Assassins (2020) DOC NYC

When Kim Jong-nam, the brother of Kim Jong-un was killed in an airport in Kula Lumpur it was clear it was an assassination. The two women who commited the crime, they put the VX nerve agent on his face were caught and charged with murder. However things were not so clear cut. They didn't seem to be true believers and simply seemed to be acting in a reality TV rank show...and there were at least 8 North Koreans connected to them who seemed to disappear rather quickly. As the women headed toward trial and possibly the death sentence it became a rush to try and save their lives.

This is a crazy story. It's the sort of thing that no one would believe it was put out by Hollywood, but it's true. Its a story that I went t expecting to see as a goofy "oh those crazy North Koreans" only to find that the story is something much more. The craziness turns to horror and sadness as you realize that the women are being hung out to dry because someone has to pay.

I was hooked  early on and I couldn't step away. Normally I'll stop a film and run out and get a drink and a snack, but I just had to see how this went. This was too crazy not to watch every minute.

I absolutely loved it. 

One of the great films of DOC NYC, the film is a must see.

After the Murder of Albert Lima (2019) DOC NYC 2019

13 years ago Albert Lima was killed while in Honduras. The killer was tried but he walked and remained free despite being sentenced to jail for a long sentence. Thirteen years on his son, Paul, manages to track the man down and along with a couple of bounty hunters goes to get him…but there are complications.

It’s the complications that are what make this film something special. Honestly this look at one man’s quest for justice for his father could have been just a typical documentary but the fact that we are in the hunt for the murderer with Paul and the others lifts this film up and makes it a compelling film. What also makes this all so compelling is the fact that this doesn’t go smoothly. Twists and turns, serious questions about whether what they are trying to do is even legal keep the trip interesting and make us wonder how this is all going to come out. I suspected that things weren’t going to go too far south since had something terrible happened it no doubt would have made the news (and been used in the promotional material) but the actual twists and turns are not what typical or expected.

I really like AFTER THE MURDER OF ALBERT LIMA. To be honest at the start I wasn’t sure what I was going to but once it’s all set up and in motion I was thrilled to be along for the ride. I was so thrilled that when it was done I started to email people that they need to see it.

That’s a rave.

The final round of DOC NYC Capsules

As time at DOC NYC came to a close I realized that I was not going to finish long reviews for a number of titles. Realizing that I either had to let them go or aim to get them done by January I decided to simply do capsule reviews. I know I'll be revisiting some of these down the road.

ABOUT LOVE
Director Archana Phadke turns her camera on herself and her family during the run up to her brother's wedding. A nicely unguarded look at complex family that will echo your own.

BLOODROOT
Portrait of Bloodroot, a vegetarian restaurant and bookstore and the women who started it in the 1970's. Charming and enjoyable film is likely to make you hungry as you watch the lat 40 years of history pass by.

KILLING PATIENT ZERO
The history of the AIDS epidemic and the damaging tale of Patient Zero who supposedly infected the world. Good but unremarkable.

KOSHIEN: JAPAN'S FIELD OF DREAMS
If you love baseball you'll love this story of the Japanese high school baseball championship. For me this was a great deal of fun that explains why baseball means so much to so many.

MY DADS, MY MOMS AND ME
Director Julia Ivanova revisits the families of same sex couples that she profiled ten years earlier. Okay follow up will love or like depending on your attachment to the earlier film. I'm not sure this really was needed.

PAHOKEE
A look at several teens at Pahokee High School in Florida who are getting ready to go out into the world. Not bad but I've seen numerous variations on this film (following high school kids in the south) over the last few years. If you haven't you'll like it more.

RIVER CITY DRUMBEAT
I don't have a lot to say but this portrait of Nardie White and his River City Drum Corps is very good. Look for this one at a festival near you

SHELLA RECORD: A REGGAE MYSTERY
Chris Flanagan gets a random reggae record in a discount bin and becomes obsessed with tracking down the people behind it. This is a great deal of fun.

