Reviews

Way too long. Needed to be 90 minutes tops. Or not made at all because after almost 4 hours you still don't know what happened to the damn paintings. A waste of time.

This documentary on Billie Holiday, whom I consider to be the greatest singer of all time, is so badly constructed, it made me angry. I almost don't know where to begin. From the hideous colorization to the device of using the intended author of her bio to tell the story, to the focus on her addictions and bad choices in men OVER her music, this documentary fails on every account. It literally almost sluts shames her for her choices. And again, NO ONE CARES about the intended biographer. This was supposed to be Billie's story. Beyond all that, there are subtitles when we barely need them, and none when we so do. This is even worse than Lady Sings The Blues. Will someone please do this amazing talent justice! I make music documentaries. And I love the good ones. This might be the worst music doc I have ever seen. ARGH!!!

I searched out Karen Dalton while reading Bob Dylan's autobiography, and his comment that she could sing like Billie Holiday and play guitar like Jimmy Reed. I became obsessed with this voice that sounded as if it could crack and fall apart from pain in one moment, and then soar the next.

But try finding video of Dalton.

Thankfully filmmakers Peete and Yapkowitz do that for us. What we have here is a truly stunning documentary that somehow, with no Karen Dalton to interview, gives us a very complete portrait of a complex and brilliant artist.

Using singer Angel Olsen to bring Dalton's poetry to life is a stroke of genius. The people in her life who tell her story, are honest and caring. The look of the film, as if it were found in some old box that had been sitting on a closet shelf for 5 decades perfectly matches the tone, the subject. And the live performances of Dalton that they have managed to find will take your breath away.

As someone who has made 5 (going on 6) music documentaries, I tend to be very hard on them. But IN MY OWN TIME was very easy to fall in love with. Like it's subject's voice, it is damn near perfect.

(Saw this at DOC NYC 2020 film festival.)

While it is beautifully shot, and Doc is a wonderfully crazy character, everything in the film felt, well, underexposed. Even Doc. I'm not sure we ever understood anyone's real motives. The film felt very much all over the place, without ever really going anywhere. It's missing the details we need to get to the heart of who these people are, and why they do what they do. And had I not read the Bonanos book on Polaroid, I would have been completely confused as to what was going on with the main story in this film. Also...the most interesting character in this story, the one who truly gave it birth, Edwin Land, is completely glossed over. It just felt like a missed opportunity. (Saw this at DOC NYC 2020 film festival.)

This is a perfect example of a great subject ruined by someone who just has no clue how to tell a compelling story. Watch this film and you will know no more about Joan Jett than you did before you watched it. There are times you will be screaming at your monitor: "what does this have to do with Joan Jett?" Tangents, tangents, and more useless tangents. And really, what the hell was Billie Joe Armstrong doing in this film? It was another example of a filmmaker thinking big name interviewees would add to the story. You would have thought filmmakers would have learned by now. The person we want to hear from is the subject. The person we want to hear from is Joan Jett. No one gives a damn what the singer from Green Day thinks of her. The film made me angry. And the filmmaker really should have watched the brilliant documentary, The Punk Singer, about one of his interviewees Kathleen Hanna, to see how a rock doc should be made. So bad, so bad, so freakin' bad. Please don't ever make another film, Kevin Kerslake. You made Joan Jett boring.

Greetings,

Thank you for checking out the IMDb page for my new narrative feature, "Broken Side of Time."

This is a film that grew out of making my first documentary, "Color Me Obsessed, a film about The Replacements," and the idea of shooting a fiction film the same way we'd shoot a documentary. No script. Just an idea for a beginning and an end, and we'd let the footage captured dictate the story when we got to the editing room. But I knew to make that work I needed a brilliant lead actress, so I turned to Lynn Mancinelli from my "Friends (With Benefits)." She will break your heart in this film. She will speak to the wrong decisions we all make, the abuse we often times inflict upon ourself, knowing we need to stop, but unable to, until rock bottom is hit.

"Broken Side of Time" is a story about redemption. About starting over. About hitting that rock bottom, and realizing you are the only one who can save yourself. Lynn's character, Dolce, needs to reinvent herself at 30 and start over. And that is never easy.

