Reviews from 5th annual Silver Docs
Pete Seeger: The Power of Song
Directed by Jim Brown
Jim Brown’s film answered a question for me: why did I think of Pete Seeger as a children’s performer? Of course, he was so much more, and I learned about all of that as well. But I guess I was just the right age to be aware of Seeger (I remember seeing him on PBS when I was a kid), but not old enough full scope of his influence both musically and politically. This fabulous film, chock full of rousing folk music, humor, and politics was a real eye-opener.
Turns out he was a fascinating guy: his believed in the power of music to unify and he spent his life bringing people together, as well as giving a voice to the voiceless. Learning folk songs and playing the banjo at a young age, he had a short stint at Harvard before leaving to perform full time. He was a champion of civil rights early on, fought in WWII, and becoming a Communist (although cutting ties with them after becoming disenchanted the party). His career caught fire in the early 50s and looked promising until he was blacklisted for his former associations and refusing to name names before HUAC. This kept him off TV for 17 years and limited the venues at which he could perform. But he could still play for children, something he loved to do (and also explains why I thought of him as a children’s performer).
Seeger remained influential for the next generation, inspiring the Folk revival in the 60s and showing how artistry and activism could be combined. Even today at 88, Seeger’s active in environmental activism and still performing. The film shows him playing at Carnegie Hall with his grandson, Tao Rodriquez-Seeger, and you witness his joy in connecting with an audience
Chicago 10
Directed by Brett Morgen
Chicago 10 is an experience: perhaps the most unique film that I had the chance to see at Silverdocs, it takes a novel approach to capturing a moment in history. Combining archival footage and interviews of the principle planners of the protests at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago with animated recreations of the subsequent trial in which real-life characters like Abbie Hoffman are voiced by name actors like Mark Ruffalo and Hank Azaria, among others. The doc shifts back and forth in time from the planning of the protest to the trial, building to a powerful climax as the protest turns angry and the trial goes off the rails.
Morgen’s use of modern effects on the archival footage and contemporary music gives “Chicago 10” the feel of an up to the minute piece. His intention is to make the film feel as contemporary as possible to connect with today’s youth and to make parallels between the Vietnam War and today’s conflict. And it’s funny too, especially when focusing on Hoffman with his crazy hair and radical ideas.
Bridge Over the Wadi
Directed by Tomer Heymann & Barak Heymann
Sometimes it’s easy to bring people together. But then the real work begins when people used to hating each other must find some way of crossing a vast divide. “Bridge Over the Wadi” documents the first year of an experimental Israeli school that brings together Arab and Jewish children in a bilingual and bicultural setting. The children in their innocence seem able to bridge the cultural divide, but the parents and the teachers have a much more difficult time putting aside prejudice, anger and resentment.
These are serious issues that the children, parents and teachers are facing, issues without easy solutions. In one scene, the school faces the difficult task of how to celebrate Israeli Independence Day, a day of celebration for Jews and a day of mourning for Arabs. Not even the teachers can agree on the right way to talk about the day and the correct language to use.
And yet, by the end of the school’s first year, the experiment is successful enough that enrollment for the second year is through the roof. It provides some hope that foundations are being established for a more peaceful, unified future.
Arctic Tale
Directed by Adam Ravetch & Sarah Robertson
“Arctic Tale” is a sweet little movie with some fantastic footage shot in the wild that follows the parallels paths of a young polar bear and a walrus trying to survive in a time when climate change is affecting their environment profoundly.
Billed as a new kind of documentary, a “wildlife adventure,” the film reminded me a little of the Disney wildlife films from the 50s and 60s in which cute anthropomorphized animals go about their business. It’s certainly hard to anything cuter than a polar bear cub (although the baby walrus is surprisingly winning too).
Geared towards kids, the film gently wraps in an important environmental message about the rapidly diminishing polar ice caps in the wake of rising temperatures from global warming. It’s a real problem and one that the film does a good job of communicating through the hardships faced by these endearing animal characters.
Helvetica
Directed by Gary Hustwit
This beautifully shot and edited piece finds something beautiful and profound in an unlikely subject: the ubiquitous font Helvetica.
Created by postwar typographers, the font was a cool, crisp innovation that swept the design world in the 60s and became the font of choice for all kinds of corporate and institutional advertising because of the contrast to the cluttered, clunky style of 50s advertising.
Over time, this lead to a backlash as some found Helvetica to represent the growing corporate domination of culture. Hand created fonts and deconstructionist design began to pop up everywhere until the pendulum inevitable swung back to Helvetica as the font of choice for all kinds of design.
The film itself is a marvel of carefully composed shots of the font in action in advertising, street signs, billboards, corporate logos, and even subway signs. Warning: after seeing this film, you will start seeing Helvetica everywhere and it may drive you a little nuts.
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