Change Your Image
co-40167
Reviews
Death and Other Details (2024)
Keeps Us Guessing
We are captivated by this series. We are definitely kept guessing and we are more and more invested in the outcome. The characters are interesting and engaging and the premise keeps us watching. The way the story unfolds with past and present interwoven into each other is inventive and a refreshing delight compared to the more conventional mysteries. It took a couple of episodes for all the characters to become clear to us; that's when the series pick up pace and intensity. In fact that slow beginning reminded us of classic mystery movies. We are a little burnt out on action without character and in fact this series delivers on both.
The Birth of Saké (2015)
Into Great Sake
Perhaps we are too used to the bombardment of 30-second clips on social media, the internet or TV that we forget for something to dazzle us beyond our own experience, there are weeks, months and years of work necessary to make great art, great performance and, in this case, great sake.
Like the documentary on hermetic life, Into Great Silence, the Birth of Sake, in brilliant images and a pace that insists you shut up and slow down, gently splays out that journey in the setting of a traditional brewery in northern Japan.
The beautiful cinematography unfolds the daily grind towards such rare greatness and reveals the sacrifices that goes hand-in-hand with success. Through the daily efforts of the brewery workers we witness a dedication, a work ethnic and an art that defies the "get-rich-quick" mentality eroding our world.
For something to truly become exceptional we must give all of our heart and soul. The Birth of Sake does not shy away from the reality that sacrifices are real and irreversible. Still, the documentary is proof that only that kind of effort produces results which transcend the mundane, the cheap, and the mass produced.
Reunification (2015)
Extraordinary Documentary about Family
An avid documentary watcher, I've enjoyed numerous first-person docs that uncover the inner workings of family life, from any of Ross McElwee's to Nathaniel Kahn's My Father My Architect. REUNIFICATION takes its place alongside those films. It is a rare in-depth look at the emotional, logistical,cultural, social and economic realities of a family resettling in what they hope will be a better life.
The footage is startling personal, capturing the private moments that so many of us wished we had a camera for. Splaying out the realities of his family's story, Tsang also brings a wry and intelligent humor that is so critical when revealing secrets and past events never spoken about.
I watch documentaries and films to learn my own secrets and remember I share the same bewildering challenges when it comes to family. Watching REUNIFICATION, a beautifully made doc, truly fulfilled that promise.