Marlene (1983): Irrepressible M. Dietrich, interviewed at age 80+, reflects on film, fame and anti-fascism. Dir. Max Schell reconstructed scene of audio interview and complemented with hist. footage for portrait of this trans-Atlantic Berlinerin‘s epoch-spanning career. (Kanopy)
— Historically Brief Film Reviews (@brieflyhistoric) February 23, 2023
Les glaneurs et la glaneuse (2000): Agnès Varda looks at gleaning of fields/orchards/vineyards, dumpster diving, and other strategies of the poor for getting by. Engaging and politically engaged documentary on a serious topic, but full of humor, playfulness, & reflection (Kanopy)
— Historically Brief Film Reviews (@brieflyhistoric) February 5, 2023
Cameraperson (2016): K. Johnson assembled this montage of footage from documentaries she filmed in Bosnia, Kosovo, Afghanistan, but also life in WY & NYC. Invites us to think about how doc makers(/viewers?) process trauma they observe and integrate others‘ experiences into life.
— Historically Brief Film Reviews (@brieflyhistoric) January 1, 2023
Dark Days – 2000 documentary following homeless residents of an NYC subway tunnel as they build makeshift homes, sift trash for items to sell and clean food to eat, defend themselves from rats and fight against eviction. Stunning glimpse of society’s abandoned somehow getting by.
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) November 2, 2022
Stories We Tell (2012): Classic doc in which dir. Sarah Polley explores through interviews her mother’s polyamory and how it was hidden away in 1970s Canada. A powerful, multi-perspectival reflection on family, narrative and the question of who has the right to tell what stories.
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) September 24, 2022
Hotel Jugoslavija (2017, dir. N. Wagnières): Yugoslavia seen through the prism of architecture, but more nostalgia than history. Beautiful shots of the eponymous hotel, voiceover, archive footage, and short interviews mourn a landmark and a country lost in transformation and war.
— Andrew Tompkins (@a_s_tompkins) September 17, 2022