Showing posts with label documentary. Show all posts
Showing posts with label documentary. Show all posts

Friday, May 31, 2024

“Jim Henson: Idea Man”: The Life Behind The Genius Creator of “The Muppet Show”

 By José Alberto Hermosillo


“Jim Henson: Idea Man” is a fresh approach to exploring the life and body of work of the genius creator of “The Muppet Show,” Jim Henson, by the Academy Award-winning director Ron Howard. The documentary is awe-inspiring, pure entertainment, and quite enjoyable.

Ron Haward. Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo ©2024 FestivalinLA
 
In “Jim Herson: Idea Man,” award-winning director Ron Howard (“A Beautiful Mind,” “How the Grinch Stole Christmas,” “Thirteen Lives”) presents a linear and structured narrative that mainly focuses on the work of the Muppets creator rather than his personal life. 

People who adored the show can consider it a treasure. However, this sentiment may not apply to hardcore fans, who argue that much crucial information is missing, including Jim’s cause of death—a bacterial infection at the age of 53. Despite being a Disney+ movie, this documentary cannot be compared to Pixar’s “Coco,” a profound animation that explores the other side, death. 
 
The main reason Ron Howard selected the material lightly in the documentary on Jim Henson is that he wanted to keep it hopeful and not sentimental. Howard felt he was offering a real insight into the life of the creator of the puppets of “Sesame Street.” He saw the paradox between his material and Henson’s experimental films, which were very optimistic, human, and revealing.
 
After years of struggle, the young puppeteer, with a tremendous desire to work in television, made his first successful attempt during the summer of 1969 by including his Muppet characters interacting with humans in “Sesame Street.” 

Time magazine featured Big Bird in 1970. Cover credit: Bill Pierce.

A year later, Time magazine featured Big Bird on the cover with the quote: “… It’s not only the best children’s TV show in history, but it is also one of the best parents’ shows as well.”
 
After the success of Sesame Street, Henson could not find producers to make the Muppets Show a reality in the United States. Then, the production took a more international approach when Sir Lew Grade, the owner of the British ATV Starion, produced two specials with him: “Julie on Sesame Street” and “Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass.”
 
Sir. Grade was familiar with puppet television programs and offered Henson a deal to record “Muppets Show” at the Elstree Studios in England. The deal also included an international broadcasting contract with more than one hundred countries to air the show. 

Before departing for the U.K., Henson set aside his syndication and other union contracts with the Writers’ Guild and started production in London as soon as possible.
 
During the show’s taping, the producers followed and succeeded in booking big Hollywood stars such as Diana Ross, Henry Belafonte, and Tina Turner to participate as special guests of “The Muppet Show.”
 
Aired on Sundays, “The Muppet Show” had an astronomical acceptance. During the last three months of 1976, it was viewed by 14 million people in Great Britain.
 
Before making the documentary, the Henson family was reluctant to have the creative patriarch’s image and private life go public for numerous reasons. Looking at the archive, Ron Howard saw different options to approach his newest adventure. He focused on the entire family behind the creator and, of course, on the unforgettable characters.

Howard unfolds almost a biographical story that includes fabulous archival clips, treasured interviews, glorious footage behind the cameras, and some staggering and boundless graphic material that will keep us wondering more about the conception and embodiment of those dear and unforgettable characters and the creator himself. Disney Plus and a dozen other producers, counting members of the Henson family and the estate’s heirs, proceeded to produce the new documentary.

The music, produced by Hans Zimmer and composed by David Fleming (Blue Planet), is driven by playfulness and joy. Fleming adjusted to the time compression and moved around emotions dealing with ambition, creativity, a higher spirit, and Henson’s joyful place. Fleming focused on the diversity of the characters and the universality of the inspiring creations.

"Jim Herson: Idea Man" Panel. Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo ©2024 FestivalinLA

In the documentary, the evolution of Henson’s story connects with our memories of “The Muppet Show” and our personal childhood experiences at that time as we identified with Jim and his diverse characters.