The 11 professional photo shoots depicted in the film were all real shoots, with some of the best photographers located on our road trip between Connecticut and Detroit. They were shot cinéma vérité style. My camera set into a corner, capturing the action as it unfolded. The only instructions to the photographers: Lynn had to be called by her character's name.

I'm very proud of this film. It was made by a very small crew. At times I was the only person behind the camera (shooting, directing, doing sound), Lynn was the only person in front of it (also doing hair and makeup). The most crew members ever on set numbered 5 during the bar scenes, proof that a small collection of people who really know what they're doing can make a film look as good as a crew of 20 or 60 or more.

By ordering this DVD or renting/purchasing the film on a digital platform, you are supporting indie film the way it was meant to be. (This is not a $20 million dollar Hollywood version of "independent" cinema.) I truly think you'll find "Broken Side of Time" raw and heartbreaking, and Lynn's performance beautiful. Hopefully it's a film that will stay with you for a long long time. A film that you will return to, finding some deeper meaning each time you watch it. Spotting a shot that you somehow missed the first time around. One that now takes your breath away.

Thank you for coming along with us on this amazing ride.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

Until next time...

Gorman Bechard director/editor/cinematographer, "Broken Side of Time"

P.S. The DVD edition on sale May 20, 2014, features a number of great EXTRAS, including: 5 extended unedited photo shoots, a bunch of deleted scenes, extended scenes, and some really funny blooper outtakes. Plus there's a featurette on how we created the look and feel of the film, and got it made on such a low budget using KickStarter.

Greetings,

A note on the film.

"Every Everything" grew out of my desire to once again, after "Color Me Obsessed, a film about The Replacements," do a different take on the rock doc genre. I am a huge fan of Errol Morris, and love his "Fog Of War" in which he lets one man, and one man only speak for 100 plus minutes. I kept thinking this would be a great format for a rock doc. But what rock star could sustain a 90 minute conversation? What rock star could keep his ego in check, and really open up, really take us on a journey through his life?

Now we had already interviewed Grant Hart for "Color Me Obsessed," so I knew he was a great interview. But it wasn't until Grant and I shared a table for breakfast in Brussels (when both he and "Color Me" were playing the same Minneapolis homage show) that I knew he would be the perfect subject for this format. Not only had he seen and done almost everything in rock and roll, he possesses a brilliant mind, and he's a great freakin' story-teller.

But even I and my co-producer Jan Radder would hardly be prepared for the brilliance Grant brought to the table during our couple of weeks of filming in the Twin Cities. He laid it all on the line, and hopefully I have done his story justice.

Thank you for taking the time to read this, and for hopefully seeking out the film.

Gorman Bechard director/editor

Cheryl Dunn's gorgeous and passionate ode to street photography is a truly wonderful film with a soundtrack that throbs to the beat of New York City past. Featuring interviews with over a dozen shooters, including the brilliant Elliott Erwitt, Mary Ellen Mark, and Joel Meyerowitz, the film is both an eye opening tutorial and a refresher course in the vibrancy of this fading genre of photography. But even aside from the amazing images on display here (and note, the stills don't move, the foregrounds do not detach from the backgrounds, you are given free reign to just look at the photos in all their glory as you would in a museum), the pacing, the structure never have you glancing at your watch, as is so often the case with art documentaries. There's a story here. A rich history of genius that makes us look at the human race through a clear and focused lens.

"Everybody Street" is a must see for lovers of not only photography, but of art and New York City in general. If you know about street photography, you will adore this film. If you don't, get ready for an eye opening experience, get ready to fall in love with a few new photographers. But warning, it might just make you want to take to the street, get in some stranger's face, and take their picture.

Greetings,

To me, the Archers of Loaf were the single greatest band of the 90s. They saved my love of music after The Replacement broke up, and I truly felt no band would ever fill those dirty Converse All Stars.

I will always remember the first time I saw the Archers live at a CMJ showcase at Tramps in NYC. Within 30 seconds I knew I had discovered my new favorite band. And that's never changed. I do honestly believe WEB IN FRONT is the greatest song ever written. Ever. It makes me happy. The band makes me happy.

