Liberation's Forge: A tense moment from STONEWALL UPRISING.

And so now we catch up on a couple of very good films that opened last week, but — because there’s only so much podcasting I can do before my ears start to bleed — had to wait a week to be covered. In the case of the film featured in this episode, STONEWALL UPRISING, the delay turns out not to be too bad: We’re still in the midst of  Pride Week, after all, so this documentary remains relevant.

This is from Kate Davis and David Heilbroner, whom we met earlier this year with the release of their black metal documentary WAITING FOR ARMAGEDDON. There are fewer church burnings in STONEWALL, but that doesn’t mean the event depicted — a 1969, NYC riot sparked when the police raided a gay bar called the Stonewall Inn and the patrons decided they’d had their fill of harassment — didn’t stoke its own kind of fire, specifically the birth of the gay rights movement. Davis and Heilbroner rally some great, eyewitness interviews — including the vice cop who led the raid — and manage to put the story in context with considerable footage from news shows and “educational” films showing how, even in the mid- to late-sixties, attitudes towards homosexuality had barely advanced beyond the let’s-burn-’em-at-the-stake stage. If you paired this up with another great doc released last week — 8: THE MORMON PROPOSITION, about the Mormon church’s concerted efforts to have their institutionalized homophobia turned into law — you’d get a good view of how far gay rights have come, and how far they still need to go.

Click on the player to hear the show.

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STONEWALL UPRISING
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A Worthy Complement.

Tougher than You: Doctors at work in LIVING IN EMERGENCY

It’s getting to be that my fortitude is being tested on a weekly basis. I’ve witnessed the psychotic outrages of THE HUMAN CENTIPEDE (and liked it), the moral confrontation that is THE KILLER INSIDE ME (liked it), and the let’s-put-The-Rock-in-a-tutu TOOTH FAIRY (you’re kidding, right?). But all that was make-believe stuff. LIVING IN EMERGENCY is very real, a documentary, and at points can be rough going. But if you can work up the nerve to tough it out, your courage will be greatly rewarded.

‘Course, if you want to talk about courage, you have to talk about the subjects of the film: four doctors who have volunteered to work for Doctors without Borders (aka Médecins Sans Frontières) in two, war-ravaged countries: the Democratic Republic of Congo and Liberia. Director Mark Hopkins — making his feature documentary debut having previously produced numerous docs — takes his cameras into the exam, operating, and break rooms, and doesn’t flinch from showing both the staggering challenges the volunteers face, and the effect those challenges sometimes have on them (one doctor compares the attitude of another to Heart of Darkness — that’s never a good thing). The film winds up an unwavering, credible evaluation of why the organization has justly received a Nobel Peace Prize — one of the best docs I’ve seen so far this year. It also reminded me why I need to stop whining when I have to watch movies like TOOTH FAIRY.

Click on the player to hear the interview.

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LIVING IN EMERGENCY
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No connection, but a great doc.

Living Proof: A beneficiary of ARV treatment poses with her former self, from THE LAZARUS EFFECT.

Before the big show this weekend (Jean-Pierre Jeunet on MICMACS and George Romero on SURVIVAL OF THE DEAD, yippee!), here’s a bonus episode focusing on a special, short documentary that HBO will be debuting next Monday, May 24th, at 9 PM, eastern time.

It’s called THE LAZARUS EFFECT, it was produced in cooperation with (RED), a private sector organization that works with the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria to help curb the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa. At the behest of Spike Jonze, who executive produced, filmmaker Lance Bangs (DAVID CROSS: BIGGER AND BLACKERER; THE BLACK KEYS LIVE AT THE CRYSTAL BALLROOM) travelled to Lusaka, Zambia, and met with the men, women, and children who are being treated with antiretroviral (ARV) drugs provided by these funds. Over the span of months, Bangs captured some dramatic before-and-after footage showing how these people’s lives were being restored by the treatments — the so-called Lazarus Effect. It’s moving stuff, particularly for a film that runs just over thirty minutes.

Director Bangs spared a few minutes to talk with us about the experience of capturing these near-miracles on film, and also of exploring how help is still desperately needed. Click on the player to hear the interview.

THE LAZARUS EFFECT

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THE LAZARUS EFFECT on hbo.com

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Trolls? Goblins? Troblins? Fans of TROLL 2 get in gear in BEST WORST MOVIE.

Have no doubt, I love bad movies. I still have fond memories of the first time I stumbled onto ROBOT MONSTER, back in the days when local broadcast television had afternoon movie shows, and one could serendipitously chance upon such inspired dreadfulness as a cheesy science fiction epic — with Hamlet-like ambitions — in which the titular monster was actually some guy in a gorilla suit wearing a toy diver’s helmet (check it out if you don’t believe me). Lemme tell ya, there’s nothing quite like sitting through ninety minutes of “What the frak is this?!” to put a spring in your step and reinvigorate your will to live.

