Documazing!
Hot off the heels of recommending one enthralling documentary, I stumble into the gripping arms of another. This one isn’t a new release, it’s from 2008, but I just couldn’t let it go without a recommendation.
Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father, I can truthfully say, is one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen. It doesn’t claim the top spot (still retained by My Date With Drew from 2004), but inched its way pretty damn close as I was watching it. In fact, much like My Date with Drew, there are precious few details about the “plot” that I can reveal for you. You simply have to watch the movie from start to finish with no prior knowledge and let the shocking events unfold before you in the same way it did to those involved.
Yeah you’re right, you probably won’t watch it then. I’ll have to tease you somehow. Okay, here’s what I’m prepared to say:
Dear Zachary came about as the result of the filmmaker’s best friend, Andrew, dying under mysterious circumstances. In order to both give an insight into who he was as a person and document the bizarre events surrounding his demise, director Kurt Kuenne began a trip across England, America and into Newfoundland to record the various memories, accounts, and stories, that were part of his life and his death. As Andrew’s son, Zachary, is about to be born, the film is structured as a sort of time capsule to show him when he is old enough to appreciate it. Hence; Dear Zachary: A Letter to a Son About His Father. But that’s just the beginning…
The investigation into what actually happened to Andrew, and who is responsible for it, continues while the documentary is being made. Therefore, the purpose and direction of the documentary remains fluid as the narrative is being laid out for you. Did that make sense?
There’s a whole other half of this film (the second half), that I simply cannot tell you about, and that makes my job very hard. Please just trust me and sit through to the end.
Part of the film is structured like a CSI episode, except far more interesting because its real life, and the rest is a mixed assortment of reminiscence and musings on life, love, death, good, and evil. If you’re someone who’s going through a tough time in life and you’re (correctly or not) feeling sorry for yourself, then this documentary is one to watch. Very little in life can compare to the tragedy that continually escalates in this movie. At the same time, however, it will enrage you, sadden you, and then ultimately cheer you up to know that people can go through such heartbreak and come out the other side just as strong.
One of the more amazing things about it is the way it’s edited; fast and choppy, with a gripping pace and heart-pounding music to keep you hooked. In fact, it’s edited unlike any other documentary I’ve ever seen, and I dare predict that you will think the same.
Dear Zachary can be found on Youtube (in decent, but not fantastic, quality) at the following links:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF8aS_jGXU0
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FC2VLbpjQqM
Or, if you’re someone who prefers downloading to streaming, here are some torrent links:
http://kickass.to/dear-zachary-a-letter-to-a-son-about-his-father-divx-t2022633.html
http://kickass.to/dear-zachary-2008-dvdrip-xvid-vomit-t2089407.html
Or, indeed, if you’re the kind of person who likes to actually pay for the films you watch (Or you’ve seen the film and want to contribute financially to it by purchasing a copy), then here is the Amazon link where you can order it.
http://www.amazon.com/Dear-Zachary-Letter-About-Father/dp/B001M564BQ
The reason I’m including these links is not because i’m out-and-out supporting piracy, but because Dear Zachary is a very hard film to find but a very important one to watch. If you can find the time, please do so. It’s only an hour and a half long, and don’t worry…it will be worth it.
– Rant Over!
Jack of all trades
Some of my favourite cathartic moments in life are the ones when I discover a wonderful new documentary film, which is just what I did last week. I had heard about Tim’s Vermeer for a little while now, but didn’t know much about it beyond the fact that it centred around 17th century art.
“Inventor Tim Jenison seeks to understand the painting techniques used by Dutch Master Johannes Vermeer.”
– IMDB
That’s a terrible description, so ignore IMDB and let me convince you that you need to see this one!
First of all, it’s created by Penn and Teller, the loud and silent magicians behind Penn and Teller’s Bullsh*t, Penn and Teller Tell a Lie, Penn and Teller: Fool Us, Penn and Teller’s Cruel Trick for Dear Friends, and Penn and Teller Get Killed (basically anything with the possessory credit ‘Penn and Teller’s‘). If you’re a fan of their work, then hopefully all you need is their endorsement.
However, for those of you out there who have no idea who these two grinners are, it’s going to be a tougher sell and harder battle to win. Here we go…
This isn’t a regular documentary about paintings. It’s not Tim, Penn, and Teller walking through art galleries and diving into the history of Johannes Vermeer. In fact, the life and legacy of Johannes Vermeer is hardly discussed. This is a film about a possible uncovering of how one of the worlds most successful and celebrated painters…might not have been a painter at all. Perhaps, he instead was the actual inventor of the world’s first camera.
I’m not sure if I want to reveal much more for fear of ruining your viewing experience, but basically:
Tim Jenison thinks he may have uncovered a trick used by this particular unique painter in order to create photo-realistic paintings in the 17th century. His goal by the end of the documentary is to use his ‘rediscovered’ Vermeerian invention to recreate (perfectly!) a Vermeer painting without the aid of any modern technology or art techniques. Oh, one more thing; Tim’s not a painter…at all! Still, he wants to paint one of these:
You may be tempted to google “Johannes Vermeer” or “Tim Jenison” and try to figure out if he succeeds and if so…how, but please don’t! Do not take cheap steps! Instead satisfy your curiosity and confusion by commissioning a copy of Tim’s Vermeer on DVD, BluRay, Netflix, Torrent…or perhaps you can get your lazy post-Renaissance ass off the couch and actually watch it at the cinema.
