Bequeath the Wind

THE OTHER SIDE OF THE WIND (B) - Part curiosity, part lost would-be masterpiece, this hunk of '70s art-shlock -- obsessed over for years by the legendary Orson Welles -- is finally seeing the light of day courtesy of Welles acolyte Peter Bogdanovich. Welles famously liked to shoot endlessly, hoping for happy accidents to happen. Here he is in late career, often in European exile, telling a story that he insisted was not autobiographical -- the last day in the life of a famous film director, played here by John Huston.

The film itself is such a scattershot melange of scenes that it is hard to follow, which seemed to be the intent of Welles, undisciplined as he tries to pour his cluttered mind onto celluloid. Working at the height of the next generation's American New Wave, Welles channels Godard and Altman, finding experimental brilliance here and there. But whether it was the original shooting, Welles' original cut as a template, or Bogdanovich and crew's modern edit, the final product is jumpy, uneven and discordant. At times that provides a jolt of energy; at other times, merely confusion.

Huston is magnificent as Jake Hannaford, reminding us of his epic personality on screen, whether he is piercing the ego of an actor or wrapping a creepy avuncular arm around a teenage girl on set. Norman Foster holds things together as his loyal producer. No one else stands out. (Bogdanovich famously replaced Rich Little after Welles turned on the young impersonator.)

Welles is liberal with the nudity (especially with his muse and co-writer, Oja Kodar), and a bathroom orgy scene is cut wonderfully frenetically, but the result seems like a '60s acid-washed anachronism even back then. One highlight is Kodar seducing a young passenger in a car they are riding in, her necklaces and chains rhythmically clanking against her bare, tanned chest as she straddles him and grinds away. Overall, the narrative barely holds together, and you might not care about the original idea. It's a wild ride and an appropriate tribute to a director who vainly tried his whole career to surpass his first masterpiece ("Citizen Kane").

THEY'LL LOVE ME WHEN I'M DEAD (A-minus) - The documentary about the making of the movie is better than the movie itself. At one point you get the sense that Welles' decade-long effort to make "The Other Side of the Wind" had turned into some perverse practical joke. He hints at as much toward the end of this documentary, but he's likely putting us on about that.

The frustration of working with Welles -- mad genius or over-the-hill hack? -- is captured by those still around to tell the story, as well as longtime Welles cameraman Gary Graver, seen in clips before his death in 2006. (During the frustrating down times between shoots with the boss, Graver earned a buck directing pornos.) Welles famously had trouble raising money, and here we get insights into the ill-fated Iranian connection (interrupted by the Ayatollah's revolution) and Welles' sad begging for cash while accepting a tribute award from the American Film Institute.

The man just got sadder and heavier until he died in 1985. This documentary is full of life, though, and it has a vitality and energy that the final cut of "The Other Side of the Wind" lacks.
 

The Blessed of 2018

It is by now gospel that we here in the boonies do not rush into our year-end list. We're still catching up with the 2018 releases, and some of them don't trickle into town until January something. For now, here is a list of the year's releases that earned a B+ or higher (mostly B-pluses in here) and will be competing for the top spot, around a month from now:

• The Zen Diaries of Garry Shandling
• Mr. Roosevelt
• Let the Sunshine In
• Foxtrot
• Outside In
• The Rider
• Won't You Be My Neighbor
• The Endless
• Skate Kitchen
• Fahrenheit 11/9
• Dark Money
• En el Septimo Dia
• Three Identical Strangers
• Burning
• Dark River 
• The King
• A Star Is Born
• Izzy Gets the Fuck Across Town
• Matangi/Maya/M.I.A.
• The Rape of Recy Taylor

And there are a few more ringers waiting in the wings. Stay tuned.

  

Look in the Mirror

IZZY GETS THE FUCK ACROSS TOWN (A-minus) - Mackenzie Davis goes all-in for this classic tale of a spurned millennial on a hero's journey to win back her true love. Or something like that. Here she is the title character trying to venture across Los Angeles to crash the engagement party of her ex-boyfriend and ex-friend. Davis brings depth and nuance to this familiar role, and she is ably assisted by a strong supporting cast of actors who pop in for memorable cameos.

Lakeith Stanfield and Haley Joel Osment get mowed down by this force of nature in a blood- and wine-stained tuxedo from last night's catering gig. Davis, who was about the only good thing in this year's "Tully," can do no wrong carrying the picture on her shoulders. One of her pop-ins turns up Annie Potts as a sympathetic mother figure. And then there is the force of nature known as Alia Shawkat, who takes a throwaway role and turns it into a riveting character study. And we haven't mentioned the gravitas bequeathed on the production by Carrie Coon (HBO's "The Leftovers") as Izzy's sour sister and former bandmate.

