A political film – what else? I was intrigued by this film and its description which suggested it was a look at how super PACs are used to win votes and drive the US political elections. One of the interesting things about verité documentaries is the risk. Directors pick a time, person or institution and get invitations to follow and observe. This is very much the technique for Brother’s Keeper which was one of the first documentaries to use this kind of approach. Many of the other films at this year’s festival used this technique to great success. This film also sought and got access to Ben Carson’s run for office in the last US Election and to the super PAC’s that supported him. In this case we are looking at Christian evangelists who tried to put together the resources to get their man nominated. Carson of course self destructed and instead of gaining insight into how super PACs have had a powerful impact on elections we see incompetence at both the level of the super PAC and the candidate. A sad but sympathetic look at Carson himself but for providing insight into the US political situation the film fails totally. Not so great unless you are a Carson fan.

Step is a dance/exercise program that is the focus of this documentary. The title and the description were a bit misleading but basically this is about a program in Baltimore to give a group of primarily female black kids from disadvantaged neighborhoods a shot at College and escape. The step program is part of the curriculum at The Baltimore Leadership School for Young Women. The girls are preparing for a state step championship as well as preparing to be the first graduating class from the school. Of course, the film is inspiring and all the girls make it. Not only winning the state championship but also all making it to College. The Director was present for a Q and A where I lost some respect for the film and its subject. The Director is rich, very rich and comes from a very rich family. She is a producer of Broadway shows and her mother, in an act of charity funded the Baltimore school in which this film is based. The school is a charter school and admission is limited although handled by lottery. So the girls who get in are lucky, very lucky and there is no other option of similar quality for the rest of the population in similar poverty in Baltimore. The director was confronted about this by one member of the audience but declined to respond saying: “I don’t want to get into that controversy”. Sadly this is the real point. The US is increasingly relying on charity or profit motive to provide quality education to kids rather than a robust public education system. This will be enhanced under the Trump presidency and Betsy DeVos the new Secretary of Education. The contrast to my perception was a group of girls from Jane/Finch who were also part of a step program who cheered the movie big time. I think sadly they did not understand the larger issue. I should also note that while some of the docs at the festival do have support from major funders like Netflix and Amazon, this film has been picked up for distribution by 20^th Century Fox. Of course. For more of my leftist attitude on this issue please see the review of For Ahkeem.

I was somewhat disappointed by this film. Being a leftie of the best sort I read the description of this film and was attracted to the description of a film that would look at the insane world of art auctions and collecting that carried on despite the horrendous impact of the economic crisis of 2008. So at the start they mention the crash but then just carry on describing the world of art auctions, the buyers, the artists who feed off the insane amounts of money and agents who promote both. Rather than being particularly critical of it, the film makes no judgement other than to describe it and in some sense to be envious of the various players in the business. Some interviews with artists suggest they are not entirely happy with the situation and its unfairness to many but that is about as far as it goes. The rest of the film is simply a glimpse into the activities of some of the one percenters and how little they care about the rest of us.

This film is very highly rated on Rotten Tomatoes and IMdB but I was less impressed. Sure it is great to see a film that looks at one of the 20^th Century’s most successful directors but it is one of the most sycophantic and self indulgent films I have seen in some time. Yes, I liked some of De Palma’s films: The Untouchables and Mission Impossible but that is about where it ends and really these are in some cases great trash but there is really nothing here that deserves the adulation this man gets. The film focuses on him – long interviews in which he praises himself unequivolently. I found it a bit tiresome in the end. He talks about his work and how it developed over time and how he learned so much from the masters like Hitchcock and Truffaut but how luckily he was able to improve on them all. He noted at one point how directors begin to fade in time and points to how after Psycho, Hitchcock really lost it and did not make another worthwhile film. He, De Palma, of course has not suffered the same fate. So while some of you may be bit fans of the guy and will enjoy seeing him congratulate himself on his amazing career, I would suggest the rest of you wait until a more appropriately critical study is made so you will learn something useful rather than suffer through self praise.