NXNE 2013 Film Review - Authentic: Young Rival's Journey Through Canada

Opening with a shot of bassist John Smith, drummer Noah Fralick and lead guitarist and singer Aron D'Alesio sitting in a backyard in Hamilton Director Brendan McCarney introduces the audience to the Hamilton not so punk band Young Rival. McCarney is back at NXNE for the second year in the row having filmed Ages & Stages: The Story of the Melgrove Band last year and he hinted that he will be back again next year for the trifecta with a film on the band Wildlife who also appear in this documentary.

The tour starts off at the Town House in Sudbury where legend has it that Stompin' Tom Connors wrote the words for Sudbury Saturday Night on a wall in the Tavern somewhere beneath the paneling. The band next heads to Thunder Bay then the rest of the tour stops are all points West. As the van heads along the Trans Canada highway the band stops at an abandon house were it's obvious that families and children were squatting in the building.  Instruments are set up and they play Nothing You Know Well.  The song is shot using the natural light coming in from the open windows and featuring close ups of the band, the holes in the walls, and the damaged plasterboard. This is the first of a series of non concert performances throughout the film where Young Rival set up and play at various off beat locations along the tour.

Director McCarney also cuts in and out of an interview the band did on CBC radio 3 in Vancouver  throughout the piece. The band discusses being on the road, their type of music that is always changing and two things that they are know for outside of their music, exchanging postcards with their fans and their Wildcat brand of wine.

The band gives an interesting perspective on records, MP3's and studio material reporting that sales are not important. The goal is to get your name and music out to the public. They would almost rather give the music away for free to the public to build a following that would come to their shows.

As they travel to Medicine Hat they met a local character Old George in White Wood Saskatchewan. On George's property he has built a city/village/amusement park out of vintage items. The band is lead into his prized building the bar where they set up and play Valerie. Drummer Noah Fralich is not able to set up his drums so he keeps time tapping on an old violin.  The band is really taken by George as they recall the event in the backyard interview vowing to return and play a full concert at the location in the future.

The film really captures the grind of the road for a small band. They go from show to show all crammed into an old van. They are their own roadies, instrument techs and stage crew.  If they don't like how a venue is set up as it inhibits people from coming to the stage or dancing.  Lead singer D'Alesio jumps down off stage and re arrange the tables in the place himself. The film directors travel as the band does and spend many a night sleeping on the floor of their hotel rooms.

Perhaps the best part of the documentary is the interaction between fellow bands on the road.  After an  incident in Winnipeg where a window is broken on the van they put out the word to the touring community and get an offer from the Sheepdogs to use their van sitting vacant in Saskatoon.  The main relationship is with the members of Hollerado who are slightly more accomplished than Young Rival but can see form their dedication to the craft that they will be successful in the music business. The band also interacts with Arkells and Wildlife the latter who along with Hollerado are part of a great prank played on Young Rival on the last day of the tour in Saskatoon.

The last of the impromptu gigs is in a brewery on Vancouver Island the owner of the brewery is another great character .  Young Rival get a tour of the brewery, then set up amongst the tanks to play Night Song.  Once again there is no space for Noah to set up drums therefore he keeps time on one of the tanks.  The owner hits another level when he learns about the wine and the band gives him a bottle of their Wildcat wine.

Authentic: Young Rival's Journey through Canada is a gritty look into the world of indie rock in Canada. It's not glamorous, bands want to play their music well aware that they could compromise and write songs that music executives and radio programmers want to hear but it would not be true to their core.

The directors capture the day to day drudgery of the road; each day a new city a hurriedly arranged phone interview as you're on the way out for breakfast followed by a show at night to a small room of hardcore rock fans. The film is an insightful account of the indie rock scene in Canada and one that I can recommend.

*** out of 4.

Authentic: Young Rival's Journey Through Canada | Mike Gillespie/ Brendan McCarney| 2013| Canada | 88 Minutes.

2013 NXNE Film Festival.

Tags: Indie Rock, Canadian Tour, Travel, Hamilton, CBC Radio 3, The Sheepdogs, Hollerado, Wildcat Wine, Wildlife.

