MIFF Day 1
I sat down in the cinema and it was like the last year hadn't happened. The same faces, the same seats, the same queues. Sometimes it seems like only the sponsors change. But it's a new year, a new Festival Director and a new lineup of movies. It's off to a good start too!
SENNA
Made up of racing footage, interviews and home movies taken while Ayrton Senna was still living, this is an excellent documentary for the fan or the uninitiated alike. Director Asif Kapadia charts Senna's rise from a go-cart racer to the king of Formula One, his rivalry with Alain Prost and the politics of the world he inhabited. The insight into the behind-the-scenes machinations of Formula One is fascinating, with Senna and Prost's competition providing the narrative to frame the game behind the sport. And seeing footage taken from Senna's race cam on a big screen is exhilarating, and a must for racing fans. You really appreciate the skill and reflexes involved when you're thrown into the driver's seat like that. It borders on hagiography, but it's a great doco.
POOL PARTY
What starts off feeling like a bubblegum doco about a bunch of concerts held in an abandoned public pool in Brooklyn surprises as it expands into a really thoughtful examination of gentrification and sense of community. The McCarren pool was built in the 30s, and eventually abandoned in the 70s. A group of activists campaigned for it's renewal, but were shouted down by local residents who feared a revitalised pool would draw in "undesireables" from the housing projects in nearby suburbs. So instead it was abandoned, until artists and hipsters moved into the neighbourhood seeking cheap rent and suddenly the place was trendy. Artists used the site for dance performances, etc and then live gigs began. Finally, the area became so trendy that nobody opposed the pool being re-opened. Except of course, the people who were enjoying the gigs. But since the area is being redeveloped out of their wage bracket... It doesn't take sides, but it takes a single public space and turns it into a reflection on modern man's migration patterns and the economic and social impacts it has on a community. It also has a lot of excellent artists playing live, so it really is the full package.
SENNA
Made up of racing footage, interviews and home movies taken while Ayrton Senna was still living, this is an excellent documentary for the fan or the uninitiated alike. Director Asif Kapadia charts Senna's rise from a go-cart racer to the king of Formula One, his rivalry with Alain Prost and the politics of the world he inhabited. The insight into the behind-the-scenes machinations of Formula One is fascinating, with Senna and Prost's competition providing the narrative to frame the game behind the sport. And seeing footage taken from Senna's race cam on a big screen is exhilarating, and a must for racing fans. You really appreciate the skill and reflexes involved when you're thrown into the driver's seat like that. It borders on hagiography, but it's a great doco.
POOL PARTY
What starts off feeling like a bubblegum doco about a bunch of concerts held in an abandoned public pool in Brooklyn surprises as it expands into a really thoughtful examination of gentrification and sense of community. The McCarren pool was built in the 30s, and eventually abandoned in the 70s. A group of activists campaigned for it's renewal, but were shouted down by local residents who feared a revitalised pool would draw in "undesireables" from the housing projects in nearby suburbs. So instead it was abandoned, until artists and hipsters moved into the neighbourhood seeking cheap rent and suddenly the place was trendy. Artists used the site for dance performances, etc and then live gigs began. Finally, the area became so trendy that nobody opposed the pool being re-opened. Except of course, the people who were enjoying the gigs. But since the area is being redeveloped out of their wage bracket... It doesn't take sides, but it takes a single public space and turns it into a reflection on modern man's migration patterns and the economic and social impacts it has on a community. It also has a lot of excellent artists playing live, so it really is the full package.
posted by Andrew Lee at 12:12 AM
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