Posted: Tue Feb 17, 2009 3:21 pm
I'm talking through 60% ignorance here -- I've seen only Man on Wire and Encounters at the End of the World.
I waver on Encounters. There were moments in it --character interviews -- that completely delighted me. But there were also times when I found myself drifting off. Perhaps I wasn't alert enough (the perils of home viewing). Bottom line for me: not nearly as consistently good as Grizzly Man.
I was moved by Man on Wire, possibly more than some because my recall of the original event is fairly strong -- it happened literally a week I'd moved into Manhattan, so it was my first Big Local Story. I grant the early portion of the film feels trivial (accented by that bouncy music). But when we finally get to see The Walk, it's just such an astonishment -- still hard to believe it happened. And the aftermath was, for me, almost as moving: regret for the loss of the Trade Center, of course, but also feeling the passage of time (and estrangement) experienced by the participants, and Petit's realization that, however glorious a feat this was, it would inevitably make the rest of his life a downhill affair. Thus, a sort of melancholy joy filled the screen, which touched me deeply (and here the music, Satie, did work).
All that said...I've been grappling with the same feeling you expressed about Trouble the Water. It's perfect for those who feel Best Documentary translates to Big Important Issue (not dismissing the film's achievement; just reducing it to Oscar voter terms). As you say, apart from the phenomenon of the penguins, this has been a category given to High Seriousness. Then again, there's also been a tendency in recent years to acknowledge decent grosses, and Man on Wire -- though hardly in Inconvenient Truth/Columbine territory, let alone Penguins/Fahrenheit -- was at least a minor success. So, I'm probably going with it in the end, but with less confidence than some years.
I waver on Encounters. There were moments in it --character interviews -- that completely delighted me. But there were also times when I found myself drifting off. Perhaps I wasn't alert enough (the perils of home viewing). Bottom line for me: not nearly as consistently good as Grizzly Man.
I was moved by Man on Wire, possibly more than some because my recall of the original event is fairly strong -- it happened literally a week I'd moved into Manhattan, so it was my first Big Local Story. I grant the early portion of the film feels trivial (accented by that bouncy music). But when we finally get to see The Walk, it's just such an astonishment -- still hard to believe it happened. And the aftermath was, for me, almost as moving: regret for the loss of the Trade Center, of course, but also feeling the passage of time (and estrangement) experienced by the participants, and Petit's realization that, however glorious a feat this was, it would inevitably make the rest of his life a downhill affair. Thus, a sort of melancholy joy filled the screen, which touched me deeply (and here the music, Satie, did work).
All that said...I've been grappling with the same feeling you expressed about Trouble the Water. It's perfect for those who feel Best Documentary translates to Big Important Issue (not dismissing the film's achievement; just reducing it to Oscar voter terms). As you say, apart from the phenomenon of the penguins, this has been a category given to High Seriousness. Then again, there's also been a tendency in recent years to acknowledge decent grosses, and Man on Wire -- though hardly in Inconvenient Truth/Columbine territory, let alone Penguins/Fahrenheit -- was at least a minor success. So, I'm probably going with it in the end, but with less confidence than some years.