But of course all good things must come to an end as they did in 1998. A true story: I knew the band, and knew WHITE TRASH HEROES would be their last album. The day it was released I drove some 45 minutes to pick it up, and listened to it blissfully for the first time on the ride home, having to pull over as the last song came on, because knowing it was the last new song I'd ever hear from them I began to cry. I sat in a bank parking lot the tears flowing uncontrollably as the final refrains of that amazing title track played on my car's speakers.

Jump forward to 2011. My first rock documentary, COLOR ME OBSESSED, A FILM ABOUT THE REPLACEMENTS, was doing quite well on the festival circuit. I knew I wanted to make a second rock doc. And one afternoon my wife informed me that the Archers were reuniting for a tour, and I knew I had my next subject. I won't go into the details of talking the camera-sky band into the project, but after seeing their two LA performances I knew I had to do everything in my power to forever preserve this energy for future generations. Especially in a time when going to a rock show usually means seeing a wimpy band who looks even more bored than the texting crowd members who are more interested in talking or being seen.

Cat's Cradle was the obvious venue. So I got together some of my favorite crew members I'd worked with in recent years. Jan Radder and Sarah Hajtol, who were my right and left hands in making COLOR ME. Adrian Correia who did such an amazing job shooting my FRIENDS (WITH BENEFITS) -- the original FWB movie. As well as Cory Maffucci and Andrew Ross. We had seven cameras in all, with me on Eric Johnson's side of the stage, Sarah on Matt Gentling's, Jan with two cameras behind drummer Mark Price, Adrian roaming the audience, Cory watching over the REd One capturing our wide shot, and Andrew on the catwalk covering the crowd.

I shot the interviews myself a few months later in their hometown of Asheville, then I went home and cut together the truly mind-blowing footage to Brian Paulson's astounding mix.

I've made a number of films, written a bunch of books, but never in 30 years did I have more fun doing anything. This is my proudest moment as a filmmaker, because not only do I feel I have made a great film, I know I have helped preserve an important part of rock history, proof that rock once had balls, and at times, still can.

I love this band, and have never found a replacement for them. I doubt I ever will.

Thank you for reading. Enjoy the movie!

Gorman Bechard

P.S. The DVD which is being released on 11/20/12 contains 6 additional songs from the two Cradle shows, and 4 extra interviews with the band members.

Would I have ever listened to Jobriath's music? Probably not. But that said, I caught this film at the always amazing NXNE festival in Toronto this past weekend, and must say it was probably the best rock doc I've seen on the fest circuit since Last Days Here.

Well made, perfectly structured, edited by someone who actually knows how to tell a story (unlike about half the rock docs out there), with excellent vintage footage as well as solid interviews, this is a fascinating tale of talent and ego run wild.

The synopsis tells you what it's about. I'm here to tell you take the time to watch it. Even if you'd also never buy one of his records, it's a very good film about a hauntingly tragic story.

I would rate this a 10 for the information contained in the film.

But I'd rate it a 2 for filmmaking.

But the information is more important, thus the non-averaged score of 8.

This is one of those movies where you have such amazing and important information being given to the viewer, but it's done in such a badly constructed way that it's difficult to watch. The narration is about as boring as any I've every heard. There's no narrative line, so to speak. The filmmaker had no idea how to tell the amazing story he was trying to tell. And the sound is truly awful at times. But that said, the information contained here is something we ALL should see and hear and understand. So, if you put it on, and are immediately turned off as to how bad it is, stick with it. You will learn how to live a longer healthier life, and for that we can forgive the bad filmmaking.

Just caught this amazing and brutally honest doc at the Hell's Half Mile Film Fest in Bay City, Michigan. And having worked the fest circuit with two features now, I can say this film rings so true that's it's almost painful to watch in places (and I mean that in a good way).

This is the indie filmmaker's life, this is our humiliation, this is our reward, this is our freakin' angst! OFFICIAL REJECTION plays like the film companion to Chris Gore's Film Festival Guide. It covers the life (and sometimes death) of mainly one feature as it aims for Sundance, then reevaluates. As it aims for Slamdamn, then reevaluates. As it aims for SXSW, then...well you get the picture. And it's not all doom and gloom. (Well, OK, there is a film fest meltdown that has to be one of the most uncomfortable moments I've ever seen on film.) But...there is a (somewhat) happy ending here.

