Sunday, October 18, 2020

what I'm watching

Besides gaping at the existential dread of the news doom-cycle, I'm watching reality TV (#shame) and also a ton of documentaries. I enjoy the shaping of true(ish) narratives into a compelling story. 

"Little White Lie," about a young Jewish woman's discovery of her racial heritage, is fascinating. It interrogates the lies we in our families tell ourselves. And why it matters.



 

Recently, I also saw "Montage of Heck," about Kurt Cobain. The film includes home video and animations made from his notebooks--drawings, lyrics, musings. I missed the Nirvana obsession in the 1990's, but this glimpse into the gifted musician as a simply flawed, vulnerable, weak, angry and charming person is fascinating.


"American Factory" is one that stuck with me for awhile. On the surface it's about a Chinese factory owner starting up production in Dayton, Ohio, but of course it's mostly about people and how similar and different we are all at once, and how that may mean this venture can never be successful.

 

I also watched "Rewind," about a young man coming to understand the full familial context of the sexual abuse he suffered as a kid. Parts of it are really hard to watch--he's so vulnerable, so angry, so violated. It reminds me that evil and crimes can be so entwined and integrated with daily life that we somehow become blind to them. (See also "Three Identical Strangers.")


Other winners: Everybody's Everything (a heart breaker about the too-short life of Lil Peep) and the Paradise Lost trilogy. I'll keep watching and sharing--I deeply admire documentarians for making films that don't bring in a lot of cash but help us understand more about life and  humanity.

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