rumb dir. Terry Zwigoff and Here's Johnny dir. Adam Lavis, Kat Mansoor and Will Hood

At Nina's we watched the fantastic Crumb, a documentary about the American comic artist Robert Crumb. Crumb, his two brothers, his ex's and current wife are open, honest and articulate which makes for an engaging film. Crumbs story however doesn't rely on talking heads and anecdotes (which are excellent) but on his comic strips and sketchbooks which take you on a journey through his waking life and subconscious sexual desires and fears. The film, although allowing for some criticism of Crumbs work, is an understanding portrait. It also dealt sensitively to Crumbs brothers who have many 'issues' which could easily have been dramatised. We watched this as part of a double bill with a recently commissioned Britdoc film Here's Johnny about a graphic artist struggling against Multiple Sclerosis. It did have potential to be good, he is a good artists and the subject matter was interesting but it was really disappointing. There was no intimacy in the film and the heavy use of graphics didn't help. There was an honesty to much of what Johnny talks about but seemed mostly that kind of pub/jokey cynical truth that leaves you a bit cold.

The Atomic Cafe (dir. Jayne Loader, Kevin and Pierce Rafferty)

This is a great documentary about the nuclear era from an American perspective. The film relies solely on archive material from the forties, fifties, and I think sixties, ranging from newsreel footage to military training films. There is no narration other than that from the archive footage of film and radio clips as well as carefully chosen songs which reflect the nuclear theme. It's wonderfully crafted so that you see the propaganda and the hypocrisy of the media and government and think about the fear and paranoia it caused the nation as well as the similarities in the nature of the footage to today's media in this country. Despite the horrors we see in this film such as the 'scientific' study of the effects of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki (close-ups of destroyed bodies) there is humour in the film. I guess, however, it's that kind of incredulous humour when we see things like billboards warning people to be on the look out for communists spies and government instructional films such as "Duck and Cover', like that's going to save you from a nuclear blast. Of course the film is a piece of propaganda in itself in that it's one sided and perfectly crafted for great effect, so in a way is a reflection of what it criticises, especially as it doesn't deviate from the source material but perhaps that's what saves it from being 'preachy'.

I Don't Want to Sleep Alone (dir. Tsai Ming-liang)

A Malaysian-Taiwanese film shot almost like a series of stills. The camera is static for each scene and the perspective is that of a slightly disengaged observer. The opening shot is of a man in bed, the radio is on and a breeze blows the net curtain. It lasted about two minutes but wasn't in the slightest bit tedious. There are only two shots in the whole film where we have a view from a character's perspective. Once where the camera looks down a gap in the floorboards to a man in his sickbed below. The other is from the viewpoint of the sick man when his 'nurse' attempts to violently attack him. I didn't really follow the plot of the film and because of the way it was shot, and there being so little dialogue, you don't engage with the characters in the way you do with conventional films. It was a different kind of film experience though, which was refreshing. Because the shots are so long, you really see what's in the frame and the scenes are so vivid and memorable, like you have experienced them because you can actually remember details of say how a room was laid out. It had a kind of 'bodily' atmosphere which reminded me of Steve McQueen's 'Hunger'. And also a strong sense of everyday materials. There's this bloody great futon which is lugged around, washed, slept on, carted off somewhere else. It has a strong presence in the film, just as much as the other characters. The thin plastic carrier bags and plastic food bowls, things we use and live with but in the film we are suddenly aware of their weight and density and texture, without the camera doing the sort of close-up/shallow depth of field thing to make it feel intimate.The film was banned in Malaysia. I think homosexuality, poverty, interracial relationships and slightly deviant sex was a portrayal official didn't want associated with their touristic vision of the country.

Over Exposed (dir. Ashley Jones & Melinda McDougall)

This is a series of four 3 Minute Wonders I was asked to edit by the film production company Green Lions. Ash and Mel had conducted a number of interviews with people involved in the strip industry. They only managed to get one interview with a punter though. I guess a lot of guys who go, even though they can justify it to themselves/friends etc. when it comes down to it, going to strip clubs it's still a bit of a dirty-little-secret. Each film was from the perspective of: Strip Club Owner, Punter, Protester and Dancer. The best and easiest for me to edit was the dancer. I had a great audio interview to work with and fantastic images (filmed by Jack Barnes). It was like creaming butter and sugar together. The hardest one was the protester as I didn't like a lot of what he said, that sort of politics which is all about not-in-my-backyard and to-hell-with-everyone-else. I think the films are beautiful. It was the first time Jack had done any filming as he's a photographer. He was using the Canon D5 which is a stills camera but shoots video. I think the nature of the camera and because it was shot by a photographer, gave the films a very particular look and style. The shots are very static, people move through the frame rather than the camera following and there's a lovely depth to the images. I think the films are informative and respectful to all involved and was happy to be working with people who are not out to exploit or sensationalise this topic and the people involved.

