a second hand recā¦ both people i know who saw it loved it!
from what I can tell it may satisfy the āmaking ofā part of this ask. Itās a doc but also about the making of a musical, a museum exhibit, and a film.
Wikipedia page describes it as āa semiotic experiment.ā
Nov 12, 2024
Related Recs
Is my favourite documentary in the world. Stylishly directed in black and white by Bennett Miller (best known for Capote and Moneyball), it circles around the magnificently exuberant existence of the playwright turned apple city tour guide Timothy "Speed" Levitch as he muses on the city of NY on and off his double decker bus.
I have a tendency to let my frustrations of the world to clench my muscles up and this is the film equivalent of a lump of mdma to melt my heart back open again with every rewatch. A poet can have an intense love affair with a bridge and a great poet can word it in a way that convinces you that they're not mad; or that even if they are, they are mad in the exact way life is supposed to be experienced in the first place.
A must-see for anyone who holds a warm spot in their heart for the insomniac city, or at least what it once could be through the eyes of an intensely intuned romantic eccentric.
Jul 4, 2024
IMO this is one of the finest rock-docs ever made. Not sure how close to reality it really is (maybe more "film" than "documentary"), but filmmaker Ondi Timoner followed the bands in question (Portland's Dandy Warhols and SF's Brian Jonestown Massacre) for seven years, amassing something like 2500 hours of footage, to craft a narrative that basically portrays a love/hate relationship between the bands (at one point, BJM frontman Anton Newcombe sends each member of Dandy Warhols a bullet with his/her name on it). I had the advantage of knowing both bands on their own terms -- the Dandys' Courtney Taylor-Taylor is a longtime friend, and I've been a fan of BJM for years, as my reviews/interviews would show -- so I can pick around a bit between what seems real (the music itself, life on the road, dealing with labels and the biz) and what seems contrived (the friction between the bands, Anton's seemingly over-the-top persona). The Dandys are THE most fun hang of all time -- their rehearsal space-cum-party cabin/clubhouse, the Odditorium in Portland, took up a full city block and hosted absolute ragers over the years (including an amazing night with David Bowie and band). The film is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year and Timoner has added scenes and additional narration from BJM tambourine player (!!) Joel Gion to bring the movie up to date and balance out some of the overblown-ness of the original version. Compulsive viewing, dead ahead: "Choose your own adventure" with the cameras rolling.
Mar 12, 2024
iām sure thereās a doc iāve seen before this one where i ālearned moreā or whatever but at least in recent memory this one feels like an all-timer; the subject matter is interesting, the interviews are engaging, the found footage is immaculate, and the graphics feel so on-theme that you kinda forget that someone drew that, and that it wasnāt something akin to found footage. also just manages the tone really, really well ā the edit tells the story in a way that feels really intuitive and leaves you at the end with a sense of melancholy that you finished it because you just want it to keep going
Mar 28, 2024
Top Recs from @avab
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its not an overload like you might expect. i find it brings the music i already liked into a new focus and helps me hear it in new ways.
did this the other week post MJ Lenderman concert on a walk the next morning :)
6d ago
šŖØ
love a book about a girl and also about school. main character was so compelling to me. not doing it justice, but just writing this is making me wish I owned a copy so i could reread at will.
Feb 11, 2025
šø
Could be fun to visualize related recommendations like a web? I know thereās connective threads across recs and somehow visualizing that would be coolā¦ but maybe thatās too causal?
Feb 24, 2025