Film Words

Who is Michael Jordan, the real Michael Jordan, really? That was the tantalizing question we were promised an answer to in the form of an epic, 10 part documentary series focused on the Chicago Bull’s final championship winning season in 1998. “The Last Dance” (directed by Jason Hehir) teased us with never before seen footage of Jordan and the Bulls captured by a camera crew hired to document what many on the team knew would be their final season together (We have coach Phil Jackson to thank for the series’ appropriately romantic title). For over a month now the sports world has been engaged in an almost constant re-watching and re-evaluating of the remarkable career of number 23, their attention abnormally focused by the suffocating effects of an ongoing pandemic, and in many ways we don’t know any more than we did 5 weeks ago. Outside of one or two neat moments the majority of the near 10 hour series is spent listening to various talking heads tell us that “Michael Jorden was r...

From the quarantine zone, it’s time to look at three Netflix films from first time directors that represent the streaming giant’s broad and admirable cinematic ambitions, while also demonstrating it’s often limited stylistic boundaries. Tigertail This intimate feature from Alan Yang tells the mostly autobiographical story of his parent’s migration from Taiwan to America. It looks great at times but is often let down by some stiff blocking and editing. This is a kind of story that isn’t often explored with much depth in American films despite the immigrant experience being a keystone of the country’s identity and I appreciate how honest and specific Yang is in depicting the conflicting desires and soul crushing sacrifices of Grover, the man whom life constantly denies human connection as he tries to make a better life for himself. Unfortunately his daughter Angela is oddly underdeveloped which leads to the films emotional climax, which she is a crucial part of, feeling muted. On...