Category: Film

Brooke and I went to see the aptly-titled Spellbound (2002) yesterday. I must say that I’ve never watched a documentary that had me on the edge of my seat the way this story did. The film follows a group of eight children (11-13 years old) who are contestants in the 1999 Scripps Howard National Spelling Bee. The filmmakers show us their home lives, their backgrounds, introduce us to to their parents and teachers, and just as we begin to root for them, they whisk us off to the competition where, along with almost 250 others, all but one will be eliminated.

It was so refreshing to see a film about “good” kids, instead of troubled ones. To be honest, it actually has me thinking about teaching again. I trained as a teacher, and taught middle-school aged kids for my placement. There’s something about kids this age that just appeals to me. Still goofy and child-like, they’re also realizing their intellectual powers and indulging their curiosity. Spellbound was thoroughly enjoyable. As with all documentaries, this might be hard to find, but it’s worth the effort.

This one actually may get better when it comes to DVD. Because it was filmed four years ago, it might be interesting to get an update on the kids now, some of whom would be graduating from high school this year. Another reason is that I think it looked like it was filmed in 16mm, so it doesn’t really benefit from being blown up for the big screen.

Sorry for all the film-related blogging, but I couldn’t pass this one up. Eric Idle is set to direct his first film since The Rutles (1978). This one is entitled The Remains Of The Piano, and it’s a sendup of all the Merchant-Ivory English costume dramas. The cast sounds fantastic (Geoffrey Rush, Anjelica Huston, Billy Connolly), and according to this story, it’s being filmed in the UK and Canada. I wonder if I’ll see any of these folks wandering the SARS-free streets of Toronto later this summer? (via metagrrrl)

I live in Canada. Therefore, I’m supposed to love hockey. But I don’t love hockey. I’ve tried. But, I can see a little bit of the beauty of the game, and I appreciate the skills of the better players. So, after years of people telling me how much they loved the film Slap Shot (1977), I watched it a few months back. I hated it. Not only did it focus exclusively on the thuggish violence which mars the game, but it seemed to go over the top with vulgar and offensive dialogue. And though playing it all for laughs, oddly the film seemed supremely unfunny to me. I was extremely disappointed that Paul Newman would be associated with such dreck.

Finally, I’ve found someone who says exactly what I want to say. A review from Sports Illustrated, no less. From 1977. So now, when asked about the film, I can just say, “What he said.”

As promised, here are my thoughts on the handful of films I watched this weekend:

• Hard Core Logo (1996) – I’ve seen most of director Bruce McDonald’s films. He’s pretty well-known in Canada, and almost all of his films are “road movies” in one sense or another. In this film, he follows Hard Core Logo, a Vancouver punk band reunited for one last tour across western Canada. Though there are lots of laughs, This Is Definitely Not Spinal Tap. Even though his characters look like typical rocker louts, there is so much going on under the surface that it breaks your heart. A funny but heartfelt exploration of perpetual adolescence, male bonding, ambition and desperation, Hard Core Logo is even more enjoyable for anyone who’s ever been (or wanted to be) in a band. (As a bonus, the film stars Canada’s own version of Brad Pitt, the excellent and very cool Callum Keith Rennie). (8/10)
• Fast, Cheap, And Out Of Control (1997) – This was a little bit disappointing. I’d seen Errol Morris’ later film Mr. Death (1999) and found it fascinating. In this film, though, even though he has four eccentrics to follow around (a lion-tamer, a topiary gardener, an expert on naked mole rats, and a robotics scientist), he mostly just conducts talking head interviews, and cuts in shots of the circus, and of a laughably bad B-movie starring famed lion-tamer Clyde Beatty. I just didn’t find the subjects all that interesting, and Morris never really explores their motivations or their lives outside of their careers, interesting as those might sound. (7/10)
• Salesman (1969) – From the Maysles Brothers (Gimme Shelter, Monterey Pop, When We Were Kings) comes this unsettling portrait of door-to-door salesmen. In this case, the film is especially interesting since they’re selling Bibles to Catholic families. All the sales tricks are there, with a special dose of guilt. Most interesting is the portrayal of Paul, one of the older salesmen, who is realizing he may have “lost it.” His desperation is painful to watch. (9/10)
• Dark Days (2000) – This film was a revelation, in more ways than one. First-time (and completely inexperienced) filmmaker Marc Singer had heard about a group of homeless people living in the train tunnels under Penn Station in New York City. After getting to know them for more than three months, he came up with the idea of making a documentary film about their lives. He thought that he could use the money the film made to find housing for all of them. The “subjects” of this documentary were full-fledged participants in the resulting film, serving as crew as well as cast. Singer lived with these people, out of love and sometimes necessity (he ran out of money for the film and was himself homeless for a while), and he lovingly portrays the humanity of this community. And it is a community in every sense. People build their own shacks underground, furnish them with found items, and are even able to hook up electricity. I can’t say enough about this film. This might be the only film I’ve ever watched straight through twice, just so I could hear Singer’s fascinating commentary. There’s also a 45-minute “making-of” which is essential viewing. A perfect soundtrack from DJ Shadow and a hopeful ending round out the experience. A must-see. (10/10)