This is a debut feature -- and a labor of love -- from Christian Papierniak, and it buzzes with sharply observed character interplay and well honed lines of dialogue. It's Davis who carries it over the finish line, though, with her determination to bring a fresh perspective to a classic millennial lament.

PERSONA (1966) (B) - I don't know what this has left to add to a conversation in 2018, but Ingmar Bergman's classic is concise and less aggravating than many European art films of the 1960s. Liv Ullmann's near-silent performance -- as a mute actress tended to by a young nurse -- is a cavalcade of expressions. Bibi Anderson does the heavy lifting as the chatty attendant. We also hear Bergman's own silent wail bookending the film in the person of a young boy longing for his absent mother.

Typical art-house philosophy is espoused. The black-and-white cinematographer is sharp and unforgiving. This two-handed morality play zips by in 83 minutes, holding up well as a curiosity piece.

BONUS TRACK
A centerpiece of "Izzy," both by Corin Tucker and by Davis and Coon in a memorable scene between the sisters, "Axemen":


 

Doc Watch: Justice

DEADLINE (B) (2004) - This bare-bones documentary is surprisingly effective in chronicling the process by which Illinois' lame-duck governor at the time, George Ryan, decided whether to end the death penalty before the end of his term. Ryan set up a sort of Peace and Reconciliation commission to hear the arguments of those on Death Row and the families of victims. Filmmakers Katy Chevigny and Kirsten Johnson ("Cameraperson") capture compelling testimony and build a sense of intrigue over what Ryan will do. Most folks will remember the outcome, but if you don't know or have forgotten, let the drama play out.

THE STAIRCASE (A-minus) (2004) - This eight-part TV production launched a thousand true-crime series and podcasts with this French crew's examination of Durham, N.C., writer Michael Peterson and mysterious death of his wife in a pool of blood at the foot of a staircase in their home. TV veteran Jean-Xavier de Lestrade leads a French film crew with a fresh perspective on American jurisprudence.

This is one of the best legal procedurals you will find, as Lestrade gains an all-access pass into the defense strategy of trial lawyer David Rudolf, who has his hands full with an unappealing client, who happens to have been in Germany with his ex-wife when a neighbor woman just happened to die in a very similar manner about 17 years earlier. Peterson's online dalliance with a male escort provides a juicy dramatic twist and comedic relief in the form of the sex worker's animated testimony.

Again, if you either never knew the story or have forgotten the outcome, let it play out without revealing the verdict via Wikipedia. One of the final shots, winding through the bowels of the courthouse, way beyond normal security limits, is a great coup for the film crew. In addition, the psychological profile of Peterson's children, most of whom support him, thanks mainly to a healthy dose of denial. This certainly laid the foundation for the true-crime craze that remains in full flower.
 

New to the Queue

Cold, hard stare ...

A young Iranian man seduces the women of Denmark, looking for a ticket to stay in the country, in "The Charmer."

Barry Jenkins follows up "Moonlight" with an adaptation of James Baldwin's "If Beale Street Could Talk."

A documentary about survivors of the Chinese Communist Party's purges of 1957, "Dead Souls."

John C. Reilly and Will Ferrell look like they are having fun in the latest from the writer of "Tropic Thunder," Etan Cohen's "Holmes and Watson." 

Pawel Pawlikowski follows up "Ida" with a postwar love story, "Cold War."
 

Doc Watch: Outsider Art

MATANGI/MAYA/M.I.A. (A) - This mix of contemporary video and home movies by the rapper M.I.A. creates a swirl that is the life of a modern, insurgent artist. With a slight nod to the Kurt Cobain fever dream "Montage of Heck," newcomer Stephen Loveridge curates an intimate portrait of the talented Sri Lankan refugee immigrant who refuses to shut up about the plight of the people she left behind.

M.I.A, aka Mathangi Arulpragasam, aka Maya, shot home video going back to her time in her homeland (where her father was a founder of the Tamil rebel group) around the turn of the millennium. She also was developing her beats and raps on cassette tapes. She was "disovered" by Justine Frischmann of Elastica and before you know it was performing before thousands at Coachella by 2005 on the heels of songs like "Galanaga" and her debut album "Arular." She eventually broke huge with "Paper Planes" on the "Slumdog Millionaire" soundtrack, and before you know it, she was hanging with Madonna and Nikki Manaj at the Super Bowl, infamously giving America the middle finger.

