Pick of the Litter

Who doesn’t like dogs, puppies? Yeah, there are a few. Some have bad experiences, but that’s rare. Dogs can do so much for us. It’s hard not to love them.

The documentary Pick of the Litter shows how wonderful dogs can be, how lucky we are to have them. Pick of the Litter follows the puppies of the P litter: Patriot, Phil, Primrose, Poppet, Potomac as they go through the training and testing to become a guide dog. Few puppies ever make the cut. 

We meet these pups as their born and see how the staff at Guide Dogs for the Blind names each one. Then after 8 weeks the puppies are place with families that will begin training them so that they’re comfortable out on the street, in stores, at the airport, that they aren’t easily distracted and that they can heel. Some families are veteran trainers; others are first timers. Some will fail and the dog will be moved to another home. The guide dog center frequently observes these dogs and when a dog shows the wrong characteristics will “career change” the dog removes him or her from the program. 

After 14 to 16 months the dogs return to the center for more intense and specific training. They’re put on guide dog harnesses and taught to obey, to navigate busy streets and to know when to disobey a command because the surroundings are dangerous. Dogs are tested repeatedly. Some who don’t make it will become breeders; others will find new homes, new purpose.

This touching film shows how life changing a guide dog can be. Interviews with people who’ll receive these dogs show how much more independent a they will be. It’s a touching story of the dogs and people who work to make life much better for others.

Audience: Fine for all ages. No bad language, violence or sex.

Available: I got a DVD from the library but Hulu and Amazon also have it.  

Monk with a Camera

The documentary Monk with a Camera chronicles the spiritual journey of Nicholas Vreeland, whose grandmother was famed Vogue editor Diana Vreeland. Early in his life Nicky was a stylish, well-heeled, privileged boy. He became fascinated by photography in high school and after graduating college became a professional. While traveling the world he photographed the Dalai Lama and became fascinated with Tibetan Buddhism. At the age of 31 Nicky went to India, knowing no Tibetan, where he joined a Tibetan monastery. 

The 2014 film recounts his life with interviews of Nicky and of his family, old photos and film of his monastery and trips around the world. Richard Here pops up a lot with commentary. He went from jet setting youth to an abbot of a Tibetan monastery. Much of the film concentrates on his effort to raise money to build a new monastery since the community had grown and was bursting at its seams. Reluctantly, Nicky decides to fund the building by selling his photos in world capitals.

I enjoyed the colorful landscapes and the beautiful photos. Nicky, his mentor and his family were insightful and kept my interest. I do wish the film delved more into the details of Tibetan Buddhism. I was left with questions about the daily life of Tibetan monks. I wondered if Nicky had any “dark nights” of the soul and if so, how’d he overcome them. Unconsciously, I guess I wanted a Buddhist Seven Story Mountain. Still I enjoyed and recommend this documentary. 

The Booksellers

My friend Kevin recommended the documentary The Booksellers, which introduces people to to quirky world of selling rare books. Taking place in New York City, the film interviews booksellers, young and mainly old some of whom have been in the family business for generations. Viewers learn about rare books which are bought for their characteristics as an object rather than as something to read.

You’ll see the booksellers in their habitats whether it’s a tiny apartment filled from floor to ceiling with old books or a warehouse with 300,000 books. They all aren’t cut from the same cloth. Some are very quirky and probably don’t own anything with tweed, other’s may fit the stereotype better.

The subjects interviewed love their work, even though it’s at a precarious stage. As one man said, they’re part gold digger, part salesman. That pithy quote actually makes it sound easier than I think it is. They have to find that rare gem and then the right buyer, whether it’s a library, museum or collector.

Of course they muse over the future of book collecting. Fran Lebowitz was the most recognizable person in the film and offers witty, pertinent insights. I found it interesting that she’s observed that most of the people she sees reading books on the subway are inter 20s. She sees 40 year olds reading with a Kindle. Hmm.

I do think since most children will continue to learn to read with tangible books that books will stick around. Some of the booksellers also assert that as something becomes more rare, it become more worth collecting. If you sell rare books, you aren’t looking for lots of customers, you’re looking for people with passion — and funds.

Collectors were also featured. The one who got the most screen time was a woman who collects books that focus on female subjects or characters. She hit upon this theme probably 40 years ago when she noticed no special consideration was given to women and girls in the book collecting world. It’s not a surprise as the field is about 85% male. She’s built a sizable collection that fills rooms and includes objects like Annie Oakley’s riding gloves to jazz up the space.

