West of Memphis

Directed by Amy Berg

2012, USA

You might think you know the story of the West Memphis Three as it was covered extensively by the press and the Paradise Lost documentary trilogy throughout the last 18 years. Then comes along West of Memphis which brings to the table a closer, more intensely personal reading of the infamous tragedy that devastated so many lives but brought to light how political ambition, pride and ego can so easily corrupt the United States justice system.

Director Amy Berg (Deliver Us From Evil) encapsulates and condenses  the length of the case by first presenting the facts which were previously the most widely known about the case. In 1993, three little boys were murdered in West Memphis, Arkansas. The bodies appeared to be hogtied, tortured and their privates mutilated in what was believed to be a satanic ritual. Three local teenagers who were branded by their community as outsiders were arrested and convicted. It was a closed case that the documentary Paradise Lost cast doubt on. At two and a half hours long the film never feels overly long or rushed It does recap much of the material from Paradise but does so swiftly and deftly.

The doc is obviously biased and sensitive to the would be perpetrators Damien Echols, Jesse Miskelly and Jason Baldwin who instead have become victims. However, it provides ample justification by adding even more evidence that points away from them. Additional interviews from major witnesses who initially testified against the boys apologize for lying and concrete DNA evidence is identified from the crime scene that is definitively not theirs. Shockingly, the basis of why this crime blew up in the media is taken out. The boy’s genitals were most likely missing missing because the creek they were thrown in was crawling with snapping turtles whose bite marks were mistaken as torture. This along with other revelations shake the very foundation of the original case. It would risk being a talking head doc if it weren’t for how impassioned the new investigators, the Three, their loved ones and the network of supporters feel about getting to the truth.

Interest in the case continued on in the media seemingly because of the long list of celebrities that believed that the boys were falsely imprisoned. Johnny Depp, Eddie Vedder, Henry Rollins and director Peter Jackson all number among those who contributed monetarily or publicly spoke on behalf of the incarcerated. Echols was a defiant and rebellious teen who flipped off cameras while on trial. Given the nature of the crime, this behavior was damning at the time and outrageous to people following the case at home. It’s But there was something about him in particular that people continue to connect to. Musician and poet Henry Rollins explains that a weird, Goth kid who wrote down dark thoughts and listened to disturbing music “Could have been me, could have been anyone.” To say that the celebrity support or true crime reporting were what kept the case going would be to seriously belie the actual love that fueled the persistence to pursue the truths that would set them free.

Hearing about how this case touched artists like Rollins is one thing but it is something much more striking to hear from the woman who has loved Echols and worked tirelessly to organize and galvanize protests on his behalf. Lorris Davis is a woman who never stopped believing in Echols innocence. She and Damien corresponded over a long period of time, corresponding by letter hundreds of time before they were married. So lovely is it that they wrote to each other about novels and the nature of time that one almost forgets they could barely see each other- only 3 hours per week. Davis is the rock of this film, her faith in Echols solid and unwavering. Echols is seen here as an eloquent, well read man who waxes philosophical about love and how the nature of time should concentrate on the now.

In direct contradiction to this relationship is the toxic marriage of Pam and Terry Hobbs. Terry reportedly (as seen from interviews, neighbors and family members) regularly beat and even molested his stepchildren. His stepson Stevie was one of the children murdered. The cops never interviewed him. How could someone so close be overlooked? His own family refers to the “Hobbs Family Secret.” The movie delves deep into what might have been the motivations and opportunities Hobbs had at the time of the murders. All investigators, prosecutors and the judge from the first trial hold hold firm to their assertions about what they see as the righteous conviction of all three men. They will not let it go or take the new evidence seriously. It takes a new official to see things anew.

Memphis is in turns about grief, injustice and loyalty but also a moving portrait of three men that despite their past circumstances have not become embittered and stuck on how life has been so unfair. They are moving on even if the case and a community is still firmly entrenched in the past.

Lane Scarberry

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Where Urbanized finds most success is in the presentation of workable solutions. Sure, there is some education on just what urban planning involves, but it’s much more a film about philosophies and practical problem solving. For example, there’s an interview with the mayor of Bogota, who explains how the city reduced a good deal of its traffic congestion by restricting parking spaces in the city. Less parking, less driving. It’s a simple solution that then allowed the city to implement a wide range of transit solutions that helped raise the status of those below the poverty line and completely changed how the city operates.

The documentary also takes a look at cities on the decline. One section featuring Detroit contains a shot that might be the best shot in a film in ages. It’s a view from the front of a moving monorail train as it moves over the city. It’s shocking. The city looks dead. It’s like something out of 28 Days Later. Completely heartbreaking.

Urbanized really shines a light on the importance of good urban planning in an age when more and more of the human population is moving from agricultural life to urban life. How do cities manage millions of people and different classes of people? How do cities help raise up the poor? How can cities be more livable for everyone? These are big questions, and they become more important by the day. Urbanized doesn’t really have all the answers, but it does highlight the importance of trying to find workable solutions. It also highlights the immense difficulty in solving these problems. The second you’ve figured one thing out, about twenty more problems crop up. Such is the nature of sticking millions of people together in one small space.