SYMPHONY OF THE URSUS FACTORY
Former workers at Ursus tractor factory help create symphony using the machines and tools left behind. A sweet small gem of a film

GRAND UNIFIED THEORY OF HAROLD BLOOM
Portrait of the noted Brooklyn based author and his ideas. An interesting film that will play more or less well depending upon your feeling toward the man and his ideas. Personally I liked but didn't love the film which is much to  hagiograhic for my tastes.

BC Wallin on THE RABBI GOES WEST (2019) DOC NYC 2019

Rabbi Chaim Bruk goes from door to door, offering to put up mezuzahs for the Jews living in the community of Bozeman, Montana. “I’m God’s salesman,” the Chabad rabbi proudly states. Rabbi Chaim, as the members of his community and the surrounding Montana areas refer to him, moved to Bozeman with the mission of opening up a Chabad center offering prayer services, holiday events, and scotch and sushi, when the occarion calls for it. He also aimed to put up 2,000 mezuzahs on Jewish doorposts.

The old joke goes something like, “If a Jew washed up on a deserted island, he’d build three shuls (synagogues): the one he attends, the one he doesn’t, and the one he’d never go to.” Jewish history is rife with disagreements, conflicting traditions, and schisms, as the matter of interepreting Jewish laws and scripture came into conflict with the modern problems and personal discomforts, among other reasons. Without unpacking all the branches and sects and differing viewpoints, suffice it to say that Rabbi Chaim was not the first rabbi to Montana, and his efforts are not beloved by all.

The Rabbi Goes West, as described in the project’s Kickstarter, is “a documentary about religious diversity,” giving voices to Conservative, Reform, and retired rabbis of Montana who take issue with Rabbi Chaim’s style. Co-directors Gerald Peary and Amy Geller give each rabbi their platform to speak about their concerns, arguments, and rebuttals. As is often found in Talmudic discourse, there’s no conclusion definitively determined.

Peary and Geller certainly found engaging personalities, a collection of varyingly entertaining rabbis who all have strong opinions they don’t mind being blunt about. Rabbi Chaim won’t attend Jewish coalition events that don’t keep to Jewish traditions — “99% Kosher is 100% not Kosher” — while Conservative Rabbi Ed Stafman doesn’t want his congregants having their mezuzahs put up by Rabbi Chaim.

Tensions flare and every side sets clear cases in the arguments of Judaism’s definition and each rabbi’s role, but while the documentary seems to ratchet up drama, there’s never really a breaking point. While there is a significant episode involving a series of anti-Semitic cyberterrorism and the communal responses that came after, The Rabbi Goes West is a story told in the past tense, offering reflections and post-scripts when its very nature begs the question of what’s going to happen next. For better or worse, the documentary leaves its viewers hoping for more.

DOC NYC 2019 Capsule Reviews: GOLDA, RED DOG and ON THE INSIDE OF A MILITARY DICTATORSHIP

Golda
Excellent look at the life and legacy of Gold Meir built around an unseen interview done with her after a broadcast in 1978. In it she is candid and open about her life and career. It is supplemented by interviews with people who knew her or were witness to the various events. For anyone who sees her as the great mother of Israel this film is a revelation. A humanizing portrait that really makes clear why her reputation within Israel is much more complicated then we out side of it think. One of the great discoveries of DOC NYC I can’t wait to see it again.

Red Dog
Musician Luke Dick interviews his mother and those she worked with the notorious Red Dog Bar where her mother worked as a stripper. It’s a wild ride that hold nothing back. While I couldn’t imagine having these sort of conversations with my mom, I really think I probably would have had these sort of conversations with my mother if she was still alive. Actually if my mother was still alive I’d probably force her to see the movie and then track down Dick’s mother so the two of them could hang out.
That’s a rave.
Absolute bawdy fun.

On the Inside of a Military Dictatorship
A look behind the curtain of the government of Myanmar (aka Burma) and at its leader Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi, who won the award for standing up against the military leadership but lost the respect of the world for not stepping in and stopping the Rohingya genocide. An eye opening and deeply troubling film that reveals why things are the way the are in the country and how seemingly good people can slide onto the wrong end of history. If you want a clear eyed look at the situation in Myanmar this film is a must.

