The following brief reviews of films screening at the 2007 Hot Docs festival in Toronto, rated from 0 to 4 stars, are by Rick Groen, Liam Lacey, Guy Dixon and Jennie Punter.
The Devil Came
on Horseback ****
Annie Sundberg, Ricki Stern (U.S.)
Riveting, slick but highly emotional film follows the six-month transformation of Marine captain Brian Steidle from a neutral African Union observer -- armed with only a camera, pen and paper -- in Sudan's troubled Darfur region into an activist. The filmmakers put us by Steidle's side and in his head -- so we ride with him, hear his thoughts (mostly e-mails to his sister), see his mountain of still photographs and video footage, and also become witnesses to this most brutal, systematic genocide. Powerful stuff. J.P. (Royal, April 20, 7 p.m.; ROM, April 22, 2:30 p.m.)
Scott Walker: 30 Century
Man ****
Stephen Kijak (U.K./U.S.)
An inventive, cinematic examination of the music and influence of the famously reclusive Scott Walker, former swoon-worthy pop-star crooner turned experimental songsmith. Anchored on a rare interview and scenes from the recording of Walker's most recent album, The Drift, Kijak's doc illuminates the artist's mystique and talent through interviews with friends, former collaborators and fans (all well known musicians), including David Bowie. J.P. (ROM, April 21, 7:15 p.m.; Royal, April 22, 9:15 p.m.)
Campaign ***½
Kazuhiro Soda (Japan/U.S.)
The intention probably wasn't for this fly-on-the-wall documentary on Japanese political campaigning to be a wonderful travel film. But for a Western viewer, that's the effect. It visits the backstreets and backrooms of everyday Japanese life, as we follow a rookie politician vying for a vacant seat in Kawasaki's city council. Most fascinating is the etiquette this poor guy and his wife have to endure to ingratiate themselves to voters and party bosses. G.D. (The Royal, April 27, 9:45 p.m.; Al Green, April 29, 6:45 p.m.)
Helvetica ***½
Gary Hustwit (U.K.)
The 50th anniversary of the creation of Helvetica -- the ubiquitous conspicuous typeface -- is the jumping off point for a wonderfully entertaining and intelligent doc exploring the way we look at words, the art and psychology of graphic design and its role in our everyday spaces. The eloquent participation of many graphic design gurus (Erik Spiekermann, Matthew Carter) means you're sure to find the entire local design crowd in the rush line. With a super-cool soundtrack, Helvetica marks the directorial debut of Hustwit, who produced acclaimed docs on Wilco and Robert Moog. J.P. (Royal, April 21, 9:45 p.m.; Bader, April 22, 2:30 p.m.)
In the Shadow of the Moon ***½
David Sington (U.K.)
There's a genuine, non-hokey sense of awe that suffuses this British-made documentary about the nine astronauts who visited the moon as part of the Apollo space program, who talk with casual intelligence about their excitement, fear and sense of historical importance. Combine that with previously unreleased NASA footage and you find yourself shaking your head with amazement at the risks that were taken and the space program's titanic accomplishment. L.L. (Isabel Bader, April 19, 9:30 p.m.; Isabel Bader, April 20, 4 p.m.)
The Monastery -- Mr. Vig
and the Nun ***½
Pernille Rose Gronkjaer (Denmark)
Fifty years ago, Mr. Vig bought Hesbjerg Castle in a remote corner of Denmark with the dream of turning the vast, crumbling estate into a monastery. On the cusp of realizing his dream, Vig, now 82, occasionally locks horns with a young, no-nonsense Russian Orthodox nun assessing the suitability of the castle for a religious retreat. Like This Old House meets The Bells of St. Mary's, the heart-warming, often funny film reveals the evolution of a fascinating bond between the unlikely pair in glorious cinematic style. J.P. (Bloor, April 21, 9 p.m.; Royal, April 23, 7 p.m.)
All in this Tea ***
Les Blank and Gina Leibrecht (U.S.)
Veteran filmmaker Les Blank has previously made a film about garlic. This time his subject is tea, and more specifically, Californian tea importer David Lee Hoffman, an Asian-loving former hippie who has helped revive the gourmet market for artisanal Chinese handmade teas. Straightforward but impassioned, the film is both a cultural history and a celebration of the brew. L.L. (ROM, April 21, 5 p.m.; Isabel Bader, April 24, noon)
Amina ***
Khadija al-Salami (Yemen)
With unprecedented access, al-Salami takes us inside a Yemeni women's prison, a heavily fortressed yet surprisingly humane enclave that often seems like a haven for its death-row inmates. Focusing on the plight of Amina -- an articulate, entrancing young mother convicted of murdering her husband, yet who claims innocence -- the filmmaker uses an observational style, creating both an intimate tale and a fascinating portrait of a society. A powerful and, ultimately, influential film as its ending reveals. J.P. (Innis, April 21, 7:15 p.m.; Innis, April 23, 3:30 p.m.)
Billy the Kid ***
Jennifer Venditti (U.S.)
