Over 40 Film

[Billi Plancarte]

Greatarticle, your comments on Barry Lyndon made me think of the sustained narration in The Assassination of Jesse James, i have debated this film with friends many times. I believe the unreliable narrator of that film mythologises the James story while the mans actions are shown to be at odds with those stories. Do you have any thoughts on that film and does a narration work best when it is intrinsically flawed?

Thanks for replying, I agree completely about Blade Runner and pointless narration. Jesse James sprang to mind when you mentioned the sustained narration of Barry Lyndon, i think its used in the same way as Kozloff states and provides both films with their sombre third acts. I will have to take a look at your novels.

I was a partner in a commercial real estate firm at the time and had no background in film. But I was convinced that a film was the most effective way to bring the message to a broad audience. So in October 2008, I took a leap, a giant leap, and decided to make the documentary. I also decided to fund this project by myself on a limited budget, despite receiving several investment offers. I recruited an award-winning production team and spent the next two years working on the film that would become Forks Over Knives.

The reception to the film was astounding. We did about 30 advance screenings beginning in the summer of 2010, all but one of which were sold out and often there were lines around the theaters. News about the film spread quickly, mainly by social media. In May 2011, the film was in theaters across the country; in September of the same year, the film was released on DVD, on Netflix, and other digital platforms. Meanwhile, the companion book that arrived that summer became a No. 1 New York Times bestseller. It was clear that a large number people were ready for the message and were grateful to have more control over their health.

I feel honored to be part of this plant-based movement and am thankful to see more and more people enjoying the lifestyle every year. The growing number of professionals such as doctors, nutritionists, researchers, chefs, and bloggers who support the whole-food, plant-based lifestyle gives me hope that someday we will live in a world where heart disease and type 2 diabetes will be nothing more than a very rare occurrence.

One night, a friend of mine who lives in Montclair, New Jersey, drove me around the exclusive neighborhood on the hill to show me all the mansions owned by people like Stephen Colbert. We came to a fork in the road, and my friend said, "No matter which fork you take, you get to Yogi Berra's house." He then drove me around the circular road to show me. It was so funny, especially in the context of one of Yogi Berra's (many) famous comments (known as "Yogi-isms"): "When you come to a fork in the road, take it."

The title could have multiple meanings, in the same way, Yogi-isms tend to unfold the longer you think about them. Yogi Berra played baseball and coached and managed teams. He did so for the majority of his career to great distinction. Yet he is remembered mostly for the Yogi-isms, for Yogi Bear, and the lovable, goofy image presented by the media. The tone was often condescending, focusing on his apparently un-baseball-like appearance, short, squat, and close to the ground. He was treated almost like a clown, or a team mascot, particularly with his penchant for product endorsement and silly commercials. Meanwhile, he was a force to be reckoned with at the plate and behind it as a catcher.

Let's not forget he was the child of Italian immigrants and enlisted in World War II before getting drafted (with a New York Yankees contract already signed). He was present at the storming of the beach at Normandy. The documentary's title could refer to Berra's legacy, which needs some serious polishing.

"It Ain't Over" starts with an inciting event. At the 2015 All-Star Game, the fan-voted "four greatest living players" (Sandy Koufax, Hank Aaron, Johnny Bench, and Willie Mays) walked out onto the field to a thunderous ovation. It was very touching, but I remember my cousin saying, "Where the hell is Yogi?" Indeed. Many people said the same thing, and "It Ain't Over" repeatedly says it. It's unfair that Yogi should be minimized by his "brand," a lovable regular feature in the game, wisecracking, goofing off in commercials, and participating in his "brand," a brand which overshadowed his career.

All you need to do is look at his dazzling stats. As a player, he won 10 World Series championships. He was MVP three times. In 1956, during the World Series, pitcher Don Larsen pitched a perfect game, with Berra squatting behind the plate, essentially running the show. I love the detail provided that of all the pitches Larsen threw that day, he didn't wave off one of Berra's calls. Not one. The accomplishment is as much Berra's as Larsen's. It is the only perfect game in World Series history. The footage is still thrilling, no matter how often you watch it: Berra leaping into Larsen's arms like a little kid as the crowd goes wild. As a manager and coach, the World Series wins continued to rack up. His record is, if anything, more impressive than the four greatest living players (legends all, and rightfully so). So why the condescension?

