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Indie Movie Guide
Reviews of some of the independent film world's newest independent films
Pigeon (and
more) From Within
reviewed by Jennifer M. Wood
If, in the world of animation, there exist royal families, one of them would unquestionably be the Hubleys. John Hubley was a key member of the Disney team that created such animated classics as Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, Dumbo, Fantasia and Bambi. Faith Hubley began her career as an editor and script supervisor on such films as Sidney Lumet's Twelve Angry Men. But when her husband, John, was blacklisted from Disney, the two began a moviemaking partnership that created more than 20 films-and earned them three Academy Awards. Their more personal partnership, that of marriage, produced four children, including Emily Hubley, who in Pigeon From Within displays much of the same free-form visual style and social awareness of her parents' work.
Pigeon (and more) from Within is a collection of seven short films-made between 1982 and 2000-that touch upon the social realities of today. Mixing photography with animation and philosophy with fables, the stories that emerge are from a distinctly female point of view. Pigeon Within tells the story of a woman who encounters what she thinks could be her guardian angel in downtown New York. One Self: Fish/Girl is the discovery a girl makes about herself reading through her own diary. Delivery Man is the earliest of the works presented here, and turns from straightforward storytelling to a dream-like landscape midway through the eight-minute tale. Both The Tower and Enough have a fantasy-like basis, the latter of which tells the story of a magical fish with the ability to grant wishes. Blake Ball brings together poetry and athletics, when the work of William Blake is explained strictly through baseball metaphors. Her Grandmother's Gift is one of Hubley's more straightforward works, which focuses on a grandmother discussing the myths surrounding menstruation.
Each of Hubley's tales are told from a first person point of view-and in a more than conversational tone. Though they're certainly not 'everyman' stories, they are enjoyable and interesting enough for a broad audience, crossing back and forth between everyday conversation and existentialism. Hubley's mainstream recognition has no doubt been augmented with the success of John Cameron Mitchell's Hedwig and the Angry Inch, a film in which her animated creations undoubtedly helped to further the story. That film, hopefully, will make moviegoers more curious about her work-and Pigeon (and more) from Within is certainly a film that could-and should-help to satiate that further interest.
High School II
reviewed by Jennifer M. Wood
Documentarian Frederick Wiseman is a no-frills kind of guy. His film titles-High School, Meat, Domestic Violence-are as straightforward as his style of moviemaking, which can only be described as documentary-making in the truest sense of the word. Though educated as a lawyer, Wiseman turned to moviemaking in the mid-1960s, and has been chronicling our social misdeeds ever since. High School II (1994) departs from its predecessor, High School (1969) in its chronicling life inside Central Park East Secondary School (CPESS), an alternative high school in Spanish Harlem that champions interactivity and cooperation over discipline. Where High School emerged as a film about the problems that exist in contemporary education from the teacher's side, High School II demonstrates what can be achieved by allowing students a voice.
The school emphasizes that students learn and practice the six Habits of Mind: weighing evidence, recognizing different points of view, identifying connections and relationships between ideas, speculating on possibilities, and assessing values. According to the school's principal, exhibiting these habits is "what thoughtful people do. [they're] a way of seeing things in their complexity, not simplistically." With such similar characteristics leading Wiseman's observant lens, it's unsurprising that the moviemaker and his subject are so perfectly matched.
Much of the film is made in bearing witness to that philosophy, and Wiseman is the perfect observer. His entirely unobtrusive manner puts the audience at ease. We can witness the happenings, and the success this school is having, without fear of being the discovered voyeur. Like the Maysles Brothers and all great documentarians, Wiseman's gift is ability to allow the audience-and more importantly, his subjects-to forget that there was ever a camera in the room. Questions are neither asked nor answered; he simply unravels the truth behind the situation.
Wiseman is a man who broke barriers with his storytelling at the outset of his career and has continued to do so since. He is one of the few remaining nonfiction moviemakers who first brought the format to the prominence it holds today, and has remained true to its significance with unsurpassed skill and purity. At nearly four hours in length, High School II requires a good deal of an individual's time, but it's an investment that pays off.
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Iwo Jima: Memories in the
Sand
reviewed by Chris Cooke
Iwo Jima was perhaps the most crucial battle of the Pacific in World War Two. It was certainly among the bloodiest. About 30,000 of the 70,000 Amercians to land on the island's shores died, and almost all the Japanese on the island died in its defense. Taking Iwo Jima, situated much closer to Japan than the US had yet been, was essential in order to permit a feasible air attack on Japan. Fifty years later, survivors of the battle-from both sides-returned to the island to commemorate the conflict. Iwo Jima: Memories in the Sand combines archival footage with interviews from survivors who attended the ceremony to both convey the horror and senselessness of war and honor the sacrifice the soldiers made for their countries. The film also offers a glimmer of hope, showing that two peoples once at war can now cooperate in a joint ceremony in honor of that conflict. The tales the veterans tell, at times humorous and always tragic, accumulate in effect, making Memories in the Sand a powerful experience, packing more meaning into 27 minutes than most films achieve at several times its length.
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Light Keeps Me Company
reviewed by Chris Cooke
The name Ingmar Bergman sends actors and film critics abuzz, but amongst his crew, the name Sven Nykvist carries equal weight. Nykvist, Bergman's cinematographer for many of his greatest pictures, also worked with such directors as Woody Allen, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Roman Polanski. In particular, his use of light to convey character and drama brought him fame, but he was also well-known for his positive attitude and good-natured demeanor. His legendary rapport with Bergman was almost telepathic. The documentary Light Keeps Me Company, directed by his son Carl-Gustaf Nykvist, uses interviews, film clips and behind-the-scenes footage to paint a sensitive portrait of this film great. Bergman, Allen, Liv Ullman and others, including Nykvist himself, talk about his life and work, from his groundbreaking collaboration with Bergman, to the suicide of his eldest son, to the degenerative aphasia that ended his career. With few exceptions (Who really wants to hear Melanie Griffith wax on about how "cool" he was?), the interviews are insightful and the film clips are always spectacular. Nykvist emerges throughout as a visionary artist and a good, decent man who allowed his intensity in his work to distance himself from his family. Light Keeps Me Company provides an excellent view of Nykvist and his career. It's a must-see for film buffs and certainly of interest to the more casual filmgoer as well.
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Jaman.com announced the availability of instantly streamed, HD-quality movies—for free.
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Posted 05.15.08 | News/Commentary | 1 comment
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