The editor cleaned up the interviews with the Henson family using AI (Artificial Intelligence). The interviews give a unique flow to the linear structure. Those recordings were demanding and energizing for everyone, including the animation crew. According to the panel presented by Deadline at Vidiots in Eagle Rock, California, everyone who participated in Henson’s documentary wanted to make it right.

Jim Henson and his Muppet characters. 

The documentary was made to keep Jim’s voice active in a preservation form and to denote the evolution of Mr. Henson from his participation in “Sesame Street” into “The Muppets Show” and subsequently in the feature films proceeded and produced by the Jim Henson Company.
 
The interviews recalled the experiences of working with Mr. Henson with Academy Award-winners Jennifer Connelly and Rita Moreno, which are essential for audiences to sympathize with the main character and his creations. Late in the game, the producers of “Idea Man” continue finding more material regarding Henson’s work.

Ron Howard continues finding subjects with stories that really matter, and it is fascinating to discover, in this case, Jim’s early work. This documentary is about Henson’s journey and the challenges of risking everything he had to deliver one of the most transcendental shows in history for the entire family.

 

I applaud Howard’s team’s courage and tenacity in bringing to light the work and creations of the “Idea Man,” who, by creating one of the most influential TV shows, helped millions of children and parents learn, accept, and make this world a better place to live.


Vidiots screening, Eagle Rock, California. Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo ©2024 FestivalinLA

Jim Henson Idea Man | Official Trailer | Disney+


Vidiots’ Jim Henson’s movies on DVD display. Photo: José Alberto Hermosillo ©2024 FestivalinLA

Brian Henson, producer & studio executive, son of The Muppets creator, Jim Henson.
Brian Henson, producer & studio executive, son of The Muppets creator Jim Henson & José Alberto Hermosillo, critic at www.festivalinLA.com
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Tuesday, December 5, 2023

Smoke Sauna Sisterhood: Estonian Women Bonding Together

 By José Alberto Hermosillo 


“Smoke Sauna Sisterhood” is a stunning and powerful documentary, insightful and poetic. It reflects on women and other transcendental topics affecting their womanhood. 

Deep in the woods, where the rivers and clear waters converge, naked women talk about a wide variety of topics inside the smoky sauna. The foggy filters accentuated the light and distorted the images. Many women are photographed through shadows. Others are faceless or in close-ups to create a deeper connection with the audience. Their nudity makes us feel their vulnerability, but their voices and body language generate the image of strong women and stoicism.
 
The women continued discussing women’s issues – including motherhood, life, and death. Their period, losing their virginity, wearing loose pants, or giving birth to a girl, and feeling guilty for that simple fact of having a baby girl, not a boy, when, in reality, it should be considered a blessing.


Pregnancy and childbirth are other essential subjects narrated vividly and painfully.
 
Their intimate conversations continue involving involuntary abortion and the guilty feelings that follow those dramatic experiences. They even voice out their mother’s abortion freely, making it hard for the viewer to be judgmental.

Others talk about their relationship with their grandmothers, who participated in the war. They recalled how mentally challenging their lives have become since then and how they and their grandchildren inherited that traumatic experience.
 
When the bath is filled with herbs, things turn mystical, mainly because those herbs are used to clean the body and soul and to help chase away evil spirits.

 
“Smoke Sauna Sisterhood” is an honest depiction of women in their most vulnerable moments, with all the variants in between, expressing how they deal with their relationships with other women, how they cope with men, and how they prevail stoically through generations.


The story unfolds linearly, tribally, and cathartically – as the women emerge liberated from the sauna to submerge into the waters of the quiet river – making us think about their transition from a heavenly moment of intimacy with other women to nature.
 
“Smoke Sauna Sisterhood” is not religious or whimsical, and the women’s stories do not pursue a political agenda and do not wave the feminist flag that men disapprove of. On the contrary, it can be used as a tool for men to learn about women’s experiences through life and how women feel internally.