The Booksellers reminded me of the rare book class I took a few years ago. tt’s a pleasant, charming way to spend a winter’s night. I saw it on Kanopy, a streaming service free from my library, but Kevin found it on Netflix.

Grant

The History Channel offered a capitvating documentary mini-series on the life of Ulysses S. Grantthis week. It’s still available online. We saw it advertised when watching The Last Dance and thought it would be worth checking out. I didn’t know much about Grant other than he was an important General during the Civil War and not much of a president. I’ve learned that that was an inaccurate view of a brave, intelligent man.

Grant grew up poor. His father was a tanner and both parents were staunch abolitionists. He went to West Point where he wasn’t a shining star, but he met men like Robert E. Lee and other future Civil War leaders. When he fought in the Mexican-American War, his distaste for war was solidified, but he also proved to be unique in his ability to think clearly in the heat of battle.

This documentary features several notable historians and shows the complexity of a great military strategist and a popular President who’s become forgotten through the decades. The commentary is interspersed with excellent reenactments.

Part of the reason for Grant’s tarnished reputation is that in the 1960s, Southern historians published profusely and changed the narrative reshaping Grant’s life so that he came across as a drinker who became a corrupt President.

From this documentary you learn the complexity of Ulysses S. Grant. He was an abolitionist whose father-in-law bought him a slave, a slave that he soon freed. At the time Grant was poor and couldn’t support his family, but believed in equality and though he could have made a lot of money by selling rather than freeing this man, chose to free him. Yes, Grant drank, but he also knew that was a weakness and dealt with it. He’s a man who knew failure and poverty, but overcame them. He was an honest man, a military genius, and popular President who sought to bring a divided country together.

Grant is a gripping documentary from start to finish.

 

The Last Dance

ESPN is showing The Last Dance, an amazing 10 part documentary focusing on the 1997-98 Season of the Chicago Bulls. Michael Jordan is certainly the star of the show. What would you expect? I enjoy watching interviews with his mother, his father and his high school and college coaches.

But there’s a lot of time devoted to other team members. Episode 2 had a lot about forward Scottie Pippen and much of the first two episodes featured General Manager Jerry Kraus and owner Jerry Reinsdorf. By including these important behind the scenes figures, the drama is heightened.

The documentary is thoroughly dramatic as it shows mainly key figures like Kraus, Reinsdorf, Michael’s mother, Pippen’s brothers, and describing the final season of the most famous Bull’s team play what coach Phil Jackson dubbed “The Last Dance,” when the team granted documentary makers unprecedented access to the famed team.

On Sunday nights I’m usually a Masterpiece viewer, but The Last Dance offers more grace in Michael and his team’s fantastic playing and drama in the conflict between the office and the players.

I found every interview, every game sequence compelling. The Last Dance is definitely “must-see” TV.

Miss Americana

Steven Crowder offers a thorough review of Taylor Swift’s film Miss Americana. I saw this twice at the festival as it was shown twice where I was volunteering.

I just don’t follow Taylor Swift’s music as I’m of the era of The Who, The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Pink Floyd, etc. I feel she sings for a younger fan. I did learn something about her life and saw how she presents a dazzling image on stage. Again, a highly produced, dazzling show doesn’t wow me. I’m content to see musicians in street clothes performing live to an audience that’s less than 100.

The documentary presents Taylor without much input from anyone else. I wish there were interviews with the music teachers or voice coaches and people who knew her when. Instead we see this young singer talking and talking to the camera giving her views on her life. During the post-film Q and A, where no audience questions were allowed, Taylor Swift said that she wanted to make a film that wasn’t propaganda. That comment verified my thought that this was a propaganda film. All the ideas came from the subject or were approved by her. She may be a wonderful person, but I’d like others to speak up and say so.

The documentary includes some early footage from her childhood and teens, but I was left wondering exactly who chose to make her records. Who gave her a break? No one succeeds without help and that’s not a bad thing necessarily. However, the film makes it seem that Taylor Swift’s success is solely due to her efforts. While she probably does work extremely hard, she has to have help from others. Also, it’s just more interesting to show different memories, different stories, and different perspectives.

Steven Crowder makes some excellent points about how Taylor probably has glossed on to some ideology without analyzing information, without comparing what her team tells her with other information sources. I agree that she has made some big mistakes in her thinking. Her 4th wave feminism hurts women and creates a straw man to vilify.

In short, this is a film for avid Taylor Swift fans, though they probably already know all this. I feel the film was a waste of my time.

