I find it insulting, when writing about the Milwaukee Film Festival, to tell people what to see.
You’re adults. You know what is of interest to you better than I do.
And like you, and I, the people making such recommendations usually haven’t even seen the films they recommend.
Frankly, I don’t care what you want to see. I’m going to tell you what I want to see, barring a nuclear attack.
“A Gray State.”
It is a #fakenews-timely documentary about an alt right filmmaker David Crowley. After serving in Iraq and Afghanistan he went to film school and wrote a script about the future collapse of society under martial law.
He drew storyboards, made trailers, was DP, composed music and created effects. The trailer has been seen 2.5 million times. It portrays a totalitarian foreign regime conquering the US government and a band of patriots who form the resistance.
In 2015 Crowley and his wife and daughter were found shot to death in their home. Conspiracy buffs say he was murdered by government agents and Trump has even suggested this. Werner Herzog is executive producer of Erik Nelson’s documentary about these events. (Sept. 29, Oct. 1, 6).
“Manlife”
Much has been written about this documentary, some of it by me, in last month’s Milwaukee Magazine. Local filmmakers Susan Kerns and Ryan Sarnowski explore the legacy of eccentric aviation pioneer Alfred Lawson, who founded a cult-like group espousing a personal philosophy called Lawsonomy.
You have likely seen the sign for the University of Lawsonomy along I-94 in Racine, with the admonition to “Study Natural Law.” Lawsonomy is seen through the life of Merle Hayden, who joined the group as a teenager, preserved decades of ephemera and died earlier this year at the age of 96. (Sept. 30, Oct. 3, 12)
“The Blood Is At the Doorstep”
I’ve seen several long clips from this documentary by Erik Ljung (pronounced ‘young’) and crave to see the full portrait. This film about the killing of Dontre Hamilton, a young black man with mental health problems, by Milwaukee police officer Christopher Manley at Red Arrow Park in downtown Milwaukee in 2014, urgency and immediacy. Ljung captures public protests that followed the shooting as well as the private anguish and activism of the Hamilton family as they struggle to turn his death from a tragedy into a movement. (Oct. 6, 7, 10)
“Let It Fall: Los Angeles 1982-1992)
I’ve actually seen this. And to say Mequon native John Ridley’s documentary is about the Rodney King beating is to understate the case. Ridley personalizes systemic racism and police violence in Los Angeles for a decade through the lives of police, rioters and ordinary people caught up in events ad juxtaposes archival footage with interviews. There are moments of heroism and humanity, but the dominant feelings are tragedy and regret. A look back at a volatile time that seems awfully contemporary. (Oct. 4).
“Lucky”
Veteran character actor Harry Dean Stanton’s penultimate role (“Frank and Ava” is pending) is described as the spiritual journey of a 90-year old atheist, wandering a small desert town and encountering its residents. Screenwriter Logan Sparks worked on “Big Love” with Stanton, and actor John Carrol Lynch is making his directorial debut. With David Lynch, Ed Begley Jr., Ron Livingston. (Sept. 29, Oct. 2, Oct. 8).
“Manifesto”
Explosive collision of one woman show and visual artistry. Cate Blanchett plays 13 characters in a 2015 film by German video artist Julian Rosenfeldt. Like Blanchett’s Oscar nominated turn as Bob Dylan in “I’m Not There” the multi layered “Manifesto” reveals that her more commercial work is only skin deep. (Oct. 2, 4, 9)
“I, Daniel Blake”
Social realist Ken Loach’s Palme d’Or winning film is described as a compassionate journey through the British welfare system that overwhelms the life of the the working class title character recovering from an illness. He learns the lay of the land with support from a single mother with two children.
Tags: Blood is at the Doorstep, Cate Blanchett, Daniel Blake, Dontre Hamilton, Erik Ljung, Gray State, Harry Dean Stanton, I, Ken Loach, Manlife, Milwaukee Film Festival Posted by