LoveDox » cphdox 2008

“Lynch (one)” (2007) – Review #7

J.R.Schriver — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 16:33:46 +0000

A trip into the mind of David Lynch as he directs “Inland Empire”.

david lynch documentary 2007 teaser

2 stars / IMDB: 7.0 (229 votes) / Rotten tomatoes: 58% (19 reviews) / Official site / 84 minutes
Directed by: blackANDwhite

“Vashti Bunyan: From Here to Before” (2008) – Review #6

J.R.Schriver — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 14:54:54 +0000

Vashti Bunyan is a singer/song-writer with an interesting story. As a young woman she made a beautiful album and was then forgotten for 30 years. Freak-folk artists like Devendra Banhart and Vetiver brought her back from oblivion a few years ago and Bunyan is now making music again. She is very delicate, soft-spoken and gentle and while this makes her a compelling person it unfortunately doesn’t make her a compelling character. The narrative centers around a horse-and-carriage trip Bunyan and two friends made while she was composing the songs of the first album. We re-visit the places while understanding how the album came about.

It’s an ok structure for a documentary, but something goes missing along the way. For me, anyway.

IMDB: 7.7 (6 votes) / Official site / 87 minutes
Directed by: Kieran Evans

“Arena: Bob Marley Exodus” (2007) – Review #5

J.R.Schriver — Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:36:01 +0000

I like Bob Marley and so does the director of this film. The film is a portrait of the album “Exodus” and of the year it was made, 1977. Unfortunately it’s also a weak film – it’s exceptionally difficult to understand Bob’s dialect and with no sub-titles most of the audience lost the central points when I watched it at CPH:DOX 2008. The narrative is centered around a completely unremarkable event; the unveiling of a plaque on some street in London where Bob did something.

Part of the mission of Lovedox is to spread the love for documentary films and I’d love to say something good about this film, but it’s just not very good.

IMDB: 7.6 (10 votes) / 90 minutes
Directed by: Anthony Wall

“Citizen Havel” (2008) – Review #4

J.R.Schriver — Mon, 28 Sep 2009 14:26:42 +0000

We follow the poet-president Vaclav Havel through his career. Filmed over a 13 year period, this documentary seems to have its commitment as being a historical document, rather than a personal view of the Czech republic’s most colorful character. I personally found the film interesting, but also lacking a coherent narrative.

2 stars, form:5, content:6 / IMDB: 8.0 (218 votes) / Official site / 119 minutes
Directed by: Miroslav Janek and Pavel Koutecký