NXNE 2013 Film Review - Mistaken For Strangers

Tom Berninger has a history of under achieving and not completing what he starts.  He also happens to be the younger brother of Matt Berninger lead signer of the band The National that after 10 years of struggle has finally achieved critical and popular success. The band is about to embark on a major U.S and European tour.  Matt invites his younger brother Tom to come along and be part of the tour crew so Tom decides to chronicle the proceedings on video.

Tom's appearance on tour has repercussions for everyone associated with the band.  The Band Manager has concerns with what he is filming.  The dynamic is also complicated that the other 4 members of the band are also two sets of brothers. Tour Manager Brandon Reid lays out clearly to
Tom his duties for the tour, his task is to make sure that band has every thing they need in and around the time they hit the stage. One last note, Tom has some issues with alcohol as well.

The film is more about the relationship between brothers with a nine year age difference than the day to day events of the tour. In the one on one interviews Tom constantly asks the other band members about Matt and their relationships with Matt and how they view Matt's relationship with him. He also reverts to his past nature, which causes a strain on his relationship with his brother and band management. The tension is increased as although he is a member of the crew in name he is the brother of the front man of the band.

Shot mostly with handheld camera Berninger catches the behind the scene elements of the road along with the energy of the band on stage. His focuses in on the nuance of the band during their live performances including the trance like state that his brother Matt develops on stage. Berninger himself did the cinematography for the piece.  The film has a great look especially when the band is on stage.  The lighting of the band in blue and red hues is haunting particularly during ballads. The presentation also switches between shots from the side of the stage focusing on the closest band member, to centre stage shots trained on Matt's singing. The effect gives the audience the feel that they are right in the crowd notably when the camera follows Matt as goes on one of frequent his walkabouts through the crowd. The fast cuts of the band members and the crowd in the concert scenes accompanied by the lighting effect fills the viewer's senses. Berninger even manages to capture Barack Obama for the Documentary as The National were invited to participate at a campaign stop in Madison, Wisconsin. However he was not able to meet with the President as he did not have the proper security clearance.

Tom's return home to Cincinnati from the tour and interaction with his parents is a key part of the documentary.  He interviews his mother and father on camera asking them to reflect on both boys.  They both describe Matt as an overachiever, an athlete; serious and driven while the inability to complete anything comes up again for Tom. His mother, an artist points out a picture he did as a youth that is still hanging in her studio. She remarks that he was more artistic but he needs to complete something as he always quits things.

The editing process proved to be the greatest challenge for Berninger. He marks each episode of the documentary in colour coded sticky notes which raises some concerns as he could not explain his system or the eventual order of the scenes to anyone who asked. This confusion followed a disastrous screening sends Tom hurtling towards a complete breakdown.

Mistaken for Stranger is a crisp documentary of a band on tour with the relationship between two brothers at the centre. The concert scenes are beautifully shot and give the viewer the impression that they are front row centre at a concert for The National. The energy of the band above all that of the lead singer leap off the screen. As a contrast to the star singer of a band on the rise you have his younger brother as a director who despite the apprehension of the group and the ups and downs of his mental state finally completes a project that will be a great benefit to the band and help to bring them to an even higher level. This is a film that I can highly recommend.

**** out of 4.

Mistaken for Strangers | Tom Berninger | U.S.A. | 2013 | 75 Minutes.

2013 NXNE Film Festival.

Tags: Indie Rock, Brothers, Sibling Rivalry, touring, Concert , U.S President Barack Obama, Overachieve, Underachieve.

NXNE 2013 Film Review - BB King: Life of Riley

The documentary opens with several celebrities speaking about B.B. King. Bill Cosby notes that the story of Riley B. King is one of survival. Other celebrities and musical greats including Bruce Willis Carlos Santana, Bonnie Raitt and Eric Clapton provide opening commentary about the blues legend. They speak to the distinct sound of his music that he is recognizable by only one note and the ever present vibrato.

