BILL TRAYLOR: CHASING GHOSTS (A-minus) - This is a low-key but quietly poignant examination of the outsider artist Bill Traylor, who had been born into slavery but emerged late in life with his crude artwork while living on the streets of Montgomery, Ala. This collaboration between director Jeffrey Wolf (known more as an editor) and veteran sitcom writer Fred Barron takes a playful yet respectful tone with Traylor's art and legacy. They employ a style that brings a visual flair suitable to the subject matter.
Traylor, former sharecropper, had a rather childlike sensibility, partial to bickering couples, booze guzzlers, prancing cats and snarling dogs. The artwork would not be out of place displayed on a refrigerator. But art critics and historians are on hand to place the work in perspective. Descendants tell family stories. (He was prolific in his paternity.) Dual narrators (Russell G. Jones and Sharon Washington) are shown on-screen, sometimes together, enunciating the thoughtful prose put together by Barron. Other actors give voice to anecdotes from written histories. Jason Samuels Smith is on hand for tap-dancing interludes.
What's conveyed is a deep study of a self-taught folk artist who was often a postwar after-thought. The repetition of images from Traylor's primitive drawings has a hypnotic effect and enhances your appreciation of art that you might otherwise quickly dismiss.
JOSHUA: TEENAGER VS. SUPERPOWER (2017) (B+) - This is an uplifting and technically impressive documentary about the Hong Kong teen who took on China and fought for democratic rights. Joe Piscatella trains his camera on Joshua Wong, a smart, brave young man who inspired a movement against China's attempts to control Hong Kong, initially through its school curricula.
It covers roughly 2012 to 2016, by which time Joshua and some of his colleagues are coming of age and making moves toward running for office themselves. What stands out here is Piscatella's camera, there from the beginning, embedded in the nascent movement. Joshua and his colleagues also sit for interviews, looking back on their accomplishments that stemmed from a protest that seemed to be little more than a school project at the time.
Joshua is an appealing character, as much a nerdy wonk as he is a fiery leader. The narrative here zips along clearly, building momentum as the stakes are raised. The story anticipates the more recent protests in 2019 and 2020 against forced extraditions from Hong Kong to Taiwan and mainland China. The film provides a helpful primer on the tensions between Hong Kong and China, with a strong personal touch.
BONUS TRACK
The "Traylor" trailer:
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