‘Nancy Franklin’ was so overwhelmed by the film I Know Where I’m Going! (1945) that she traveled from New York to the Western Isles of Scotland to see the places where it was made and to find out more about the people who made it. This documentary retraces her steps on a subsequent visit.
Category: Documentary
Non-narrated treatment of the activities carried out in an abattoir. An unlikely subject for a documentary, but the filmmaker captures the strength and terrible beauty in the daily preparation for slaughter. The sound track echoes with hard metallic knives being ground, tested and sharpened. No beast is actually shown being killed but the slaughter is mirrored in the blood-red faces of the men and the scenes of water flushing away the blood to a river – thus water purges but never really cleans the walls of the slaughter house. A powerful film – almost abstract at times. Perhaps even more effective because of what it leaves unsaid and unshown.
Canadian poet Leonard Cohen who now resides on the island of Hydra in Greece, is shown in his native city of Montreal. The program explores Cohens childhood and his subsequent development as one of Canadas leading new writers. The film takes viewers to the house Cohen was brought up in as well as to the places of Montreal he enjoys frequenting his favorite bistro, a three dollar-a-day hotel, the public park, the exclusive section called Westmount, and a Greek grocery store. Cohen himself is shown at a recording session, at public readings of his poetry, displaying home movies of his childhood, and commenting on university life. He also reflects on his visit to Cuba, his girlfriend in Greece, his obsession with danger and his friends and their personalities.
This documentary is a portrait of Point St. Charles, one of Montreal’s notoriously bleak neighbourhoods. Many of the residents are English-speaking and of Irish origin; many of them are also on welfare. Considered to be one of the toughest districts in all of Canada, Point St. Charles is poor in terms of community facilities, but still full of rich contrasts and high spirits – that is, most of the time.
The film is divided into several sections, dedicated to various aspects and ways of life, love, tenderness, and sensuality. The documentary is a summary of more than 9 hours of interviews with a mother, a child, a transsexual, a transvestite and a prostitute. Each of them explains in their own words their way of seeing life.
Woody Allen talks about his life and work as a writer, dramatist and film-maker and discusses his creative sources, theoretical approaches and working methods. Shows scenes from some of his major films including “Annie Hall”, “Love and Death”, “Sleep”, “The Night Club Years” and “Take the Money and Run”.
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., discusses his development as a writer, including reference to some of his major novels, his themes and their meaning, his relationship to other writers, problems in sustaining his special vision of American life, and his future. Accompanied by photographs which chronicle the author’s life and selections from home movies taken during his youth.