I have low tolerance for self indulgent artsyness and Tarkovsky films look superficially like they might be in this category, which is a shame because, as Tony the Tiger might say, they’re great. Nothing comes as close to a moving painting as a Tarkovsky film.
Here is a documentary where the director recounts his life and work.
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Total time: approx. 50 mins.
Jonny Kennedy lived 4 decades with a dreadful illness that causes unimaginable pain, before contracting terminal cancer. But he was not scared or bitter. For him this mortal coil was a burden that once lifted by death would set him free for an afterlife which would be wonderful.
Kennedy agreed to make a documentary of his last months, which is a groundbreaking for several reasons. It deals with a profound issue head on, with humor and insight and with neither clawing sentimentality nor morbid voyeurism. The success of the film is principally the result of the endearing personality of Kennedy, who narrates the path leading up to his own death as if he is speaking from the grave.
The moment when he briefly lets his guard down is one of the most emotionally powerful pieces of television I have ever seen. Jonny Kennedy lived a life to remember and left a film to help do just that.
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There should be plenty of things to watch about Darwin this year, as we mark 200 years since his birth, and 50 since the law (in the traditional sense) of Evolution by Natural Selection was first presented.
This is the first in a 3 part series, presented by Dawkins, with the following parts being shown on Channel 4 in the UK, next, and the following Monday.
Running time: 48 mins.
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Jon Ronson’s Documentary about Kubrick. What the hell is he talking about at the start?
If an artist painted each picture she did in a different style, we would think her a fraud, or at least derivative. One way of showing you meant something and to demonstrate a style is to repeat it. A single Jackson Pollock might have looked accidental and wouldn’t have made a splash, as it were.
Kubrick set out to create definitive films in different genres and with different styles (Sci Fi: 2001, Horror: The Shining, War: Full Metal Jacket, Epic: Spartacus). Astoundingly, he pulled it off.
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A touching documentary about Ian Shaw, whose daughter died on the Swiss Air flight 111 from New York to Geneva in 1998. Shaw, a very successful Geneva business man, moved on his own to the site of the crash in Novia Scotia, where he bought a diner.
My wife, who is from near Geneva, had a friend who died on this flight, on his way home after a year traveling.
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