Review: Christian D. Bruun’s ‘Calendar Girl’
“‘Calendar Girl’ is charming but meandering, a film torn between being a historical documentary and a character study that never ends up successfully being either…”
Review: Christopher Boone and Kevin Smokler’s ‘Vinyl Nation’
“‘Vinyl Nation’ accentuates the positive, but the documentary can also be commended for at least raising questions about industry downsides to the record boom.”
Review: W. Kamau Bell’s ‘We Need to Talk About Cosby’
“Bell is as masterful a listener as he is an interviewer, fully honoring the presence of those whose lives were changed after crossing paths with Cosby.”
Soundtracks of Television: ‘Jeen-yuhs: A Kanye Trilogy’
‘Jeen-yuhs’ Soundtrack: A Vague Visages guide for every featured song in Coodie and Chike Ozah’s 2022 Kanye West docuseries on Netflix.
Time Machine: Bianca Stigter’s ‘Three Minutes: A Lengthening’
“Stigter’s direction transforms ‘Three Minutes: A Lengthening’ into so much more than a historical lesson on atrocity and genocide.”
There Is No Try: Documenting the Silicon Valley Mindset
There Is No Try: Documenting the Silicon Valley Mindset | D.M. Palmer on ‘The Inventor, ‘Fyre,’ ‘Fyre Fraud’ and ‘WeWork: or The Making and Breaking of a $47 Billion Unicorn’
The Ontology of ‘Ferroequinology’
“‘Ferroequinology’ is a magical piece of self-reflexive work that arguably reveals more about the documentarian than its subjects.”
IFFR Review: Alberto De Michele’s ‘The Last Ride of the Wolves’
“More moralistic viewers might question if ‘The Last Ride of the Wolves’ is in reality glamorizing these men, but I think Di Michele is a couple of steps ahead, both embracing that glamorization and distancing the audience from it.”
On Sundance FOMO, Classic French Cinema and ‘The Last Tycoons’
“‘The Last Tycoons’ is a helpful guide for the multi-tasking cinephile who wants to better understand French cinematic movements, such as La Nouvelle Vague, and the industry as a whole.”
Sara Dosa Shares the Light and the Heat in Volcanology Doc ‘Fire of Love’
“Dosa, like Wes Anderson in ‘The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou,’ seizes on the stylish allure of entrepreneurship in ‘Fire of Love.'”
Portrait of a Photographer on Fire
“‘Searching for Gerda Taro’ shows a photographer on fire, a fearless woman who knew that she could do anything by focusing on the present rather than the past.”
Interview with ‘Borderlands’ Filmmaker Samarth Mahajan
‘Borderlands’ Interview: Dipankar Sarkar discusses the 2021 documentary with filmmaker Samarth Mahajan.
The World Is Working: Michael Glawogger’s Trilogy on Poverty and Labor
“The real horrors of Glawogger’s films are the moments when people, having been given an opportunity to open up, are crushed by their own words.”
Review: Peter Middleton and James Spinney’s ‘The Real Charlie Chaplin’
“With almost surgical precision, filmmakers Peter Middleton and James Spinney dissect the life and work of a legend in ‘The Real Charlie Chaplin,’ a worthwhile addition to the many studies of one of the most recognizable screen performers in cinema history.”
Soundtracks of Cinema: ‘Jagged’
‘Jagged’ Soundtrack: A Vague Visages guide for every featured song in Alison Klayman’s HBO Max documentary about musician Alanis Morissette.
Interview with ‘Clerk’ Director Malcolm Ingram
Vague Visages’ Joey Keogh and filmmaker Malcolm Ingram discuss the 2021 Kevin Smith documentary ‘Clerk.’
Review: Malcolm Ingram’s ‘Clerk’
“The biggest takeaway from ‘Clerk,’ aside from the fact that the terrific Joey Lauren Adams should’ve had a bigger career, is that nobody is more surprised by Smith’s success than the man himself.”
Review: Tanya Chuturkova’s ‘Chocolate Road’
“I’ll never be the same after watching ‘Chocolate Road.’ No longer will I eat a bonbon without seeing a massive cacao plant. I won’t be able to watch ‘Chocolat’ without thinking about Central American cacao plant clones. That’s a good thing…”
Review: Penny Lane’s ‘Listening to Kenny G’
“With ‘Listening to Kenny G,’ Lane affirms her status as one of the most talented nonfiction storytellers working today.”
Review: Kavery Kaul’s ‘The Bengali’
“There’s plenty of skepticism to be found in ‘The Bengali’; however, that’s just the starting point for an important conversation about first encounters, cultural education and life-changing travel experiences.”