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Knocking the House, Grace, Grizzlies, and High Life


The juggernaut of Avengers: Endgame may be sucking up most of the space at the multiplex.  But it’s heartening to see an impressive Canadian film The Grizzlies getting a decently wide release. And read on for the best new documentary addition on Netflix.  As well, an update to my previous post—the superb South Korean drama Burning is also now streaming on Netflix.  

Knock Down the House (https://knockdownthehouse.com/)
Look no further to see why Netflix has become a game changer for documentary film.  Since May 1 this inspiring feature is available on the streaming giant, thereby accessible to millions.
Writer-director-producer-cinematographer Rachel Lears goes behind the scenes of insurgent grassroots campaigns challenging party bosses and establishment U.S. Congressional Democratic incumbents (‘rich white dudes in suits”, none of whom agreed to be interviewed) with ties to corporate interests. The focus is on strong women from diverse backgrounds, including several in states won by Trump in 2016 (West Virginia, Missouri). These outsiders are supported by energized movements such as Justice Democrats, Brand New House, and Netroots Nation.  However only one, Alexandria Octavio-Cortez, wins the primary vote, in a safe New York district.  Not surprisingly, she has gone on to become a star candidate, as well as a target of the right given her election to the House in November 2018 and promotion of transformative progressive initiatives such as the “Green New Deal” (https://ocasio-cortez.house.gov/gnd).  
            The film only takes us through the 2018 primary season and the expectations it created. That’s enough to give us a sense of this empowering groundswell and of the courageous compelling positive character of Octavio-Cortez, the former waitress turned working-class giant killer and ideas generator. Her people-first approach (“Big money is very lonely, and we’ve got people on our side”) is the antithesis of the toxic Trumpian populism that manipulates the fear and loathing of crowds while serving the 1%.  At Sundance Knock Down the House took the U.S. documentary audience award and was chosen as “festival favorite”.  It deserves the 100% rating on rottentomatoes.com. Those who despair of democracy take note.  A
It’s taken 47 years for this concert footage to reach the big screen.  In 1972 Warner Bros hired the late Sydney Pollack to film Aretha Franklin singing gospel songs over two nights at an L.A. Baptist church, backed by the Southern California Community Choir.  The audio recording became the best-selling gospel album ever, but technical problems shelved the planned film for decades, then recent year’s legal issues resulted in a further delay.  Franklin, who died in 2018, was already a huge pop star at the time, but this return to the traditional religious music of her roots reaches truly soul-stirring heights.  The daughter of a Baptist minister, her father was present on the second night and spoke briefly to a throng vibrating with the emotional power of her voice—sometimes shown in tight close-up—and a throbbing piano and choral accompaniment.  Grainy images aside, the film captures an extraordinary moment in the singer’s legendary career. A 2006 historical drama with the same title depicted William Wilberforce’s campaign in the British Parliament to outlaw the slave trade.  In America, gospel music emerged from the “Negro spirituals” of the descendants of slaves, and this Amazing Grace is a posthumous tribute to a great African American artist whose talent did indeed overcome.   A-
Director Miranda de Pencier’s first feature didn’t win anything at the Canadian screen awards but, based on actual events, it’s one of the best Canadian dramas I’ve seen in years. It earned the audience award at the 2019 Palm Springs International Film Festival, which is a long way from the Canadian Arctic—specifically the small town of Kugluktuk, Nunavut’s westernmost fly-in community at the mouth of the Coppermine river.  After archival images of Inuit children in regimented residential schools, the opening scene is of a teen suicide (the territory has the continent’s highest suicide rate). The local high school often imports teachers from the south, which is how a young Russ Sheppard (Ben Schnetzer) arrives and quickly gets some rude awakenings from skeptical students, the principal Janace (veteran Indigenous actress Tantoo Cardinal), and locals who’ve seen other naïve outsiders come and go.  Russ, though already seeking better opportunities, decides to bear down instead of just going through the motions. He’ll use his college lacrosse-laying skills to get his class motivated through sport, creating a house league, and then a team “The Grizzlies”, that actually traveled to the national championships in Toronto in 2005.
            This is no rose-coloured inspirational story, however. Troubles abound—domestic violence, substance abuse, generational trauma, and more tragic youth suicides (everyone in Kugluktuk has lost loved ones). As harsh as the climate, obstacles arise at every turn.  Yet Russ will keep his promise and find a reason to stay. Something heartfelt is accomplished despite all the heartache. The performances by the young Inuit actors are outstanding, including Emerald MacDonald in the role of Miranda, a shy student who becomes Russ’s assistant.  A  
 High Life (France/UK/Germany/Poland/U.S. https://a24films.com/films/high-life)
This very strange first English-language feature by veteran French director Claire Denis stars Robert Pattinson as Monte, an astronaut caring for a baby girl, apparently the sole survivors of a doomed space mission that has left our solar system en route to harnessing the energy of the nearest black hole, if that makes any sense.  Flashbacks show a larger crew, apparently made up of no-hope prisoners, and a long-haired Dr. Dibs (Juliette Binoche) whose role seems centred on breeding efforts and sexual release. Creepy incidents include a violent attempted rape. As bizarre and baffling as those elements are, this is outer space sci-fi at its most deranged.  It may be unusual and arresting as a cinematic experiment, but I have no idea what it means.  B

  




    

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