If you have any plans to make a film, watch this movie! Learn from it. These are the rules of film festivals. Realize that you will not be the exception.

I love OFFICIAL REJECTION. It is my life. If you are a filmmaker (or are close to any filmmakers), it is your life too!

I detest this film.

Long story short: it was originally called "Assault of the Killer Bimbos." It was a black comedy. We filmed it as written. Charlie Band, who ran Empire, called me the day after we wrapped and said he just read the script and it was too dark for his liking. He was taking away the title (because I had gotten such great publicity, including PEOPLE magazine), and keeping only half of what I shot. He was having his staff write some back story.

Thus my story about girl who offed scum bags just because they knew they could...now became a story about girls who were abused, etc and so on. But it was the film that was ultimately abused (and I'm using a nice word) by Band.

I talk about this at length on the commentary of the new PSYCHOS IN LOVE DVD release. (Of course, if I had seen what they did to Galactic Gigolo in post prior to filming this, I would have never made a second film for Band.)

Rent PSYCHOS. Avoid this piece of crap.

And if you're a filmmaker, and an idiot with money tries to tell you what to do with your film...I don't care how badly you want it...WALK AWAY.

As a director I know first hand, all actors are crazy. That isn't an insult, ask any actor. In this funny and charming film, actor Robert Margolis illustrates why.

His performance is dead on, as the actor who just won't give up on his dream, at any cost. And yet as doomed as his career choices seem, you find yourself rooting for this guy, not to get his life together, but to finally get a damn break.

This is a perfect portrait of an artist gone mad. Someone so committed to their dream, that they'll keep making the same mistakes over and over in the hopes of one day getting it right.

I've been there. And this so rings true.

Long live the artist!

More than anything, watch SPEAK for Kristen Stewart's raw, honest, beautiful performance. This young actress can convey more with one look than most veterans can with an entire monologue. She reminds me of a young Mary Louise Parker. And as a director, she shot up on my wish list of people I'd one day like to work with!

Aside from Stewart, the film is very well directed, tightly scripted...Steve Zahn is quite good as the art teacher with the heart of gold...

And I love the score, which owes a lot to Neutral Milk Hotel.

But really it's all about Stewart. There isn't one beat of her performance which does not ring true.

Masterful!

I'm going to completely ignore the story, and focus instead on the truly brilliant cinematography by Cesar Charlone. This is the only film in recent memory that I can equate to Amelie. The use of color, hand-held, out of focus shots, etc., and so on...it's a grab bag of every wonderful technique, yet somehow it works on levels that consistently take your breath away.

The film is one wherein you can pick any frame, blow it up, and hang it on your wall. A visual masterpiece, which can be watched and appreciated with the sound off.

The love scene in the beginning is quite possibly the most beautiful ever put on film. The use of color (or lack thereof during the London scenes) had me gasping.

Bravo!

Just to set the record straight, Francoise Surel is the wife of producer Arthur Chang. She was on board the project from the get-go.

And while I truly appreciate some of the kind comments about the film, please know that I had nothing to do with the final version of the film. It was completely recut to focus on Ms. Surel. Likewise, the music was changed. I'm not at all fond of this final cut. And to say that I dislike the music is an understatement. And please know that the voice overs from the novel were written by other writers, not myself or Mr. Manzi.

While some of the better moments survived this cut (it's hard to make Eliza and Terence look bad), many unfortunately have not.

But nonetheless, thank you for watching, Gorman Bechard.

This is a great movie, by a VERY talented first time director, which grabs you from the brilliant opening credit sequence and never lets go. This film works on so many different levels, I don't understand how it was so overlooked by the arthouse crowd.

The performances, the miniDV cinematography, the score( by Thurston Moore of Sonic Youth)...the script, about troubled teens, mostly with anger management and/or home abuse issues...it's all right on the money.

Kudos especially to Don Cheadle who's proved himself to be one of our greatest and most underappreciated actors. This one section of jump cuts where he's questioning the kids and finally questioning himself is as good a piece of acting as I've seen in a while.

Buy it or rent it...JUST WATCH IT. You won't be sorry.