There is only one problem with Urbanized, and that is it’s too short. Sure, it’s great for what it is, but every time the film puts its magnifying glass on one city, it’s almost sad when it pulls away five minutes later. This is a documentary that easily could have been made into a five or six part TV series, with a much more in depth look at each city, giving all the problems and solutions much closer attention. It’s not a huge fault, and in fact it’s practically a compliment to say that the film leaves you wanting more. Still, it leaves you wanting so much more that it becomes almost a shame when it doesn’t fully deliver.

All that said, Urbanized is a great documentary, and a great look at an area of life and design that doesn’t get enough attention. The importance of cities and urban planning in our daily lives is often invisible to us, but no doubt it’s there, constantly shaping the way we live and interact with our communities. It’s the kind of documentary that can be recommended to anybody with even a passing social consciousness, and the time spent watching it is nothing if not worthwhile.

Helvetica

The first entry in the Design Trilogy was 2007′s Helvetica. You wouldn’t think a documentary about a ubiquitous font would be interesting, but Helvetica proved to be one of the best documentaries of recent years. While the topic was typography—and one font in particular—the documentary was really an exploration of the prevalence of design and how it shapes our perception of the world around us. I don’t say this about documentaries very often, but Helvetica actually changed the way I see the world around me. I look at things differently and I’m much more aware of how graphic design affects everything that makes up the modern world.

Helvetica plays at the TIFF Bell Lightbox with Gary Hustwit in person on Saturday, January 14th at 12:30pm.

Objectified

In the 2009 follow-up to Helvetica, Hustwit expanded beyond the realm of graphic design and into industrial design. The effect was less profound, but it’s not an insult at all to say Objectified offers more of the same. Getting a glimpse into the world of how every single object in our lives is designed with careful thought by someone somewhere is fascinating. An interview with Jonathan Ive, the VP of Product Design at Apple, is especially great.

Objectified plays at the TIFF Bell Lightbox with Gary Hustwit in person on Saturday, January 14th at 3:00pm.

Urbanized

The final film in the Design Trilogy is Urbanized, a film that takes a look at the extremely vast area of urban planning and design. It is a great documentary whose only serious fault is that the topic is too broad to really be done justice in a single documentary. So many cities are featured, and so many ideas and philosophies of urban design are shared that it’s almost too much. One thing is clear: anyone interested in cities or the communities they live in should give Urbanized a look.

Urbanized will play at the TIFF Bell Lightbox with Gary Hustwit in person on Friday, January 13th at 6:30pm. It will have encore screenings on January 15th and 17th.

-Corey Atad

Recently I posted our list of the best documentaries of 2011 and stated that I am impressed with the growing number of incredible docs that get released each and every year. There are docs such as The Interpreters that choose to take us to places we may never visit (in this case the ghetto streets of Chicago) and give us a close look at the people who live there, who we may never come to know otherwise. Now the PBS documentary blog POV has created a map containing poignant and popular documentary films to represent each of the 50 states in the US. Find out which documentary defines your home state best. Head to the PBS website to see a larger version of the image and to get a list of all the films represented below. Enjoy!

Source: http://www.firstshowing.net/2011/check-this-out-the-united-states-defined-by-documentary-films/

The shortlist of documentary nominees for the 84th Annual Academy Awards were announced recently. As expected, many bloggers have commented on their disappointment with the number of misfires. I doubt that these same bloggers have seen the majority of the films listed, so it is a bit unfair that they presume these 15 titles aren’t worthy of consideration. With that said, I can say that two of the best films I’ve seen this year have been overlooked: The Interrupters and Senna.

I’ve been going through our archives and asking the Sound On Sight staff what they consider the best documentaries of 2011. We haven’t seen all fifteen films eligible to be nominated for Best Documentary on January 24, 2012, but we’ve seen quite a bit. Below is a list of our ten favourite documentaries of 2011. It was hard to choose between the many great docs released, but we decided to narrow it down to ten, with one special mention that is not technically a documentary but close enough. There are many great films such such as Bill Cunningham New York, Project Nim, Being Elmo: A Puppeteer’s Journey, and even Errol Morris’ Tabloid that don’t appear, but I felt we should quickly give them a special mention along with Michael Rapaport’s Beats, Rhymes and Life.

Here’s our list Let us know if you can recommend any others.

Special Mention: Samsara

Directed by Ron Fricke

Written by Ron Fricke & Mark Magidson

USA, 2011

Covering TIFF has been a privilege for many reasons, but particularly for the opportunity to screen Ron Fricke’s awe-inspiring Samsara. The follow-up to 1992′s breathtaking Baraka, Fricke surpasses even that great film with an effort that can only be described in superlatives, and with what sounds like hyperbole, but isn’t. Like Baraka before it, Samsara is something akin to a human-centric, arthouse Planet Earth, surveying the globe in a series of astonishing, dialogue-free, 70mm vistas, and underscored by a mixture of traditional instrumental and choral music. Fricke further demonstrates his mastery of time-lapse imagery, a technique that invests even familiar sights – say a helicopter shot of an L.A. freeway – with a hypnotic, organic rhythm. That Samsara is instantly one of the most visually-stunning films in the history of cinema is reason enough to cherish it, but Fricke and co-editor Mark Magidson achieve truly profound juxtapositions, brimming with meaning and emotion. It sounds preposterous, but it’s true: In 99 minutes, Samsara achieves something approaching a comprehensive portrait of the totality of human experience. If you’re even remotely fond of being alive, Samsara is not to be missed.

