Tag Archives: Documentary

National Gallery (2014) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Another super work from Frederick Wiseman

“National Gallery” is as slow and austere as you can expect from a documentary film by Frederick Wiseman, a legendary American documentary director who has established his long, illustrious filmmaking career for nearly 50 years since his first work “Titicut … Continue reading

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Weiner (2016) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): The second rise and fall of Weiner

When Anthony Weiner attempted to run for the office of Mayor of New York City in 2013, he seemed to be on the way to a sort of redemptive comeback, and he actually had a very good chance for that. … Continue reading

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Fire at Sea (2016) ☆☆☆(3/4): Far from each other – but also close to each other

Italian documentary film “Fire at Sea”, which won the Golden Bear award at the Berlin International Film Festival early in this year, simply observes its different human subjects. While life goes on as usual in one small Mediterranean island, there … Continue reading

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Hitchcock/Truffaut (2015) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Two great filmmakers, one monumental book

When I was young and wild during the 1990s, I began to be more serious about movies, and it was fortunate for me to have two wonderful things to boost my growing interest on movies around that time. First, a … Continue reading

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Seymour: An Introduction (2014) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): On his duet of life and art

The first minutes of documentary film “Seymour: An Introduction” was more than enough for me to become interested in its remarkable human subject. As a man who has happily maintained his own balance between life and art for many years, … Continue reading

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Twinsters (2015) ☆☆☆ (3/4): Twin sisters’ reunion after 25 years

Documentary film “Twinsters” starts its story with one unbelievable encounter which can happen only in our digital era. Two young women suddenly came to learn of each other’s presence through online communication, and they were naturally surprised by their uncanny … Continue reading

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Meru (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): Reaching for a challenging peak in the Himalayas

Documentary film “Meru” works best when it functions as a vivid, extraordinary record of one arduous quest for conquering one of the most challenging mountains in the Himalayas. Yes, those three mountaineers in the documentary really climbed up there with … Continue reading

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Best of Enemies (2015) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4) : Buckley Vs. Vidal

Focusing on the tense, dynamic progress of the infamous TV debates between two antagonizing American intellectuals, documentary film “Best of Enemies” observes their turbulent era which ironically mirrors the current sociopolitical status of the American society at present. Through their … Continue reading

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Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief (2015) ☆☆☆1/2(3.5/4): Behind the belief

As far as I can remember, the first time I heard about the Church of Scientology was when I read a review on “Battlefield Earth” (2000), an infamous Hollywood turkey which was based on the SF novel of the same … Continue reading

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Cartel Land (2015) ☆☆☆(3/4): The drug war viewed through vigilantes

“Cartel Land”, which was recently Oscar-nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film, is sobering and disturbing to say the least. If you are already familiar with its subject through other movies and documentary films such as “Narco Cultra” (2013) and “Sicario” … Continue reading

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