Shadow Play: The Making of Anton Corbijn (Director: Josh Whiteman): “Having your picture taken is like intimacy, it’s like having sex…I’ve been having sex with Anton for nearly 20 years now, since I was a boy.”
That provocative line comes courtesy of Bono, who has worked with famed Dutch visualist Anton Corbijn numerous times over the years and is featured prominently in Shadow Play: The Making Of Anton Corbijn. Aside from providing some voiceovers, the U2 vocalist also gives several interviews and is featured in a clever riff on Bob Dylan’s “Subterranean Homesick Blues” video. The documentary flips the camera around 180 degrees to present a portrait of the photographer/film director/music video director and his work, motivation, inspiration, and background. Director Josh Whiteman has assembled an impressive roster of celebrities to sing Corbijn’s praises — along with Bono, we also get testimonials from Michael Stipe, Kurt Cobain, Dave Gahan (Depeche Mode), Brandon Flowers (The Killers), Chris Martin (Coldplay), writer William Gibson, actress Samantha Morton, and model Helena Christensen. These names represent only a fraction of the talent Corbijn has collaborated with over his career, though. Others include Bruce Springsteen, David Bowie, Johnny Cash, Tom Waits, Miles Davis, Metallica, Stephen Hawking, Robert De Niro, and The Rolling Stones.
Much of the acclaim in Shadow Play from Corbijn’s subjects centres on his ability to “go to that dark area that most other lensers can’t reach”, or that “he truly captures one’s soul” with his work, to paraphrase their words. Such platitudes get repetitive and overstated if, like me, you feel Corbijn’s still photography work is highly overrated. I’ve seen more than enough of it over the years, especially as a devout U2 fan, and the accolades and critical reinforcement he receives have always eluded me. The common criticism, with which I concur, is a propensity for dark, murky shots that succeed in alienating the viewer as much as captivating them. Flowers talks about this very issue, in an interesting anecdote about his record company’s reluctance to have Corbijn work with the band. Stipe mentions the fact that Metallica employed Corbijn to assist in their image rebranding after a lengthy hiatus (in 1996 to shoot the CD and promotional photos for their Load album). What Stipe fails to mention is that the rebranding was not received well at all by the media and, especially, by their fans.
Corbijn’s work, expectedly, gets the bulk of the screen time in Shadow Play; what Whiteman fails to uncover, however, are the layers to him that exist outside of that work. Several interviews with him reveal little about his upbringing and make virtually no mention of his private life. Corbijn isn’t exactly a dynamic interview subject, either. Whiteman also errs in spending so much time focusing on Corbijn’s feature film debut Control (review), a biopic of Joy Division singer Ian Curtis. Control distractingly becomes a running narrative throughout Shadow Play, with seemingly little rhyme or reason as to why we’re getting yet another look at an interview with the cast, behind-the-scenes footage, or coverage of the Cannes film festival premiere, none of which would even stand out as noteworthy DVD extras.
If Corbijn’s supposed stock-in-trade is visually getting to the soul of his subjects then this film, ironically, fails to do just that.
Official site of the film
(6/10)
Tagged as:
#hotdocs10,
music,
photography
The True Meaning of Pictures: Shelby Lee Adams’ Appalachia (2002, Director: Jennifer Baichwal): In 2002, Jennifer Baichwal directed this fabulous film about Shelby Lee Adams’ controversial photos of the poor people in the Appalachian Mountains.
Adams was born in Kentucky and has spent 30 years documenting and photographing the poor families in the various hollers of Appalachia. He’s become very good friends with some of these families and has completely gained their trust.
Most of us would look at Adams’ photos and describe the people in them as hillbillies or “banjo people”, straight out of the film Deliverance. Is he trying to exploit them or is he merely documenting their way of life?
The subjects in Adams’ photos feel that his work is harmless and a true representation of their culture. As a viewer, you get the sense that Adams truly feels he is documenting the Appalachian way of life. Several art critics featured in the film feel otherwise. Adams stages some of his photos and uses theatrical lighting to great effect. His work is incredibly beautiful, complex, and more fine art than documentary photography.
He’s exhibited his photos around the world, sold prints and published many books about the Appalachian people. He’s become very successful and made a good living by being a photographer. Baichwal doesn’t make any judgements in the film. But at a Q&A afterward, she questioned how people at a Berlin gallery of Adams’ work would read his photographs while sipping champagne and eating smoked salmon. They’re probably going to see the stereotype instead of the friendly people that Adams has gotten to know over the years.
I haven’t mentioned the slaughter of a hog, the practice of snake handling, pipe smoking grannies, inbreeding and the high mortality rate up in the Appalachian hills. For that, you’ll have to watch the film and it’s a good one.
(9/10)
Tagged as:
#hotdocs08,
appalachia,
photography
Daddy Tran: A Life in 3-D (2008, Director: Sia Tu): At first glance, this appears to be a film about an artist who has a passion for 3-D photography. Unfortunately this film is more about Hai “Daddy” Tran’s lifelong obsession with photography and its impact on his family.
Tran is an interesting subject for a film. He’s charismatic, passionate about photography and he runs a vintage camera store in an industry that is dominated by digital cameras. He loves to collect things and not just a few — thousands of cameras and lenses, jewelry, lights, lawn ornaments. Every door inside his house has multiple locks. It takes four keys just to get inside his house!
I found Hai Tran to be more a lovable eccentric than a true artist or photographer. I was hoping this film would be a little more along the lines of What Remains (2005) or Manufactured Landscapes (2006). Tran appears to be more of a holiday snapper than a photographer. I guess this is why the film focuses more on his obsessions and character rather than his photography.
Daddy Tran: A Life in 3-D is an average documentary film for me. The production values could have been stronger and I found that the same photos were being used repeatedly in different parts of the film.
I might have enjoyed the film a little more if:
- the projectionist didn’t stop the film 3 minutes in because it was being shown in the wrong aspect ratio
- the film didn’t stop 10 minutes later because it was missing the subtitles
- director Siu Ta brought the correct version of the film and checked it before the screening
Siu Ta wanted to cancel the screening and reschedule it for a later date! Thankfully an audience member persuaded her to just show the film. She used a microphone and translated parts of the film while it played.
Watching this film was probably the most unique experience I’ve had at Hot Docs. What made all of these glitches ironic was that it screened with Behind the Glass (review) — a film about projectionists and their importance in the presentation of a film.
(6/10)
Tagged as:
#hotdocs08,
family,
photography