Jullian Carrington

#10 – Page One: A Year Inside the New York Times

Directed by Andrew Rossi

A succinct, if somewhat scattered, portrait of a journalistic (and cultural and political) juggernaut in flux, Andrew Rossi’s Page One seeks to accomplish a whole lot in its scant 90 minutes: determine the true severity of the threat to the newspaper industry; assess the strengths and limitations of internet journalism; depict life inside and around the hectic Times newsroom, and provide at least a basic biographical understanding of some of its more colorful denizens. .. (read the full review)

Simon Howell

Listen to our review from episode 287 of the Sound On Sight podcast

#9 – Beauty Day

Directed by Jay Cheel

2011, Canada

Most of the best documentary films are about outsiders, about people and events that exist within our society but reside in a fringe culture that most of us are unaware of or uneducated about. Whether examined for shock value, comedy, or in hopes of garnering some larger insight, outsiders have always been a staple, perhaps even a requirement, of engaging documentary film. From Errol Morris’ Mr. Death to Seth Gordon’s King of Kong, the best narrative documentaries revolve around subjects we can recognize as familiar enough to relate to in some way, but foreign enough to be novel and interesting. In Beauty Day, director Jay Cheel is fortunate enough to have found a perfect example of exactly that kind of compelling outsider and talented enough to craft more than just a voyeuristic look at his subject… (read the full review)

Michael Waldman

Listen to our interview with director Jay Cheel

#8 – Cave of Forgotten Dreams

Directed by Werner Herzog

Like his previous documentaries, Grizzly Man, Lessons in Darkness, The Wheel of Time, Herzog is less interested in the obvious point of interest – the paintings themselves in this case – as he is in the people surrounding it. Alongside one of the scientists exploring the cave Herzog becomes fascinated with the idea of one of the ancient painters. Through scientific process and via his camera, Herzog tracks the movement of the man, putting the viewer in his position. The effect is a spellbinding trek through the caves where past and present are merged.

Cave of Forgotten Dreams is dreamlike, fascinating and unmistakably Herzogian. It continues the director’s search for the hidden things in life, whether those things be just below a farm, or back in an unknown and unreachable past… (read the full review)

Neal Dhand

Listen to our review from episode 287 of the Sound On Sight podcast

#7- Into The Abyss

Directed by Werner Herzog

This is where morality comes into question. On the surface, it could be perfectly easy for someone to look at someone who’s committed this type of crime and feel no remorse at the thought of their imminent death. But Herzog has never been one to settle for the black-and-white, and does his best to show Perry (Burkett as well, but mostly Perry) not as some sort of sick monster, but as a real human being, who’s consistent bad decisions led him to where he is. It never quite asks us to feel bad for him, as he even admits that the mistakes were his. You can’t help but feel that though this is a terrible crime he committed, he’s still a person through, and he’s a person staring death right in the face.

Herzog voices his point-of-view early on in the film, but makes the wise decision of exploring both sides of the story. As a result, Into the Abyss becomes an emotionally devastating work of fact that probably won’t let you leave the theater with a clear-cut opinion. But when you’re working with this subject matter, it shouldn’t be any other way… (read the full review)

William Bitterman

Listen to our review from episode 289 of the Sound On Sight podcast

#6- Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky

The cameras and filmmakers are plainly visible in Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, the third, and likely last, documentary on the West Memphis Three from Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. The two previous Paradise Lost films have been a major driving force in galvanizing the movement that has supported Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley since they were convicted of the horrific murders of three young boys in 1993. The documentary itself has become a part of the story, and here the cameras turn on the two filmmakers and their crew, without whom it is safe to say that new evidence would not have come to light that led to the three men being released form prison after 18 years and 78 days… (read the full review)

Louis Godfrey

Listen to our review of Paradise Lost in episode 269 of the Sound On Sight podcast

#5 – We Were Here

Directed by David Weissman and Bill Weber

We Were Here focuses on a few people who were in San Francisco at the time and right in the heart of the AIDS crisis that affected the gay community of San Francisco. As one of them says, they are here to tell their stories but also the stories of those that aren’t here anymore. The colourful personal accounts weave together to make up the heart-wrenching history of what was initially called “Gay Cancer.” The great strength of this documentary is that it lets those involved speak for themselves and presents us with an oral history. The one time the film gives us some facts on AIDS superimposed over the actions on screen, it feels out of place. After all, this is not a film about AIDS in general. It doesn’t try to summarize the entire history of this disease. Rather, it is a snapshot of a time and a place and the people that were there. Perhaps they were at the wrong place at the wrong time – or, as they would probably have it, at the right place at the right time, despite what happened to the community… (read the full review)