Loveridge does not shy away from either the controversy or the accusations of hypocrisy against an entertainer who celebrates the underclass while luxuriating in the billions of the Bronfman family that she briefly was married into. But we never lose sight of the young girl who grew into the truth-telling woman still pushing to champion people of color. Loveridge plays with the chronology like a pro, and the result is a burst of energy and primal scream, urging us to listen to this voice.

HERE TO BE HEARD: THE STORY OF THE SLITS (B-minus) - This is a fun but somewhat sluggish celebration of the female punk band the Slits, who gained popularity alongside the Sex Pistols and the Clash but who quickly devolved into a noodling reggae band and soon faded into obscurity.

The archival clips are fairly extensive, and the middle-age surviving members are mostly in good spirits as they reminisce. The production values are a little cheap, and the history of the band itself is rather thin, but this helps fill in some of the blanks in the history of punk.

SEARCHING FOR INGMAR BERGMAN (B-minus) - You get the feeling that the filmmakers merely scratch the surface in psychoanalyzing the groundbreaking Swedish director of the New Wave era. His greatest hits are on display here, and the women who indulged him over the years, now wrinkled, wax nostalgic about working with the man who did his best to harsh the vibe of the hippie generation with his heavy films. A move to Germany in the '70s for tax reasons feels under-reported. One of his sons offers an analysis of dear old dad. In the end, we might not know much more than a few Rosebud moments that shaped a man who left his mark on cinema.

BONUS TRACK
From the closing credits of "M.I.A.," "Reload":


 

Holiday Doldrums

The Onion AV Club (no relation) just unleashed another string of mediocre grades for the latest releases. Ten reviews in a row range from B-minus to C:

• Mowgli
• Vox Lux
• Ben Is Back
• Aquaman
• Capernaum
• Bird Box
• Mortal Engines
• Mary Poppins Returns
• The House That Jack Built
• The Mule

The string was broken by last night's A-minus review for Barry Jenkins' "If Beale Street Could Talk."
  

Doc Watch: Women in Peril

THE RAPE OF RECY TAYLOR (B+) - This quiet, methodical documentary brings a modern-day sensibility to the harrowing story of the gang-rape of a young mother and wife in Alabama in 1944. Nancy Buirski ("The Loving Story," "Afternoon of a Faun") by now has developed a style that is more dry than flashy. Here, she marches through the narrative, mixing the news reports of the day in black publications with present-day recollections, including by Taylor's brother. We also hear Taylor's voice on an audio recording. (Buirski uses video of Taylor herself sparingly and to powerful effect.)

Buirski also takes the opportunity to celebrate Rosa Parks, who was the NAACP investigator assigned to Taylor's case. That storyline adds depth to the tale and helps bridge the generations from World War II to the civil-rights achievements of the '60s through to the present-day plight of the African American struggle.

DE PALMA (B) - It isn't easy to defend Brian De Palma's film oeuvre. He was baptized in schlock, he made his name stealing Hitchcock's moves to create stylized violence, and his legacy has not aged well, especially '80s noir-porn like "Dressed to Kill" and "Body Double." But he is a really good storyteller, and he was present at the dawn of the American New Wave, so he's an engaging subject for a documentary.

Next-gen directors Noah Baumbach and Jake Paltrow pay homage by curating loads of movie clips and simply plunking down De Palma in front of a camera (Errol Morris-style) and having him spin stories about his movies and famous pals. The takeaway here is that, say what you will about a director who liked the idea of impaling an actress with a three-foot-long drill bit or dumping a bucket of pig's blood on poor Carrie, he worked hard at his craft and he had an old-fashioned appreciation for things like mise en cine and narrative structure. And he entertained a lot of people with "Carrie," "Scarface," the very first Tom Cruise "Mission Impossible," "Blow Out," "The Untouchables" and Bruce Springsteen's "Dancing in the Dark" video. Hanging out with the old guy, you'll learn a few things and have some fun along the way.
 

Doc Watch: Secrets

SCOTTY AND THE SECRET HISTORY OF HOLLYWOOD (B) - This fascinating character study follows Scotty Bowers, a super-spry nonagenerian, as he looks back on his postwar glory as pimp to the stars, mostly closeted gay men. Matt Tyrnauer ("Studio 54") brings Bowers' memoirs off the page and onto the big screen, and he is an engaging subject, full of stories, most of which seem corroborated by contemporaries.

Bowers was sexualized by men when he was a boy (he doesn't see it as abuse) and then had a romp-filled stint in the military, emerging from World War II with a gas station in Hollywood, where he set up shop procuring buff young men for randy actors looking for $20 action. Bowers, boyishly handsome and long married to a woman, comes across as either the most well-adjusted pansexual libertine or the most deluded victim of delusion ever.

