Documentaries
Documentaries I have watched recently on 4OD. (You'll have to turn to ahems if you're outside the UK, I'm afraid.)
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding
Trailer:
On the surface, this is the chance to point and laugh at the ludicrous dresses that teenaged traveller brides demand, but it’s not quite as anti-gypsy in sentiment as the title suggests. The plight of these sheltered and childlike brides is actually very sad and, once it gets going, the documentary itself is thought-provoking. It does, however, feel poorly researched - in some ways it comes across as a 45-minute commercial for one particular Liverpudlian seamstress, because her views are given such prominence.
I was also left with a lot of questions: How can a family that has lived in a flat for 20 years consider themselves ‘travellers’? Why do traveller girls dress like strippers, despite their high morals? Why has incest (apparently) become more acceptable in traveller society over the last couple of generations? (In fairness, it’s inspired me to check out some books on travellers to try and find answers to these questions.)
Adopt Me - I’m a Teenager!
From the “skeptical British people go and film American eccentricities” subgenre of documentaries. In all honesty, I don’t find “adoption parties”, or TV specials where would-be adoptees are encouraged to sell themselves, all that shocking - a little gauche, perhaps, but if it finds a kid a family, who cares? Subsequently, this doc works better as a moving portrait of abandoned teenagers trying to eke out a better life than it does an ~expose of any kind.
Both the girls profiled are charming and articulate. We never find out details of their troubled childhoods, which is understandable, but it does rob the doc of some of its punch. Due to an unexpected ‘twist’ near the end, the conclusion to the doc is slightly dissatisfying. Interesting stuff, nonetheless.
The Human Spider
Trailer. (Narrated by John Simm. <3)
File under: French people are crazy? :D?
Alain Robert climbs skyscrapers as if they were mountains, and this film features some amazing architecture viewed from a different perspective. The talking heads that break up the climbing footage are pretty rubbish: some climbers they hustled in off the street and a sports psychologist who seems to have nothing to say but some jargon. However, the degree of "holy shit, this is awesome! no wait, this is fucking idiotic!" is pretty great.
Best part: when Alain climbs a building in London and, halfway up, is offered a cup of coffee (passed through a window) by the building's occupants. Heh!
This Model Life
I actually watched this when it first aired, 7 (!) years ago, and I found it just as entertaining second time around. It features a then-24-year-old Erin O’Connor at a time when she was just a very successful working model, rather than, y’know, heat magazine famous. Erin in the film is a little pretentious, but mostly down to earth - upon rewatch, she reminded me of a less-snarky version of elysesewell. Anyway, it’s a good doc: it shows the sheer grind of modelling, without feeling unduly biased against the fashion industry. Quite refreshing to watch after the 54,089 episodes of ANTM that I've seen.
Afghan Star
Trailer:
Well, there's a reason this has a 100% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. It actually suceeds where a lot of the above docs fail: it takes one aspect of a culture (the Afghan version of American Idol) and uses it to cleverly shed light on other aspects of society. It's as amusing and absurd as AI frequently is, but also incredibly moving and thought-provoking.
Best part: when the youngest daughter of the "superfan" family plays with Barbie dolls, because (a) she's adorable, and yet (b) it's super fucked up that she only has blonde, white, Western respresentations of womanhood to play with.
My Big Fat Gypsy Wedding
Trailer:
Click to viewOn the surface, this is the chance to point and laugh at the ludicrous dresses that teenaged traveller brides demand, but it’s not quite as anti-gypsy in sentiment as the title suggests. The plight of these sheltered and childlike brides is actually very sad and, once it gets going, the documentary itself is thought-provoking. It does, however, feel poorly researched - in some ways it comes across as a 45-minute commercial for one particular Liverpudlian seamstress, because her views are given such prominence.
I was also left with a lot of questions: How can a family that has lived in a flat for 20 years consider themselves ‘travellers’? Why do traveller girls dress like strippers, despite their high morals? Why has incest (apparently) become more acceptable in traveller society over the last couple of generations? (In fairness, it’s inspired me to check out some books on travellers to try and find answers to these questions.)
Adopt Me - I’m a Teenager!
From the “skeptical British people go and film American eccentricities” subgenre of documentaries. In all honesty, I don’t find “adoption parties”, or TV specials where would-be adoptees are encouraged to sell themselves, all that shocking - a little gauche, perhaps, but if it finds a kid a family, who cares? Subsequently, this doc works better as a moving portrait of abandoned teenagers trying to eke out a better life than it does an ~expose of any kind.
Both the girls profiled are charming and articulate. We never find out details of their troubled childhoods, which is understandable, but it does rob the doc of some of its punch. Due to an unexpected ‘twist’ near the end, the conclusion to the doc is slightly dissatisfying. Interesting stuff, nonetheless.
The Human Spider
Trailer. (Narrated by John Simm. <3)
File under: French people are crazy? :D?
Alain Robert climbs skyscrapers as if they were mountains, and this film features some amazing architecture viewed from a different perspective. The talking heads that break up the climbing footage are pretty rubbish: some climbers they hustled in off the street and a sports psychologist who seems to have nothing to say but some jargon. However, the degree of "holy shit, this is awesome! no wait, this is fucking idiotic!" is pretty great.
Best part: when Alain climbs a building in London and, halfway up, is offered a cup of coffee (passed through a window) by the building's occupants. Heh!
This Model Life
I actually watched this when it first aired, 7 (!) years ago, and I found it just as entertaining second time around. It features a then-24-year-old Erin O’Connor at a time when she was just a very successful working model, rather than, y’know, heat magazine famous. Erin in the film is a little pretentious, but mostly down to earth - upon rewatch, she reminded me of a less-snarky version of elysesewell. Anyway, it’s a good doc: it shows the sheer grind of modelling, without feeling unduly biased against the fashion industry. Quite refreshing to watch after the 54,089 episodes of ANTM that I've seen.
Afghan Star
Trailer:
Well, there's a reason this has a 100% fresh rating at Rotten Tomatoes. It actually suceeds where a lot of the above docs fail: it takes one aspect of a culture (the Afghan version of American Idol) and uses it to cleverly shed light on other aspects of society. It's as amusing and absurd as AI frequently is, but also incredibly moving and thought-provoking.
Best part: when the youngest daughter of the "superfan" family plays with Barbie dolls, because (a) she's adorable, and yet (b) it's super fucked up that she only has blonde, white, Western respresentations of womanhood to play with.