The documentary is Estonia’s Official Entry for Best International Feature Film at the 96th Academy Awards. It won the Director’s Award at the World Cinema Documentary competition at Sundance 2023, Best Documentary at the Golden Gate Awards, and Best Film at the Sophia Documental Fest in Bulgaria. 

Smoke saunas became an essential Vana-Vōromaa (Southeast Estonia) tradition, and it is now part of UNESCO’s list of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity.

I was skeptical about watching a project that includes in the title the word sisterhood, a total turn-off for men, and being prejudiced without knowing the importance of learning how women think and act when they are among other women. I ate my humble pie and recognized the excellence in filmmaking and how well-made it is because, believe me, “Smoke Sauna Sisterhood” by first-time director Anna Hints is the best documentary of the year.


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Sunday, November 5, 2023

Anselm: The Most Transcendental Artist of Our Time in 3D

  By José Alberto Hermosillo 


“Anselm” is a luminous and poetic documentary about the monumental artwork of the German iconoclast Anselm Kiefer.

Directed by Award-winning filmmaker Wim Wenders (“Wings of Desire,” “Faraway, So Close,” “Paris, Texas,” “Pina 3D,” “The Salt of Earth” and most recently “Perfect Days” in Japan), titled in German, “Anselm – Das Rauschen der Zeit” unfolds a deep understanding of Kiefer's oeuvre, focusing not on his personal life but on his body of work. The documentary adds 3D and a 6K resolution, a fascinating luster to the immersive experience of Kiefer's art and glory. 

As the story evolves, to see him working passionately and intensely inside his considerably large studio in the Renaissance town of Barjac, south of France, is a delight for all the senses.


The German artist is one of the most important exponents of Neo-expressionism. Many considered him a humanist for reflecting an essential part of the human condition in his work. The nonconventional visionary artist works with all the elements he can find in his surroundings. 
 
He likes to expand outside the framing to create his vast masterpieces. The mixed media on canvas he uses is only a tiny part of his architectural interiors and immense landscapes.
 
For one of his series, he burns an enormous amount of dry grass on a wall. He adds paint, plasters, concrete, and molded metal – giving the canvas a unique structure, shape, color, texture, depth, and smell. 

Anselm Kiefer's artwork transmits a sense of universality and infinite freedom to the spectator.



Anselm Kiefer was born in the Black Forest of the Southern town of Donaueschingen, Germany, in 1945, just at the end of WWII. His influences are the Norse legend, Wagnerian Opera, and Germany's Nationalistic identity, including the Nazi shameful period he brought to the center of the conversation.
 
The extraordinary footage of the film includes still photographs from when he was thirty, making it seem like he was different back then. Anselm Kiefer was a provocateur doing a photography series traveling around the world dressed in his father’s Wehrmacht uniform (German Arm Forces), displaying the Nazi salute during the 1968-1969 period.
 
He started as a bold artist who worked on the borderline between the conventional and the controversial presentation of his creations, ideologically speaking.
 
In contrast, he vividly paints the other side of history evenly by exposing the gas chambers of the concentration camps during the Holocaust. Other essential works also refer to the exodus of the Jewish community to Israel, which can be appreciated in the exhibits. From one particular point of view, he cannot deny the obscure past of his heritage. Nevertheless, we can find healing and reconciliation through his magnificent art.

In some of his pieces, he compares mushrooms with cancer cells, and we can see how those fungi expand rapidly in the woods as cancer in the human body.


The indelible reality of Kiefer’s work comes in the series titled “Memory,” which I find similar sentiments reflected in the creation of Mexican painter Frida Kahlo. Still, at a large scale, where what people see is not what the piece exactly represents, it is essential to know Kiefer’s work because it is transcendental for the ages.
 
