unique “outsider” perspective on American politics, social mores, and popular culture to the table. Buirski not only offers  fresh insights on how Midnight Cowboy came together, but perfectly recreates the zeitgeist of 1969.

Documentary, On Pop Culture, Show Biz

SIFF 2023: Being Mary Tyler Moore (***1/2)

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By Dennis Hartley

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Robert Redford recalls in this film, “I had a place in Malibu. I was sitting there, looking out at the ocean, and this woman walks by. What it looked like to me was that she was sad. I said ‘Oh…that’s Mary Tyler Moore.’ And we’d always seen Mary Tyler Moore as this happy, upbeat, wonderful, wonderful character who was full of joy and innocence.”

Famously, what Redford saw in Moore the day of that chance encounter led to him offering her the part of the insular mother in his critically acclaimed 1980 film Ordinary People (a very un-“Mary Richards” character). This dichotomy forms the nucleus of James Adolphus’ documentary, offering an intimate glimpse at a complex woman who, while undeniably  groundbreaking and influential, had her share of tragedies, personal demons, and insecurities.

Con Game, Documentary, Religion, True Crime

SIFF 2023: Gloriavale (**1/2)

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By Dennis Hartley

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Just when you thought you’d heard about every faith-based commune led by a charismatic figure who preaches altruism but ultimately turns out to be an autocratic sexual deviant, another one pops out of the woodwork. Directors Noel Smyth and Fergus Grady’s expose of New Zealand’s Gloriavale Christian Community follows the story of several courageous whistleblowers (former and current members). The film is a tad dry in presentation, but the survivors’ tales are harrowing and eye-opening.

Documentary

SIFF 2023: Punderneath it All (**1/2)

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 13, 2023)

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True story: I once got into such an intense pun battle with a co-worker that I literally chased him down the street shouting puns as he drove away. That said, I was today years old when I found out pun “slams” and tournaments are a thing. Abby Hagan’s documentary delves into pun culture. A fun watch (albeit for a niche audience) but may become redundant for some (I bet you’re glad I didn’t say “repundant”).

Behind the Music, Documentary, Drug Culture, Rock 'n' Roll

SIFF 2023: Even Hell Has its Heroes (***)

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By Dennis Hartley

(Originally posted on Digby’s Hullabaloo on May 13th, 2023)

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(Engaging sheepish mode). I’ve lived in Seattle 30 years…yet the “ambient metal” band Earth (led in numerous iterations by guitarist Dylan Carlson) somehow slipped under my radar. I felt a bit redeemed when I learned in Clyde Petersen’s documentary that they’re more well-known outside of the Northwest. Moody, experimental, and hypnotic (not unlike Earth’s epic drone pieces), Petersen’s film is, at its heart, an elegiac paean to that ephemeral moment Seattle ruled the music world.