Narrator Morgan Freedman takes over the piece to recount the main elements of B.B. Kings early years starting with his 1925 birth in a sharecropper's plantation along the Mississippi Delta. During this period we meet B.B.'s  relatives who's parents helped in his upbringing after the premature death of his mother. King himself tells the story of his early years referring to himself, as just a blues singer he sits on is tour bus headed to his birthplace for the annual B.B. King Homecoming Festival. One of his great aunts had a phonograph which was the focus of his visits to her residence. School was important to King. He had to travel a long way to attend Elkhorn School the area one room schoolhouse. He also leaned a lot musically and personally from attending church influenced by the reverend Archie Farms.  King was not immune to the realities of the era. The KKK was very active in his community and was witness to a lynching an event that had a very large impact on the young King and stayed with him to this day. His grandmother died when he was 14 and his dad brought him to Liberty Mississippi to live with his half brothers and sisters. King did not like the new surroundings and road his bike back to the Delta to stay with family friends. Back in the Delta King damaged a plantation tractor and left for Memphis for 8 month before retuning to pay off the damage to the vehicle. It was from this plantation owner that he received his first guitar.

He eventually did leave for Memphis for good at age 23 spending 5 years at WDIA records as a DJ. He went by the nick name Beale Street Blues Boy which evolved to Blues Boy then eventually shortened to B.B. King.  He played in the clubs at night, sang on the radio and cut 4 sides for Bullet Records. It was also in this period where he came up with the name for his guitar. It stemmed from a fight in a night club that caught fire during a ruckus. King ran out with the guests but retuned to get his guitar which almost caused the death.  The original cause of the fight between the two combatants a girl named Lucille.

The real start of his career was in 1955 when he started out on a bus tour with his band the B.B. King Review playing the black clubs on what was known at the chitlin circuit. This also began his reputation as a tireless tourer sometimes playing up to 360 days a year.

The director switches back to commentaries from music legends all speaking about the quintessential B.B. King's 1964 album Live at the Regal in Chicago. Many legendary mostly British guitar players from Paul Rogers to Carlos Santana to Peter Green comment on how this recording was the greatest bit of guitar work ever put on vinyl.

His manager Sid Sidenberg saw more potential and wanted B.B. to Branch out. He booked king on the 1969 tour with the Rolling Stones the tour brought king a much larger audience now playing stadiums.  Billy Wyman interviewed remembering the time and tour did not know what he was doing with the guitar and could not way copy King. Skip forward 20 years Bono speaks of the collaboration with U2 on rattle and hum where once B.B. started singing he felt like an inferior school boy and moved to the side of the stage to give B.B. his due pivotal moments in the film that point to the fact that King had to go abroad to expand his audience before he could be appreciated by the majority of the citizens back home.

A highlight of the film is an interview where B.B. speaks about his music, his peers Albert & Fred King and influences such as T- Bone Walker. The interview is cut from three different discussion from the early middle and late part of his career. Another key moment featured the 2011 concert at the White House, playing along Mick Jagger with President Obama joining him in a rendition of Sweet Home Chicago. The director spent two years working on this project and went over 250 plus hours of archival material to complete the film.

B.B. King the Life of Riley is a wonderful tale about a blues titan.  It's a piece that has great cross generational appeal. The documentary shows the level of respect that the traditional legends in rock have for a true pioneer.  It's a film that I can highly recommend.

*** 1/2 Out of 4.

B.B. King Life of Riley | Jon Brewer | U.K. | 2012 | 123 Minutes.

2013 NXNE Festival.

Tags: Blues, Mississippi, Memphis, Touring, Live Performance, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Chitlin Circuit, Live at the Regal in Chicagio, Rolling Stones, U2, Three Kings,  U.S. President Barack Obama , Sweet Home Chicago.

NXNE 2013 Film Review - AKA Doc Pomus

Immediate close up shot of an older gentleman speaking about how his physical limitation were not going to old him back. He was going to be the first disabled heavyweight boxer able to knock out opponents with one punch.  The speaker is Jerry Doc Pomus reading from one of the writings from his journal as he speaks singles (45's) and album covers from some of the biggest acts from the 50's though the 70's flash across the screen.  In his opening address Doc speaks of a desire to go up to someone on the street and say you know I wrote the song you're singing, humming or whistling to but never did as the person would probably not believe it. The name may not be familiar but the songwriter Hall of Fame member wrote hits such as This Magic Moment for the Drifters, A Teenager in Love, Andy Williams biggest hit  Can't Get Use to Loosing You, a slew of Elvis Presley songs including Surrender and Viva Las Vegas and Pomus' biggest hit Save the Last Dance for Me.

