Hot Docs 2012 - Charles Bradley: Soul of America (Brien, 2012) *****

Filmmaker and Music Video director Poull Brien's first documentary Charles Bradley: Soul of America is a truly funky, modern and inspiring story about Daptone Records artist Charles Bradley's ascension to worldwide recognition and success in the face of great adversity, heartbreak and perseverance. The same deeply felt soul that is so prevalent in Bradley's debut album No Time for Dreaming is mined by Brien's documentary; a real feeling of soul that Bradley exudes in his amazing music and his explosive stage performance.

Bradley's story begins as a 62 year old James Brown impersonator discovered by Gabriel Roth and Neil Sugarman of Daptone Records, famous for catapulting Sharon Jones into the limelight and recording Amy Winehouse's most acclaimed album Back to Black. We catch up with Bradley roaming the same Brooklyn and Bed-Stuy neighbourhoods of New York that he grew up in, doting on his feisty old mother, dodging the violence and depression of the building projects, hoping and praying that his record finds an audience and finally breaking into the music business after years of exploitation and bad luck.

Poull shoots with a sharp eye for framing, colour and objectivity, letting Bradley tell his life's story on his own terms and letting powerful, crisply edited music sequences play on. Described by his songwriting partner, producer and recording engineer Tom Brenneck as one of the "greatest story tellers he's ever met", Bradley's many, sometimes humorous, sometimes heartbreaking tales are rendered by Brien as memorable reenactments; a fresh visual approach that at times feels like a music video, but leave indelible emotional impressions, bringing us closer to the man.

I've been a fan of Charles Bradley's music for sometime now and have nothing but respect and admiration for him. One of the final tracks off his album, called "Why is it So Hard?" is a raw and moving song about growing up and having to fight everyday just to survive. I think the reason why Charles Bradley's music and story connects with such a broad base of people is because it touches on the nerve of so many who know what it's like to feel loss and the biting anxiety of what lies ahead in life. It's also the reason why we gather to see films and documentaries: to be collectively inspired and remind ourselves of the perseverance of the human spirit. Charles Bradley: Soul of America is an instant classic and a must see for lovers of inspirational urban documentaries and soul and funk music.

Hot Docs 2012 - Capsule Reviews - 04/30/2012

Tchoupitoulas (Ross Brothers, 2012) ***

Bill and Turner Ross's second documentary feature, Tchoupitoulas, is an evocative, immersive portrait of New Orleans, seen through the wide eyes of a band of curious youth who venture across the river into the bright lights and sounds of the city for a dreamlike night of unexpected adventure. Led and narrated by the charming, overly precocious eight-year-old William with his two brothers and dog Buttercup along for the ride, the film adheres to an abstract, roving, tightly framed aesthetic that yields an almost childlike-wonderment at the endless stream of musicians, quirky drunkards and lovers that cross their path.

The Brothers Ross skillfully weave in tangents that expose the seedy, sexy underbelly of NOLA nightlife, serving as a thought-provoking counterbalance to the naive, superficial journey of the boys: We peer in on burlesque artists literally from behind a curtain, a group of transvestites belting out "Proud Mary" in a small dive bar and even jump on the stage for a grimy after hours blues show. The film takes a fascinating and dark turn as the boys miss their ferry back home, making for a satisfying narrative arc including the exploration of an abandoned cruise ship. Tchoupitoulas might feel a tad too wavy and empty for viewers looking for a more cohesive structure, but those interested in a visually compelling, intelligent journey of NOLA at night will find themselves engaged completely.

McCullin (Morris, 2012) ****

A searing, sobering look at the 30+ year career of Don McCullin, a world renowned war photographer, who ironically hates the moniker "war photographer". The first documentary feature by Jacqui Morris, a producer/director who initially started her career in film as an assistant to McCullin, the film deftly handles the photographers exploits into some of the most urgent humanitarian disasters and war zones of the 20th century. Morris interviews McCullin at his home during a wintry month in the English countryside and manages to purge shockingly vivid memories from her subject, taking us from his initial beginnings as a gruff amateur taking pictures of roughnecks in the bad side of London, to assignments in Berlin, Cyprus, Vietnam, Biafra, Cambodia and Beirut.

Morris pulls no punches here, relying on the stark, visceral humanity evoked by the sometimes violent, shocking images captured by McCullin; the edit is tight and unobtrustive. McCullin is our guide, but perhaps what is most compelling about the way he tells his story is the humility and self-deprecation about his unrelenting dedication to his subjects and the moral quandries inherent in the grey zone of journalistic ethics that one inevitably finds themselves in a war zone. One of the most pleasant, lingering surprises of this year's Hot Docs.

Hot Docs 2012 - Beware of Mr. Baker (Bulger, 2012) ****

Rolling Stone journalist-turned-documentarian Jay Bulger's Beware of Mr. Baker is a tough, hilarious ride through the life of Ginger Baker, one of the most infamous musicians-among-musicians of the 20th century. Famous for his stint as the drummer for the legendary 1960s rock band Cream, Bulger plunges us into the dark, dangerous, consistently self-destructive exploits of a damaged man whose musical ability was forged from the flames of World War II, a fatherless family and the violence of the schoolyard. But where your cookie-cutter doc about a musician would focus on the point of view of the subject and those he influenced, Bulger takes a kitchen sink approach that includes animated sequences, incredibly rare archival footage and interviews with famous drummers, adding up to a doc that is at times revelatory, sometimes disturbing, but always refreshing.  

For over 18 years of my life, I have been a drummer and percussionist, so I have a lot of theories about rhythm and it's place in human history: how is it used as a tool for freedom and release, what is it about the feeling of hands or sticks on skins that elicits a feeling of power and survival? Bulger's doc asks these same questions. As we're taken through Baker's life, we see his some of his most important moments captured as animated sequences in the style of (as Bulger revealed in a post-screening Q&A) German expressionist art. We see him as as a teenager, listening to the sounds of his idol, jazz drummer Max Roach, watching his mentor simultaneously shoot heroin and introduce him to African music, his violent screaming matches with Cream bassist Jack Bruce (and Eric Clapton watching in the background, horrified) and a recurring sequence that renders Baker beating a large drum on a slave ship, keeping the boat above water with every stroke of the mallet, but enslaving all those who have to man an oar to survive. These sequences add a thematic depth to the idea hinted at by all the subjects in the film, that without the drum, Baker will completely self-destruct; an idea that lingers in the subconscious of many a drummer, but sumptuously visualized by Bulger. 

This is a music documentary that will mostly appeal to those interested in the dark, transgressive side of artistry and is not for the faint of heart, despite the relatively comedic tone Bulger's doc takes sometimes, bringing to mind a segment where Baker travels to Italy and lives in a decrepid house with an 18-year-old, on top of a mountain. Ginger Baker is twice divorced and has three children, one of which, who is a drummer himself, says Baker "should not have had children." He is described by many, as a "cunt", "complicated" and of course,"self-destructive". When asked if Mr. Baker had seen the film, Bulger says that Baker's reply was "it's my fucking life, I did it. Why do I need to fucking watch it?"