Black Sun (dir. Gary Tarn)

This is a film narrated by the French artist Hugues de Montalembert. He tells his moving and uplifting story from the starting point of the night he lost his sight completely after a random attacker threw paint thinner in his eyes. He talks about the changes to his perceptions and how visual his mind still is. This inflicted disability has not stopped his creativity, nor has he lost his independent spirit. He travels the world alone and while in Bali writes a book. The director Gary Tarn uses 16mm footage, mainly of street life in New York and some of the places Hughes travelled to. He also composed the music so the whole film feels very intimate and tender. It reminded me of Chris Marker's Sans Soleil in terms of how the visual and narrative work together but I found Hughes narration, unlike the fictional character in Sans Soleil, added strong sense of personal humility which adds to the beauty of the film.

My Dinner With Andre (dir. Louis Malle)

Not strictly a documentary but it's not fiction either. The film takes place in a restaurant where two men have a conversation over dinner. The men are the playwright and actor Wallace Shawn and the theatre director Andre Gregory. In the film, Andre mentions a theatrical improvisation technique where instead of improvising in the role of a character, you improvise in the role of yourself. The film seems to have been conceived with this approach in mind as the two men talk about their real life experiences and philosophies but within the structure of excellent writing and film making. I think because they come from a theatrical background, the film has the feel of realtime, even though there is obviously editing, there are no flashbacks or internal perspectives. It's as if you are a silent and ignored dinner guest. When guestroom were asked to do an event at FormContent, we decided to show this film and make a dinner. We set up the projector and table so that the table was almost an extension of the screen so it did in fact feel like you were having dinner with them. Some of the dishes were the same as in the film, the fish pate and potato soup, but we couldn't stretch out budget to make quail for 14 people so did stuffed tomatoes instead. Then, over desert of chocolate cake and poached pears we discussed the film.

The Last Waltz (dir. Martin Scorsese)

I had never heard of this film or the band The Band until last week. The film is heralded as one of the greatest music documentaries ever, and I presume from the amazing line up of special guests playing at this document of their last ever concert that they were a pretty big band. Ah, well, I guess knowledge gaps exist for everyone. The concert took place in the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco in 1976. Directed by Martin Scorsese were seven famous cinematographers using 35mm cameras. The budget must have been huge. The Band were joined on stage by a succession of musicians such as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and Eric Clapton. For me, the best bit was Muddy Waters. He sang his amazing 'Mannish Boy' but what really worked was that only one of the seven cameras was filming him (due to some technical/human errors) but it was great to have that solid focus, especially on such a strong vocal. All the songs are played in full and the film is interspersed with Scorsese's interviews with the band members. The interviews are are a bit lite in a way, they are more like a bit of casual chit-chat between the songs but then the film is really about the concert and a celebration of the music and this is the strength of the film.

Awsome, I...Shot That! (dir. Nathaniel Hornblower)

At a concert at Madison Square Garden, the Beastie Boys handed out 50 High8 cameras to audience members to film the live concert. It sounded quite a crazy thing to do but actually it was pretty well organised. The chosen audience members were all given matching green tracksuits and an upbeat debriefing. There were some professional cameras filming the concert too so they weren't completely reliant on their fans and their jerky camera work. I wanted to watch this because I was interested to see how the concept worked, not because I'm heavily into the Beatie Boys. The image quality was very poor but it was very well edited and I guess with more than fifty shots to chose from, the editor was bound to find usable material. It did give a sense of being with the audience but not being so into the music, it became rather boring as it was visually quite limited. There was a whole lot of different camera angles, sharply cut to the beat but as there was not much theatrics or onstage visuals, after a while a bunch of guys jumping around with occasional shots of the crowd with their hands in the air just wasn't enough to hold my attention for the whole film.