The scene shifts to his early life born; Jerome Felder Doc contracted polio at the age of 6 forced to use crutches from that point forward. Doc who was a very active child before the incident took to standing in the background by walls to hide the fact that he had to use crutches. He began to listen to a radio at night in bed drawn to blues music because he identified with the struggles portrayed.

At 17 he went to the renowned Pied Piper Blues Club headed up on stage unplanned and started to sing hunched over his crutches launching his short lived singing career. His most famous side (as singles were called in the day) was Alley Alley Blues a catchy and melodic song that should have been a big hit. Doc realized that the songs he sang did not match the visual the audience expected therefore he turned to writing.

Directors Peter Miller and Will Hechter use several old photographs to present the early days of Doc Pomus. Old photos of the Brooklyn neighbourhood,  the camp where his family sent him to avoid the polio outbreak and ironically the spot here he caught the disease. Family photos of his father mother and younger brother and the apartment building where the Felders lived.

Doc was the king of the New York Hotel lobby. He was particularly associated with the Legendary Forest Hotel.  Often planting himself in the lobby for the majority of the day as people gravitated toward him. One of these people was Willi Burke who was drawn into his circle and eventually became his wife.  Doc would write songs and try to sell them to the publishing houses. One of these Young Blood  he found in a jukebox reworked as a song for the Coasters when he was on his honeymoon with Willi.  He called the publisher he sold it to who remarked  guess you want some money and gave him his first real royalty cheque.

The other main structure associated with Doc is the Brill Building.  The famous New York City landmark located at 1619 Broadway Avenue that was full of publishing companies and songwriters in different offices from the basement to the 11th floor.  At the peak of his writing prowess in the mid 60's Doc ran the building having exclusive access to the penthouse with his writing partner Mort Shuman.

The Directors recount the story mainly though recorded interviews from the 80's featuring Pomus. The recordings are authentic grainy and sometimes lacking clear sound. Another large part of the piece are the reading from Doc journals that show he was tortured more by his need to write songs over his physical afflictions. In one of the 80's interviews,  he describes that he did not want to write songs but he had to write songs. Doc explains that it's a terrible force that is sometimes out of control which  makes you keep writing even though you will not make any money and know no one will care.

The film produced by his daughter Sheryl tells the story of a man who's songs you know even though his name may not always appear on the record. It looks at all aspects of his life, the early years, his peak in the mid sixties, a fall into reclusiveness into the seventies and a rebirth co writing with Dr. John in the mid to later part of that decade and into the eighties. The film mentions some musical heavyweights such as John Lennon, Bob Dylan and Phil Spector but these subjects are not really developed.

The documentary has some good moments but could use some better pacing and audio qualities. The narrative also suffers from a narrow field of view.  If you're a fan of the ballads of that era it's a good view but not one that I can recommend for the general viewing public.

** Out of 4

AKA Doc Pomus | William Hechter, Peter Miller | Canada / U.S.A. | 2012 | 98 Minutes.

2013 NXNE Festival.

Tags: Polio, Blues Singer, Song Writers Hall of Fame, Brooklyn,  The Brill Building, 1619 Broadway,  New York Forest Hotel, The Coasters, The Drifters, Ben E. King, Elvis Presley, Ray Charles.

Hot Docs 2013 Film Review - High Five: A Suburban Adoption Saga

Martin and Cathy Ward decide that they want to adopt a child.  When we first meet the Surrey B.C pair they have two young girls living with them from the Ukraine to see if they will adapt to their new surroundings. During the visit the Wards learn that the sisters Alyona and Snezhana have three other siblings back in an orphanage in the Ukraine, an older sister plus an older and younger brother. The Wards decide that they will attempt to adopt all five children and bring them to B.C.

