Hot Docs

Review: Love At the Twilight Motel [2009, Alison Rose]

Posted on April 8, 2010 by Ricky in Hot Docs | Leave a comment

Toronto – Formally known as Love at the Starlite Motel, Love at the Twilight Motel is Alison Rose’s journey in the seemingly dark world of the people who frequent hourly motels. The setting of the documentary takes place in Miami, and the Twilight Motel is one of the city’s busiest (especially the hours of 12:00 – 2:00). Here, many people arrive shrouded in secrecy to do whatever they have to do. The documentary follows the lives of an escort, a (dirty) massage therapist, a hooker, a junkie and a cheating housewife among others.

The Miami setting lends itself to a host of colorful characters that speak both English and Spanish. The subjects give out very intimate details about what they do at these motels and why they do/justify it. I found it extremely interesting, if not a bit depressing, as most of the characters seem to be stuck in a vicious cycle that seems to be having a negative impact on their lives. However, as messed up as you might think these people are, you are also surprised at how normal they are in the interviews and sometimes the justifications for their actions seem to make sense. You can kinda see it from their perspective, which is always a sign of a good documentary.

The documentary is nicely shot, and careful angles are used to ensure the subjects anonymity although anyone with lets say..okay voice recognition would probably be able to pick out who these people are right away if they knew them.

A compelling look into at the inhabitants of what most people would assume is a seedy underbelly of any city.

Love at the Twilight Motel plays at

The Royal April 10 & 11, 2010 at 7pm
The Revue on April 14 & 15, 2010 at 7pm

Hot Docs Review – Broke [Rosie Dransfeld, 2009]

Posted on May 8, 2009 by Wade in Everything, Hot Docs, Movies | Leave a comment


A few things about being broke that I have noticed over the past few months

1. You will eat a three-year-old box of Kraft Dinner and you will enjoy it.
2. You will always find money for alcohol.
3. Being home beats the shit out of getting up and going to work.

This movie, BROKE, was really good. It is a Canadian doc about an Edmonton pawnshop owner and the daily running of his business. They filmed it basically by putting a camera and sound guy in the pawnshop and filming what went down.

I found myself laughing out loud several times. The arrogant, rude, yet innocent things that come out of the pawnshop owners’ mouth are priceless. It was enjoyable for several reasons. First, you are interested in the clientele that come into pawnshop. Their stories, their haggling, their various states of intoxication. Priceless. Second, I was interested in the relationship between the Jewish pawnshop owner and his helper friend. Third, there was a narrative arc that brought us full circle. Yes, this movie was pretty spectacular. Great editing and a killer concept will leave you thinking ‘why didn’t I think of this?’

I am giving it a 4.5 out of 5. Why not a 5? Well, because the music was horrible. Imagine a bible thumping after school special from the 1980’s, then imagine music worse than that. Although the music was used sparingly, when it did come on, all I could think was “Who the crap chose this?”

You have one more chance to see Broke. It scored a repeat screening this Sunday night. I suggest you get your ass out and see it.

9:45 Sunday, May 10th – Innis Town Hall *plays with The Man Behind The Log

Hot Docs Review – Short Docs

Posted on May 5, 2009 by Wade in Everything, Hot Docs | Leave a comment

Man Behind The Log – John Lehmann, 6min

This shortie is about a man in Vancouver who lives behind a log on the beach and is able to sell his artwork for thousands of dollars at a local gallery. The story is told through still photos and video. The photos and video were very crisp and sharp, obviously done in HD. The medium that a story is told in is a very important piece of the puzzle. Here is a story about a broken down homeless man and it looks perfect. It is obvious that John Lehmann is a talented photo journalist, but for this story, I couldn’t get past how perfect the imagery was. Had he shot this film using a Polaroid 600 or on Super 8, I think it would have been much more effective.
3/5

Screenings
1:30, Thursday, May 7 @ Cumberland 2 with Broke
9:45, Sunday, May 10 @ Innis Town Hall with Broke

Pockets – James Lee, 3 min

This movie is three minutes of pure bliss. People carry odd things in their pockets, often very personal things. Hearing the stories behind all these personal objects is really fun. Simple, personal and beautifully shot.
5/5

No more screenings

Carmen – Larry Young, 6 min

A story about a woman who takes care of her sick husband 24/7. It plays out as a story about commitment and true love. It left me with a lot to think about. Here is a woman whos’ life revolves around taking care of her husband. When the movie ended I was left thinking about how much her husband is dependent on her, but also that she is possibly just as dependent on him as he is of her. Hmmmm.
4/5

No more screenings

Steel Homes – Eva Weber, 10 min

After doing some research on Eva Weber I was pretty jacked about seeing Steel Homes. Her pervious work includes The Intimacy Of Strangers, a doc constructed by overheard cell phone conversations. Steel Homes never really got off the ground for me. There were some cool, sterile shots of storage units and all that, but my interest in the subjects and their personal stories never developed.
2.5/5

Screenings
2:00, Wednesday, May 6 @ Cumberland 2 with Diary of a Times Square Theif
7:30, Sunday, May 10 @ Innis Town Hall with Diary of a Times Square Theif

Ma Bar – Finlay Pretsell, Adrian McDowall, 11 min

An older man and his goal to bench press a crap load of pounds, I mean kilos. Powerlifting is a petty popular sport. It was very interesting watching the powerlifter get ready for his lift. The routine, preparations and then finally the lift. Again, another beautifully shot piece where I didn’t connect with the subject or understand why I am supposed to care.
2.5/5
No more screenings

Hot Docs: Action Boys, [Byung-Gil Jung, 2009]

Posted on May 1, 2009 by Ricky in Hot Docs, Movies | Leave a comment

action_boys

Toronto – Anyone who follows Asian cinema will know that the past few years has been a tremendous boon for the Korean movie industry. With their flair for melodramatics and a dose of humility, Korean movies have been conquering Asian theatres for years now. Movies like Sassy Girl, Oldboy and The Host are well known internationally and Korean movie stars now are starting to cross over to English cinema (like the dude in Speed Racer). Action Boys is a documentary following several stuntmen all the way from their early days in the school to filming important action sequences in large scale productions. At 118 minutes, it is one of the longest documentaries at Hot Docs, but it is quite good. BlogTo thought it was boring, but I thought it was quite interesting to find some information about these stuntmen, who risk their lives on a daily basis without much of a payoff. The narration is self deprecating and often makes fun of the subjects hopes and dreams. This may sound mean, but as described early on, the documentary maker is also a stuntmen himself, so you get a good glimpse of the camaraderie that exist between these men. Overall, while the documentary is a bit long at times and some of the scenes are unnecessary, it is a good look into a profession that most of us are oblivious to, but at the same time, one that provides a lot of enjoyment in our lives when we are at the movies.

Hot Docs: http://schedule.hotdocs.ca/index.php/2009/film/action_boys
Innis Town Hall, Sunday May 3, 9:45
Cumberland 4, Monday May 4, 4:15

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