Let's Get Lost (dir. Bruce Webber)

Shot in black and white, this documentary about Chet Baker begins on a beach in Santa Monica. Chet and friends act-out a perfect image of 'carefree': spinning, arms outstretched, that kind of thing. That put me off a bit. I'm not very good at carefree. The whole film is beautifully shot though and there are some pretty honest reflections on Chet by his ex's and children he rarely sees. Chet himself is pretty elusive, or forgetful, or both. He's only in his fifties (not long before he accidentally fell to his death from a hotel balcony) but he looks close to the end of his life already. The film itself and how Chet is revealed in this film has a nostalgic, romanticised feel, though maybe this is heightened by the beautiful filming. Like the contrast between black and white, the film contrasts the young Chet through some great archive footage of him looking beautiful with Chet now, ravaged by drug abuse. His voice, consistently ethereal and wonderful, is contrasted with the stories of his greedy, cheating, manipulative, destructive ways. However, for all the bad he has done in his life, everyone, including the director, seems weirdly to forgive him.

Trouble The Water (dir. Tia Lessin & Carl Deal)

This is an exceptional documentary. The filmmakers, having arrived in New Orleans to make a documentary about Hurricane Katrina in the aftermath, bump into Kimberly Roberts, a young local aspiring rap artists who wants to show them the footage she shot on her High 8 camcorder. Realising that despite the poor image quality and the shaky camera work, before them was remarkable footage and a remarkable person. Kimberly stayed in Orleans because she had no money to leave and there was no public transport provided for those that needed it. The have-nots were left to their fate. The filming Kimberly does on the day the hurricane is due to strike is filled with people oblivious or uncertain of what is headed their way. Kim keeps filming as they are forced into the attic of their home and the water keeps rising. Neighbours who were once enemies come together and those that can, help those that are stranded. The aftermath is horrific, of course the physical devastation to the place, but it's the slowness and lack of adequate care and support by the government that makes the treatment of these people horrific. Kimberly morns for her grandmother who was in a local hospital and not evacuated and amongst many other patients who died as a result. Her brother is released on bail from prison and tells how the day before the storm, the TV was taken away so they had no idea what was going on except suddenly these was no food or water and inmates took to eating paper or toothpaste in the following days. Her uncle's body is found in his home two weeks after the storm. Too little too late but Kimberly and her husband aren't blame mongers, their energy is directed towards surviving and probably always has been. One of the best moments in the film is when Kimberly sings along to one of her tracks where she describes the conditions of her young life but knows that these things just make her stronger and more amazing. Kimberly was lucky to have bumped into these directors and they were lucky to have her and her High 8 tape in their film. It is edited beautifully, mixing Kimberly's rough with the director's 16mm, on a tripod, seamlessly. It's a splendid rarity.

Joy Division (dir. Grant Gee)

I wanted to watch this Joy Division documentary because the first one I saw was so bad I thought it couldn't be worse so I was glad that it was pretty good. It was a straight forward chronological re-telling of the Joy Division myth but straight from the those closest to the music. They had lengthy interviews with band members, record producer, manager, Annik, Ian's girlfriend, and other industry people on the scene at the time and had a direct connection with Joy Division. Ian's widow wasn't in the film but extracts from her book were included. It was well researched, a bit graphic-heavy, but had a good pace, great archive footage and a good narration. I felt some of the graphics were unnecessary, especially the kind of solarised shapes moving over archive footage of live recordings of the band. It got in the way a bit. Most of it though was well produced and used to good effect. The story of Joy Division (well Ian Curtis really) is an interesting one, however, the film didn't go beyond what most TV documentaries do. It was pretty formulaic in terms of its structure and when you've watched too many 'factuals' on iPlayer in a short space of time, they tend to blend into one massive talking head.

Family (dir. Sami Saif and Phie Ambo)

This is a strange documentary. Something about it reminded me of a Hollywood movie. I think it was to do with the horrendous 'epic' music and editing which seemed like a conveyor belt to dramatic moments. It worked though. I cried at all the right bits. The film is about Sami (who directs the film with his girlfriend Phie) and his journey to find his father. When I read the blurb about this film, I wasn't particularly interested in this kind of story as it would seem a fairly predictable flowchart of possible outcomes. In this sense, it was predictable and despite Sami being pretty annoying (until he meets one of his brothers in Yemen) it was a moving story. Abandoned by his father at a young age, his older brother committing suicide, which was quickly followed by his mother's death, Sami and his girlfriend decide to make a film about his search for his father. A few long-distance phone calls later (Sami is Danish-Arab) and Sami is in Yemen where he meets countless relatives that are instantly and overwhelmingly loving. It was moving to see him with his older brother who was so warm and loving towards a doubtful and insecure Sami. It is infectious and Sami ends up comforting and supporting his older brother as he opens up about his own childhood experiences of their father. It's not a film I would ever bother watching again because there was nothing really beyond the description on the back of the DVD, but there were some lovely moments in the film.