What's Up? Docs.

Quick hits on three documentaries:

GIRL MODEL (B+) - I was enamored throughout with the inventive directing and lush cinematography by David Redmon and Ashley Sabin, who spin a smart quasi-expose of the modeling pipeline of girls as young as 13 being shuttled from Siberia to Tokyo. Redmon and Sabin don't shy away from their subject -- the alluring flesh of young women -- but they don't exploit it. An early tracking shot, a point-of-view traipse through a queue of scantily clad teens is more loving than lurid. The real revelation is the extended face time with one modeling agency's talent scout, former model Ashley Arbaugh; 15 years in the business, she provides the bookend to this cautionary tale through candid interviews and archival footage from her video diaries. While the storytelling is strong and this is a solid documentary, I was repeatedly wowed by the camerawork of Redmon and Sabin (for example, shots of Nadya and her mom in their Russian banya or of Ashley during her endless train ride through the snowy countryside), so much so that I want to explore some of the other half-dozen titles on their resume and I look forward to their next projects.

Available at PBS.org via "P.O.V."

PHILIP ROTH: UNMASKED (B) - This strictly by-the-numbers profile of the great American writer on his 80th birthday is simple but effective. It features extended interviews with Roth, who essentially relates his life story and gives selected readings. This is a fascinating examination of the writing process and of creativity in general. ("Shame isn't for writers. You have to be shameless. You can't worry about being decorous.") The uninspired production is essentially a parade of talking heads, but if you have the patience (in this day and age) for stories well told, without quick cuts or screeching commentators, you'll find a deeply satisfying roundtable about life, both intellectual and physical. It places Roth neatly in the cultural arc of the past half century and ends with a touching rumination on suffering and death.

Available at PBS.org via "American Masters."

BUCK (B-minus) - A lethargic, sepia-toned hagiography of Buck Brannaman, a celebrated horse whisperer. (He consulted on the movie starring Robert Redford, who joins the parade of folks gushing about Brannaman's magic.) If you don't love horses and cowboys, take a pass. (I can see why this had a long run in Santa Fe.) Lush cinematography sometimes suffocates extended scenes of Brannaman exhibiting his amazing mastery of horses. But what he does comes off as essentially a parlor trick, and once you've seen it a few times (and guzzled his homespun wisdom), it starts to feel like shtick, and you don't need to spend 90 minutes marveling at either him or the bucolic splendor of his surroundings.

One Liner
"There is no punishment too extreme for the crazy bastard who came up with the idea of fidelity."  
- Philip Roth in "Sabbath's Theater."