We watch his hoarder lifestyle take over his house, as the stories pour out of him, whether it's pornographically gay romps, orgies, or feeding women to Katherine Hepburn. Tyrnauer shrewdly scrutinizes America's views of sex and the power of pop-culture tropes. It's a fantasy world wrapped in a fantasy world. While you pity some of the stars who were trapped in the closet, you have to tip your hat to the old folks -- they sure had a wild time back then.

RUNNING FROM CRAZY (C-minus) - This disappointing profile of the haunted Hemingway clan comes with a major red flag -- it is brought to you by Oprah Winfrey's fawn factory. Turns out that fatally counteracts the power of legendary documentarian Barbara Kopple ("Harlan County U.S.A.").

Mariel Hemingway anchors this examination of the clan descended from legendary writer Ernest Hemingway, who famously took his own life in 1961 at his home in Idaho. Very little illumination is shed on a family that has suffered through nine suicides over the generations. Mariel's daughters seem fairly well adjusted, but there really are no deep insights that delve into the family history. Mariel is treated with kid gloves, and we have to slog through scenes of her yoga routine and bickering road trips with her boyfriend.

Kopple captures it all with the production values of a church video from the '80s. Truly a lost opportunity.

Bonus Track
The trailer for "Scotty":


 

Class struggle

KES (1969) (A) - Ken Loach broke through with this raw, brutal examination of the life of the underclass in rural northern England. Working with mostly non-actors, Loach (most recently "I, Daniel Blake," "The Angels' Share") lucked out with David Bradley as Billy, an earnest adolescent who sees falcon training as his escape from the dead-end life of his coal town around Yorkshire. He is bullied by his lunkhead older brother and ignored by most everyone else, but when he discovers a nest of kestrels and learns how to train them, his world explodes with possibilities.

Working class indignities abound. A soggy soccer practice and a locker-room humiliation become just one in a series of daily horrors that befall Billy and his mates. There are no easy answers here and no simple, logical resolution to this story. In fact, the ending is gut-wrenching. The Criterion edition includes insightful extras about Loach and the film. A milestone in British cinema.

SUPPORT THE GIRLS (B) - Andrew Bujalski never puts the pieces together in this blue-collar dramedy about women asserting their rights at a divey breastaurant of the Hooters variety. Bujalski, the godfather of Mumblecore, was on a roll -- and a path to the mainstream -- with "Computer Chess" and "Results," but he takes a sideways slide by losing his focus on storytelling. A top-notch cast, led by Regina King as Lisa, the mother hen of a den of young women, captures its share of moments. But the story -- there's a carwash fundraiser for one of the workers who is some sort of legal predicament -- is confusing.  As a series of vignettes, it's satisfying. And actresses like Haley Lu Richardson and Shayna McHayle (aka Junglepussy) bring alluring energy as they lead a crew of appealing (and we're not talking about the push-up bras) characters. But by the end, I wasn't sure just what all had transpired on Lisa's very trying day. With James Le Gros, always welcome, as the creepy boss.
 

Drama Queens

Two from our gal Alia Shawkat:

DUCK BUTTER (B) - Just a lovely love story between two young women who decide to take on the grand arc of a long-term relationship squeezed into 24 hours of intense bonding. It's a gimmick but a fun one. Alia Shawkat here writes the script with Miguel Arteta ("Beatriz at Dinner") and stars as Naimi alongside the appealing Laia Costa as Sergio in this roller-coaster comic drama.

With the hint of the artificiality of a theater exercise, Shawkat and Costa are all-in for this one. The dynamic alternates between intense and droll. They vow to have sex every hour on the hour. Naimi, in a nod to the conceit, complains during the second half of the experiment, as the bickering begins, "We haven't had sex in two-and-a-half hours!"

The result feels both workshopped and lived-in. It would not work without the dedication of the two actresses and the steady hand of Arteta.

PAINT IT BLACK (C) - Shawkat stumbles here in the awkward directorial debut of actress Amber Tamblyn. This is yet another drama about a mother and girlfriend distraught over the death of a young man. The great Janet McTeer tries her best to bring sense to the role of the grieving, conniving mother, but even she cannot find the right tone.

Shawkat, looking unnaturally skinny, also can't hit the right pitch of this pseudo-horror melange. Tamblyn exhibits a flashy style, and she has an eye for visual hooks. But her story (she co-wrote it with two others, including the author of the source material) is hollow. We don't know enough about the young man to appreciate why Shawkat's character would be so aimless and his mother would attack her. (Except that they both seem to do a lot of drugs and alcohol.) Throw in a nonsensical ending, and you have a missed opportunity from Tamblyn.

BONUS TRACK
From the opening of "Duck Butter," the band Hinds with "Garden":