The Panorama sidebar at this year’s Berlinale overflows with documentaries. Especially documentaries about either a) gay life around the world or b) downtown New York during the 1980s. Both of which, some might say, are closely related. As well as portraits of Warhol superstars and stories of gay life in Paraguay, there’s a search for enlightenment David Lynch-style and a new film from the director of Control Room. Click on the title for trailers and other clips.
Alle meine Stehaufmädchen – Von Frauen, die sich was trauen (All My Tumbler Girls Or All About Women Who Dare To…)
Ever wonder what it’s like being a woman over 40 living in Berlin? Lothar Lambert did, so he went out and interviewed 11 associates. Although well-known in Germany, friends like photographer Erika Rabau and painter Evelyn Sommerhoff may not mean a lot to international audiences. Lambert’s doc highlights the common threads of their lives as well as the differences. Fun fact lazily obtained from Wikipedia: The name “Berlin” is possibly derived from “Berl,” an Old Polabian stem meaning “swamp.”
Klaus Nomi fans will recognize Joey Arias’s name. He was the singer’s confidant during the Lower East Side’s ‘80s heyday. Since his lover’s death Arias has emerged as a formidable performance artist in his own right. Bobby Sheehan documents his collaboration with puppeteer Basil Twist on Arias With a Twist and digs up related footage that featuring Jim Henson and Andy Warhol. Fun fact lazily obtained from Wikipedia: While working at the Fiorucci boutique, Arias took part in the first live display in the shop’s windows.
Filmmaker Neil Diamond takes to the road to examine the portrayal of Native Americans on film. No, not that Neil Diamond. From The Battle at Elderbush Gulch to Dances With Wolves and beyond, this documentary exposes the numerous crimes suffered by the First Nations. They include William Shatner. Among the revelations: it’s not easy to find a genuine Indian in Hollywood and Graham Greene doesn’t speak Lakota. Contributors include Clint Eastwood and Jim Jarmusch. Co-directed and co-written by Catherine Bainbridge. Visit the movie’s YouTube channel to see more examples of filmmaking at its worst.
Poor Tribeca International Film Festival. They release their slate to great fanfare and all they get are a bunch of people saying that the recession has made movie-going no fun and another handful of cineastes wondering how to fill up the last two weeks in April. So they’ve decided to toss out a few more feature-length bones to remind us that watching Uzbek animation and Ben Lyons being ushered to the front of the line can be a wonderful thing. If not quite as wonderful as ice cream. The new line-up includes films from Steven Soderbergh, Eric Bana, and Cheryl Hines; a star turn from John Hurt and a woman who has done oral; a biting British satire; and two trawls through the nether world of New York film-making. More after the jump! (more…)
Jim Jarmusch leads a termite life, and that probably suits him just fine. His work may never be truly appreciated until he’s no longer around. His second and third films formed such an indelible impression of who he is as an artist that every subsequent attempt to do something different is merely disregarded. He is a filmmaker of return, cloaking his obsession with certain imagery and ideas with a need to constantly be exploring new (physical) territory. His tenth film, The Limits of Control, now has a trailer.
Jarmusch has his recurring themes and motifs that he riffs around. The notion of a “road movie” is no more of a cliche to him than a familiar chord sequence might be to a jazz musician. It’s not the core that’s important, it’s what happens around it. Both Night on Earth and Coffee and Cigarettes were built around the model of theme with variations. (more…)
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