The Documentary ‘Folktales’ Asks, ‘What’s the DEAL with Norwegian Folk High Schools?’

July 23, 2025

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Bow wow wow, yippee yo, yippee yay (CREDIT: Tori Edvin Eliassen/Magnolia Pictures)

Starring: The Students and Teachers of Pasvik Folk High School, Plus a Bunch of Sled Dogs

Directors: Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady

Running Time: 106 Minutes

Rating: Unrated (But PG-Level)

Release Date: July 25, 2025 (IFC Center in New York City)/August 1, 2025 (Los Angeles and Other Cities)

What’s It About?: In the most unforgiving stretches of northern Norway there lies a learning institution known as Pasvik Folk High School. Some hardy teenagers choose to attend there for a year to get away from the routine of the modern world and learn how to survive in the wilderness, while also corralling some adorable sled dogs. Folktales tracks the journey of one class from their arrival through months of utter darkness all the way to the tearful goodbyes and reintegration back home, having changed. Through it all, their story is explicitly connected to the Norns, the goddesses of Norse mythology responsible for weaving the strings of human destiny.

What Made an Impression?: A Star is Born: Folktales focuses on three students in particular: the socially awkward Bjørn Tore; the Dutch Romain, who finds himself anxious and adrift; and Hege, who’s struggling after the recent untimely murder of her father. Their arcs are all pretty predictable – they’re just teenagers going through teenager stuff, even if they are in the wilderness! But Hege’s story is a little meatier than the others, as she takes to the school like a dog in the mush. I think the marketers recognized this as well. That is her on the poster after all, bonding with a howling husky.
A-Roooooooooo: Perhaps the most compelling scene in Folktales (or at least the most compelling to me as a canine connoisseur) is when the students meet the school dogs. Some of them are immediately friendly, others are a little more shy, but all of them are eager to please and run through the snow. I’m a little too old for high school now, but if I were still a teenager, these pups would be the way to convince me to spend months at the tip of Scandinavia.
Connecting to Infinity: After a quick opening segment introducing the Norns, directors Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady mostly settle into a fly-on-the-wall realism approach. But a few visual motifs hang around to maintain the Norse connection, particularly red strings crawling up trees and seemingly stretching everywhere and every when. It underscores the vibe that we’re all connected back to countless generations, a feeling that I’m sure is only amplified at Pasvik Folk.

Folktales is Recommended If You Like: Aurora Borealis, Bildungsromans, A Vicarious Braving of the Elements

Grade: 3 out of 5 Sled Dogs

‘Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie’ Leaves a Lasting Impression

May 6, 2025

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Tom and Rich (CREDIT: Screenshot)

Starring: Thomas B. Kin Chong, Richard “Cheech” Marin

Director: David L. Bushell

Running Time: 123 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: April 25, 2025 (Theaters)

Will Cheech & Chong’s Last Movie live up to the promise of its title? Well, not for me, because this is in fact the first Cheech & Chong movie I’ve ever seen. Although, I suppose it is possible that I could go the rest of my days without checking out any of their previous co-starring features. But that’s definitely less likely at this point! Promoting the totality of your career certainly isn’t a terrible idea for a documentary, I must say. Especially if it’s tinged with bittersweetness (emphasis on “bitter”) that’ll leave viewers feeling “Hmm.”

Grade: 2 Blunts out of 3 Legacies

‘One to One: John & Yoko’ Captures a Moment

April 9, 2025

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Documentary for the Benefit of John & Yoko (CREDIT: Magnolia Pictures)

Starring: John Lennon, Yoko Ono

Directors: Kevin MacDonald and Sam Rice-Edwards

Running Time: 100 Minutes

Rating: R for Graphic Non-Sexual Nudity and Some Drug Use

Release Date: April 11, 2025 (IMAX Theaters)

What’s It About?: In August 1972, John Lennon and Yoko Ono performed the “One to One” concert at the world-famous Madison Square Garden in New York City. It was a benefit show for the Willowbrook institution for children with intellectual disabilities, which was notorious for its inhumane conditions. The documentary One to One: John & Yoko tracks the buildup to that show, while also painting a portrait of the couple’s stay in a Greenwich apartment, which they lived in for 18 months from 1971 to 1973. During that time, when they weren’t preparing for the show, the musical couple liked to stay in bed and watch a lot of TV, while also advocating for the freedom of activist John Sinclair, among other activities.