Chef Flynn

A patron recommended the documentary Chef Flynn about Flynn McGarry, a boy who’s been creating fine dining experiences since he was in middle school. Flynn’s mom, a filmmaker who repeatedly laments putting her own career on the back burner, has supported Flynn’s cooking since he was a toddler and was probably eating organic baby food.

While watching a prodigy teach himself the fine points of gourmet cooking was interesting, I found the stage mom’s hovering hard to watch. It’s great to see a parent promote a child’s interests and talent development, but this “support” can cross a line into control and vicarious living. In Chef Flynn I saw that misstep from the mother who continues to film her kids even when they ask her to stop and when she inserts close ups of her business card into the documentary. Sometimes the mom offered solid common sense, but often she made me cringe when she asked Flynn how many “Likes” he’d received or when she got up in the middle of the night to see if The New York Times story was published online and then worried that it wasn’t online at the minute it was promised. Of course, a mom would buy the paper featuring her son, That’s normal, but getting up before the sun and refreshing a page compulsively because the article wasn’t yet posted was fanatic. And all that hovering as well as the self-imposed pressure for Flynn to make it big as a world class chef as a teen was painful to watch.

I also wish the father had been able to speak in the film. What does he think about the family, about Flynn’s talent and success? We get all our information and the analysis of her divorce from the mom. Again, painful to watch since it’s clear to the audience what’s missing.

The Eagle Huntress: Background

The documentarian behind The Eagle Huntress (2017) describes the story of its making.

Won’t You Be My Neighbor?

Wow! I can’t think of a more sincere, thorough look at a man dedicated to making the world a better place. I can be sarcastic and skeptical, you’ve got to have a heart of stone to not be moved by this documentary about the work of Fred Rogers, the force behind the classic children’s show Mr. Rogers’s Neighborhood.

This 2018 documentary shows Fred Rogers’ life from when he started his career planning to go seminary and then go into ministry. He was about to enter ministry just as television was gaining steam. Back then children’s television was little more than mean spirited slapstick comedy. While he would have made a fine pastor, he impacted the country much more through broadcast.

Fred understood the power of television and the complexity of children. While networks saw kids as needing little more than cheap laughs, Rogers saw that the medium could do more to help children understand their emotions and the problems of the world that scare us all.

Because it was so different, Mr. Rogers Neighborhood won kids, parents and child development experts over.

The film features his  wife, sons, the actors in the program and others in the media explaining their experience and insights on Fred. It shows Fred interacting with kids as well as speaking before congress. Moreover, it discusses the parodies and challenges that Fred struggled with. It even shows the protestors who came to his funeral. I was surprised that anyone would protest against Mr. Rogers at his funeral in 2003.

No one has followed in his footsteps, which is a pit. We’ve got plenty of snarky humor, more sincerity would be welcome.

It’s a shame that this wasn’t at least nominated for Best Documentary in 2018.

Frank Serpico

While I’d heard of the Al Pacino movie Serpico, I didn’t know the plot or anything other than that Frank Serpico was a NY cop with a rebellious streak. This documentary, Frank Serpico, gives the story of Serpico often in his own words and in the words of New York Times reporters and cops who worked with him.

Frank Serpico is a colorful character and always has been. The film is chronological and provides background on his youth and family. I learned that before Serpico joined the police force, he was a teacher in New York.

Serpico seemed to be a skillful cop who from the start was on the periphery of the force because he wasn’t Irish American. Irish Americans made up the majority of the force. The film makes much of how Serpico was an outsider which made him more likely to speak out, report and testify against the pervasive corruption in the NYPD in the 1970s.

While working in narcotics, Serpico soon discovered that most of his peers were on the take. Another investigation supported Serpico’s conclusion. Cops on up the hierarchy were taking in millions. As predicted, Serpico was targeted by the cops who resented him. If you’ve seen the movie from the ’70s, you know he was shot and abandoned by the other cops. Because a civilian called the police, Serpico got medical attention and lived.

Now in his 80s, Frank Serpico describes what happened and why he was so ethical. There’s an interesting scene when Serpico was reunited with one of the cops who didn’t report Serpico getting shot.

The good cinematography that adds point of view. The movie with Pacino is brought up a lot and as Serpico wasn’t after fame, he exiled himself far from the city. A few areas could have been eliminated or shortened as they were repetitive. All in all, this was a film that held my interest that apparently isn’t as embellished as the Hollywood production. So if you’re interested in the police in general or Frank Serpico in particular, check out this film.