MIFF Day 5
The English Surgeon
A great documentary about an English brain surgeon who also works in the Ukraine, helping one of his counterparts there to advance the state of neurosurgery there. An understated character study of a man who is incredibly gifted, but has to wrestle with the fact that he makes life and death decisions for people on a daily basis.
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
I'm still waiting for someone to jump out and say it's all a hoax. But apparently it's not. But this story of a metal band who almost made it, didn't, and kept on going for 30 years anyhow feels like a scam. I mean, the drummer's name is Robb Reiner, how much of a coincidence is that? Still, it doesn't matter, the film is great and a wonderful testament to the never-say-die attitude of the vast majority of artists who never make a cent from their art, but do it anyway because if they didn't, they would stop being who they are. A good film about the cost of following your dreams.
The Night James Brown Saved Boston
VH1 doco about the night after Martin Luther King was assassinated. Riots were destroying huge sections of major cities, and Boston looked to be in for the same. Then they televised James Brown in concert, and everyone stayed home to watch him. It launched him into a political arena he'd avoided, but he rose to the challenge. It's not the most well-made of documentaries, its focus is a bit diffuse, trying to say too many things at once without enough structure to support all the different voices. But it's a good record of something that proved pivotal in turning away the violence that broke out on the streets following Dr King's murder.
A great documentary about an English brain surgeon who also works in the Ukraine, helping one of his counterparts there to advance the state of neurosurgery there. An understated character study of a man who is incredibly gifted, but has to wrestle with the fact that he makes life and death decisions for people on a daily basis.
Anvil! The Story of Anvil
I'm still waiting for someone to jump out and say it's all a hoax. But apparently it's not. But this story of a metal band who almost made it, didn't, and kept on going for 30 years anyhow feels like a scam. I mean, the drummer's name is Robb Reiner, how much of a coincidence is that? Still, it doesn't matter, the film is great and a wonderful testament to the never-say-die attitude of the vast majority of artists who never make a cent from their art, but do it anyway because if they didn't, they would stop being who they are. A good film about the cost of following your dreams.
The Night James Brown Saved Boston
VH1 doco about the night after Martin Luther King was assassinated. Riots were destroying huge sections of major cities, and Boston looked to be in for the same. Then they televised James Brown in concert, and everyone stayed home to watch him. It launched him into a political arena he'd avoided, but he rose to the challenge. It's not the most well-made of documentaries, its focus is a bit diffuse, trying to say too many things at once without enough structure to support all the different voices. But it's a good record of something that proved pivotal in turning away the violence that broke out on the streets following Dr King's murder.
posted by Andrew Lee at 12:59 AM
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