Welcome
to our special OSCAR WEEK SERIES of
reviews. This series will go through the seven categories in which an award is
given based on the entire film (rather than any one constituent element). This fourth
review in the series will go through the DOCUMENTARY FEATURE nominees.
FIRE AT SEA
Fire at Sea is a documentary feature
directed by Gianfranco Rosi. The film shows life on the small Italian island of
Lampedusa. The island is located in the Mediterranean Sea and is a major
frontline for the European migrant crisis with immigrants escaping war zones in
Africa and the Middle East. Overall, I thought this was a fine documentary and
worth watching to get some experiential perspective on an international issue.
What
struck me most about this film was that it felt very experiential. We were very
much in the business with the people on this island and on the rescue missions
to acquire the fleeing refugees. This felt like a really strong way to tell
this particular story because it let the audience decide for themselves how to
feel about what was going on and just gave good information to that effect.
What didn’t work in this film was how it was shot and how much it dragged as a
result of editing and otherwise. I liked the realism but this felt really
barebones and, moreover, wasn’t edited in a way to keep the audience engaged. I
think this works overall but is certainly imperfect.
Ryan’s Score: 7/10
I AM NOT YOUR
NEGRO
I Am Not Your Negro is the latest documentary
feature from director Raoul Peck. The film works from the unfinished final
novel of noted Civil Rights activist James Baldwin. Narrated by Samuel L.
Jackson, the film tells a variety of stories about Baldwin, Martin Luther King
Jr., and Malcolm X in combination with other modern events to paint Peck’s
picture about being black in America. Overall I thought this documentary was
interesting, especially stylistically. I did think it felt on the nose at times
and not really in service of its message as a whole.
What
is great about this documentary is that it is really intelligently written and
shows a lot of comparing and contrasting takes on the same thing to paint a
broad and interesting picture. I also thought there was a great injection of
life into the project through the black and white color palette choices and the
shifts from actual text on screen being read to images in very particular
moments. No question, this documentary is exquisitely made. That said, I
thought there were several points at which the film saw and made the most
obvious point sitting on the table even when there were more nuanced points
presented and glossed over. Race in America isn’t a simple subject. I don’t
think that one can necessarily accuse this documentary of oversimplifying
things as a general matter but it certainly does so in specific instances that
felt tonally jarring. Overall, I thought this was worth watching and it gave me
some things to think about, but overall I thought it left a lot to be desired.
Ryan’s Score: 7/10
LIFE, ANIMATED
Life, Animated is a documentary about a
young man who grew up and struggled (and continues to struggle) with severe
autism who learns to connect with others and the world through Disney movies. The
documentary is directed by Roger Ross Williams. This film hit me like a freight
train and I really thought it was interesting and effective as a documentary
piece overall.
I
really enjoyed Life, Animated. I can’t
say I necessarily learned much from it. Nor can I say that this is something I
would necessarily be looking for in a documentary. What I can say is that it
impacted me emotionally and engaged me throughout. The strength in the
documentary is its ability to get you to care about its subject, Owen, and to
understand the perspectives of everyone in his life and what they are doing to
help him. It also impacted me, especially, as a film fan who, though not
struggling with mental disability, does use film to find ways to relate to the
world. I appreciated what Owen was doing and going through and that made this
rock my emotional foundations. This documentary is not especially unique
(although it has some cool animated sequences) and won’t have the same
emotional impact on everyone. It worked especially well for me, however.
Ryan’s Score: 9/10
O.J.: MADE IN
AMERICA
O.J.: Made in America is a documentary feature
film by director Ezra Edelman and, at just under eight hours long, is the
second longest nominee in Academy Awards history. This documentary follows the
entire rise and fall of infamous figure O.J. Simpson from his days as a college
football player through his eventual sentencing for the armed robbery events in
Nevada. It is spliced with and discusses other things going on in America at
the various points in time with particular attention paid to race and its role.
This documentary can only accurately be described as exquisite and is one of
the best I have ever seen.
Edelman’s
strength here was to take a subject that people have heard about time and again
and find a different angle. This documentary is not meant to say O.J. is guilty
or not (though Edelman clearly has the view that O.J. was guilty) and rather
just shows things that happened and why the the events of this story are as
important as they were. I was alive (and conscious) at the time of the O.J.
trial, but only just. The back story of this is something I was not as familiar
with and to see and understand that with the depth Edelman provides was
arresting and unbelievably effective. It also shows the sense in every result
along the way and in some good ways demystifies something that has surprised
people for years. I have nothing bad to say about this piece. It is phenomenal.
Ryan’s Score: 10/10
13TH
13th is the Netflix documentary
feature by acclaimed filmmaker Ava DuVernay. The film looks at the prison
system in America and how it shows how governments have created laws
systemically discriminating against African Americans over the many years
following emancipation. Overall I thought this was a very well made, well
edited, and well-constructed argumentative piece that pulled no punches
throughout.
I
think this documentary works in that it makes a lot of smart, and occasionally
nuanced, points about racism in America that I have heard and have become
intimately aware of due to serious discussions I’ve had with people heavily
involved in studying that particular area. Seeing those cerebral arguments
transferred to the screen in an interesting way struck a chord with me and
hooked me pretty early on. I also thought that DuVernay’s choice to not make
this partisan and to make a broader and more impactful point about a bigger
issue was a smart one and let me engage more because she was just showing this
issue as it is. The film could have used more specificity in parts, without
question. The biggest problem I have (and this is something I have with all
argumentative documentaries) is that it doesn’t allow the audience to think for
themselves. We’re being told exactly what to think here. That’s the point of
this documentary piece, sure, but it is a bit off putting for someone who likes
to gather information and think for themselves.
Ryan’s Score: 8.5/10
PICKS AND PREDICTIONS:
Ryan’s Pick: O.J.: Made in America
Ryan’s Prediction: O.J.: Made in America
GoldDerby Experts Prediction:
O.J.: Made in America
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