Hot Docs 2011: May 7 & 8

Reviews of screenings from the 2011 Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival, Toronto, Canada.

How to Die in Oregon (Dir: Peter D. Richardson)

This film is not a neutral, abstract consideration of the merits of Oregon's death-with-dignity law. Rather, it's a close-up and intimate portrayal of people who are in a position to consider whether or not to make that final decision. The film begins with an on-screen death and from there never flinches. Besides meeting several individuals dealing with terminal illness, it also follows the initiative campaign to bring similar legislation to Washington State. But most affectingly, the film follows Cody Curtis, diagnosed with inoperable liver cancer as she faces her options with her family and doctor. This isn't easy stuff, and if you're the sort to cry at movies, be prepared to cry at this one — but its considered compassion for the idea that patients deserve choice and dignity when facing the end of their lives is very powerful. An excellent film.

Our Newspaper (Dir: Eline Flipse)

An undeserving winner for best mid-length documentary at this year's festival, this film manages to muddle an interesting topic into relative dullness. Following the publisher of a small, independent newspaper in Uljanovsk (not so far away from the setting of Vodka Factory, also playing in this year's festival) there's a lot to chew on about the challenges of writing the news in today's Russia, where freedom of the press is under duress. In one sequence here, journalist Andrej Shkolni examines an alleged case of a local factory polluting a waterway, killing all the fish. Shkolni tells the camera that he has been warned against publishing the story (both from nebulous regime sources as well as locals not wanting to cause hardship to a much-needed source of jobs) and he muses about the pressures of self-censorship that he feels. But after following his efforts to dig up the story, we never see what he actually prints, or what the reaction to it is. Instead, the whole episode is never mentioned again. Perhaps he runs a story instead about ghosts or UFO's — both of which he also heads out to investigate. Dragging and unengaging, this hour-long film mostly made me wish it was more interesting.

It felt like a masterpiece, though, compared to the preceeding short The Naked of Saint Petersburg (Dir: Ada Bligaard Søby). Closer to an essay film than a proper documentary, this mixed voyeuristic peeks at daily life with stock footage to create a non-narrative impressionistic portrait of a city. Or, as a less sympathetic observer might observe, a seemingly-random cavalcade of images that makes twenty-two minutes drag by.

The Interrupters (Dir: Steve James)

Steve James is revered in documentary circles for his seminal Hoop Dreams, which is arguably one of the films that has established the beach-head of the current wave of non-fiction cinema. He's also brought some other very good work to the Hot Docs, including At the Death House Door, which screened at the 2008 festival. That track record was more than enough to get a big crowd out for a long feature about the work of CeaseFire, a group trying to find ways to stave off violence in Chicago. Although envisioned as a public heath project fighting off violence as if it were any other contagion, on the ground the work proceeds through the efforts of ex-cons and former gang members who can relate to the people they're working with. The film focuses on three workers, Cobe Williams, Eddie Bocanegra and Ameena Matthews, each of whom have personal reasons behind their strong drives. Matthews is especially inspirational, fierce and empathic in equal measures. A year-long portrait of these workers and the communities they serve, this was compelling throughout and one of the best films at this year's festival.

The Redemption of General Butt Naked (Dir: Eric Strauss & Daniele Anastasion)

Joshua Milton Blahyi is a fiery preacher in Liberia, teaching his flock about Jesus and salvation. But before receiving the call, Blahyi was a warlord known as General Butt Naked, so named for fighting battles wearing only his shoes and a gun — a state that he claimed rendered him impervious to bullets. Now, Blahyi is forced to deal with the aftermath of his past life, and we see him trying to create opportunities for former child soldiers and apologising to his victims. He even voluntarily takes the stand in front of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission and opines his forces may be responsible for up to 20,000 deaths in his nation's civil war. His zeal seems more genuine than self-serving, but is there a limit to how much credit these confessions should bring in the face of the atrocities he's committed? Does God's forgiveness excuse him from earthly sanction? Does reconciliation and offering the chance for forgiveness help victims more than retribution? The latter may be proven moot as there are undoubtedly some who would prefer harsh revenge — making his life among the populace he had formerly terrorised rather precarious. Following Blahyi over the course of several years, the film offers up all of these questions without trying to force any one response, meaning that this is a film that will linger in the viewer's mind long after viewing.

Mama Africa (Dir: Mika Kaurismäki)

Given that Hot Docs is generally a bit of a vacation from my usual routine, I normally avoid the music-themed docs — I have no shortage of music in my life the other fifty-one weeks of the year. But this made for a nice transition out of the festival. A solidly-constructed biographical treatment of Miriam Makeba that related the ups and downs of her life while spending just enough time with her music to make it understood why she was so revered. There were some strong figures in her life — she was mentored by Harry Belafonte and married to both Hugh Masakela and Stokley Carmichael — but there's no doubt that she was always a proud and independent woman. A nice mix of archival footage and new interviews, there are some talking heads here, but the film never feels static. And, most importantly, it's hard to leave the theatre and not want to listen to some of her music.

Screens with the eight-minute short The Power of Love (Celine Dion Fans in Kenya) (Dir: Joyce Wong), which is exactly what its title indicates, and laugh-out-loud funny, even if a not-especially deep investigation.