Problem is that, these days, fortune has dictated I be late to this particular party, getting around to the legendarily awful long after their cults have formed. Which is by way of saying that I haven’t yet seen TROLL 2, the notoriously awful non-sequel (title notwithstanding), not-really-horror film that’s at the center of the documentary BEST WORST MOVIE. Not to worry, director Michael Paul Stephenson — who two decades ago was the child star of the movie — is less about celebrating the film than he is about exploring its impact on those involved, both before and after it had attained its midnight-movie status. To that end, he tracks down many of the project’s key players, including director Claudio Fragrasso — who expresses some well-justified discomfort with being embraced by this particular group of admirers — and co-star Dr. George Hardy, a dentist whose zeal for the spotlight first found him cast as Stephenson’s father, and then embracing his notoriety with perhaps a bit too much ardor.

The film is an intriguing examination of a certain, two-edged brand of fame and how the artists involved handle its effects. I got to explore the issue with Stephenson, amongst other topics — bottom line: He seems to have survived the trauma quite handily. Click on the player to hear the interview.

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BEST WORST MOVIE

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The One, the Only, the Legendary.

Going at a Crawl: BEETLE QUEEN director Jessica Oreck & friend.

What changed my mind about BEETLE QUEEN was debuting director Jessica Oreck’s approach to the subject of Japan’s seemingly nationwide fascination for insects. Oreck, who’s also an animal keeper and docent at New York’s American Museum of Natural History, lays the motivations out neatly — turns out much of Japanese culture is rooted historically in the observation and appreciation of creepy, crawly things — and examines how that veneration plays out in contemporary society through a healthy collector’s subculture; commercially marketed supplies for both the support and preservation of pet bugs; and vending machines that dispense live creatures into the eager clutches of the nation’s children (Japan, remember?). But then she takes it further, absorbing the animistic outlook of Shinto and such concepts as mono no aware and using them to model the film as a meta-presentation of the philosophies that drive the country’s appreciation of the natural world. More than just simple nature film or an anthropological examination, BEETLE QUEEN becomes the attitude itself, and a fascinating immersion into another society’s vision of the world.

Somebody Said There was Milk Around Here: Mongolian baby at home on the range in BABIES.

Director Thomas Balmès has a much simpler mission in BABIES, but with a somewhat similar goal: Travel the world, capture on film the first year-or-so of four babies from markedly different corners of the world, and let the viewer examine what in those initial months are universal, and what is markedly different. The four societies Balmès selects — a tribal group in Namibia; a farming family in Mongolia; and parents in urbane San Francisco and two-minutes-into-the-future Tokyo (again) — all form distinctive incubators for their newest residents. Yet for all that the environments leave their marks on these kids (in one particularly indelible moment, the overstimulated Japanese baby suffers a grand mal meltdown within a nest of playthings), what stands out most is how closely the recently arrived experience their entry into the world. That may not be a revolutionary concept, but it does make for a viewing experience that extends beyond just the obligatory, “Awwwwww.” (But you will probably go, “Awwwwww,” at least once.)

Click on the player to hear the interviews with Oreck and Balmès.

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HALO: REACH – Autumn, 2010

BEETLE QUEEN CONQUERS TOKYO

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BABIES

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www.focusfeatures.com/focusfeatures/film/babies

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Less Friendly Bugs

Which is a pity, because, of the films I’ve seen in the past few years about Tibet’s struggle for independence from China, SUN — in focusing on the tumultuous year of 2008 and the numerous protests that took place both within and without Tibet– provides the most comprehensive explanation of the issues involved, including an exploration of the rifts occurring within the independence movement itself. Instead of focusing purely on the spiritual side of this struggle — a narrative gambit I’ve noted in other docs, and not always the most compelling argument for non-spiritual guys like me — Sarin and Tenzing acknowledge the politics of this issue, and show political realities are occasionally competing against religious ideals. It’s a worthwhile film if you’re interested in better understanding this fight, or even if you’re just interested in political documentaries in general.

Right now, I’m looking to Monday to finally have the episode up. Meantime, please check out the trailer and visit the website.

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www.thesunbehindtheclouds.com

A Typical Staff Meeting Documented in WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY

Diversity is what we’re all about here at MIGHTY MOVIE PODCAST. Actually, what we’re all about these days is trying just to get the frakking show out in the midst of all the other stuff going on in our lives (hence the lateness this week), but when we’re not pulling our hair out about that, yup, diversity is our beat. And this week’s episode is nothing if not diverse, featuring as it does a documentary about that most hallowed of family-friendly institutions, the Disney animated feature, and an erotic thriller by the guy who’s managed to turn the form into a complex, challenging exploration of the human condition.