"It Ain't Over" is a family affair: his sons are interviewed, and his grandchildren (his granddaughter is the main voice, leading us through the career). This gives the doc an urgent and emotional mood. The Berra family tells the stories with familiarity and affection, often laughing or crying: this is well-trod ground, tall tales, the narrative of their family.

The roster of interview subjects is impressive, with Derek Jeter, Roger Angell, and other writers, former teammates, and current-day admirers. I loved the brief, enthusiastic commentary from former MLB player Nick Swisher: "12 strikeouts? I don't even think I did that in whiffle ball!" Former player and coach Joe Madden says bluntly, "Just look at the old videos, man." Roger Angell said, "He abolished the strike zone."

There's also copious commentary on his welcoming the integration of the major leagues at a time when it was not a popular stance to take. Jackie Robinson never forgot Yogi Berra's first comment to him: "Thank you for your service to the country, and welcome to professional baseball." There's more where that came from, including Berra's late-in-life involvement in Athlete Ally, a nonprofit advocacy group helping sports organizations be more inclusive towards their LGBTQ fans and athletes.

"It Ain't Over" works the way it's supposed to work. I admit I am a sucker for baseball players talking shop, enthusing and sharing knowledge, and professional admiration for peers and forebears. There is a continuum, an inheritance from the past. The film includes a tangent into Yogi-isms and how they are constructed, with life coaches and linguists weighing in. This is an unnecessary divergence. If you need it explained why Berra's "If you can't imitate him, don't copy him" makes perfect sense, no literary professor can help.

The film begins highlighting that economic growth is eventually going to outstrip resources. Australian environmentalist Paul Gilding talks about how our future shows not that earth is going to be less hospitable, but that the earth will be full, and economic growth is dead. One thing that I would have liked to have seen flagged up more however are the problematic and racist ways that arguments about population growth are used.

In reality, the global human population is not increasing exponentially, but is in fact slowing and predicted to stabilise at around 11 billion by 2100. More importantly, focusing on human numbers obscures the true driver of many of our ecological woes. That is, the waste and inequality generated by modern capitalism and its focus on endless growth and profit accumulation.

Another thought-provoking interview was with Kate Raworth, author of Donut Economics who recommends a cyclical economic system based on recycling, sharing, and remanufacturing. She points out that we need to have ecosystems of plastic for example that can be remade into new things. Her recommendation for change is to point out corruption and vested interests in production, but also to go ahead and start to create networks of remanufacturing to show that it works.

Bernhard Lieber who helped to create the Euro currency system has some ideas about changing the system. He suggests that we could use different kinds of currency to change how the economy works. For example, he describes creating a currency in Belgium to motivate people to use less electricity. What if when you put money in the bank it decayed rather than gaining interest? Would that motivate people to stop hoarding?

But how realistic are all these projects? Lester Brown calls on the example of Roosevelt who set staggering production goals for aircraft and military equipment during World War Two. He took control of the automobile industry and banned them from owning private automobiles so they would work on the military quotas etc. In the end, they exceeded their production goals. Brown suggests that this is what we can do if we become convinced of a need to do it. But how do we convince people?

First of all, I have to say that I got my inspiration for doing double exposures like this from Ashley Crawford & Wendy Laurel. They are the QUEENS of double exposures & color! Seriously, check out their work, it is all amazing!

I also highly recommend that you mark your film before you finish advancing it & loading it. Put a little mark on your film & either remember where you line that mark up on the inside of your camera, or put a little mark inside your camera & line the mark on the film up with the mark inside your camera.

I've done this a couple of times, over wound the roll so it breaks... the last version of this that I did was with a Retina IIa when I rewound it wrong and shattered the film...

Anyway, today daughter was using the Fujica ST605 with a Yashinon DX 35/2.8. (I'm just mentioning the equipment for the cool factor)

She was so wrapped up in taking doggie close ups at the dog park she wound past the end of the film. I can't rewind it at all.

Is there something that can be done - it's color print film so I'm not going to develop myself. I'm thinking daughter and wife can go to the local camera shop (where the lens is from) and see if they can't get the film out safely and process it.

3:30PM, 30 March 2008 PDT(permalink)

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