Winner of the Best Doc jury prize at the 2007 South by Southwest film festival, Venditti's directorial debut puts us in the back pocket of Billy, a bright, slightly eccentric 15-year-old outsider with emotional "complications" who loves 1980s hard rock and makes dialogue from The Terminator sound as profound as Proust. Rather than taking the stereotypical approach of exploring Billy's challenges (bullying etc.), the slice-of-life film captures the teen's exhilarating pangs of first love and refreshingly original self-analysis in the dreamy setting of a rural Maine town. J.P. (Bloor, April 20, 9 p.m.; ROM, April 22, 4:45 p.m.)
Ghosts of Abu Ghraib ***
Rory Kennedy (U.S.)
Yes, the starting point is those infamous photographs taken inside the septic walls of Iraq's notorious prison, the one the American forces chose to inherit from Saddam. The doc interviews the figures in the photos, both the torturers and the tortured, frames their words within a broader military and political context and proves conclusively that, contrary to White House assertions, the abuse of Iraqi prisoners was not "the work of a few bad soldiers." Instead, it was the work of many bad orders and the men, at the highest levels of government, who issued them -- orders that not only sanction torture but demand its application. R.G. (Isabel Bader, April 21, 9:45 p.m.; April 24, 4:30 p.m.)
In Memoriam Alexander
Litvinenko ***
Jos de Putter, Masha Novikova (Netherlands)
A case of morbid good luck for these filmmakers who conducted an on-camera interview with the former Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko, two years before he made international headlines in 2006 after being poisoned by a radioactive substance. At the film's core are Litvinenko's assertions that the secret police have overrun the Kremlin and that the Chechen wars were started to spur Russian patriotism and fear. G.D. (ROM Theatre, April 24, 7 p.m.; Isabel Bader Theatre, April 26, 1:45 p.m.)
Kike Like Me ***
Jamie Kastner (Canada)
The revelation here isn't whether Kastner is Jewish or not as he embarks on his world tour of Jewish culture. It's instead how ridiculous it can be for all of us (Jewish or not) to look to religious acts, monuments or labels for self-identity. Kastner is game in his search, but sometimes he can hardly contain his impatience with the mission he has set himself on. The film hits home in Berlin, where Holocaust memorials can insult some Jews if seen from a certain viewpoint. G.D. (Bloor Cinema, April 24, 9:15 p.m.; April 28, 9 p.m.)
Last Call at the Gladstone
Hotel ***
Derreck Roemer, Neil Graham (Canada)
It's difficult to imagine a documentary ostensibly about real-estate business models and historic preservation being so moving. But that's what happens when filmmakers focus on the most compelling down-on-her-luck elderly resident and a caring, though clear-eyed chambermaid in this once luxurious Toronto hotel turned flophouse turned trendy night spot. G.D. (Bloor Cinema, April 22, 6:30 p.m.; April 28, 4:15 p.m.)
A Walk into the Sea: Danny Williams and the Warhol
Factory ***
Esther B. Robinson (U.S.)
The Factory's myth-making gets another dose of reality. The director is the niece of Danny Williams, a filmmaker himself within Warhol's clique, a lighting designer for the Velvet Underground and one of Warhol's lovers. Then he mysteriously disappeared in 1966. What's left is a trail of Factory survivors coming to terms with the dependence (creatively, sexually, pharmacologically) they had on each other. G.D. (Isabel Bader Theatre, April 24, 9:45 p.m.; April 26, 4:15 p.m.)
Seven Dumpsters
and a Corpse ***
Thomas Haemmerli (Switzerland)
The sad ritual of cleaning out your dead parents' home takes a grisly comic twist in this film by Swiss television journalist Thomas Haemmerli. After his estranged mother's decomposing body is found in her trash-filled apartment, he and his brother go on a month-long, seven-dumpster purge that unleashes a flood of family memorabilia, 20th-century European history and family lore. L.L. (Royal, April 25, 9:30 p.m.; Bloor, April 27, 11:30 p.m.)
USA vs Al-Arian **½
Line Halvorsen (Norway)
In a blistering indictment of American justice, post-9/11, Halvorsen documents the case of Sami al-Arian, a Florida university professor arrested, amid much fanfare, in 2003 and charged with conspiracy to commit terrorism. The film offers intimate looks at the toll taken on al-Arian's family, while allowing the facts themselves to speak damning volumes: The accused was imprisoned for 2½ years before receiving a trial; the trial lasted five months and ended in a sweeping verdict of not guilty on all counts; despite the verdict, the government refused to release al-Arian, used the threat of a retrial to coerce a plea bargain, then issued a harsh sentence to an acquitted man. He remains in jail to this day. R.G. (ROM, April 20, 9:45 p.m.; April 24, 11:30 p.m.)
What Would Jesus Buy? ***
Rob VanAlkemade (U.S.)
Social activism as performance art hits the highway as the irreverent but committed Reverend Billy and his rag-tag Church of Stop Shopping Gospel Choir tour the U.S. malls circuit. They arrive during pre-Christmas craziness, bringing their message of consumer restraint to the mostly puzzled masses. Frightening consumer stats are interwoven with gorgeously garish images of decoration excess and visits with families under extreme holiday pressure. There are many surprising twists (and a scary one) on the journey, which ends with a hilarious close encounter with Disney. J.P. Bloor, April 24, 6:30 p.m.; Bloor, April 26, 11 p.m.)
Liam Lacey