Dave Robson

#4 – Pina

Written and Directed by Wim Wenders

Wender’s use of 3D is exquisite, done with great care to not just layer the image, but to actually project on screen the distance between the different dancer’s bodies that is so key to each piece. Many of the pieces incorporate natural elements – soil, water – into the action. In “Le sacre du printemps,” dancers writhe violently atop a think layer of dirt, kicking it into the air, turning the negative space between the groupings of performers – one male, one female – into a charged arena of sexual tension… (read the full review)

Louis Godfrey

Listen to our review from episode 289 of the Sound On Sight podcast

#3 – Urbanized

Directed by Gary Hustwit

It is tough to overstate the importance of urban design in a rapidly urbanizing world. Every single person who lives in a town or city has grappled with the issue, at least indirectly, at one point or another. Even my parents in rural Alberta are fighting an incoming housing development. We owe it to ourselves to be educated about something so vital to our quality of life, and Urbanized is a good place to start… (read the full review)

Dave Robson

#2 – Senna

Directed by Asif Kapadia

Despite being almost unilaterally centered around an exceptionally technical sport, Senna manages to universalize its subject’s appeal without feeling reductive or simple-minded. Not unlike in the better entries of ESPN’s 30 for 30 series, sport itself is held here as simply an elaborate testing ground for the mechanics of human interaction; look deeply enough and you’ll spot relationships, hierarchies and prejudices as complex as the inner workings of any vehicle. Senna’s struggle with and against these “impure” forces forms the thematic crux of the movie. It’s very much to Kapadia’s credit that he’s able to communicate the universality of Senna’s life and work without resorting to cheap sentimentality. (At least, not often – the tear-jerking retrospective editing in the closing funeral sequence, while undoubtedly touching, smacks of open manipulation.) … (read the full review)

Simon Howell

Listen to our review from episode 288 of the Sound On Sight podcast

#1 – The Interrupters

Directed by Steve James

Steve James delivers his most ambitious project yet in The Interrupters, a tough and honest documentary that tells the moving and surprising stories of three Violence Interrupters who attempt to protect their Chicago neighborhoods from the violence they once employed, and reclaim their streets, one corner at a time, one person at a time. This weighty but auspicious look at how the CeaseFire movement is sweeping through the Windy City makes for a truly inspiring documentary. The Interrupters is impeccably crafted and edited, without the need of any post-production window dressing. Without even narration or talking head interviews, Steve James offers us an intense close view into the ghettos of a big city without overly dramatizing any of his subjects nor the violent situations he encounters. Each case proves emotionally overwhelming but more importantly has the power to inspire change and make you believe that change is possible. The Interrupters is possibly the most necessary film of the year – the most moving, the most tragic, and quite simply one of the best.

Ricky D

Listen to our review from episode 293 of the Sound On Sight podcast

My Comic Shop DocumentARy

Written and Directed by Anthony Desiato

USA, 2011

Located in an ordinary strip mall in Scarsdale, New York, Alternate Realities is a throwback to the pre-Internet days when comic book stores thrived. Its cramped aisles are filled with the latest releases plus memorabilia that’s unlikely to sell but adds just the right touch. This is not a clean, trendy corporate store designed to capitalize on the latest geek trends. Opened in 1992 by former lawyer Steve Oto, Alternate Realities takes on the personality of its enigmatic, intriguing owner. He entered this business after being laid off from his corporate law job, and the rest is history. The store continues to thrive today, a surprising achievement in an era when independent shops are becoming a rare commodity.

Alternate Realities is warmly depicted in Anthony Desiato’s My Comic Shop DocumentARy, an enjoyable look at its employees and customers. Arranged largely as a series of interviews, it paints an interesting picture of both the shop and the people who love it. Desiato is a third-year law student but has worked at Alternate Realities for 10 years. This personal connection is evident throughout the film and helps him to draw plenty of worthy material. It also gives him an insider’s perspective on the unique parts of the back story. He separates the movie into a series of chapters that maintain a light tone while making sure the key elements are covered.

Easily the most intriguing part of this story is Oto, a likable but perplexing guy whose personality is filled with contradictions. He pulls new releases for his customers each week and seems to care about them, but people who don’t follow his rules are declared “dead”. Oto is self-aware but makes few apologies for the way that he treats everyone. It’s obvious that the film’s participants love the guy, even while he’s driving them mad. There is one exception in Casey, a disgruntled former employee who’s not willing to overlook Oto’s flaws. To his credit, Casey is very candid and acknowledges both the positive and negative traits of the shop owner. One of the best segments presents Oto’s rules of life, listed as “Wisdom of Steve” on the Alternate Realities website. These include “SKO does not run”, which ties specifically to rushing for an arriving train, and “Never call Steve on a Wednesday”. This statement about new-release day is shared by many people in a hilarious montage of interviews. It’s worth a visit to the site just to check out this list, which offers some evidence about Oto’s complex worldview.