What Made an Impression?: A Reality-Altering Adventure: One to One does not unfold strictly linearly, both in terms of chronology and geometry. Instead, it bounces around from fragment to fragment, often with scratches of static to mark the transitions. In other words, it operates much like human memory, or at least my human memory. No worries if your mind is a little chaotic, though. If you’re someone who’s been alive in the modern world during any of the last several decades, I suspect that you’ll still be able to intuit directors Kevin MacDonald and Sam Rice-Edwards’ style of mediation within mediation pretty naturally, even if doesn’t follow the typical syntax of documentary cinema language.
A Peek Inside: With its mix of archival TV clips and behind-the-scenes footage, One to One also aims to capture the fleeting essence of what it was like to live as John and Yoko during this era. Perhaps the mind-bending style sounds a little too niche or maybe even off-putting to you. But if you have any affection for these people, you’ll surely find yourself touched by the access and vulnerability. And thankfully it doesn’t feel invasive, but instead like a gift to the world of a little piece of their souls.

One to One: John & Yoko is Recommended If You Like: Experimental documentaries, Intimate documentaries, 1970s talk shows

Grade: 4 out of 5 Benefit Concerts

‘Music by John Williams,’ Review by jmunney

November 12, 2024

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Johnny be good. (CREDIT: Disney Plus/Screenshot)

Starring: John Williams and His Friends, Collaborators, and Admirers

Director: Laurent Bouzereau

Running Time: 105 Minutes

Rating: PG

Release Date: November 1, 2024 (Disney+ and Limited Theaters)

If you’ve been reading my reviews for a while, you probably know that my reviewing strategy often consists of asking, “Would I like to exist within the parameters of what this movie is all about?” In the case of the documentary Music by John Williams, that question takes the form of: “Would I like one of the most acclaimed movie music composers to compose a soundtrack about me?” And the answer is: of course I would! With such well-documented, extensive talent, I’m sure he could do a good job.

But the trickier question is, would John Williams actually want to write music about me? Obviously, it would be an unrealistically backbreaking workload for him to craft scores for every single one of his fans. But if fate somehow twisted its way towards connecting the two of us, I’d imagine he would have the multi-genre savvy to pull it off. And this documentary is evidence of that.

Grade: 77 Million Emotions out of a Thousand Notes

‘Piece by Piece’ Declares That It’s Time for a LEGO-Style Documentary About Pharrell

October 8, 2024

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Clap along if you feel like you’re going to watch Piece by Piece (CREDIT: Focus Features)

Starring: Pharrell Williams and His Collaborators

Director: Morgan Neville

Running Time: 93 Minutes

Rating: PG for Mildly Explicit Lyrics

Release Date: October 11, 2024 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: There was something in the air in Virginia Beach in the 70s and 80s. Or maybe it was just synesthesia. Either way, Pharrell Williams was obsessed with music while growing up in The Old Dominion, and he was lucky enough to connect with a whole crew of other like-minded future professionals along the way. Soon enough, he was one of the most unique and in-demand producers and songwriters in the industry, which he eventually parlayed into his own string of inimitable hits as a lead artist. Somewhere along the way, he met up with acclaimed documentarian Morgan Neville (20 Feet From Stardom, Won’t You Be My Neighbor?), and it all culminated in a decision to produce Piece by Piece, which tells Pharrell’s life story in animated LEGO-style form.