The Longest Wave (2019) DOC NYC

This is a portrait of champion windsurfer/kiter surfer/ stand up paddle boarder and just plain surfer Robby Naish as he tries to find and ride the longest wave.

I must confess my desire to do an incredibly short review had me toying with the simple statement "It's just okay" but I thought that would be rude.

Rude or not the film really is just okay. While not bad, and certain to gain stature on the big screen where the wide vistas will have the audience sighing in awe, it is in fact exactly like any other of the recent docs to have come out over the last ten years- all of which follow the rise of the surfer from when they were a kid up to the present. All have some catch or another to be sure, but all are structured exactly alike which is fine but grows tiresome around the twenty minute mark of all the films.

Honestly I would have expected more from director Joe Berlinger who has made some of the most arresting docs of the past couple of decades.

Worth a look on the big screen, but if you aren't seeing it that way its best for surf fans only.

DOC NYC 2019 Capsule Reviews: MADAME, THE GREAT GREEN WALL, KATE NASH: UNDER ESTIMATE THE GIRL and BODY OF TRUTH

Madame
Filmmaker Stéphane Riethauser’s portrait of his grandmother who raised him to be the alpha male who took over the family business, however he found he another course in LGBT activism. He tries to unknot the expectations of family and their love in a film that is heart felt and personal. I very good film that speaks volumes about how we see family and how they see us.

Great Green Wall
Malian musician/activist Inna Modja travels across Africa to see efforts to build a great green wall of trees to help the environment and slow climate change. Full of music and stories this is a bubbly film with a serious edge that will get you thinking about things in all the right ways. If the film is a little too flashy at times it’s okay simply because the film is so full of life it can’t help but burst out in song. Recommended

Kate Nash: Under Estimate The Girl
Portrait of British sing Kate Nash who rapidly rose in the music industry only to be suddenly let go by her label. Music filled bio is full of good music and scenes from the life of a rock star (at one point she says she’s only had one day off in the previous year) that acts as a good introduction to the woman and her music. While the film is enjoyable, a little goes a long way with a bit too much polish making this not so much a full on bio but more a promotional puff piece. Don’t get me wrong I liked it but after a while I was full. Recommended for fans

Body of Truth
Portrait of artists Shirin Neshat ; Marina Abramović; Sigalit Landau; and Katharina Sieverding highlighting their work and philosophy behind their art. A stunning introduction to the ladies and their work. While it may not be detailed enough for some people, especially considering that each, has and especially Abromovic have been the subject of several documentaries, it does act as an excellent primer for all their work. Very recommended.

Blessed Child (2019) DOC NYC 2019

Blessed Child is wonderfully unexpected. A look at director Cara Jones' life particularly her relationship with the Unification Church where her parents are big mucky mucks, what I thought was going to be a blistering expose on the church and it’s cult like status turned out to be thoughtful portrait  of Jones‘s family and how the church and her eventual splitting with with it shaped everyone's lives.

I was kind of blindsided by the film. It's my own fault I went in with all sorts of preconceived notions that were based on nothing. I had a picture of what the film was going in  so I was looking at the film kind of sideways for much of the first half of the film. I kept waiting for the film to be what I thought it was going to be (a sensationalistic expose). Then I had an "AH HA!" moment and the film fell together and I could see it for what it is, a really good look at family and religion.

While the film deals with all sorts of issues and themes what I really liked about the film is how the film explores our expectations. Jones opens herself up to us in discussing the waves of feelings and thoughts she had about the Church and her move away from it.  She was uncertain how leaving the church, which is huge part of her life and that of her family thanks to her parents status, was going to play out. Would this break the family?  She is surprised by how it all goes.

And so are we which is what makes this film so interesting and oddly delightful because we, like Jones find out that this is not a tale about the Unification Church but about a family and it's shifting dynamic. It is a dynamic that makes this a much more universal tale than it had any right to be.

Recommended.

The Queen's Man (2019) DOC NYC 2019

THE QUEEN'S MAN is a wild and crazy story. It’s a WTF story on so many levels that you really need to see this for yourself.