Yes, you can in fact watch a documentary at the cinema. It seems unusual these days, but The Act of Killing, We Steal Secrets, and Twenty Feet from Stardom are just three examples of doccos recently screened at popular local cinema chains here in Australia. If you’re in another country then…I don’t know how much of an option it is for you, but you never know.
It’s a fact that Village and Palace cinemas are showing Tim’s Vermeer either now or in the very near future all across Australia. It’s worth the $20.
There is a deeper point to be made here, though. As Tim continues in his quest, he picks up skills and knowledge from an enormous amount of disciplines. He learns a language, uses and modifies a lathe, utilises countless new software programs, mixes paint, creates lenses, and builds a studio from scratch all in the single effort of finishing a painting. He effectively demonstrates the classic traits of a Renaissance man, impressing us with the recognisable spectre of DaVinci himself. This is not because he’s a born natural in all these fields, but because he bothers to attempt them.
Tv Shows like American Idol, coupled with a modern therapists focus on the importance of self esteem and the id, seem to have left us thinking that there’s no ladder between “talented” and “inept”. Our attitude to phenomena like a well developed singing voice, where “you either have it or you don’t”, has been extended to just about anything artistic. It’s a lie! You may or may not be able to learn how to sing, but you can learn how to write and play music. You can learn how to build, construct, read, write, speak, draw…and paint. Yes, you can learn how to paint entirely from scratch. It takes time, dedication, and patience, but it’s completely achievable for everyone. Some merely have a steeper hill to climb than others. The Renaissance man is not an extinct breed, he’s just the product of a time when people understood that talent was the result of effort and not just genetics. Therefore, people were encouraged to try several new things instead of simply uncovering their “one true gift”.
Here’s the bombshell; you may not have a gift! Everyone doesn’t have a knack for at least one thing. You may be born as an empty slate. Sad, but quite possibly true. The good news, however, is that you can develop a talent if you work hard at it. In fact, with enough work, you can develop several.
There’s an old saying about this that people only ever remember the first two-thirds of.
Jack of all trades
master of none.
but often better than a master of one.
– Rant Over!
MacFarce
If you’re a fan of Family Guy, American Dad, The Cleveland Show, Cavalcade of Cartoon Comedy, Ted, or the recent reimagining of Cosmos, then you are a consumer of the ever-expanding media empire of Seth MacFarlane. With five more or less successful TV series under his belt, two more in the works, and his writer/director stamp on the highest weekend-grossing R rated comedy film ever made, Seth doesn’t seem to be going anywhere anytime soon and is considered a self-topping show business entrepeneur.
But last weekend this rich talent ran into a problem.
MacFarlane’s latest work, the 40 million dollar spoof western mouthful A Million Ways to Die in the West, has potentially flopped commercially and definitely failed critically. Why? It just isn’t funny enough (according to everyone whose opinion matters). The premise and cast, however, intrigued me and I therefore went and saw it.
It…isn’t great, if I’m being honest. There is an enormous amount of unfunny excrement and flatulence humour present here and it savagely undermines what could potentially have been a very uniquely observational comedy about a thusly untapped hilarity goldmine. The central joke at the heart of the film is, as the title reveals, the precious fragility of life in the otherwise overly romanticised Western setting. That, you should know, is a funny idea and is explored brilliantly. The jokes, as hit and miss as they already are, unfortunately suffer from a poor sense of comedy editing. What you get is a two hour long modern Family Guy episode, with jokes that drag on way longer than they should (Peter vs. The Chicken, anyone?). If you’ve seen a recent slice of MacFarlane’s most famous cartoon show, you’ll know what you’re in for; not lethal belly-laughs exactly, but a lot of…
Prepare your brain for a lot of “I see what you did there!” moments and your mouth for a lot of smirking half-smiles. Perhaps it’s true, we’ve finally all gotten over Seth MacFarlane. He just can’t make us laugh any more. So what’s my final score?
Why do I find myself defending so many of the films that people typically hate? Am I just a stubborn contrarian? No, in this case it’s something I can explain.
I fully admit that this movie did not make me laugh anywhere near as much as it clearly hoped it would. However, there are an enormous amount of other things to enjoy here even if the comedy doesn’t strike you right. There are beautiful classic visuals, a sweeping celebratory score, and a wonderful amount of “blink and you’ll miss them” cameos. I literally mean “blink and you’ll miss them”. Seth MacFarlane has swept together posse of hollywood friends and used them as background extras, the joke being that in any given crowd scene you’ll randomly notice…say…Ewan McGregor. It reminded me a lot of how Tim Burton spent almost his entire budget for Mars Attacks on rounding up the most noble award-winning actors he could find and making them spout the most ridiculous drivel in a silly over-the-top comedy about a 1950’s style alien invasion. What is that if not worth the price of a ticket?
