For your Netflix queue
Just thinking about these two movies lately as I'm working on my next essayistic hybrid personal non-fiction project (this text is from my SF Bay Guardian 2005 Picks List):
This year I also rediscovered two personal lightning bolts from 1986 and was struck by how influential they were to me as a filmmaker. Ross McElwee's Sherman's March is a neurotic self-portrait of his pursuit of the women of the South (and part of a gorgeous newly released McElwee box set from First Run Features). Louis Malle's God's Country is an obscure made-for-PBS documentary about struggling farmers in Glencoe, Minn. (and is set for a 2006 DVD release from Criterion).
Sherman's March is clearly the more innovative of the two, and it has also enjoyed far greater acclaim and exposure. But God's Country is ultimately the more sophisticated. Both films draw portraits of human pathos. But where McElwee reveals wacky, delusional Southern women, with a palpable sense of disrespect for his subjects, Malle interacts with equally extreme characters in the North and manages to express a profound sense of respect and admiration, enabling viewer sympathy for the characters and, ultimately, for ourselves. God's Country is a truly transcendent personal documentary.
And a nice photo of Louis Malle shooting Elevator To The Gallows
Comments
Unrelated comment (but your email is well-guarded!)
I'm trying to find a copy of Trailers Schmailers to show the first day of class for my Jewish Identity on Screen course this fall. I wondered if they are for sale/rental? Thank you, pb
Nice blog, you have lots of interesting content. Here's something for your readers to put on their next iTunes queue-- two indie films are now available for download on iTunes, "Never Met Picasso" and "The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender." These two films are just the first from Water Bearer films to debut on iTunes, with many more to follow soon.
If you are interested, I can provide you with links via the iTunes Button that can be generated form the iTunes website, or I can even set up promotional giveaways for your readers, to help spread the word.
About Never Met Picasso
A romantic and whimsical comedy on the mysteries of love, sex, and art. Starring Alexis Arquette (Scream) and Margot Kidder (Superman). Winner of Best Screenplay Outfest '97 (Los Angeles Gay & Lesbian Film Festival). Andrew (Arquette), a gay thirty year old live at home artist is in the midst of a serious creative funk.
About The Silver Screen: Color Me Lavender
A hilarious and provocative romp through the hidden and not-so-hidden gay undercurrents of Hollywood's Golden Years. Dan Butler (Frasier) acts as tour guide as he uncovers- despite efforts to launder American cinema of even the faintest traces of gay influences- Hollywood's squeamish fascination with gay eroticism and camp.
Thank you!
Marinell Montales
New Video Digital
902 Broadway, 9th Fl
New York, NY 10010
mmontales@newvideo.com
(646) 259-4102