Two of the most entertaining chapters cover oddball characters that are legendary at Alternate Realities. The first is Jeff, the shop’s most legendary customer because of his ability to spin tall tales. His lies are very elaborate and involve SWAT teams, numerous kills, and other probable lies. No one is really sure where the truth falls within his crazy stories. The other legendary figure is Jay, an antique-store seller who spends a good deal of time at the store. This older guy is a quote machine and is clearly loved by Desiato and the gang for his grumpy demeanor. There are too many other participants to mention, but they all share a passion for comics and Alternate Realities. One highlight involves the wives and moms, who aren’t all fans of this dedication. A fun example is Sean and Marisa, who clearly doesn’t care for his interest in comics. When asked how much he should spend on comics per year, her honest response is “I think you should not buy comics.” By going inside the homes of customers, Desiato expands the story to beyond Oto and makes it a more interesting film.

My Comic Shop DocumentARy was made for a very low budget, with Desiato directing, writing, shooting, and editing the movie. This festival appearance was only its third so far, and he’s yet to find a distributor. There is a limited interest for this documentary, but its colorful cast of characters should entertain viewers beyond comic book addicts. Although it mostly uses the talking-head format, it maintains a brisk pace because the speakers are so passionate. They’re not just customers and have become friends with Oto and the other regulars. Watching them meet for dinner, it’s clear that this group has developed a bond that’s only heightened by the existence of Alternate Realities. Spanning a variety of ages and backgrounds (including a few women), they aren’t the typical comic-book geeks depicted in pop culture. They provide an example of the diverse individuals who fall into any obsession, and Oto’s shop gives them a haven to make a connection.

- Dan Heaton

Into the Abyss

Directed by Werner Herzog

Germany, Canada, 2011

Werner Herzog’s second documentary released this year is surprisingly similar to the first. Where his Cave of Forgotten Dreams looked at ancient caverns in Chauvet, the more recent Into the Abyss also excavates, but this time the subject matter is death row inmates and a vicious crime in Conroe, Texas.

When Herzog excavates it’s different than what we might consider typical documentary excavation. As his Caves less explored the history and unknown and focused instead on a metaphysical rumination of time, his Into the Abyss forgoes a classically styled investigatory piece in favor of a dissection of human nature, emptiness and, again, time.

Death row inmate Matthew Perry and his convicted accomplice Jason Burkett are only one of the many angles that Herzog lenses as he delves into the murder of Sandra Stotler, her son Adam, and his friend James Richardson. Among the other subjects are Stotler’s daughter, Burkett’s father, Richardson’s brother, and Burkett’s wife. The effect is more a meditation on the grief of the affected families on both sides than it is on the crime itself. Indeed, though the opportunity clearly arises from interview to interview, Herzog refuses to ask (or include in the finished film) any recollection or protestation regarding the actual crime.

As in his other documentaries, Herzog’s style here features very few softening dissolves. He doesn’t attempt to hide his cuts as he often jump cuts mid-interview and from subject to subject. He divides this film into chapters, including a prologue and epilogue. The music is orchestral and harrowing, and Herzog’s own voice, alongside that of his subjects’ fills the rest of the soundtrack. When Perry broaches the subject of time, Herzog jumps on it, digressing and folding his narrative away from violence, and into the nature of waiting for one’s own death.

This all adds up to something familiar to those acquainted with Herzog, yet a far cry from an A&E piece or even its likely comparable, Errol Morris’ The Thin Blue Line. Unlike these, Into the Abyss is not out to exonerate, or even inform. We learn about the details of the crime, but much, including both opinion and fact, is left intentionally unspoken. Through Herzog’s book-like, operatic aesthetic, and his line of questioning, we are instead treated to a sometimes-painful treatise on loss and sometimes-funny look at humanity.

Herzog seems truly fascinated by some of his subjects, particularly one young man vaguely connected to Burkett, whom the director awkwardly presses again and again for assurance of his current situation. Even when interviewing Perry, Herzog seems almost afraid to ask any upsetting questions, perhaps out of respect for the young man’s imminent death, perhaps because he too is unsettled by the face of death when so confronted with it.

Herzog is an expert at using found footage, and Into the Abyss is no exception. Where Errol Morris may have set out to recreate the crime, Herzog is content with looking at its remnants. Set to music or silence, crime scene video are upsetting cause and effect reminders when juxtaposed with present-day interviews; a tree growing in the middle of the red Camaro – the car at the root of the crime – is reason enough for the camera to push forward and reflect on the absurdities of past and present.

- Neal Dhand

Directed by Morgan Spurlock

USA, 2011

The film’s title feels like a desperately out-of-touch ploy to seem relevant in nerd culture, sure. But in all fairness to Mr. Spurlock, it’s also a pretty apt title. Comic-Con is all about hope, and how it can be totally weird, and how all those weird hopes you have can come true. But beyond the omnipresence of Storm Troopers and Princess Leias, this doc has nothing to do with Star Wars.

Morgan Spurlock, along with Joss Whedon, Harry Knowles, and Stan Lee, put this doc together as a means of bringing the cultural hurricane that is Comic-Con to audiences everywhere. And Comic-Con is a truly bizarre success story. Beginning as a modest comic convention in San Diego, the growth and attention it has gotten in recent years is unprecedented. And so Spurlock and co. took a team of cameramen to Comic-Con 2010 to capture what is now the annual summit of pop-cultural obsession. And what they came up with is an inspirational, loving portrait of ambition on the fringe.