What Made an Impression?: Listen Up, Listen Up!: Piece by Piece flirts a little bit with hagiography (although it doesn’t shy away from its subject’s downtrodden moments), but you can understand why Neville takes such a loving approach. Pretty much everyone who has ever worked with Pharrell (or at least everyone interviewed for this movie) was immediately enthralled by him, as he has a knack for unveiling beats unlike anything they’ve ever encountered before while also uncannily capturing their essences. His collaborators are basically a who’s who of the past 25 years of hip hop, pop, and R&B, and as Piece by Piece reveals the stories behind his handiwork, I found myself marveling, “Oh wow, Pharrell was behind my favorite songs of so many different artists.” You might not have the same reaction, as individual tastes differ after all. But if you care about popular tunecraft, chances are high you’ll be tapping your toes and feeling your heart skip a beat at least a little bit.
Pharrell the Blockhead: But ultimately what sets apart Piece by Piece as a step above is in fact its gimmick. That’s right, those iconic Danish construction toys do a mighty fine job of conveying what it’s like to live in Pharrell’s head. After an intoxicating opening sequence, I wondered if this hook could sustain its novelty over a feature length running time. But whenever my skepticism reached a tipping point, PbP responded with another hit of its signature playful Lego craftsmanship. Maybe you’ve gotten to the end of this review and find yourself still asking: does Pharrell’s career merit an entire documentary? Well, if it’s going to be as creative as Piece by Piece, then sure it does.

Piece by Piece is Recommended If You Like: Talent shows, Falsettos, Rump Shaking

Grade: 4 out of 5 Hit Records

Give Your Green Light to ‘Will & Harper’

September 20, 2024

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W&H (CREDIT: Netflix)

Starring: Will Ferrell, Harper Steele

Director: Josh Greenbaum

Running Time: 114 Minutes

Rating: R

Release Date: September 13, 2024 (Theaters)/September 27, 2024 (Netflix)

Will & Harper is basically the perfect film for my silly little habit of asking some variation of the question, “Would I like to be a part of what this movie is all about?” Because the answer is an unequivocal “Yes!”

The titular “Will” is Will Ferrell, one of my favorite Funny People on Planet Earth, while the titular “Harper” is Harper Steele, a former Saturday Night Live writer who often teamed up with Will during their time together at Studio 8H. And Will & Harper is about the cross-country* road trip they go on together in the wake of the latter’s gender transition as a trans woman (*-that country being the United States).

It would’ve just been grand if I could’ve been there right alongside them, even if just for a minute. What if they had serendipitously dropped into a Dunkin’ Donuts in my neighborhood? It could’ve happened! Maybe it still could! But at least I was able to watch this doc and experience their adventure vicariously, which is the next best thing.

Grade: 55 Pringles out of 69 Natty Lights

Does ‘Seeking Mavis Beacon’ Bring a Digital Icon Back to Her Home Keys?

August 29, 2024

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ASDF ;LKJ (CREDIT: NEON)

Starring: Not Mavis Beacon

Director: Jazmin Renée Jones

Running Time: 102 Minutes

Rating: Unrated

Release Date: August 30, 2024 (IFC Center in New York City)/September 6, 2024 (Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Chicago)/September 13, 2024 (Additional Cities)

What’s It About?: In a case of “Only 90s Kids Can Understand,” Seeking Mavis Beacon doggedly attempts to uncover the truth behind the once-ubiquitous software program that taught a generation of children how to utilize their keyboards as efficiently as possible. Launched in 1987, Mavis Beacon Teaches Typing and its title character delivered a regal air to the burgeoning personal computer sector. A lot of people apparently believe that Mavis Beacon was a real human being, but she was in fact a fictional character originally brought to life by model Renee L’Esperance. For filmmaker Jazmin Renée Jones, Mavis Beacon was one of the most influential people of her childhood – and so therefore was L’Esperance. Thus, she felt absolutely compelled to make a documentary to uncover how Renee became Mavis, and why she then just … disappeared.

