Viewing at home has never been more
popular in these times. On TV, Turner
Classic Movies (TCM) is a treasure trove of older classics. A while back I watched the four-hour 1963 epic
Cleopatra that starred Elizabeth
Taylor and Richard Burton. Possibly the
most expensive movie ever made, the extravagant scene of Cleopatra’s entry in
Rome (which actually happened in 46BC) is something to behold. For deprived theatre goers, Britain’s
National Theatre has been presenting acclaimed full-length plays every Thursday
on its YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUDq1XzCY0NIOYVJvEMQjqw?sub_confirmation=1
(free to watch for one week). The May 7
offering was Antony & Cleopatra with
the great Ralph Fiennes.
Here are more viewing choices:
Capital in the Twenty-First Century
(France/New
Zealand 2019, Kino Lorber on demand) A
French economist Thomas Piketty just
turned 49 a few days ago but has already produced two of the most important
works of political economy of recent decades.
Capital in the Twenty-First
Century, first published in French in 2013, became an international
bestseller. (I’ve also read the second, Capital
and Ideology, an even more expansive and impressive analysis of inequality
regimes and egalitarian remedies, published in English translation early this
year.) Director Justin Pemberton’s documentary isn’t a substitute for reading
the book but does offer a bracing introduction to Piketty’s themes of how to
address increasing socioeconomic inequities.
With theatres closed, the documentary can be viewed online until June 5
via the Toronto HotDocs virtual cinema portal at:
See also these reviews:
More on the controversy over Planet
of the Humans
Hollywood (2020,
7 episodes, Netflix) B+
This imaginative alternate history of
the Hollywood scene in the early postwar period, which liberally mixes fact and
fancy, has elicited very divided reactions.
Mine is overall positive. Fictional
characters and situations are introduced alongside recognizable names and
places. The studio system narrative plays with layers of sexist, racist and
secret gay life tropes. A service
station run by Ernie West (Dylan McDermott) and staffed by handsome young men
is a cover for a prostitution ring that swings both ways. Aspiring actor Jack Costello (David
Corenswet) becomes the client of the studio boss’s wife Avis Amberg (Patti
LuPone in fine form). African-American screenwriter Archie (Jeremy Pope) becomes
the lover of Rock Hudson (Jake Picking).
Jim Parsons plays Henry Willson, a sleazy weasel-like gay agent. After studio boss Ace Amberg (Rob Reiner) expires,
Avis manages to seize control. A further subplot saves the production footage
of a Hollywood tragedy “Meg”, written by Archie, with big roles for Jack and
Camille (Laura Harrier), the African-American wife of its director Raymond
Ainsley (Darren Criss). Melodramas intersect, culminating in a final episode’s
celebratory Academy Awards night that never was. Suspension of belief underlies the
satisfaction. For more comment see:
The Half of It (U.S. 2020, Netflix) A
This excellent semi-autobiographical feature
from writer-director Alice Wu (only her second after a 2004 debut) opens with a
bit of animation and a quote from Plato’s Symposium:
“Love is simply the name for the desire and pursuit of the whole.” Set in the fictional town of Squahamish,
Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) is a bright high-school student who converses in Chinese
with her widower father. She earns money
by writing papers for classmates. A
tongue-tied jock named Paul (Daniel Diemer) pays her $50 to compose love
letters to the lovely Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire). The thing is, Aster is also Ellie’s secret
object of desire. Young adult romantic dramedy acquires a queer twist, adding clever
literary references (Cyrano, Sartre, Wilde) and a cinematic nod to “Wings of
Desire” (my favorite movie of all time). It’s a winning combination that earned
the top prize at April’s Tribeca festival (although the event was cancelled,
its jury reviewed all selections and awarded prizes).
Becoming (U.S.
2020, Netflix) B+
Director Nadia Hallgren’s documentary is
an admiring profile of former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama who grew up on the
south side of Chicago before becoming a successful lawyer. She met future husband and president Barack
Obama at Harvard. A good deal of the
film follows Michelle’s tour for her eponymous bestselling 2018 memoir. We meet
her mother and brother, and her closest associates. We get glimpses into the challenges of
political campaigns, and of course those of being married with two teenage daughters
to the first African-American U.S. president.
The Obamas were sometimes the target of racist invective and subject to
relentless scrutiny. Although there are no startling revelations, this portrait
of Michelle is a reminder of when the White House was marked by a sense of
intelligence, composure and grace. (Barack makes only a cameo appearance in the
film. He has recently spoken out on the
tragedy of the U.S. pandemic response:
Director Daniel Birman’s documentary
tells the story of Nashville teenager Cyntoia Brown who was only 16 in 2004
when she shot and killed a real-estate agent Johnny Allen in his home. At the time, she was a disturbed runaway
engaged in prostitution for a violent pimp and using drugs. Her case was moved to adult court where the
jury, unconvinced by a dubious self-defence claim, convicted her of robbery and
first degree murder. Under harsh
Tennessee law that meant a life sentence with no parole for 51 years. In prison Cyntoia became a university student
and attracted celebrity advocates for clemency.
We meet her biological mother (who indicates a family history of abuse
and mental illness) and her African-American adoptive mother. But the larger focus
is on the work of lawyers appealing on her behalf. (They make the case that she suffered from
fetal alcohol spectrum disorder.) Years
of legal representations were unsuccessful until 2019 when outgoing governor
Bill Haslam commuted her sentence to 15 years plus ten of parole. She was released from prison in August
2019. While Brown’s transformation is
remarkable, and 51 years without parole is a manifestly unjust sentence for a
minor to receive, the film gives rather short shrift to the murder victim, glossing
over some controversial aspects. (For
more details on the case see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyntoia_Brown.)
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