Undeniably, though, this movie gets my approval for how much it reminded me of classic Mel Brooks comedies. The obvious connection that everyone has made is with Blazing Saddles. Sure, they’re concerned with the same place and time, but Blazing Saddles orbits its jokes around racism as depicts very broad comedic characters. To me A Million Ways to Die in the West is most aesthetically and substantively reminiscent of…
It may sound foolish to compare a western parody to a Robin Hood parody, but believe me when I say that I’m not wrong. From the glorious opening credits with the warm waltzing main theme music and colourful cartoony font to the lovingly choreographed musical dance numbers about “moustaches”, I was brought right back to the feeling of this 1993 VHS jewel.
Watching Robin Hood Men in Tights was never a ridiculously funny experience to begin with, as the jokes sometimes made you laugh and otherwise made you groan, but the childish silliness and cheesy commitment of everyone involved just made you love it. Well, that’s how I felt with A Million Ways to Die in the West. It’s far from the funniest thing you’ll ever see, but is crafted by someone who clearly grew up watching and admiring the same material you did. It’s a cutely old-fashioned comedy film that happens to contain a lot of 21st century crudeness. Want proof?
After the film was over I turned to see who my fellow movie-goers were. It wasn’t 19 year old Gavin who lives with his mum and his pregnant slapper girlfriend Lilly; both die hard fans of The Hangover movies cause they’re “like so funny and shit”. No, they were all 45 years of age or older. Many of them were likely retirees on a day out with their significant other, and every one of them beamed with joy after sitting through 2 hours or semen stain jokes and pedophilia gags. I love that, and will thusly forgive any humour shortcomings that the movie otherwise has.
Give Million Ways a try. If you love Robin Hood: Men in Tights, especially, it would be a mistake for you to miss it.
Verdict
Last time we met, I put up a poll to see if the readers of this blog would vote for me to plug myself into Transcendence or dodge it like a radioactive bullet. Simply put, I was placing my fate in your hands. That phrase turned out to be appropriate in more ways than one…as the amount of people who voted could literally be counted on one hand.
Well, one should never look a gift horse in the mouth. Thank you to those 5 people who voted so unanimously for me to go and see Transcendence. I bet you’re dying to find out if I stayed true to my promises in the face of democracy, yes?
Alright, no need for me to be coy. I saw Transcendence this morning and can now say that…I get it. I understand why the film was so ill received. That doesn’t mean that I completely hated it, nor did I like it…in fact I don’t think it’s even a good film, but I’m glad I saw it.
Let me explain:
Transcendence is what happens when you take a first time writer, slap on a first time director, and give them 100 million dollars to play with. I think the blame of Transcendence‘s failure lies more with Jack Paglen’s droning dialogue than it does with Wally Pfister’s style and grasp of the actors, but the result is clearly a messy bag of honourable intentions either way.
As someone who’s looking for a way into the film business myself, Transcendence now stands before me as a glaring example of the one and only path to the top…from the bottom.
Wally Pfister himself has proven that the way to become a great cinematographer in Hollywood is to cut your teeth on simpler grain. Decades before he rose to the Oscar stage and collected his award for Inception, Pfister learnt his trade not by working with Morgan Freeman and Christopher Nolan, but by working with this:
Porn! Well no, it wasn’t strictly porn. It’s a soft core genre called “Erotic Thriller”, which straddles the line between story and sex. Crime and tension are supposed to be the bread and butter of the plot, but in the end everything just serves to ferry us from one love scene to another. When Pfister wasn’t making his money shooting exposed anatomies, he took up these projects:
Yay, crappy horror movies! I love these things! Even better, they’re straight-to-video Goosebumps-esque horrors. There was The Unborn, about an in-vitro fertilization attempt gone…evil (trailer here). Then we had Amityville: A New Generation, also known as Amityville 7 (trailer here). Following this we got The Granny, about a family finding out that their inheritance-hogging grandmother is actually an evil undead zombie (trailer here). Wrapping everything up was Stepmonster, which…kind of speaks for itself (trailer here).
The point I’m trying to make is that everyone, especially Wally Pfister, started out crawling through the muck. They weren’t born geniuses. Maybe you can find the odd exception to the rule, like Quentin Tarantino, but usually the evidence is clear.
Transcendence is another one of those films; a first attempt at directing by someone who’s trying really hard! It should, and I think will, be re-evaluated as such.
The difference here is that Christopher Nolan and Warner Bros. stupidly gave Wally Pfister too much money! Typically, with a large wallet comes less creativity. Economic movie making is something that must be learnt at the barrel-end of a tight budget. It forces you to make up for a lack of star quality and expensive CGI with a stripped-down effort of exciting, and perhaps even exploitative, story-telling.
I can only hope that this outcome will not deter Wally Pfister, or Jack Paglen for that matter, but that they can instead learn from this. Next time start off with a smaller budget and rather substitute some narrative excitement. Hopefully in the future you guys will have a big hit that provokes a profitable response from the audience and delivers all the same messages and ideas that you’re clearly interested in sharing.
For now, however:
– Rant Over!
Cinema Rant 