Playing for 50+ years and still going strong, Los Lobos is one of the great American bands.
If you love them — and you should — you’ll probably love them even more after seeing “Los Lobos: Native Sons,” one of many first-rate offerings at this year’s Woods Hole Film Festival. The 35th annual event, featuring panel discussions, workshops, films of all kinds, filmmaker Q-and-A’s and parties, kicks off Saturday, July 25, and runs through Saturday, Aug. 1.
So far I’ve seen seven of the feature films (two at the Provincetown International Film Festival) and two shorts, and I’d recommend all of them.
Here’s what I’ve seen (reviews of “The Last Critic” and “Anne Packard: An Artist’s Resolve” were previously published in a column of the Provincetown festival):
“Los Lobos: Native Sons.” (Photos courtesy of Woods Hole Film Festival)
“Los Lobos: Native Sons” (96 minutes). Directors Douglas Blush and Piero F. Giunti trace the history of the East Los Angeles Mexican-American band from the 1970s, from the time it played local weddings and birthday parties in the barrio through its years of international success (17 albums, four Grammys, honored at the White House). The film shows how, though the five band members could have gone mainstream after their cover of Ritchie Valens “La Bamba” became a monster hit, they’ve maintained their artistic integrity, celebrating their cultural heritage and becoming an important voice for the Chicano Movement. You’ll leave this movie inspired and wanting to hear more. Linda Ronstadt, Tom Waits, John Doe and Bonnie Raitt are among those shown singing the band’s praises. **** (out of four)
“School for Defectors.”
“School for Defectors” (92 minutes). Jeremy Workman (“Secret Mall Apartment”) directed this poignant documentary about students in a small boarding school in South Korea for youths who have defected from North Korea. Through interviews with the students and their family members, Workman reveals their stories of life-threatening escapes, separation from family members left behind, and the struggle to adjust to a new world where they’re not always accepted. ****
“The Last Critic” (83 minutes). Robert Christgau, one of the first serious rock critics and still going strong decades later in his 80s, is front and center in Matty Wishnow’s in-depth doc about his career, his impact, and his devotion to music and writing. Among other things, it makes you wonder if there’s a point where devotion ends and obsession begins, and whether it matters. It also presents quite a love story, as it captures Chrisgau with his wife of more than 50 years, writer Carola Dibbell, who appears his close partner in life, music and writing. ***½
“Anne Packard: An Artist’s Resolve” (73 minutes). Provincetown artist Anne Packard, now in her 90s, is the subject of Arthur Egeli’s intimate doc about her life, past and present, including her rise in the art world while raising five children as a single mom after her husband left her for a much younger woman. Some of her children hint at family dysfunction (beyond their father leaving) that, unfortunately, goes unexplored. But what’s here serves as an engaging, inside look at an vibrant artist’s personality, life, family and work. Egeli’s film tied for the PIFF Audience Award for best documentary feature. ***½
“The Bend in the River” (82 minutes). Director (and Harvard professor) Robb Moss revisits various friends from a communal rafting trip in the 1970s, when they were in their late 20s. Moss’ third film in the series, ‘Bend” captures these people, now in their 70s, as they assess their past and present. A blend of Michael Apted’s “7-Up” series and John Sayles’ “Return of the Secaucus Seven,” the film considers aging, independence and its costs, and so much more. Most interesting: Jim, perhaps the most free of the free spirits, and arguably the most tragic. ***½
“The Leader” (R, 104 minutes). The only narrative on this list, but based on a true story, Michael J. Gallagher’s psychological horror drama details the events leading up to the mass suicide of 39 members of the “Heaven’s Gate” cult. Tim Blake Nelson and Vera Farmiga play the leaders, and Jim Parsons, Grace Caroline Curry and Simon Rex play followers, in this creepy, compelling, stranger-than-fiction tale of misfits and mind control. ***
“Crime & Parody” (87 minutes). A young man in the quirky burg of Parma, Ohio, creates an obviously satirical Facebook page for the city’s police department and is arrested for “disrupting public services.” What starts as a goofy prank leads to a serious case involving freedom of expression, the role of satire in a democracy, the abuse of power, and the use of “qualified immunity” to protect police and other authorities from being charged with possible crimes. Director Will Thwaites successfully blends absurdity and tragedy in this revealing documentary. ***
The following two films are part of the shorts package “Thank You for the Music.”
“Oh Yeah!” (17 minutes). Once you’ve heard the electronic song “Oh Yeah” — with its repetition of the comically borderline-lewd “Ohhh Yeaaaaaaah” — it’s hard to forget. Director Nick Canfield focuses on the song, how it appeared on the soundtrack of “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and how it has come to represent the 1980s, and Yello, the Swiss duo that made it, in this funny short. ***
“Rolling Film, Rocking History, Al Maysles Captures the Beatles” (10 minutes). When brothers Albert and David Maysles were asked to film the Beatles landing in New York in 1964, Albert didn’t know who they were. The brothers took the job and provided an up-close look at the Fab Four. Director Bart Weiss interviews Albert (who has since passed away) about the experience while providing a quick look at the Maysles’ subsequent career, which included such classic docs as “Salesman,” “Grey Gardens” and “Gimme Shelter.” ***
Screening times, dates and venues for these films and other festival information can be found at www.woodsholefilmfestival.org.
** Click here for Tim Miller’s previous movie columns for Cape Cod Wave **
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Tim Miller
Tim Miller is co-president of the Boston Society of Film Critics and a Tomatometer-approved critic. He teaches film and journalism at Cape Cod Community College in West Barnstable. You can contact Tim at [email protected]. Or you can ignore him completely.