The short version of the story is that this is the story of Steve Talt who is trying to find some missing art for the wife of the Shah of Iran. It seems that several paintings and some artifacts were stolen by the mafia from a warehouse in New York. The robbery was never reported, and no one is quite sure what was taken (though one may have been a Picasso). Almost 40 years later Talt is attempting to run down what happened, what exactly was stolen and where the missing art is.

This is a hell of story with a one of a kind guy at it’s center. Talt is a character and his weird story, which actually seems to be true, holds our attention all the way from start to finish. This is one of those stories that seems to be completely out there but just suck us in and drag us down the road none the less. It's a crazy story that  we want to see  out. 

In fairness I should probably warn you that this is not a story with an ending you're expecting. The whys and hows of it all remain kind of convoluted all the way through and the ending is just as amorphous as the beginning. That said I really wished I had seen this with a friend because there is much to discuss.

But this is not a story about the ending, this is a story about the journey and the storyteller and as such it is a film that you really should see because this is one tale you need to hear from the guy who lived it.

HEALING FROM HATE: BATTLE FOR THE SOUL OF A NATION DOC NYC 2019

Excellent portrait of the group Life After Hate, which was founded by former white nationalists in order to help members who want out of the groups to get out. The thinking is that if they could do it so can anyone else.

There have been several recent documentaries where people have explored the groups from the outside but this is the first feature documentary that I’ve seen where we follow former members trying to get out and deal with all that is surrounded with leaving. As good as the other docs are on setting the table, and as good as recent narrative films such as SKIN have been in covering similar ground, HEALING FROM HATE is head and shoulders above them. Not only do we see the emotional toll leaving the movement takes but we also truly come to understand how inviting the hate filled movements are. For the first time there is a real explanation of why and how people join. It isn't something amorphous and glossed over, we really see how the groups suck people in. And we see chillingly how President Trump and the far right use the same methods to inspire his supporters to hate those different than themselves.

For me one of the biggest revelations in discussing the recruiting of members was one that I should have caught on my own but never did, and that the white nationalism and bigotry comes from a misplaced sense of entitlement. These are largely white young men who were promised a world they can’t be part of or make work. As a result their broken sense of the world looks for a reason they can't function and hating someone who isn't white is an easy way out.

I was chilled.

And I was filled with hope because the film shows us that you can stop hating and rejoin the world. To be certain it isn't easy, but we see people can change. I was moved by a particular discussion around the shooting at a Sikh Temple  where a former believer explains the change will come when you start to change the way you view yourself. The more hatred we spew is related to the amount of feeling of hate and disconnection we have for ourselves. When we connect with ourselves we reconnect with the world.

I was moved somewhere beyond words, by that and many moments in the film.

And what I love about the film is that the neither the filmmakers nor the group Life After Hate do not shy away from dialog. They present the opposing view point and engage with those who hate, for example there is an unplanned discussion with hate  monger Richard Spencer which goes a great deal with keeping the film from being a polemic

Frankly there is so much going on in HEALING FROM HATE that I really need a second or third viewing in order to full grasp everything in it

HEALING FROM HATE is a great film. It is a required viewing for anyone who truly wants to understand the hatred that is running rampant in America and the world.

UNSTOPPABLE: SEAN SCULLY AND THE ART OF EVERYTHING (2019) DOC NYC 2019

Portrait of artist Sean Scully who is a self taught artist who rose up from nothing to be a big name in the art world with his bold abstract paintings

As good as Scully's art is the real story in this film is the man himself. A charming rogue he is open and very frank with his opinions and we are better for it. Also on view is Scully's joyous playfulness which comes out when we see him meeting various people or even messing with the camera crew. As much as I liked learning about Scully's art I had more fun just watching him be.

What a joy.

UNSTOPPABLE plays DOC NYC plays today. For more information or tickets go here.

MAI KHOI & THE DISSIDENTS (2019) DOC NYC 2019

The film opens when Vietnamese singer and songwriter Mai Khoi prepares to leave her home before the release of her latest album. She is leaving because she knows that her battles with the Vietnamese government are going to escalate when the album is released. She is taking a stand against the government which she feels is oppressive. The film then flashes back and becomes a portrait of the singer and how she came to be in that place.