The doc follows one comic dealer, two prospective comic illustrators, a costume designer and her team, a collector, and an inseparable young couple. Each attendee has come across the country to follow their unique calling and it is damned inspirational to see–be it purchasing the new Galactus action figure or winning the Comic-Con masquerade performance. It’s a real tribute to the pure humanity on display here that a costumed performance of a scene from Mass Effect 2 is more than a passing absurdity; it is an emotional wallop.

Spurlock haters will be pleased to learn that the man is not on screen once. This film is pure documentation. Intercut within the greater emotional journeys are interviews with famous folks and costumed festival attendees. Joss Whedon, king of the nerds, gets a good helping of screen time, as does Kevin Smith who shows up to remind everyone that Kevin Smith is hilarious. Comic-Con largely avoids becoming a string of talking-heads, though, and Spurlock does a remarkable job of balancing his chosen protagonists with random festival chatter. This is an insightful and moving peak into a world that many of us will never get to experience.

By no means is this required viewing, but it is joyful, inspiring filmmaking. Several times during the film I found myself wishing Spurlock had produced this as a TV Miniseries so that he could go into more depth, and introduce more odd festival-goers. In the end, Comic-Con is a reminder that unstoppable passion, no matter what it is, in the face of societal constructs is one of the most beautiful human qualities.

-Emmet Duff

Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory

Directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky

2011, USA

The cameras and filmmakers are plainly visible in Paradise Lost 3: Purgatory, the third, and likely last, documentary on the West Memphis Three from Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky. The two previous Paradise Lost films have been a major driving force in galvanizing the movement that has supported Damien Echols, Jason Baldwin and Jessie Misskelley since they were convicted of the horrific murders of three young boys in 1993. The documentary itself has become a part of the story, and here the cameras turn on the two filmmakers and their crew, without whom it is safe to say that new evidence would not have come to light that led to the three men being released form prison after 18 years and 78 days.

Paradise 3 begins by taking us back to the murders in the Robin Hood Hills area of West Memphis, Arkansas, where the battered, desecrated bodies of Stevie Branch, Michael Moore, and Christopher Beyers were found next to a creek bed. We move through the trial of Echols, Baldwin, and Misskelley, in which the men (then still teenagers) were first suspected of satanic activity because they wore black and listened to heavy metal, and then convicted in a panic on no physical evidence and a false confession by Misskelley (who is mentally disabled) given under severe duress.

The progressing of time is marked by the changing formats and quality of Berlinger and Sinofsky’s footage, which they have been shooting almost on and off since the initial arrests. But the most startling images of just how long this case has been going on are of the Three themselves. Each has the same face as they did when they were teens, but that face now sits uncomfortably on a middle-aged body that has been extra worn by prison. “It’s strange to be told that I have arthritis or see my hairline receding, “ Echols says. “In my mind I’m still the same as the day I came in.”

The film lacks the visual formalism of Errol Morris, but it has a wooly, impassioned energy that raises it far above the average advocacy documentary. It’s also brilliantly structured, and cut together to make the numerous depositions and explanations of the rules of evidence coherent, even riveting. The film guides us through the wealth of new forensic findings, as well as exploring other possible suspects, most notably Terry Hobbes, the stepfather of Stevie Branch, who was likely the last person to see the three little boys alive. Most amazing, though, is the radical change that John Michael Beyers has undergone. In the first film, Beyers, the father of Christopher, was almost psychotically consumed with hate for the West Memphis Three, a hate that was further inflamed when Echols publically accused him of committing the murders (a possible, but since discredited, murder weapon was found in his possession). But Beyers is now one of the Three’s biggest advocates. Convinced by DNA testing, he is now as fanatical about their innocence as he was their guilt. “It was hard to admit that I was wrong,” Beyers says, “But I was wrong.”

If only the state of Arkansas could make such an admission. After the State Supreme Court finally granted an evidentiary hearing to consider the new findings – a hearing that would have almost certainly led to a new trial and an acquittal – prosecutors and a trial judge offered the Three the chance to enter an Alfred Plea, under which the men would enter guilty pleas, but be allowed to maintain their innocence and be released with time served. It is an abhorrent tactic that insulates the state from having to admit that they took away three more young lives on top of those three that were murdered. Not all of the Three were eager to accept the plea. Jesse Baldwin says he was absolutely against it, but went along for Damien Echols’s sake, who was still on death row at the time they were released. One of the final images of the film is of the two men hugging, and it is remarkable that they can still feel any love at all after what they have been through. I freely admit I teared up as Metallica played over the credits.

Louis Godfrey

Visit the official website for the New York Film Festival

The Last Gladiators

Directed by Alex Gibney

2011, USA, 94 minutes

This documentary is for hockey fans only, and by God, will hockey fans love it. The enforcer is a controversial role in hockey, beloved by fans but derided by the evening news. “Gretzky never punches anyone,” they cluck. They forget. For Gretzky to score goals, guys like Dave “Cementhead” Semenko needed to watch his back. Park biography, part history, part psychological profile, and part love letter, The Last Gladiators is the documentary NHL enforcers have been waiting for.

