NEWTOK
Portrait of the Yup’ik who are facing serious danger as climate change is altering their way of life. With the warmer weather their homes which were built on frozen land are now sinking. With the potential loss of their homes, they may have to move, they will have to move away from everything they know.
This is a moving film about a possibly disappearing way of life. Its also a yet another call to arms about what will be lost if climate change isn’t confronted. While there are any number of similar films being turned out NEWTOK stands out because the film truly connects us to the people on screen. We feel for their plight and we viscerally understand what will be lost if the situation isn’t corrected.
Recommended.
OMARA
Portrait of Omara Portuondo, a Cuban superstar who was billed as the diva of the Buena Vista Social Club. The reality is that she is so much more.
Absolutely wonderful portrait of a grand lady. Full of music and mirth this is a film that is going to make you fall in love with a great singer. I suspect that as the film ends everyone is going to be hitting iTunes or Amazon in order to get some of her music.
This is a perfect marriage of image and music (rarely has Cuba looked this good) and as such it’s highly recommended.
CHARM CIRCLE
Filmmaker Nira Burstein weaves together a portrait of her family using current footage with film and video shot over the years. It’s a portrait of a broken and somewhat loving family.
This is an almost too intimate portrait of a family unlike any other, and yet kind of like our own. While Burstein’s family didn’t seem like my family at first the more I watched the more I connected. These people are very much like my own in a lot of ways.
This is an excellent slice of life and recommended
KRIMES
This is a look at the artist Jesse Krimes. As the film opens we watch as Krimes is preparing to unveil a massive work of art he made while in prison and had smuggled out in pieces. Krimes had never seen the whole work in it’s entirety since then. The film then gives us a portrait of the artist and art.
This is a very good portrait of a man and his art. I had never consciously run across Krimes before this film and as a result I fell in love with his work. What I liked about the film was that in addition to introducing us to an artist we may not have seen before, it makes a case for the importance of art. Art was what helped Krimes cope with his life and it allowed the people in prison to relate to him as something other than a convict.
Definitely worth a look.
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