Some people accused him of fascist, but Mr. Kiefer cannot control people's reactions to his creations. He can not be standing in front of every piece telling viewers, “I am antifascist,” to defend himself. Nowadays, it still is not clear what he was before, but certainly, he is not a Neo-Nazi.

Anselm Kiefer has exhibited those gigantic pieces in Venice, Bilbao, Hamburg, Tel Aviv, Chicago, New York, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, to mention a few cities where his work has been acclaimed.

The nonintrusive cinematography was done by Wender’s frequent D.P. collaborator Franz Lustig (“Aftermath,” “Perfect Days,” “Don’t Come Knocking”). 

The arresting visuals surrounding Kiefer’s work create a mystical atmosphere where spectators continue wondering more about his creations and his personal life in a more intimate setting. Still, that story is yet to come shortly in a French or probably Hollywood biopic. For now, we must be content with this astonishing documentary.
 
The purpose of art and cinema, in particular, is to open up the discussion about the life and work of a controversial artist and to make audiences aware of the existence of such an essential and celebrated talent like Anselm Kiefer.

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Saturday, September 9, 2023

The Eternal Memory: An Indelible Story of Love and Alzheimer's

 By José Alberto Hermosillo

The Eternal Memory poster

“The Eternal Memory” is this year’s most affectionate, endearing, and absorbing documentary. A total eye-opening experience! 