What Made an Impression?: Society in the Machine: Jones feels a vibrant kinship with anyone who still believes that Mavis Beacon is a real person, probably because she used to believe that herself as well. Her movie doesn’t dive completely into the Mandela effect, but it is indebted to a society that is for better or worse perpetually connected to the online world, both thematically and formally. A good chunk of the film plays out on computer screens, with vintage Mavis Beacon game footage, FaceTime conversations, and chunks of viral memes. Its style in the early going reminded me of the Rodney Ascher doc A Glitch in the Matrix, which examined the possibility that we’re living in a simulation within the context of a post-Matrix world. I’m intrigued by how this setup posits that Beacon has been just as influential as Neo, Morpheus, and Trinity, although Jones doesn’t really stick with this approach. Alas, I kind of wish she had, as Seeking Mavis Beacon could have benefited from being a little less prosaic as it moved ahead.
Documentarian, Document Thyself?: It becomes pretty clear early on that Jones’ journey to contact L’Esperance will be rather quixotic. That’s not entirely disappointing, as Jones does manage to interview some of the other important figures behind Mavis’ creation. And with the digital snooping aid of her “cyberdoula” partner Olivia Ross, they also manage to track down a bit of a mild cover-up. But with L’Esperance proving to be firmly unreachable, the movie fills time with Jones’ and Ross’ personal struggles. Ultimately, Seeking Mavis Beacon is a documentary whose ostensible subject is just too far out of reach. Jones is too perseverant (or less generously, too stubborn) to accept that, though. There’s plenty of oomph to this story, but its inability to grapple with its limits makes for a frustrating viewing experience.

Seeking Mavis Beacon is Recommended If: You’re Okay with a Documentarian Becoming the Stealth Subject of the Documentary

Grade: 2.5 out of 5 Home Keys

The ‘Kim’s Video’ Documentary Would Like to Rent Out a Space in Your Heart

April 5, 2024

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Be Kind… (CREDIT: Drafthouse Films/Screenshot)

Starring: Yongman Kim

Directors: Ashley Sabin and David Redmon

Running Time: 85 Minutes

Rating: Unrated

Release Date: April 5, 2024 (Theaters)

If you’re a film buff who spent any time in New York City between 1987 and 2008, then you’re probably familiar with Kim’s Video and Music, the East Village rental store that was famous for its wide selection of obscure (and often bootleg) cinematic offerings. In the documentary Kim’s Video, co-director David Redmon sets out to discover what happened to the joint’s extensive VHS collection. His journey leads him to a town in Sicily and a collaboration with Yongman Kim, aka the “Kim” in “Kim’s Video.” If you’ve visited the Lower Manhattan location of the Alamo Drafthouse movie theater, then chances are you know where this story is ultimately headed

So now, instead of a traditional review, I would like to take this space to reminisce about my own story of growing up at the video store and invite my readers to do so as well in the comments section. I took up residence in NYC too late to become a member of Kim’s, but there were a few rental options for me to check out in suburban southeastern Pennsylvania in the 90s and early 2000s. The nearest and dearest was the local branch of West Coast Video. There was also a Blockbuster in the area, but West Coast was a little bit closer and a little bit cooler. It really only offered new and major releases, so it wasn’t the place where I expanded the depths of my cinematic taste into the bizarre and the unknown, but it certainly served its purpose. It was where I rented Monkeybone, after all. I also have a vague memory of Addams Family Reunion being prominently displayed in the new release shelves for an inordinately long amount of time.

Moving onto my high school and college years, when I would spend a fair amount of time at a friend’s house that was around the block from a Hollywood Video. That chain had what I believe was a loyalty program named “MVP,” which left me flummoxed about why this store was so enamored with a hockey-playing chimp.

Much of Kim’s Video the documentary consists of various movie clips, as Redmon fancies himself the protagonist of all the stories he encountered via his Kim’s Video membership over the years. As someone who tends to live much of my life through a parasocial lens, I could see where he’s coming from, and I reckon I’m not the only one.

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Rentals

‘Occupied City’ Review: Looking Back at What Happened in The Netherlands During the Holocaust Via Four-Hour Documentary

December 22, 2023

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Occupied City (CREDIT: A24)

Narrator: Melanie Hyams

Director: Steve McQueen

Running Time: 262 Minutes (Including a 15-Minute Intermission)

Rating: PG-13 for A Disturbing History Lesson

Release Date: December 25, 2023 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: In a year of high-profile lengthy theatrical releases, Occupied City is the longest endurance test yet. Clocking in at over four hours (with a break in between), this documentary from director Steve McQueen features footage of modern-day Amsterdam juxtaposed with voice-over narration describing events that happened during the Holocaust at various buildings in the Dutch capital. The visuals were shot during some of the most intense chapters of the COVID-19 pandemic, which invites you to draw historical parallels, if you please. But for the most part, it’s all presented profoundly matter-of-factly.