This episode features interviews with Don Hahn and Peter Schneider of WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY, the documentary that looks at how, in 1984, the Disney Company – newly running under the command of Michael Eisner and backed up by Jeffrey Katzenberg and host of others, including Messrs. Hahn and Schneider — sought to revivify their moribund animation division. The film’s a detailed, and admirably candid, exploration of how the company eventually wound up creating such classics as THE LITTLE MERMAID, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, and THE LION KING before a couple a tragic deaths and some corporate politics threw a spanner into the works.

HOW Much for an Auteur Sandwich?! Amanda Seyfried (left), Atom Egoyan, and Julianne Moore consult on the set of CHLOE.

Then we sit down with Atom Egoyan, to talk about his new film, CHLOE, wherein an uptight Julianne Moore hires call-girl Amanda Seyfried to report on wayward husband Liam Neeson, with everyone eventually dealing with more than they bargained for. If you know your Egoyan (EXOTICA; THE SWEET HEREAFTER), you know that the guy can juggle the sensual and the suspenseful like no other. CHLOE is no exception.

Another double-up of good stuff for ya. Click the player to hear the show.

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WAKING SLEEPING BEAUTY

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CHLOE

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Another Sensual Mystery

Postponing the Blast: Zoe Kazan in THE EXPLODING GIRL

So actress Zoe Kazan slips into the room, gives director Bradley Rust Gray a hug, and lingers a minute to answer a couple of questions. Quite unanticipated, obviously. Very welcome, actually. And pretty much fitting for the film being discussed, THE EXPLODING GIRL, which itself has a low-key, idiosyncratic structure and a spare, spontaneous feel. With that spur-of-the-moment spirit at work in the production, is it any wonder that the film’s creators have carried the attitude to their interview sessions? What plays out on the screen doesn’t always translate to the street, but in this case, I’m glad it did.

We’re doubling up on the interviews in this episode. First is a conversation with director Peter Hanson about his new documentary, TALES FROM THE SCRIPT, in which a powerhouse collection of screenwriters — including Frank Darabont, Shane Black, and Paul Schrader — take viewers through the somewhat tortured, occasionally triumphant life cycle of those who labor away at the word processor for fame and glory (and occasional big bucks). That’ll be followed by my conversation with Brad Gray about THE EXPLODING GIRL, a small and quite satisfying story about a young woman (Zoe Kazan) facing the end of one relationship, even as she ponders the start of another.

Two very good films, two interesting discussions. What more could you ask for? Click on the player to hear the show.

TALES FROM THE SCRIPT

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THE EXPLODING GIRL

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THE EXPLODING GIRL @ oscilloscope.net

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The original master of spontaneous narrative.

Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal in CRAZY HEART

So if the acceptance speeches didn’t get anywhere close enough to satisfying your curiosity about how these films came about, click on the players below. We’ve got MIGHTY MOVIE PODCAST interviews with the directors of all these films:

And come back Friday, when have an interview with the director of the Piaget Producer’s Award winner, THE EXPLODING GIRL

Veit Harlan (center) directs his wife, actress Kristina Soderbaum. From HARLAN - IN THE SHADOW OF JEW SUSS

It’s typical in these circumstances to say, “I don’t know what came over me.” But I do know what came over me: I was going to interview Felix Moeller about his new documentary, HARLAN – IN THE SHADOW OF JEW SUSS — the film about German director Veit Harlan, his infamous, anti-Semitic 1940 creation JEW SUSS, and the repercussions said film and the man himself had on his descendents — when I was informed that one of the film’s subjects, journalist, critic, and Harlan niece Jessica Jacoby, would also be available. I agreed to interview them both, but then ran into a brick wall in my planning: I wished to have a candid discussion with Moeller about how he confronted so difficult a subject, and the presence of Jacoby — a woman who, I figured, had undergone every form of questioning on the subject from polite discussion to accusatory interrogation — threw me a curve. I was left not sure how I could ask the questions I wanted about Harlan’s work, how Moeller got the family to open up about the impact of that legacy, and the restrictions Germany has placed on the public exhibition of the film, without making the woman feel that she had travelled down this road far too many times.

I never came up with a solution for my dilemma — in hindsight, the best approach probably would have been just to ask the frakkin’ questions and let the chips fall where they might — and it shows in my awkward approach to the interview. Nevertheless, Jacoby and Moeller were quite forthcoming in discussing how they tackled the story of one of the darkest chapters of film history, and provided good insight into the creation of a compelling, revelatory, and surprisingly beautiful documentary. Click on the player to hear the interview.

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It is available in the U.S, though.