Tag: documentary

Can we just start?

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Last night, in the middle of the night, I got up. I’d been awake all night. When it comes time to sleep, my body goes, “We’re not! We’re not!” Four hours of just tossing and turnin’ and dealing with an amorphous blob of stuff. Fear. Shame. Pain. The whole gamut of human emotions. I’m nearly 50. I’m a dad, dad of four, with a loving wife. It’s astounding what’s happened in my life. But, it feels as though the past has me in a headlock. Something else to give.

I am trying to sort out the wreckage of the past. And I’m picking a rather particular way to exorcise these demons right now. I’m a hermit. If I’m not on stage, I’m in bed… Can we just start?

— Robbie Williams, from opening scene of “Robbie Williams“, a Netflix documentary filmed behind the scenes for over three decades. (S1:E1: “Let’s Get Wrecked”)

Reviews:

  • The Irish News: Robbie Williams Netflix review: An addict who can’t seem to walk away from fame
  • Stuff.co.nzL Robbie Williams is a Netflix series about mental-health, not music
  • Daily Mail: Robbie Williams found watching his own Netflix documentary series ‘deeply unpleasant’ as it documents his ‘descent into mental illness’

a fugitive breeze, a rustle of leaves, choral insects

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Quiet, please.

In contrast to “Baby Driver,” with its high-decibel cacophony, this week also brings Patrick Shen’s “In Pursuit of Silence.” It isn’t really silence that’s being pursued in this beguiling, meditative and elegantly photographed documentary. As one murmuring head after another observes, absolute silence can’t be achieved in these earthly precincts, and doesn’t warrant chasing after in any case. What’s de-stressing for the body and nourishing for the soul is quiet that contains benign sounds—a fugitive breeze, a rustle of leaves, choral insects, a bird sending signals from the far reaches of a serene acoustic surround.  The film begins with a tribute to “4’33,” the seminal composition by John Cage in which music is not played—by a pianist, or a full orchestra—for the four minutes and 33 seconds of the title. In Mr. Shen’s evocative sequence, words are not spoken but, if you listen carefully, sounds of nature and even human laughter can be heard under—or over, or within? —a succession of graceful images.

~ Joe Morgenstern, from ‘In Pursuit of Silence’ Review: Dulcet Symphony. A meditative documentary explores quiet and the auditory world around us. (wsj.com, June 29, 2017)

Note: Rotten Tomatoes Movie Review

Dream Alliance

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“Dark Horse” won “The Audience Award in the World Cinema Documentary Competition” at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival.

“He was bred from allotment. How can he be a success?”

Whether you are a horse person, or not (I’m not), this was something to see. Don’t miss it. 87 minutes of inspiration.

Find it on Amazon Video.

Thank you Susan.

His commitment, full, all his molecules

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If you were a fan of comedian Chris Farley, I highly recommend the new documentary on his life titled: I Am Chris Farley. The trailer above gives you a snapshot.  The quotes below are a few of my favorite testimonials from the film.

Mike Myers: “I was very influenced by his commitment, full, all his molecules, and anybody around him’s molecules, pulled into his performance.”

David Spade & Lorne Michaels: “Because everyone can fall down and whatever, but you can’t do it this good. He doesn’t put his hands up, which is what I would do. So he doesn’t block his fall, and you can’t do those forever. I think Chevy Chase warned him not to do that.  Because Chevy’d always had something there just before he fell so he could break the fall, but Chris was just taking it as paid. He wasn’t paying close enough attention to see that there was a way you could do it and not hurt yourself. His commitment was total.”

Bob Saget: “Then at one point there was a little fluffa that happened. There was a line that got skipped, and I just like pushed his glasses up and his eyes crossed. It was this delicate moment that made me very happy.  He came from that background where you pull everybody up – that you are there for everybody. You don’t leave anyone hanging. So when you are working with him, he was right there, helping you.  “Come on buddy”, you know, and that kind of thing.”

For a film review by Variety.com: “Film Review: I Am Chris Farley”

Moved.

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“Mohammad Azmi, a 55-year-old former contractor, has dedicated his life to rescuing stray dogs and cats, despite living in a country (Malaysia) where dogs are considered taboo and filthy…However for Mohammad Azmi, who is fondly known as Pak Mie, his love for these animals is unconditional, as he, with the help from his wife, splurge their savings on the stray animals by providing a shelter, food and medication on daily basis, apart getting donations from concerned citizens… This also means that they have to lead a simple life; so simple that they sleep in the car parked outside the shelter that they built just to make sure that no one harms the animals during the night. Although Pak Mie knows that he will never get anything in return by sacrificing his normal life, he is hopeful that he will continue to do so until his last breath.”

The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.
~ Mahatma Gandhi

A Stray Hero from Hisyam on Vimeo.