Involved myself in several cinematic experiences-- four non-fiction studies-- Philippe Petit (Man On Wire) a documentary on the the tightrope walker who traversed the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center, Albert Einstein (Nova biography), Esther Berg (Yoo Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg), a documentary on the creator a very early TV sitcom, and Michael Moore's film (Capitalism: A Love Story), his musings on the economic meltdown. The tightrope worker and Einstein bio were taken in at home and the last two at the Arbor Theater.
You could say the first three were studies of individual genius at its best-- and the last effort portrayed large scale behavior of the worst kind.
Petit is a weird combination of physical dexterity combined with a poetic sort of concentration, the unique talent of a man who goes through life without a net. The image of Petit on the wire between two towers-- be it the World Trade Center, Notre Dame, or the bridge in Sydney, Australia adds a kind of magic, a weirdly, unifying visual perspective, tying together the architecture, the human history and the daily life going on just below the structures.
Einstein thought "outside the box" before the term existed, a scientist of prodigious ability and the sense of commitment to follow his ideas relentlessly until the truth of his hypothesis was revealed.
Esther Berg was a writing and performing wunderkind, actually creating a Jewish household for mass media consumption, at a time when there was great prejudice against Jews.
The meltdown of the American economy, on the other hand, is a story of wildness-- wild rumor, panicked borrowing and lending, large scale manipulation on a scale never seen before. I felt Moore made things a bit too facile. You had good-hearted workers on one side and mean capitalists in their pinstriped suits on the other. He likes to polemicize and make things entertaining but this may have been less successful than earlier efforts. I appreciate his taking on the topic and found myself moved to tears at times, though that is not always an endorsement as I can be moved to tears by a well-executed American Express ad. I didn't think his dichotomy-- a choice between democracy versus capitalism made complete sense.
The movies were fun!
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