This is an excellent look at one woman's fight for basic human rights being squashed by the government. We watch as she goes from darling to pain in the side of the Vietnamese to the point where they intentionally leave her off the ballots for the Parliamentary seat she was running for. It is an inspiring story about how one person can make a difference.

Best of all if you don't care for the politics you can see this for the music. While I don't speak Vietnamese, I still enjoyed Khoi's music which fills the film from start to finish.

One of the great unexpected finds at DOC NYC the film is worth seeing.

MAI KHOI & THE DISSIDENTS plays again at DOC NYC tomorrow. For more information and tickets go here.

Thoughts on GANDEN: A JOYFUL LAND (2019) DOC NYC 2019

Portrait of the Tibetan Buddhist monastery called Ganden. The original monastery was a centuries old bastion of Buddhism located high in the mountains of Tibet. However when the Chinese invaded and they were forced to relocate. Director Ngawang Choephel profiles the monks who knew the original monastery and those that know the new to discover its place in their faith.

Heartfelt and at times moving film plays for me like a cinematic prayer. Watching the film unfold I found myself carried along by the words and chants as if I was in a religious service. It was like going to a church or temple to which I don't belong and getting carried away by the word and passion of the people worshiping. While words or "god" may seem different, the fervor of belief was exactly the same and I felt transformed on the other side.

I love that the film is far from showy. Many of the shots are simple camera set ups. Choephel simply points his camera at his subject and lets them talk. He knows that the words are enough. There is no need for bells and whistles when his subjects are so eloquent. Some times less is a great deal more.

In all honesty this is a hard film to critique. As you can tell the film worked for me. I can not know if it will work for you. Not only will the simplicity not work for those who need to be distracted by showy things the subject matter and the philosophy may not be your cup of tea. On the other hand if you can click with it's vibe, this will be something special.

Recommended for those who are adventurous or predisposed.

DOC NYC ’19: Buster Williams Bass to Infinity

The bass is really quite a fitting instrument for a Buddhist jazz musician. It can create a drone-like effect, especially if played arco. Yet, more importantly, the bass provides the selfless foundation that the rest of the ensemble plays over. Bassists frequently comp under soloists and generally “keep the band together,” to quote the words of Buster Williams. He ought to know. Williams played with everyone and has become a popular bandleader in his own right. Viewers get to hang with the virtuoso bassist in Adam Kahan’s Buster Williams Bass to Infinity, which premiered at this year’s DOC NYC.

Williams played with undeniable legends, like Miles Davis, Nancy Wilson, and Sarah Vaughan. However, his first professional stint came in the ruckus band co-led by “Boss Tenors” Sonny Stitt and Gene Ammons. It was quite an education for the young Williams, as viewers learn from his colorful anecdotes and the lively animated sequences that accompany them.

Most of the film is more conventional and laidback, but it slyly builds to a significant point, appropriately delivered by NEA Jazz Master Herbie Hancock, whose Buster Williams story perfectly represents and encapsulates the film. Disappointingly, we do not get to hear Hancock play with Williams (oh well), but we do hear the bassist perform with famous friends, such as tenor-player Benny Golson, vocalist Carmen Lundy, pianists Kenny Barron and Larry Willis, fellow bassist Rufus Reid, as well as his own ensemble featuring Steve Wilson and George Colligan, so that’s definitely something.

Buster Williams is a likable screen presence throughout the film. Oddly enough, Infinity could be the best opportunity to hear Williams on his own, because he never hogs the solo spotlight, even at his own gigs. He really takes the business of “keeping the band together” seriously. But of course, his musicianship is undeniably accomplished.

Kahan’s approach also sneaks up on the audience. Initially, he seems to be trying to capture the vibe of musician hangs and informal sessions. Yet, Infinity turns out to be a highly spiritual documentary. He makes the transition seamless (even stealthy), but he admittedly gets significant assistance from Hancock and Williams.

