Thursday, April 09, 2020

Human (2015) - Documentary

Many years ago, a good friend of mine recommended a documentary by the name of Human (2015).

This friend, had rarely recommended anything to me but said that if he was going to insist that I watched something, it was that particular documentary. Being over three hours long, it ended up being broken into three parts and made available in its entirety on YouTube. 

Years went by and I didn't even come close to watching it. I don't know why... 

Nothing to do with the person that was recommending it, because if anything, it was due to coming from him that I always kept it in my back pocket. I think it may have to do with committing that much time... Like staying away from some of Sergio Leone's classic films, purely because I get put off when a movie is over three hours long and I'm watching it at home (too many distractions). 

Years went by and my friend would constantly tease me about the documentary.

"Have you seen it?"

 "The one thing I tell you to watch and you still haven't."

It even got to the point where he partnered up with another friend for a feature that involved interviewing the team behind the doco and off the back of that I got a DVD copy with a message urging me to watch it. Still, I didn't see it and a few more years went by.

With this quarantine upon us, I made a promise to my friend and myself to take the time to watch it...

... and today was the day!

The project consists of a series of interviews with people from all walks of life. They are asked the same questions and what we see is a narrative thread that take us on a journey through what makes us human, examining the best and worst in mankind and how our decisions have shaped the world we live in.

Love, gender, war, poverty are just some of the topics discussed and the things you hear are guaranteed to strike a chord - one way or another.

I wasn't prepared for it. The opening scene alone probably broke the record for making me tear up quicker. That record belonged to Pixar's Up (2009).

If you are not too sure about it, I would say give it a shot. Commit yourself to the first 15m and if you are not hooked / intrigued / moved by then... drop it. Otherwise, allow yourself to continue on this journey that puts people out of their comfort zone taking about their feelings and their views on the world, making us - as the audience - reassess our own lives.

As my final thought, i want to leave you a small section of documentary which I think to be very timely for these troubled times.

Really hope you like it.


HUMAN VOL 1
HUMAN VOL 2

Tuesday, April 07, 2020

Ethan Hawke - Looking back at career and iconic characters

Had this video saved for ages on my "watch list" and faith would have it that one day after I watched Predestination (totally recommend), I would once again stumble upon this GQ interview with Ethan Hawke talking about his most iconic roles, offering amazing personal insight into each of them.

Hawke talks with such passion about his craft and the several masters he's worked with over the years that it's hard not to believe about his deep commitment to his profession.

I believe him to be so underrated, to the point where people often forget the amount of memorable films the four-time Oscar nominated actor has been part of and the milestones achieved in the process. 

From working with Peter Weir and Robin Williams in Dead Poet Society...

To meeting his future wife (now ex) Uma Thurman on set for the sci-fi classic Gattaca...

His frequent collaborations with Richard Linklater in the acclaimed The Before Trilogy and Boyhood...

Partnering up with Denzel Washington - who was at the top of his game for Training Day...

Or working with Sidney Lumet in Before The Devil Knows You're Dead - his last movie before the 12 Angry Men / Serpico / Dog Day Afternoon famed director passed away.

The list goes on... and in this video - going over 20 minutes talking about several roles - Hawke even left out one of my personal favorite performances of his, from the film Born To Be Blue where he plays legendary jazzman Chet Baker.

Definitely worth investigating a lot of his body of work. Plenty of quality there to be seen.