This week, I finally I found the time to watch Michael Moore’s latest documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story. I am happy to report that, like Moore’s other films, Capitalism perfectly manipulates the moving image, splicing film together to hammer home viewpoints just as expertly as the early documentary filmmaker-godfathers of montage, Eisenstein and Vertov. By the end of the movie, I was so convinced of Ronald Reagan’s evil, capitalist ways and their impact on present-day America that I was ready to get out and protest…something…anything! I escaped my own reality and slid perfectly into Moore’s.
Such is the power of the well made documentary film. Yesterday marked the opening of Hot Docs, Toronto’s annual documentary film festival and North America’s largest documentary film festival. There are 166 films featured in this year’s fest, with filmmakers hailing from more than 40 countries.
Not only are there a ton of intriguing films to choose from, but the festival also happens to be very well priced: single tickets are only $12 each, and late night screenings (films showing after 11 p.m.) are only $5. Even if the economy is still slightly wilted, we can all afford to screen several selections at this year’s Hot Docs fest.
My shortlist begins with the weekend’s first must-see, And Everything is Going Fine, playing tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Bloor Cinema and at the Isabel Bader Theatre tomorrow (Saturday, May 1) at 1:45 p.m. Directed by the acclaimed Steven Soderbergh, the documentary cuts together archival footage of famed theatrical monologist Spalding Gray, who died in an apparent suicide in 2004. Spalding was a minimalist genius who gave monologues about his life in theatres large and small using only a desk, a notebook and a glass of water by his side.
I had the pleasure of seeing Spalding perform live in Arizona when I was 8 and I was such a big fan (I was particularly fond of his small role as Barbara Hershey’s OBGYN in Beaches) that I somehow managed to meet him. He was so gracious that he took me backstage and talked with me at length — I later heard that he spoke about me on stage during the following night’s performance. Soderbergh’s footage in And Everything is Going Fine gives Spalding one last chance to monologue about his often tragic life.
Also of note tonight is The Woman with the 5 Elephants, playing at 7 p.m. at Cumberland. The film’s subject, Swetlana Geier, is a celebrated German translator of Russian literature. She is particularly adept at translating Dostoyevsky — and she is working hard well into her 80s. Not only is her career interesting and inspiring, but Geier is the stalwart survivor of two political terrors: Stalin and Hitler. After revisiting a painful childhood in the Ukraine, Geier finally confronts her past — and triumphs. If you can’t make tonight’s screening, view Geier’s journey on Sunday at 1:30 p.m. at the Isabel Bader Theatre.
Other films not to miss include:
- American Movie, which documents Wisconsin filmmaker Mark Borchardt’s struggle to realize his Hollywood dreams (Saturday at 4 p.m. at Cumberland);
- Poland’s Chemo, an up-close and personal look at a Warsaw oncology clinic (Saturday at 7 p.m. at Cumberland);
- The People Vs. George Lucas , which deals with the issues of copyright in the context of cultural phenomenon Star Wars (Saturday at 9:15 p.m. at the Bloor Cinema); and
- The Player, a heart-wrenching look at gamblers addicted to the rush of the game (Sunday at 7 p.m. at Isabel Bader Theatre).
The fest continues until May 9, so if you’re all booked up this weekend, take a look at the Hot Docs online schedule for other screening times.
Leanne Milech is a lawyer turned freelance writer. She reviews theatre, publishes children’s books and spends her free time hunting for Toronto’s best cultural escapes. Her column appears every Friday here on lawandstyle.ca.