March list

Documentaries

“Rita Moreno:Just a Girl Who Decided To Go for It” (2021 Netflix) I think you will enjoy this documentary about Rita Moreno, a Berkeley luminary who lived pretty close to me in the Hills. Sadly I never ran into her before she moved a couple of years ago. But if I had, I would have told her how much I enjoyed learning about her and her very interesting career. And if the film is an accurate portrayal, she would have hugged me and invited me in for tea. But the film is not just about Moreno’s talents and personal life. She remains one of many, many examples of the casual and uncontested inequities of the film industry’s historical misogyny and racism.

“The World Before Your Feet” (2018 Kanopy or Fandango) Matt Green gave up his job as a civil engineer in order to walk every block of the five New York City boroughs. It took several years to cover over 8000 miles. Like many a born and bred New Yorker I never really traveled much in the city beyond a ten block radius. Matt Green’s pilgrimage (it has that feel) is an inspiration to the less attentive (me, for example) to wake up and stretch–if not physically, then metaphorically. His sole purpose– according to the film anyway– was to pay attention. Matt’s “attention intention” becomes that of the viewer as well. Suspend your awareness of the camera following him and you will accompany him through the rural parts of Staten Island to the very gritty but friendly feeling Bronx. (just examples). Neighborhoods with bad reputations become warm and friendly places under his gaze (and I repeat–don’t try this without the safety back of a camera crew).

Narrative Film

“Gattaca” (1997 Amazon) I went to a lecture about Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture as Hollywood setting–otherwise I might have never heard of this very intriguing and intelligent sci fi film with the young Ethan Hawke, Uma Thurman (their romance began on set), Jude Law, and Alan Arkin. I’m not a big sci fi fan but I really enjoyed not only the film star nostalgia, but also the film’s prescience. I recently learned that AI has actually been around for 70 years, but it still wasn’t a household word until recently. Gattaca was made over 30 years ago, but it has some “imagined” technology that feels quite current. Another chilling aspect of the film is its theme of genetic manipulation and the implications for furthering the agenda of those who would discriminate on the basis of class and race.

“Rental Family” (2025 Fandango) Brendan Fraser is the only non-Japanese in the cast of this lovely film set in Tokyo. Some have criticized it as too “feel good”, but these days I can’t get enough of any film that leaves me if not happy, at least not reaching for a valium. I don’t want to say too much about it because its premise is an important part of the early development of the film, so no spoiler alerts. Suffice to say that the business portrayed is legitimate and popular in Japan. Also, right here in the United States we do have something similar, just not to the same extent. Wherever these agencies exist, the reasons that keep them in business are generally sad statements.