“Joshua: Teenager Vs. Superpower”
Though it’s been the setting for plenty of great movies, most of us in the West probably have little idea of the political situation in Hong Kong beyond the opening scene of “Rush Hour”: for 150 years a British territory, it was returned to Chinese rule in 1997 under the so-called “one country, two systems” rule, whereby it would be allowed to retain certain freedoms and independence not enjoyed on the mainland. But it’s led to tensions in the two decades since, and Netflix’s fascinating, if awkwardly titled “Joshua: Teenager Vs. Superpower ” is a look at one of the figures who’s been the biggest thorns in the Chinese side. Joe Piscatella’s film (winner of the Audience Award for World Documentary at Sundance) examines Joshua Wong, who was just 14 when he founded the Scholarism group to protest attempts to make the Chinese curriculum mandatory in Hong Kong schools, and then went on to become a key figure in the so-called Umbrella protests over the future of democracy in the territory, eventually being arrested by the authorities. He makes for an inspiring figure in these times, and Piscatella provides both a detailed look at the situation for newcomers and an interesting character study of a young man compared to both Joan Of Arc and an emotionless robot.
“Karl Marx City”
If all you know of East Germany under the Iron Curtain is “The Lives Of Others,” checking out “Karl Marx City” is basically essential (indeed, one interviewee calls out that film by name, saying that they refused to help with its making because the idea of a Stasi officer helping one of his targets was unthinkable). Director Petra Epperlein’s essay/art piece/mystery traces her own childhood in Chemnitz, renamed Karl Marx City under communist rule, and her father’s suicide after he was accused of having worked for the Stasi. As our reviewer Andrew Crump said, the film is “about Germany first and Epperlein a close second,” using her own family story (her daughter is the narrator, her husband the co-director) to examine the most surveilled society in history, bringing contemporary resonances to the tale while also digging into her own history and her “search for closure.” Shot in stunning black and white mixed with authentic surveillance footage, “the stark tones, coupled with the duo’s sharp eye for composition, clash with the film’s core ambiguities, layering aesthetic complexity to the complexity of its subject matter,” the film ultimately proves “a remarkable picture of inbound focus and outbound ambitions.”
“Kedi”
As far as sleeper crossover documentary hits go, “Kedi” is certainly a surprising one — a film that documents the lives of the street cats of Istanbul, it’s the third biggest non-fiction movie of 2017 so far, a pretty remarkable achievement from a movie that came virtually from nowhere (and is also available on YouTube Red at that). But then you see the film and it totally makes sense: “Kedi” is an absolute charmer, a totally refreshing and absorbing film that might not be tackling the serious subject matter of some of these movies, but nevertheless feels like something close to profound. Turkish-born, America-based director Ceyda Torun shoots inventively with a special rig that puts her at cat’s-eye level, really capturing the personalities of the seven distinct kitties that she follows in a way that makes them just as enjoyable to follow as the cast of any animated movie. In doing so, and in tracking their relationship to their city (one of the world’s most beautiful, and rarely captured on screen as well as it is here), she makes something that feels almost spiritual. So good you’ll even enjoy it if you’re a dog lover.
“Kiki”
Documentaries tend to premiere at festivals long, long before their release date and “Kiki,” Sara Jordenö‘s energizing film about the New York ballroom vogueing scene bowed back in Sundance 2016, but only came out this past March. A kind of unofficial sequel to 1990’s essential “Paris is Burning,” “Kiki” is a masterclass in intersectionality, following a variety of young people of color, from all points across the LGBT spectrum as they find their tribe in the local ballroom subculture under the stewardship of gatekeeper Twiggy (who gets a co-writing credit). There is high glamor and there’s pageantry, of course, as well as some truly astonishing dancing, but “Kiki” never lets us forget the often tragic context in which this community came into being. For many of its participants, it became the only safety valve away from violent, poverty-stricken and/or homophobic backgrounds — hence the ferocity with which they advocate for it, and the reason it became such a focus for community activism. The world has changed a lot since early 2016 but “Kiki”‘s relevance may be even more acute today, as it demonstrates the strength of unity in the face of hatred, and how celebration can be a powerful form of defiance.
“I Am Heath Ledger”
We know the late Heath Ledger as The Joker, a role forever cemented as his (sorry, Jared Leto); a sexually repressed cowboy; a Blood On The Tracks-era Bob Dylan; and a teenage rebel, among other roles. However, this short, but memorable list indicates a tragic fact: only the tip of the iceberg of Ledger’s tremendous talents was glimpsed before his life was cut short. And so the revealing “I Am Heath Ledger” is an absorbing look both at the man behind those masks and at the icon he could have become. Don’t let its ‘made-for-SpikeTV’ pedigree fool you. This is no cut-price TV documentary, rather an illuminating look at an actor who was a restless artist with boundless energy, seemingly knowing his time was short and trying to devour as much experience as he could. A photographer, painter, budding filmmaker and a ceaseless videographer documenting his own life, the never-before-seen footage is deeply enlightening. “I Am Heath Ledger” provides insightful context about who Ledger really was, who he wanted to be, his generosity of spirit and the challenges he faced in his personal life (the doc also gives great context to the lengths he went to in lesser-known films, like “Four Feathers,” that now feel like must-watches in retrospect). Directed by Derik Murray and Adrian Buitenhuis, the family-approved ‘Ledger’ pulls few punches, and is a celebratory, but intimate, portrait of a man whose light faded far too soon.