I am getting back to reality after a two-week holiday stint spent relaxing with my husband, watching movies, eating and drinking with friends and sleeping longer than usual.
I am sure you all indulged in your own version of that as well. To that, I say cheers and well done!
Well good morning 2011, now it is time to get back into the swing of things and start anew. Whatever that means, right?
I realize I have been straying away from fashion posts but I go with what I feel and lately I have been digging a bit deeper and looking outside of the “what to wear” scope. (Hope you don’t mind) I promise there is more fashion on the horizon.
Anyway, as with most things in my life, I lean toward the uncontrived and what is more organic and real than documentaries? They evoke real emotions and shed light on people, places and events that otherwise would remain unknown.
I consider myself a connoisseur of the arts in general, (if you haven’t already picked up on that) and think these should land in your “What to Watch” queue for the cold and sometimes listless month of January.
Luella says…Document Everything.
Exit Through the Gift Shop
“This is the inside story of Street Art – a brutal and revealing account of what happens when fame, money and vandalism collide. Exit Through the Gift Shop follows an eccentric shop-keeper turned amateur film-maker as he attempts to capture many of the world’s most infamous vandals on camera, only to have a British stencil artist named Banksy turn the camcorder back on its owner with wildly unexpected results.”
Surfwise
According to the NEW YORK TIMES, “There are many different ways to drop off the grid, but few dropped off with such style and urgency as Dorian Paskowitz, the paterfamilias of what is lovingly and at times enviably described as the first family of surfing. It was an intensity in part born of his passionately felt engagement with history as a Jew, which took him from Stanford Medical School in the 1940s to button-down respectability in the 1950s and, thereafter, on the road and into the blue yonder with a devoted wife, nine children, a succession of battered campers and the surfboards that were by turns the family’s cradles, playpens, lifelines and shields.”
Funky Monks
One reviewer writes, “this independent production in living black & white was shot of the Red Hot Chili Peppers as they became “Funky Monks” with producer extraordinaire Rick Rubin and retreated to a virtual monastery of an empty house in the hills above L.A. to record their greatest musical achievement ever, 1991’s “Blood Sugar Sex Magik”.
The personality of L.A. is every bit as much the star of this film as is the personalities of the Chili Peppers themselves. The feel of the town is everywhere, from the record offices where the executives explain the concept behind the recording taking place in the fashion it did to the locations where Anthony is interviewed regarding the lyrics of “Under The Bridge” to the wrap party that is held at the house once the recording has been completed…the soul of Los Angeles (such as it is) and the symbiotic association it has with the band are factors that set this filmed “making of” documentary a step above all the others; there is much more than four guys in a studio and a producer in a booth…it is an encapsulation of a city and its most identifiable band, frozen in time forever.”
Helvetica
Gary Huswit says, “Helvetica is a feature-length independent film about typography, graphic design and global visual culture. It looks at the proliferation of one typeface (which celebrated its 50th birthday in 2007) as part of a larger conversation about the way type affects our lives. The film is an exploration of urban spaces in major cities and the type that inhabits them, and a fluid discussion with renowned designers about their work, the creative process, and the choices and aesthetics behind their use of type.”
So watch the above documentaries and let me know what you think. We found them profound in their own subjects.
There is also something very appealing to have the opportunity to see things for myself, a peek behind the curtain if you will. What would your life’s documentary be about?
Related Articles
- Waiting For Superman, Inside Job, Exit Through The Gift Shop Make Oscar Doc Shortlist (cinemablend.com)
- Unsung Heroes: The Editing of Exit Through the Gift Shop (filmexperience.blogspot.com)
- “Can We Talk?” The Documentary SnubFest… I Mean Shortlist. (filmexperience.blogspot.com)
Luella says... 
