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.