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Posted Documentaries

Sundance: Brainwashed: Sex – Camera – Power

We need women filmmakers. Desperately. The male dominated film industry has been shaping how we view women over time by objectifying them in a way that skews the power dynamic over to the men and away from the women. And according to filmmaker Nina Menkes, this has lasting effects on how women are treated in the workplace, in public and at home. One way to balance this is to bring women filmmakers to the forefront, give them a platform where they can not only thrive but where they can share differing perspectives and points-of-view.

Based on her lecture Sex & Power, The Visual Language of Cinema, Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power is an illuminating study on the history of the male gaze in film. The documentary includes footage of Menkes’ lecture, interviews with theorists, directors and actresses and 175 film clips that demonstrate the male gaze. The clips run the gamut from Metropolis (1927) to Titane (2021). Menkes analyzes the majority of them and also includes women directed films to demonstrate the difference between not only the male gaze and the female gaze but also the female gaze with internalized misogyny. Menkes breaks down the analysis of the male gaze into five categories: Subject, Framing, Camera Movement, Lighting and Narrative Position. This documentary serves as the feminist film course that anyone interested in the history of film and the future of the industry should take. Menkes doesn’t make any direct correlations to the male gaze in film and real life consequences however it is suggested throughout the film. Brainwashed can be a tough pill to swallow but when we learn we grow.

Brainwashed: Sex-Camera-Power premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

Posted BIPOC

Sundance: La Guerra Civil

When Oscar de la Hoya and Julio César Chávez went head-to-head in the boxing ring, it was an event. Referred to as the “Ultimate Glory”, this 1996 match not only pitted two of the most talented boxers against each other, it also started a cultural war. Julio César Chávez was the pride and joy of Mexico. He holds the record of the longest undefeated streak which began with his very first professional match. He was a champ that Mexicans could get behind. Oscar de la Hoya represented the expats. The Mexicans who left their home country years ago to seek opportunities in the States. De la Hoya showed promise at an early age and admired the great Chávez. But the Mexicans scored de la Hoya. Despite his 100% Mexican heritage and being fluent in Spanish, they felt he wasn’t Mexican enough. Not like Chávez. So when it came to that fateful day in 1996, Chávez stood with his country rallying behind him. But de la Hoya came armed with youthful vigor and a secret weapon: a brilliant coach who taught him how to take Chávez down.

Directed by Eva Longoria Bastón, La Guerra Civil expertly demonstrates not only the importance of the Chávez vs de la Hoya fight but also how the careers of these two boxing champions were intrinsically tied to their cultural identities. Both Chávez and de la Hoya were interviewed for the documentary along with sports journalists, latinx celebrities, family members and various experts. There is an air of familiarity in the film. Perhaps the friendly vibe prevented the documentary from going more in-depth into serious matters involving the two subjects including their drug addictions and various tragedies. These are briefly mentioned but not discussed at length.

The documentary is bilingual with interviewees speaking English and Spanish. 

La Guerra Civil premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

Posted Female Filmmakers

Sundance: Call Jane

Call Jane stars Elizabeth Banks as Joy, a stay-at-home wife pregnant with her second child. Joy and her husband Will (Chris Messina) soon discover that Joy’s pregnancy is causing her congestive heart failure. The doctor gives her two options: die carrying the child or have an abortion. It’s 1968, still a few years away from Roe vs. Wade, and abortions are illegal underground operations. After a scare, Joy discovers  “Call Jane” a service involving a network of suburban woman who arrange abortions for women in need. The initiative is run by Virginia (Sigourney Weaver) who takes Joy under her wing. Corrupt doctor Dean (Cory Michael Smith) charges $600 per procedure which is out of reach for most women who seek the service. Joy and Virginia team together to make abortions available to more applicants but do so in a safe, affordable yet unconventional way. Joy does all of this while keeping it secret from her husband, daughter (Grace Edwards) and neighbor Lana (Kate Mara).

Based on the true story of the Jane Initiative, Call Jane is directed by Phyllis Nagy, best known for her stunning adaptation Carol (2015). Call Jane has similar pacing as Carol. The film takes its time telling its story. Patient viewers will be greatly rewarded. Call Jane shines a spotlight on the history of abortion but also offers us a look into a future where abortions may become illegal again. Women will seek out abortions regardless of their legality and while the Jane Initiative saw no casualties, many other women have died from botched back alley abortions. This film won’t change anyone’s mind about abortion. But it does serve as a reminder of how far we’ve come and what we have to lose.

Call Jane premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

Posted Documentaries

Sundance: Downfall: The Case Against Boeing

“This is the cost of doing business as usual.”

Garima Sehti

Directed by Rory Kennedy, Downfall: The Case Against Boeing is a scathing look at how corporate greed led to the deaths of hundreds of 737 Max passengers.

In October 2018, Lion Air Flight 610 departed from Jakarta only to crash 13 minutes after take off. The plane was a new 737 Max from Boeing, a redesigned and more fuel-efficient plane that was launched a few years earlier. At first aviation experts thought that the crash was due to pilot error. But it was soon discovered that it was a flaw with the MCAS system, which had been added to the 737 Max. However, pilots were not only not trained on the new system, they had no clue it even existed or let alone what to do if it malfunctioned. Several months later, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 crashed in a similar fashion, only 6 minutes after takeoff, killing everyone on board. The two mass casualties, so close together and both with 737 Max airplanes sent the world reeling. 

Downfall is an incredible work of investigative journalism. Every facet of this story is explored including the crashes themselves, the aftermath, the effect on the victims’ families, the congressional investigation and the recent problematic history of Boeing which led those in power at the company to value financial results over safety. Talking heads include victims’ family members, aviation experts (including Captain Sully, politicians, former Boeing employees.

The subject matter is very upsetting but it is a must watch. 

Note: Boeing did not participate in the documentary but they did share a written response which appears before the end credits.

Downfall: The Case Against Boeing had its world premiere at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival. It premieres on Netflix February 18th.

Posted DVD Netflix

Leave No Trace

Military vet Will (Ben Foster) and his teenage daughter Tom (Thomasin McKenzie) live in a makeshift shelter in the woods outside Portland, Oregon. Will suffers from severe PTSD and wants nothing but to live away from the stronghold of society. He cares for Tom, by teaching her survival skills and selling his psych meds for cash to purchase supplies. Tom and Will are constantly training to keep their lifestyle a secret not only because they are living illegally on public lands but because Tom is a minor. When Tom and Will are caught by authorities, they must grapple with what will come next. 

Leave No Trace is directed by Debra Granik and based on a true story that was fictionalized by author Peter Rock in his novel My Abandonment. It’s a truly superb drama that offers no answers and just takes viewers along for the ride. We don’t know the circumstances that led to Will’s PTSD and the lifestyle choices he made for him and his daughter. We also don’t know much about Tom’s mother other than the fact that she died many years ago. Some viewers might struggle with this but I find the movie does a great job revealing just enough to keep us enthralled. Foster and McKenzie give brilliant performances. They expertly keep their emotions at the surface, giving us visual cues that relate information that the story itself doesn’t provide. There is so much both actors convey in a look or an expression that keeps us thoroughly invested in their journey.

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