Director Julia Ivanova followed the Ward family for 4 years to tell their story.  The Documentary shows the various aspects of adoption in a hyper situation. Firstly the Wards are adopting multiple children, second they are adopting them from a foreign country where English is not the first language. Next none of them are newborns and among them are two are teenagers.  Plus there will be some psychological and cultural issues relating to their harsh upbringing and parenting in the Ukraine vs. Canada. Lastly the financial reality of a jump from a couple to a family of seven is hard to predict.

Martin and Cathy have a great spirit and put all of the efforts into making a safe home for the children.  They next bring all of the children over for a visit but are only able to adopt Alyona and Snezhana at first. The other three have to go back to the Ukraine. A year later they are able to adopt the other three and after extensive renovations to their home the family is united.

The first crack in the family unit is the rivalry between Alyona, Snezhana and Yuliya. The middle daughters were there first and appear to defend their turf against their later arriving elder sister which effects Yulia deeply as being the eldest looked out for her siblings in the past.  Yuliya the former matron of the group appears to like her new dad Martin more and has a rivalry with Cathy and rebels. This coupled with Martin taking a job in the Yukon to earn more money for the family leaving Cathy running the household heightens the tension between the two.

Seeing her attitude leads to a split of the former strong bond with her brother Sergei the second oldest and her only sibling that shares the same father and mother.

Director Ivanova becomes almost the 8th member of the family. She interviews each family member as the tension and conflicts arise. An especially heartbreaking scene is her interview with Alyona, Snezhana and Yuliya when the two younger sisters tell Ivonova straight out that they don't want to play with Yuliya, she can't use their things and they don't want her around.

High Five a Suburban Adoption Saga tells the complicated story of a multiple adoption. It shows that despite well meaning parents personality conflicts, cultural differences and financial consequences can be very difficult to overcome.

Director Julia Ivanova makes this Documentary a personal piece and it's one that I recommend.

*** 1/2 out of 4

High Five: A Suburban Adoption Story| Julia Ivanova | Canada | 2013| 95 Minutes.

Hot Docs 2013. 

Tags: Adoption, Ukraine, Sibling Rivalry, Teenage Rebellion, Matriarch, Diplomatic Red Tape.

Hot Docs 2013 Film Review - Bending Steel

The central figure in Dave Carroll bending steel is an awkward person. He does not relate well to other people. When he speaks he puts emphasis on the wrong syllable, leaves too long empty spaces when responding to a question and tends to look down to the ground when engaged in a conversation.

Chris Shoeck exists on the edge of society.  He is a New York City personal trainer by day and spends a lot of time by himself when he is not working.  His fortunes start to change when he begins to bend nails in his cramped basement storage locker area in his attempt to become strongman. He first meets up with Chris Rider a Pennsylvania Strongman nicknamed Haircules known for his long hair and stunts like ripping a phone book or a full deck of cads in two.  Rider teaches Shoeck the proper pacing of his act. To make sure that the audience can see clearly as he works and the key part to display the bent item  to the crowd upon completion of the act. Through Rider Shoeck enters the strongman community and meets some of the legends in the sport and gains the stage name Chris "Wonder" Shoeck due to his ability to bend iron bars despite his small stature.

Director Carroll mixes in old black and white footage of the old master strongmen from the early twentieth century. Showing that at their peak Strongman shows sold out Madison Square Gardens and were a regular feature on Coney Islands.  Most of the filming is a one camera shot with questions coming to the subjects from off camera.  Carroll shoots Shoeck mostly in the corner of the frame and in the shadows. This shooting technique serves to amplify his isolation and loneliness.


Chris does fit in with the Strongman group and becomes one of the performers on a return to Coney Island show that he promotes by giving away flyers on the boardwalk and appearance on an independent radio show that appears to be run out of a store front.

An ongoing sub plot is Shoeck's battle to bend a 2 - inch thick iron bar. He starts to work on the bar in the first act but is unable to budge it at all and continues to try new techniques and angles as the movie progresses. His colleagues encourage him pointing out that bending steel is not about strength but more mind over matter. The bar becomes his holy grail as it's mounted on the wall in his home to be looked at and studied.

The most uncomfortable moments of the Documentary are the two occasions when Chris goes to visit his parents the second of which accompanied by Rider. By they way they speak to each other one would think that they were total strangers. They also show no support of his new activity and when he leaves them tickets for the upcoming Coney Island show it's clear that they will not attend.