Great credit should also go to the sound crew, because you really can hear Williams’ bass (miking them can be tricky, as most recordings not led by bassists can attest). It is a good showcase that gives viewers a vivid sense of Williams’ personality and chops. There is a lot of good humor and good music here. Highly recommended for jazz fans and the Buddhist-curious (how perfect is this film for the Rubin Museum), Buster Williams Bass to Infinity screens again tomorrow (11/14), as part of DOC NYC 2019.

Anbessa (2019) DOC NYC 2019

I am trying to suss out how much of Mo Scarpelli's ANBESSA is pure documentary and how much is actual recording. The reason I am saying this is not because it is bad but rather it travels really damn close to many art house slice of life films that you could release it as a narrative and have it hailed as a masterpiece of naturalistic acting.

The film follows a young Ethiopian boy named Aslif who lives with his mother. They were displaced by developers building condos and the film follows the boy as he tries to survive in the world.

Gorgeously shot and compelling filmed this is a film where we get inside of the people on screen simply by following the way they look and move. Yea, they talk and interact but the words that pass between the say infinitely more than the words do. We fall into their lives and are carried along.

Watching this film is a stunning experience because the film makes us a feel the lives of the people on screen in ways that few films do. A towering achievement whether it is fact or fiction.

Recommended.

Lifeline/Clyfford Still (2019) DOC NYC 2019

This is a great portrait of artist Clyfford Still who, along with Jackson Pollack and Mark Rothko defined abstract expressionism.

I can hear the crickets…

Don’t feel bad if you don’t know Still, he was more interested in painting than self-promotion. Where other artists stepped forward into the light he stepped back. While by all accounts a great friends and a loving family man he could be a surly cuss when it came to his art. He hated critics (a hysterical part of the film has an art critic reading Land’s thought on critics) and warred with New York’s Museum of Modern Art who only wanted his minor works and seemed to shut him out making it difficult for people to discover him.

Frankly until this film I didn’t know much about him, knowing him from his connections to Pollack and Rothko as well as need to have some background on him so I could understand what a friend well versed in art was talking about. And to be honest until I saw this film I didn’t retain anything other than his name and vague familiarity with his work. After seeing the film I hit the internet and was searching out images of his paintings. (I am so jonesing to hit the art museums and see his work up close and personal)

This is a great film. Not only does it restore Still to a name that more than art aficionados know, it also explains his place with in the art community. We see how he interacted with Rothko and Pollack and saw how he influenced other artists as well. Because this film does more than just tell us about one artist but connects him up to those around him, the larger art community and the world we get a better understanding not only of the work and the man but of society in general. Still changed how we see the world and Lifeline explains that.

There are little joys sprinkled through out the film. Listening to Still’s daughters talk about his life is a joy. Also a joy is the moment when one of the curators of Land’s museum find out on camera that there are 34 hours of audio recordings of the artist talking about his work. A shot of someone at the Still Museum pulling out racks of his work overwhelms with the sense of just how much he created.

I love this film a great deal.

While I can’t be certain how those who are not art fans will react, I think those who love art will be delighted.

One of my favorite films of DOC NYC

Ernie and Joe:Crisis Cops hits theaters Friday. It plays on HBO on the 19th

With ERNIE ND JOE hitting theaters and HBO this week I'm reposting my review from earlier this year

I’ve seen a lot of documentaries so far in 2019 and Ernie and Joe is the first film I think has a shot at an Oscar. This portrait of two officers in the San Antonio Police Department’s Mental Health Unit is a quiet stunner. It’s a film that will open your eyes and make you wonder why other police departments aren’t doing the same thing.

Opening with the two men answering a call to a court house where a man with mental issues refuses to leave a waiting room because he doesn’t feel safe. The two men sit down with the man, winning his trust and assuring him that if he goes with them all would be alright. He trusts them and goes off with them. The film then follows the men through their days, at home, at seminars and on patrol.

I don’t know what to say except this is a great film.

Vital and important this is a film that shows us something that could change the way the police operate. This film clearly shows us how one properly trained officer can make a difference. At a seminar one of the officers tells the story of how a woman called 911 saying she was going to shoot herself. The police responded with a tactical squad plus many other additional officers. As they were trying to decide how to handle it he called the woman up and talked her into putting the gun down and coming out. What could have (and in other places would have) ended tragically ended happily. Granted that doesn’t always work, we do hear of lives lost, but we also have our eyes opened to the possibility of saving more lives.

