There's an old saying. "If you want to score high on rotten tomatoes, just make a documentary." Actually, that's a brand new saying, that I just said. But if you look through past docus on RT, you'll find that they consistently score above 80%. I, however, am touch and go on documentaries. Whenever I watch a documentary I get the nagging feeling that I'm being taught something. For whatever reason, this affects how I'm entertained. I feel juvenile about it but I can't help it and it's what's always kept documentaries just a peg below "real" films for me.
Well, this movie didn't feel like a documentary at all - even though it had a lot of documentary elements in it. It was so seamlessly put together, that you didn't care what you were watching, you just wanted to watch. I am going to give this movie some high praise. How high? Well, not only do I think it's the best movie of the year. I think it's the best documentary I've ever seen. Not only do I think it's best documentary I've ever seen. I think it's the best documentary I've ever seen BY FAR. I would even go so far as to call this movie a masterpiece. Yes, it's that good.
While you feel for all four characters, there's no doubt that the star of the film is Hannah, the "artsy" girl. And it doesn't take long to figure out why. No, not because the director is a woman and you get the feeling that she sees a lot of herself in this girl (although that clearly plays a part in it), but because every time she's onscreen, you can't look away. She's nervous and quirky and confident and beautiful and terrified and brave and cute all at once. And it's her desire to get out of Warsaw, Indiana to do bigger things that I (and probably most of you -- being filmmakers) most connected with.
There's a moment in the movie where she's having a heated discussion with her parents about why she wants to move to San Francisco for college (which they vehemently oppose). Her argument was that she wanted to chase her dream. Theirs was to be more practical. And they finally ask her why she isn't taking their advice. And she looks at them, point blank, and says, "Cause I don't want to end up with your lives" (paraphrasing). It was one of the most electrifying moments I've seen onscreen in a long time.
All the other kids are good too. The "popular" girl has more depth to her than you think and also has a couple of really great moments. The nerd is quite fun to watch. And the basketball player is pretty funny.
Go see this movie!
Well, this movie didn't feel like a documentary at all - even though it had a lot of documentary elements in it. It was so seamlessly put together, that you didn't care what you were watching, you just wanted to watch. I am going to give this movie some high praise. How high? Well, not only do I think it's the best movie of the year. I think it's the best documentary I've ever seen. Not only do I think it's best documentary I've ever seen. I think it's the best documentary I've ever seen BY FAR. I would even go so far as to call this movie a masterpiece. Yes, it's that good.
While you feel for all four characters, there's no doubt that the star of the film is Hannah, the "artsy" girl. And it doesn't take long to figure out why. No, not because the director is a woman and you get the feeling that she sees a lot of herself in this girl (although that clearly plays a part in it), but because every time she's onscreen, you can't look away. She's nervous and quirky and confident and beautiful and terrified and brave and cute all at once. And it's her desire to get out of Warsaw, Indiana to do bigger things that I (and probably most of you -- being filmmakers) most connected with.
There's a moment in the movie where she's having a heated discussion with her parents about why she wants to move to San Francisco for college (which they vehemently oppose). Her argument was that she wanted to chase her dream. Theirs was to be more practical. And they finally ask her why she isn't taking their advice. And she looks at them, point blank, and says, "Cause I don't want to end up with your lives" (paraphrasing). It was one of the most electrifying moments I've seen onscreen in a long time.
All the other kids are good too. The "popular" girl has more depth to her than you think and also has a couple of really great moments. The nerd is quite fun to watch. And the basketball player is pretty funny.
Go see this movie!
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