After the success of “The Mole Agent,” Academy Award-nominee Chilean documentarian Maite Alberdi, in her most recent work, “The Eternal Memory,” tackles another concern troubling our elderly population: Alzheimer’s, where she vividly displays the progression of the disease in her personal, observational, and moody style.
Augusto and Paulina. “The Eternal Memory.”
“La memoria infinita,” in Spanish, unfolds in the most intimate and affecting possible way the lives of the characters’ interaction in their daily routine and natural habitat, including their fear that the memory will start fading one day.
The lineal love story follows Augusto and Paulina, a Chilean couple who have been together for 25 years and plan to stay that way until death separates them.
Augusto Góngora was a respected Award-winning author, journalist, and broadcaster who lost his memory due to Alzheimer’s. But he always remembers something: his love for his devoted wife, Paulina.
Paulina Urrutia is a theater actress, an elected public official, and an affectionate caregiver. The news of Augusto’s sickness was devastating, mainly because you have to realize someone is here, but the memories are not. Critical decisions, such as going to the hospital, staying in a nursing home, continuing on life support, or other essential family matters, must be made collectively, including Augusto’s sons from his previous marriage.
During the Covid shutdown, they ended up isolated in their house, and the news on the radio announcing the number of people dead was frightening and challenging to understand for the 60-year-old. Still, those numbers mean nothing compared to the devastating number of people who lost a loved one. Augusto’s memory tried to make sense of those numbers as Paulina explained their meaning and ramifications.
Augusto and Paulina contemplating the eclipse. “The Eternal Memory.”
As the sickness progressed gradually, Augusto left all his jobs. He was very active when he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. He was the head of Chile’s Cultural Affairs for the National TV Department (TVN). Paulina had to continue working in theater and even in public TV to generate a source of income for their household. At one point, she had to bring Augusto to work, where he was pleased to talk to his former colleagues. She was not the only one taking care of him. It was the entire community, the barrio, who took care of him and other people with special needs. His most significant decline was during the pandemic. People’s isolation is harmful.
Maite remembers that the post-production process could have been smoother. While trying to finish editing the story, almost at the end, Paulina found in their basement an archive of invaluable tapes with Augusto’s shows, interviews, and personal memories, including powerful images of Pinochet’s dictatorship a few decades back and other vital photos with the work he did for former elected President Michelle Bachelet. According to the director, those materials were to enrich the project and must be added to the final cut. The recently found footage chronicling Chile’s internal and external movements and its transition from Pinochet’s dictatorship to actual democracy gives more meaning to the documentary.
In a Q&A session after one of the first screenings in Santa Monica, California, Paulina said, “Augusto’s sickness ran for almost ten years. It was like death in slow motion.” Still, Augusto’s most consequential act was to participate in the making of this transcendental project and preserve their love story forever. She also said that when Paulina came up with the idea of making the documentary, she was not convinced to let the film crew interrupt the most intimate moments of their daily lives and show it to the world until she saw the film. It was right after Augusto’s passing in May of 2023. Then, at that pivotal moment, she understood a long-lasting legacy of preserving his memory with this outstanding work of art, which she gratefully and humbly treasured.
Paulina Urrutia, "The Eternal Memory." Photo by José Alberto Hermosillo. Copyright © Festival in LA, 2023
Paulina Urrutia, “The Eternal Memory,” Santa Monica, California. Photo by José Alberto Hermosillo. Copyright © Festival in LA, 2023
During Covid, Paulina had to learn to use the camera and to record themselves. It ended up being a big gift during the lockdown. Paulina feels sorry for the terrible job she did with shaky and out-of-focus images. Her new job was a source of company during their most lonely moments. It was marvelous to have something to spend their days. She set the camera, pressed play, and let it run all day until she realized the battery was down. But she feels proud of her job and has enormous respect for the patience and dedication of the director.
The idea of making this original story came when documentarian Maite Alberdi read an interview in a magazine regarding a journalist who was on his way to pick up a National Award and developed Alzheimer’s disease. His wife, Paulina, cared for him lovingly and compassionately until the end. 
To get the subjects used to the cameras, weeks before the shooting, the director spent plenty of time with the characters and the crew in a small environment and made them feel comfortable acting as usual as if the team was not there; the same technique she used in “The Mole Agent.” 
In the music department, Maite used classic song covers from other Latin artists she admired, such as Cuban songwriter Pablo Milanes’ “Eternamente Yolanda.” The credits rolled with inserts of the couple’s transcendental moments. 
Some questions were left unsolved: his sons rarely appeared on camera, and we do not know who they were, what they do for a living, or how they helped their father in the last moments. There is a brief moment where we see Augusto in a nursing home, how long he has been there, and so on. Still, the documentary is a powerful tool to help study adult behavior during the progression of Alzheimer’s disease.
“The Eternal Memory” has similarities with the 2014 Award-winning South Korean documentary “My Love Don’t Cross that River,” which presented an almost hundred-year-old couple living together in the isolated mountains of the peninsula until the end of their lives. 
The same year, Juliane Moore won an Oscar for her powerful performance in the narrative Still Alice, which examines in depth one person’s loss of memory due to Alzheimer’s disease.
Maite Alberdi, "The Eternal Memory." Photo José Alberto Hermosillo. Copyright © Festival in LA, 2023
Maite Alberdi, "The Eternal Memory," Santa Monica, California. Photo José Alberto Hermosillo. 
Copyright © Festival in LA, 2023
Maite Alberdi makes documentaries about people she wants to be with, who make her feel joy, happiness, and love. As a filmmaker, she is looking for love in different situations. She sees everyone with the potential to tell a good story.
The 2023 Sundance’s Grand Jury Prize Award-winner is produced by Rocío Jaude and Oscar winners Juan de Dios Larrain and Pablo Larrain (“A Fantastic Woman”). The couple in this story parallels Chile’s recent history and can be relatable to everyone.
After experiencing loneliness during the pandemic and other illnesses affecting our aging population, Maite and Paulina's panel powerfully agreed: “It is our responsibility not to leave elderly people isolated.”
The heartbreaking documentary “The Eternal Memory” is not about someone losing their memory. It is about keeping the memory of the ones we lost due to Alzheimer’s disease. 
Maite Alberdi, "The Eternal Memory" & film critic José Alberto Hermosillo. Copyright © Festival in LA, 2023

Paulina Urrutia, "The Eternal Memory" & film critic José Alberto Hermosillo. Copyright © Festival in LA, 2023


The Eternal Memory - Official trailer

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