But he film does more than just show us the men working. We get to see them at home as well where we see the lives they lead and the toll the job is taking on them. We get a sense of the people it takes to do this job effectively.

You must see this film. Not only must you see the film we must use it as a rallying cry to get the police to change what they are doing.

And yes I really think that if the Oscars can get their collective heads together and realize that the best films don’t always need to be flashy or music filled this film could be taking Oscar gold.

The film plays DOC NYC Thursday, is in theaters Friday and on HBO next Tuesday. I will have an interview with Joe and Ernie at the beginning of next week.

Red Penguins (2019) DOC NYC 2019

I honestly don't know what I think of RED PENGUINS. While it is what was advertised as, a look at the partnership between the Red Army hockey team and the Pittsburgh Penguins right after the fall of the Soviet Union, there is a point where it, like the deal between the two hockey entities goes off the rails.

The quick version of the story is that the owners of the Pittsburgh Penguins sense an opportunity to get the best Russian players after the fall of communism so they sign a deal with the Red Army team which is in desperate need of money. They send a guy who they are sure can turn things around and he does...but just as it becomes clear there is money to be made and Disney is interested things go weird as shadow partners appear, money disappears  and the danger level goes off the charts.

Its a hell of a story and I was hooked for the long haul early on. The twists and turns really are nuts  and for about half of the films running time this film is the sort of thing you can't take your eyes off of because if it wasn't true you wouldn't believe it.

The problem is as things begin to turn and the danger level begins to rise the film loses focus. Part of the problem is that as unnamed bad guys enter the film the details go by the way side and the time line is less certain. While I can understand not naming the name of Russian mafia guys who may hunt you down, the attached lack of details is bothersome. We seem to jump through time as if we are being told this in a bar not in a movie, other recountings of events are cursory and not as detailed earlier on and we lose any number of people who had been a focus earlier on.

Not long past the midway point I felt hopelessly lost.

Frankly this is a great tale about what it was like to do work with the former Soviet Union. Unfortunately it need more details to really work.

Daddy And The Warlord (2019) DOC NYC 2019

Cinematic exploration by filmmaker Shamira Raphaëla of journalist Clarice Gargard efforts to find out what exactly her father did twenty years earlier during the Liberian civil unrest. Her father was an official appointed by the president working and also working for a telecom company who was charged with taping phone lines and recording conversations and passing the calls and intelligence to a notorious warlord. Did he actually do it? If he did do it what else might he have done? More to the point does she really want to find out about the man she idolized?

Moody and atmospheric meditation on how the children view the sins of the our parents keep raises all sorts of questions most of us have never truly come to terms with. How well do we really know our parents, more to the point do most of us really want to know what they were/are like when we are not there? While the mystery at the heart of the tale is not one most of us can relate to, we have not been in a country at war, the issues surrounding it can’t help but echo in out head. Worth a look.

DADDY AND THE WARLORD plays with the gut punch short The Mortician of Manila on November 13th at DOC NYC. For more information and tickets go here

UNSCHOOLED (2019) DOC NYC 2019

A look at Peter Bergson who created established the Natural Creativity Center outside Philadelphia.The school strives to use unconventional means to teach the kids via trying to direct the learning through what interests them. His methods are put to the test when he takes on three inner city kids who are incredibly bright but have other issues

Intriguing look at what maybe a better way of teaching kids and the pros and cons related to it. As someone who had parents who followed Bergson's idea that if you allow kids to explore they will learn as they go, I am certain that the ideas actually do work. And we do get to see some of Bergsen's successes. However there are problems, one of Bergson's students is brilliant but doesn't have the required basics. What can he do?

While the film is undoubtedly a bit too rah rah at times the film does raise a lot of intriguing questions which hang with us for hours and days after seeing the film. Frankly this is a film I will have to revisit before I can truly do a proper write up- which is what is required of any great film.

Recommended for anyone interested in schooling alternatives

UNSCHOOLED plays again November 13th at DOC NYC. For tickets or more information go here.