What Made an Impression?: Exhibiting the Evidence: I’ve never seen any movie quite like Occupied City, and I’m kind of surprised – almost stunned, even – that it’s getting any sort of commercial theatrical release at all. It might be worth seeing just on the basis of that uniqueness alone. But you might also come to the same conclusion that I did, which is to say: this feels more like a museum exhibit than a movie, wherein the narration would play on a loop in a room throughout the day while the images are projected on the wall.
Viewing Strategy: Extending that museum exhibit idea, that would likely be a preferable way to take in Occupied City, since it would allow you to get up and stretch and keep the blood flowing. As for the cinematic form that it actually exists in, it at least helps that there’s an intermission to prevent a total lack of mobility. But even if you do get up at some point during either of the two halves, don’t worry. McQueen himself has said that pee breaks are part of the experience. After all, four hours isn’t massive enough to fully capture this subject, so you’re going to be missing out on something anyway. You might as well embrace that fact and not lose touch with the outside world too much if you do decide to go see Occupied City.

Occupied City is Recommended If You Like: Thoroughness, University lectures, An even-keeled speaking voice

Grade: 3 out of 5 Amsterdams

‘Kokomo City’ Review: A Quartet of Black Trans Sex Workers Give Us the Scoop

July 26, 2023

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Way down in Kokomo… (Courtesy of Sundance Institute and Magnolia Pictures | Photo by D. Smith)

Starring: Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell, Dominique Silver

Director: D. Smith

Running Time: 73 Minutes

Rating: R for Unfiltered Conversations and Some Unfiltered Nudity

Release Date: July 28, 2023 (Theaters)

What’s It About?: Sex workers tend to operate within the shadows of society. And for transgender sex workers, that’s even more true. But director D. Smith is pulling back the curtains on that world in the documentary Kokomo City, as she touches down in New York City and Atlanta to interview four of these ladies: Daniella Carter, Koko Da Doll, Liyah Mitchell, and Dominique Silver. For a little more than an hour, they get the chance to spill as much tea as they want. No explicit detail is spared, nor should it be, if we want to get the full picture. So reserve your judgment and let go of your pearls, because they’re got plenty of stories to tell.

What Made an Impression?: Tale as Old as Time: In my 35 years on this planet, I can’t remember a time when the culture at large was more open-minded about both sex work and transgender people. Of course, there’s also been a concerted pushback against the progress of queer groups, but that resistance makes it clear just how visible they’ve become. This is all to say, I can’t imagine Kokomo City arriving in theaters anytime before now. (Although, it does feel like the sort of thing that you might have stumbled upon on HBO or Showtime at 3:00 AM 25 years ago.) Its existence is remarkable, but it treats its subject matter as unremarkably as possible. As the ladies talk about guiding their clients through taboo desires and navigating threats of violence, it’s all so matter-of-fact, and I imagine it’s always been that way for them.
Casual Intimacy: When D. Smith sat down with her interviewees, I don’t think they imagined that some random white cishet male critic would be analyzing their stories so closely. Or maybe they did! By committing their stories to a documentary, it opens up the possibility that any theoretical audiences could stumble upon them. And they seem to be okay with that. Or at least, they were comfortable enough around their director that they were willing to be open about pretty much anything without worrying about the secondary listeners. That sense of intimacy was underscored particularly for me during some footage shot at Brooklyn Bridge Park, a location I’ve run through on plenty of occasions. I certainly haven’t lived the same experiences as these ladies, but I’ve trod the same ground, and so surely have millions of others.

Kokomo City is Recommended If You Like: Talking heads, LGBTQ activism, Gossip

Grade: 3.5 out of 5 Confessions

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