MSPIFF 2010: Week 2 Roundup

The final week of MSPIFF 2010 (yes, the one that ended ten days ago...) proved alternately frustrating and fulfilling. I only made it to an additional four films, easily amassing my lowest total since I moved back to Minnesota four years ago. There was a long list of films that I missed, but I prefer to reflect on the fact that nothing I saw was outright terrible.
 

My Only Sunshine - Plans to see the sold-out Today's Special were foiled on a packed-to-the-gills Friday night, so we opted for a Turkish film, My Only Sunshine (an appropriate choice as we'll be on our honeymoon in Turkey in just a few weeks). As breathtaking and vivid as the cinematography was, My Only Sunshine does not make Istanbul a particularly appealing place; maybe compare it to New York City as seen in Chop Shop. On the other hand, it was fascinating to observe the environment and cultural quirks of Istanbul that I'm sure we won't see on our brief and touristy stop to the teeming seaside city of 12 million people. My Only Sunshine is a slice-of-life story as experienced by Hayat (Elit Iscan), an adolescent girl living with her troubled father and dying grandfather (the effects of emphysema caused by smoking have truly never been captured on film as they are captured here). You expect it to develop into a warm coming-of-age tale, but despite a few laughs and a completely tacked-on happy ending, it's an altogether bleak depiction of a lost childhood in Istanbul. Nonetheless, I remained engaged throughout and the production had the decidedly "foreign film" feel that I specifically seek at these festivals.

REVIEW: Gonzo: The Life and Work of Dr. Hunter S. Thompson (B)

Background: I was a little shocked to hear that filmmaker Alex Gibney (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room) was back with another film already, only months after his Taxi to the Dark Side won Best Documentary Feature in February. Either way, I was hooked in for Gonzo: The Life and Work of Mr. Hunter S. Thompson based on Gibney's track record, light buzz, and a resounding review from Mr. Nick Plowman. Not having read any of Thompson's actual books (only some online pieces), I saw it as an opportunity to learn more about both the man behind Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas and the cultural icon Thompson has become since his suicide three years ago.

Synopsis : Gibney sets up to the documentary as a kind of eulogy to Thompson, also known by his pen name/nickname/alternate persona "Gonzo". His former friends and adversaries, from Pat Buchanan to Jimmy Buffett, share the good ol' times with us while Thompson's biographers and colleagues gush about his writing career and cultural influence. About the only people who tell us anything personal about the man himself are Thompson's two former wives. Filling in the gaps is Johnny Depp (who played Thompson in the 1998 film adaptation of Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas) reading from Thompson's books. Providing the rhythm for the film are your favorite songs from the 60's and 70's - in addition to repetitive clips of Thompson shootin' off guns in his backyard.

I Loved:
+ The footage of Thompson in his later years, vulnerable for what appeared to be the first time in his life.

I Liked:
+ The inclusion of this ESPN.com post by Thompson, which I had completely forgotten about. Pretty wild stuff.
+ The multimedia sources used by Gibney - interviews, archival footage, archival audio recordings, film footage, text, etc.
+ The funeral montage.

I Disliked:
- Not hearing enough reflection from Thompson in the years immediately before his suicide. Obviously he's unavailable for an interview, but it seemed like there was enough footage and written material to get some insights into what he was processing after the 2000 election.
- The predictability of the soundtrack.
- When the film turned into a pretty bland report on the details of the 1972 Presidential election. I think this was the low point as Thompson wasn't even mentioned for minutes at a time.

I Hated:
- The sequence in which Gibney repetitively cuts back and forth between Nixon and Bush II. This was a cheap jab and added little to our understanding of Thompson. Besides, I think I'm just about over people playing the blame game and whining about Bush. He was elected by the public twice, and he's almost gone. Finger pointing and name calling doesn't really solve anything (and as a matter of fact, I think that's what my problem is with Thompson in the first place).
- The raucous disturbance in the theater: an intoxicated vagrant who snuck into the back row. Fortunately, his bellowing frightened the woman down the row from me so much that she stopped her incessant cackling for about 20 minutes until he was removed from the theater. Everybody received free passes on the way out. Three cheers for the Lagoon Theater management!

Grade:
Writing - N/A
Acting - N/A
Production - 8
Emotional Impact - 8
Music - 5
Significance - 5

Total: 26/30= 86% = B

Last Word: It's a difficult task reviewing documentaries. In particular, I think one's reaction to these biographical films is very dependent on their individual impression of the subject at hand. In the case of Gonzo, I think it's a film that that can only really be "enjoyed" by those who admire Hunter S. Thompson (including a number of older critics praising this film). I am not in this group, and I found no reason to join it based on the limited evidence presented by Alex Gibney. However, it would be unreasonable to criticize a documentary because I don't like the person I'm learning about. That's not the reason here, it's just a coincidental truth, and I don't fault anyone else for the respect they might have for Thompson.

My real issue was that Alex Gibney didn't seem to work very hard on getting to the heart of who Hunter S. Thompson actually was. I know it's silly to say that since we hear Thompson's own words throughout the film, but I'm saying it: I'm still somewhat hungry after this meal. Had Gibney asked better questions or interviewed people who weren't Thompson's close friends, I suspect we would have, at the very least, a clearer understanding of Thompson's influence on this country. Instead, I'm left to wonder how significant that influence actually was outside of the field of journalism. Maybe that alone is enough, but based on Thompson's final years, I would say that even he was unsure if he had initiated any "change" in America.

I'm not done with Alex Gibney yet, even though his last two films haven't impressed me as much as Enron, which has essentially defined my understanding of the scandal to this day. With Taxi and Gonzo, I felt like I have as many questions as answers when I left the theater. In this case, simply: Who was Hunter S. Thompson and what part of his legacy is relevant today? Gibney is picking the right subjects, but instead of telling an honest story, I wonder if he's not increasingly looking for opportunities to try and prove an ambiguous point.