Director Alex Gibney does two things: he explains the role of enforcer using coaches, sports journalists, managers, and players (such as Tony Twist, Marty McSorley, and Donald Bashear), and he follows the life of storied NHL enforcer Chris Nilan. The former is a tall order, but he pulls it off. Through the words of the people who love the game, the documentary explains the role of the enforcer, the type of player to takes the job, the heavy psychological pressure they deal with, the fear of being traded, and how hard it is to end their careers. There is a lot of really strong game footage, especially from the Broadstreet Bully era. Gibney takes care to cover major events in the history of the game, such as the McSorley/Brashear hit. He even talks about Slap Shot. Sometimes The Last Gladiators feels like a boxing film and you forget that there’s a game on. This film has some of the best hits in NHL history and yeah, there’s blood.

The second major thread of this film, following Chris Nilan, is good for the first two thirds but begins to drag by the end. As an interview subject, Nilan is great. He’s honest in a way that few sportsmen are, completely willing to talk about his trouble becoming “more than an enforcer,” about clashes with coaches, and about post-career drug abuse. Of course, like most biography, the film is guilty of bravado and crosses into sentimental territory. Then again, for the right sort of person, hockey is a sentimental game. That isn’t the problem. The problem is that two-thirds of the way through the film, Gibney focuses on Nilan alone and the story drags. Drugs, crisis, redemption, the long road ahead—the thing is, we know how that story goes, even if we don’t know much about Nilan.

The Last Gladiators is a must-see for hockey fans, preferably before the beginning of October. It’s a film that pays enforcers their due, and that’s really the best a puck-head can ask for.

Dave Robson

The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8^th to the 18^th. Tickets, schedules, and other information can be found on the festival’s website.

Samsara

Directed by Ron Fricke

Written by Ron Fricke & Mark Magidson

USA, 2011

Covering TIFF has been a privilege for many reasons, but particularly for the opportunity to screen Ron Fricke’s awe-inspiring Samsara. The follow-up to 1992′s breathtaking Baraka, Fricke surpasses even that great film with an effort that can only be described in superlatives, and with what sounds like hyperbole, but isn’t. Like Baraka before it, Samasra is something akin to a human-centric, arthouse Planet Earth, surveying the globe in a series of astonishing, dialogue-free, 70mm vistas, and underscored by a mixture of traditional instrumental and choral music. Fricke further demonstrates his mastery of time-lapse imagery, a technique that invests even familiar sights – say a helicopter shot of an L.A. freeway – with a hypnotic, organic rhythm. That Samsara is instantly one of the most visually-stunning films in the history of cinema is reason enough to cherish it, but Fricke and co-editor Mark Magidson achieve truly profound juxtapositions, brimming with meaning and emotion. It sounds preposterous, but it’s true: In 99 minutes, Samsara achieves something approaching a comprehensive portrait of the totality of human experience. If you’re even remotely fond of being alive, Samsara is not to be missed.

Jullian Carrington

The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8^th to the 18^th. Tickets, schedules, and other information can be found on the festival’s website.

Urbanized

Directed by Gary Hustwit

2011, USA/United Kingdom, 82 minutes

I expect that fans of director Gary Hustwit’s previous films Helvetica and Objectified are already making plans to see his latest work. They won’t be disappointed. The audience at Friday’s screening certainly wasn’t. Observing the sea of people armed with library books, copies of The New Yorker, and NPR on iPods, Hustwit remarked that the output of Toronto’s creative community had been brought to a halt. To everyone else, then: the object of this review is to convince you that Urbanized is a witty, informed, and essential examination of one of the world’s most vital issues.

This documentary is a heady (but not at all overwhelming) mix. Urban design experts—architects, developers, city planners, academics, urban activists, and more—discuss their part of the field over slick cinematography featuring the some of world’s most iconic cities. The result is part theory, part history, and part case study. It is hyper-informative, but not at wit’s expense. After Sheela Patel, a Mumbai housing advocate, presents a litany of sewage statistics and relates the municipal government’s belief that more toilets would attract more people, she quips, “As if people come to shit.” That bit brought the house down, and Urbanized has plenty of moments like that.

Aside from intellect and wit, the cast (which is prodigious, in number and thoughtfulness) is supremely passionate about making the case for good urban design. Venerable architect Oscar Niemeyer (age one hundred and four) makes his case for Brasília’s spacious planning, despite his colleague’s preference for centralisation. Bogota’s populist former mayor Enrique Peñalosa chuckles that the right to park is not in any national constitution and champions his system of modern buses and dedicated bike lanes. Sicelo Nkohla of VPUU (Violence Prevention through Urban Upgrading) explains how they reduced the crime rate in a South African township by relocating and improving the area’s main pedestrian walkway. And of course, patron saint of Toronto Jane Jacobs is celebrated, despite her absence.

That said, the film’s fair play might be lost on some audiences. During the Q&A, a young man misidentified Urbanized as a manifesto. This is an unfortunate way of looking at the film. Obviously, a documentary about urbanism describes (and frequently identifies with) certain values, but Hustwit is clear that this is a film that presents options and ideas, not one that promotes one solution over another. He is also especially clear that urban design involves struggle between competing values and conclusions. The best example of this is his even-handed portrayal of the Stuttgart21 project; spokesmen for and against, and their supporters, all have a chance to make their case. Then again, I suppose some audiences can see what they want to see.

