Month: February 2020

Miss Americana: It’s Always Harder if You’re a Woman

Miss Americana

The review:

Lana Wilson shows different facets* of Taylor Swift in Miss Americana from her early days as a teenage country singer to her most current reinvention as a pop superstar.** I’m always a little leery of how accurate the portrayal of the subject is in documentaries of high-profile people—I’m cynical enough to suspect there is some give to get access—regardless, there’s a lot to chew on here.*** Also interesting was seeing how the kids today make music which seems to involve voice recorders on phones and not very many instruments.****

The verdict: Recommended

Cost: Netflix monthly fee ($8.99)
Where watched: at home

Consider also watching:

  • Amy
  • The Wrecking Crew
  • Homecoming: A Film by Beyoncé
  • 20 Feet from Stardom

(Note: I’m terrible at watching documentaries. This is a list of films I want to see!)

Further sentences:

*From awards show ready in a dress that didn’t let her lift her arms higher than her waist to writing songs without makeup and in lounge wear.
**Swift points out that women artists have to reinvent themselves 20 times more often then men do and that is on full display in this documentary.
***I loved that she discussed how seeing images of herself on a daily basis isn’t good for her and lead to disordered eating. It was interesting to see her weigh speaking out about a particular political candidate with potential fan reaction. The isolation was also interesting, and every scene with her cat was a winner.
****I’m always up for music creation sequences and it’s fun to watch the energy grow as the song comes into being.

Questions:

  • Has a documentary about a musician ever changed the way you thought about that person’s music?
  • What profile of a musician would you like see?

Other reviews:

Miss Americana

Also good: I want to work really hard while society is still tolerating me being successful.

2020 Oscar Nominated Live Action Shorts

Overall:

The Live Action Shorts had a whiplash of emotions (woah, what?, ugh!, hmm, yes!) that left me feeling good.

A Sister (16 minutes)

The film opens with a couple driving in a car with the woman asking permission to call her sister to arrange for care for her daughter. From that point the film jumps back and forth from the claustrophobic and hard-to-see car interior to a different location. I found this film hopeful and clever and also the kind of film that wasn’t going to get a lot of votes.

The verdict: Recommended

Watch “A Sister” here.

Brotherhood (25 minutes)

This takes place in Tunisia and the three young men who play the brothers are fascinatingly red-headed and freckled.* It’s about a family where the oldest brother has been absent for returns home with a Syrian wife. Has he been working for ISIS?

*Googling got me to an article hidden behind a paywall, but apparently Meryam Joobeur, the director, came across two of them in 2016 tending sheep in northern Tunisia, asked to take their picture and was denied. Then she came back with script for a short film, asked around, found the brothers and they agreed to be in the film.

The verdict: Recommended

Watch “Brotherhood” on Viemo.

Saria (22 minutes)

This film is based on a true story about an incident in an orphanage in Guatemala. The film focuses on two sisters who are determined to escape from the grim and terrible place. It’s a short film that manages to be hopeful, despite its depressing topic.

The verdict: Good

Watch a trailer for “Saria” here.

The Neighbors’ Window (20 minutes)

A very tired couple with three children who live in an apartment watch the antics of a younger couple who move in across the street. This was the weakest of the bunch. I saw the twist coming in the first five minutes, which would have been okay, but the actor playing the husband was Not A Good Actor.

The verdict: Skip

Watch “The Neighbors’ Window” here.

Nefta Football Club (17 minutes)

What starts with two men looking for a donkey in the desert and expands to encompass two boys on a motorbike headed back to their Tunisian village. This was the funniest of the nominated short films (there was clapping). It was also my favorite.

The verdict: Recommended

Watch Nefta Football Club here.

Cost: $6.00
Where watched: Hollywood Theatre with S. North.

My ranking: (winner in bold)

  • Nefta Football Club
  • Brotherhood
  • A Sister
  • Saria
  • The Neighbors’ Window

2020 Oscar Nominated Documentary Shorts

Overall:

Like last year, the documentary shorts were my favorite. I love these short slices of life, all of which inspired a lot of feelings. I felt wrung out after watching these, but in a better way than the animated shorts.

Note that not all of these individual reviews will have three sentences.

Life Overtakes Me (39 minutes)

This movie starts with a fairy tale-like shot of snow coating branches of trees. It continues by explaining about an illness that is affecting refugee children in Sweden. This was fascinating and a bit horrifying.

The verdict: Recommended

Watch “Life Overtakes Me” on Netflix.

Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (if you’re a girl) (39 minutes)

I’m always going to go for the stories about the girls. And girls in cultures where girls don’t matter are a big win for me. And movies about skateboarding also are a thing I love.

The verdict: Recommended

Watch “Learning to Skateboard” on A&E.

In the Absence (29 minutes)

In 2014, the Korean ferry Sewol sank and 300 people (many of them children) drowned. This film follows the disaster from the moment the Coast Guard arrives on scene through years of protest and trials. It was painful and horrible and I highly recommend you watch just to see how many everyday people were affected and to hear the stories of those who tried to make a terrible situation better.

The verdict: Recommended.

Watch “In the Absence” on Vimeo.

Walk, Run, Cha-Cha (20 minutes)

After three heavy subjects, this story of a later-in-life couple who love ballroom dance was a crowd pleaser. Paul and Millie Cao met in Vietnam, and were separated when Paul came to the US as a refugee; Millie joined about five years later. In 20 minutes we get a sense of their life together, their friends and family, and their love for Cha Cha.

The verdict: Recommended

Watch “Walk, Run, Cha-Cha” on Vimeo.

St. Louis Superman (28 minutes)

Bruce Franks ran for a seat in the Missouri State Legislature after what happened in Ferguson and this film follows him as he goes about his duties. It’s a great depiction of the difficult realities of political office and shows off Franks’s talents speaking to people and inspiring them.

The verdict: Good

Watch a trailer for “St. Louis Superman” on YouTube.

Cost: $10.00
Where watched: Kiggens Theater

My ranking: (winner in bold)

  • Learning to Skateboard in a Warzone (if you’re a girl)
  • In the Absence
  • Life Overtakes Me
  • Walk, Run, Cha Cha
  • St. Louis Superman