Bending Steel is an original story with a quirky protagonist. Carroll lets his subject be himself and the audience can see Shoeck grow as the film progresses and he gains more confidence in is skills. He relaxes as the piece unfolds often conducting his interviews with the director in his favourite was chair smoking a cigar. Director Dave Carroll tells a different kind of story and it is one that I can recommend.

*** out of 4.

Bending Steel | Dave Carroll | U.S.A. | 93 Minutes.

2013 Hot Docs Film Festival.

Tags:  Introvert, Carnival Performers, Strongman, Coney Island, Loneliness, NYC

Hot Docs 2013 Film Review - The Human Scale

Cities, who are they built for is the question that is explored in the Human Scale. Starting from the post world war two area and exploring 4 continents the film explores the decades long move toward the automobile and gives compelling arguments as to why city planners should move away from the catering for the car.

The main voice behind the shift is Danish architect Jan Gehl. He saw the state of the downtown centre of Copenhagen and decided to take a position on a downtown street and watch people. What he found was that Copenhagen had become a space for cars, the people had nowhere to gather or to sit or to comfortably move at a walking pace.  His solution remove cars from the downtown core, along with the parking spaces along the canal replacing them with bike lanes, benches, pedestrian walkways and green spaces to give the space back to the people.

Next the focus is on New York State in the 50's and city planner Robert Moses expansion of the New York State highway system. The result more roads, more cars, more congestion and traffic still did not move. New York has evolved in a 90-10 ratio towards cars while Gehl's philosophy favours people 90-10. The Gehl Architects were hired by the New York Transportation Authority and invited to observe the Times Square area.  The group reached similar conclusions that they had in Copenhagen. Give the space back to the people. Their recommendations led to today's Time Squares featuring outdoor seating, bike paths space, places for the citizens to stop sit and enjoy the area. A cell phone video of an impromptu Christmas time Times Square snowball fight after the changes an ultimate sign of citizens taking back city space.

The original city for the people first philosophy is Sienna, Italy they have many places for people to gather, places to sit and an abundance of pedestrian walkways in the centre of the city. People were meant to gather is groups and not be isolated in suburban single-family dwellings.

The main theme of the Documentary is that the population continues to grow and will reach 6.5 billion by 2050. People continue to move on mass from the country into the cities and the infrastructure cannot support the influx of people unless there is a significant shift. A move is needed from Cities that are based on a 60 km per hour car pace to a 5 km per hour walking pace.

Down in the southern hemisphere the director interviews the city planners in Melbourne. They realized in the 1980's that the city centre was slowly dying. They needed a way to revitalize but did not have the space. The solution:  Use the labyrinth of the back alley spaces that formally housed dumpsters, doorways and loading docks for cafe's which lead to stores and a whole shopping areas in between buildings and the main streets. They were able to shift back the ration in the downtown core to 5% car traffic and raised the pedestrian traffic by 37%.

In Asia the group looks a Dhaka in Bangladesh and the move backed by the IMF to build more roads for vehicles. Local group have appeared to reject this Western idea the city has a population of 10 million and continues to grow.  It's a very fragile location that is always on the verge of a severe earthquake that could reduce many of the city buildings to rubble. The majority of the population will never own cars and the loans from the IMP at exorbitant interest rates will take several lifetimes to repay for roads that will be used by the few.

What would you do if you had the chance to start over? That is the question being asked in Christchurch. The cities downtown core was destroyed by a 2011 earthquake. The public had a say and contrary to the wishes of the banks and big multinationals won height restrictions of six stories with plenty of public places for sitting and gathering along with bicycle paths.

Beautifully shot and well paced The Human Scale brings an important message that will become critical as we march toward the year 2050.  We have to move to cities that are livable healthy and geared again toward Humans that work at eye level and not built to impress travellers in airplanes on final approach. It's a film that I can recommend.

The Human Scale | Andreas Dalsgaard| Denmark| 2013 | 83 Minutes.

2013 Hot Docs Film Festival.

Tags: City Planning, Architecture, World Cities, Cars vs. People, Population Growth, City Centres, Urban vs. Rural.