It is tough to overstate the importance of urban design in a rapidly urbanizing world. Every single person who lives in a town or city has grappled with the issue, at least indirectly, at one point or another. Even my parents in rural Alberta are fighting an incoming housing development. We owe it to ourselves to be educated about something so vital to our quality of life, and Urbanized is a good place to start.

-       Dave Robson

The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8^th to the 18^th. Tickets, schedules, and other information can be found on the festival’s website.

The Boy Who Was a King

Directed by Andrey Paounov

2011, Bulgaria/Germany, 90 mins.

Based on its subject alone, The Boy Who Was a King should be an interesting film. Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha was a boy of only six when he became Tsar of Bulgaria in the middle of the Second World War. He was nine when he was deposed by the communists and exiled. Finally, he is one of few monarchs to regain power not through violence, but through the ballot box when he was elected Prime Minister of Bulgaria in 2001. His life is an incredible one; it is a shame that this film does not quite do it justice.

Watching The Boy Who Was a King is a mixed experience. Like most historical documentaries, it is primarily a mix of archival footage and present day interviews (though it would be remiss to not mention a rather quirky puppet show about the Tsar’s treatment at the hands of the communists). The archival footage is easily the best part of the film and is drawn from all stages of Simeon’s life—from the Tsar as a small boy inspecting the troops to the ex-Tsar’s return from exile. Simeon occasionally provides commentary.

A particularly charming example is in order: when Simeon was a young boy, a general who commanded the air force gave him a pedal plane. For his very first phone conversation, Simeon thanked the general—and then hung up, because he was nervous and couldn’t think of what else to say. Simeon’s father was furious.

That said, the film also consists of a great deal of footage that is mostly peripheral and entirely too protracted anyway. We hear from a taxidermist, some Bulgarians on the Nile, an immigrant Japanese couple, and more, all ad nauseum. That last bit is the problem. Were their segments short and to the point, the taxidermist and Japanese immigrants could be quirky tidbits in an interesting milieu. However, their segments are long and beside the point, and watching them is strenuous exercise. This is a film that doesn’t know what the keep, and what to throw away.

This is not to say that The Boy Who Was a King lacks appeal—merely that its appeal has been unnecessarily limited to an audience with great patience. This is a shame. Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha’s story is an interesting one, if inexpertly told.

-       Dave Robson

The Toronto International Film Festival runs from September 8^th to the 18^th. Tickets, schedules, and other information can be found on the festival’s website.

First Position

Directed by Bess Kargman

2011, USA, 90 mins.

There are few joys in the world like watching someone who is extremely talented do what they love. This is the best thing First Position has to recommend it. The film follows a handful of ballet dancers, ages eleven through seventeen, as they train to compete in one of the most prestigious ballet competitions in the world: the Youth America Grand Prix in New York.

I realise that ‘talented’ is an adjective frequently and carelessly thrown about—especially when it concerns children. Here are some others: world-class, incredible, and brilliant. Overused though they are, when applied to the youths featured in First Position, these words are apt.

It Takes a Village to Train a Dancer

Beautifully shot and evenly paced, First Position showcases seven young ballet dancers and how their lives are devoted to ballet. Director Bess Kargman avoids an appearance (though uses title cards, sparingly, when appropriate), but expands the cast to include the dancer’s families, teachers, choreographers, and judges. Though she casts a wide net, Kargman is careful to include only the most essential commentary. She frequently complements her cast’s words with beautiful shots of dancing and juxtaposes them with more candid and vulnerable moments.

It is perhaps trite to say that a film about an aesthetic discipline looks beautiful, but First Position does. It certainly helps that dancers are well lit, but more to the point, Kargman keeps her cinematography simple. To be too clever would distract from the dancing.

Young Professionals

This film reminds me of two other documentaries released this year: Hollywood Complex, in that it’s about youth competing for a spot in a demanding industry, and Fightville, in that it’s about the hard work and sacrifice necessary to be the best at something. Of course, packaging hard work, talent, and sacrifice in the form of youth makes First Position different. The stakes seem higher. The odds seem longer. The reward seems more essential.

That said, my main criticism of the film (spoilers ahead) is this: it mainly follows dancers who become successful. That sounds like an awful thing to say, but success means less if we don’t also see failure. The tension of the film is built on the premise that few succeed—in an earlier regional qualifying round, three dancers out of three hundred qualify to compete in New York. That tension is lost when six out of the seven dancers followed either win something or land jobs. It is an oddly sugary ending to what had up until that point been a fairly blunt film. There is a moment when another dancer falls and runs off stage. In my mind, his story is interesting too—and the film misses an opportunity by not telling it.

There, spoilers over. My criticism aside, First Position is an enjoyable look inside the competitive world of ballet. In my mind, the talent of the dancers alone recommends the film.

- Dave Robson

The Toronto International Film Festival runs September 8 – 18th