Tribute to artist’s dynamic vision
There’s an ironic, needling slant to the title of Kristi Zea’s “Everybody Knows … Elizabeth Murray”: Most people outside the New York art world would not be able to place the abstract painter’s name.
Murray is hardly alone as a female artist whose work, however influential or groundbreaking, isn’t generally regarded as central to the canon. Yet as Zea’s inspired and intimate portrait demonstrates, with an exuberant attention to detail that matches Murray’s own, there’s an epic sweep to the successful career she carved out. Made 10 years after her death at age 66, the film pays stirring tribute to her vision, devotion, hard work and category- defying inventiveness.
Zea, an accomplished production designer (“Philadelphia,” “Goodfellas”) making her first documentary, lovingly captures the physicality of Murray’s cartoony, boldly colored creations, with their sculptural, custom-shaped canvases. Gallerists, critics and fellow artists attest to the ways she put her own distinctive spin on minimalism and made abstraction personal, infusing it with figurative references.
Murray herself is a vibrant presence, even in footage of her working while very ill, her shock of curls thinned by cancer treatments. At the time of her diagnosis, she was preparing for a major retrospective at New York’s Museum of Modern Art, making her at the time only the fifth woman in the museum’s history to be so honored.
Though she might not have achieved the star status of such contemporaries as Frank Stella or Julian Schnabel, Murray built the life she wanted, struggling through lean times as a single parent ( in downtown Manhattan when it was gritty) but never losing sight of her calling. In excerpts from her journals, imbued with aural radiance by Meryl Streep, she grapples good- naturedly with such matters as ambition and mortality.
Her ebullient subway station murals go unmentioned, but an hour couldn’t cover it all. Within the concise running time, Zea brings a remarkable life and body of work into dynamic focus. — Sheri L i nden
“Everybody Knows … Elizabeth Murray.” Not rated. Running time: 1 hour. Playing: Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills.
A nation reacts on election day
The men and women featured in the documentary “11/ 8/ 16” have one thing in common: palpable tension about the day in question regarding America’s future. Producer Jeff Deutchman sent film crews to cover citizens from across the political, cultural and race spectrum on election day last year, and the result is a kind of emotional time- lapse project in confident- to- crushed and resigned- to- rejoicing.
On the pro- Trump side, a West Virginia coal miner wants to see his livelihood protected, and a Miamibased Cuban American war veteran with post- traumatic stress disorder justifies his candidate’s abrasive manner as necessary for dealing with an equally unkind government. Elsewhere, we meet the videographer for Hillary Clinton’s campaign, and in Kent, Ohio, an idealistic college Democrat volunteer; both young women will find themselves in tears of shock before the night is through. So will a Latino activist in San Jose who suddenly envisions a dark future for immigrants under Trump.
The disruption of conventional wisdom about the outcome is even obvious in the faces of a proudly cynical, nonvoting New York artist who assumes a Clinton victory, and the handful of pro- fessional journalists shadowed — including the political team of this very newspaper — who realize the nation’s narrative is about to change drastically.
Your political affiliation, therefore, will likely determine whether this is all masochism or a quick nostalgia bath. Though smoothly edited and breezily humane, “11/ 8/ 16” is still little more than a depiction of parallel roller coasters, one of which many voters felt was headed into a shop of horrors. — Robert Abele
“11/ 8/ 16.” Not rated. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes. Playing: Laemmle NoHo 7, North Hollywood.
Murkiness of best intentions
“A River Below” serves as a revealing reminder that you can’t always judge an eco- doc by its cover.
At first glance, the environmental film would appear to concern the efforts of two conservationists to bring attention to the plight of the pink river dolphin, an Amazonian species on the brink of extinction as the result of government- sanctioned hunting practices and mercury poisoning.
While illegal in Brazil, Colombia still permits the slaughter of the dolphins, whose carcasses are cut up as bait for the piracatinga, a type of catfish popular with consumers despite the elevated health risks.
But whatever may have been director Mark Grieco’s initial intentions, the production takes unanticipated turns away from the conventional “Save the Dolphins!” rallying cry as he follows the activist pursuits of Colombian marine biologist Fernando Trujillo and Richard Rasmussen, a reality TV personality dubbed the Brazilian Steve Irwin.
As Grieco digs a little deeper, speaking with concerned fisherman who have been unfairly implicated in and affected by the resulting media exposés, he discovers there’s a whole layer of ethi- cal ambiguity lurking beneath the whistle- blowing, however well- intentioned.
Vividly photographed by René Diaz and adroitly edited by Dan Swietlik, “A River Below” skillfully — and quite compellingly — navigates the murky complexities of contemporary reality filmmaking. — Michael Rechtshaffen
“A River Below.” In English and Portuguese with English subtitles. Not rated. Running time: 1 hour, 27 minutes. Playing: Laemmle Music Hall, Beverly Hills/
A chef ’s moving survivor’s tale
The many twists of “Charged: The Eduardo Garcia Story” would be too much if they were the product of a screenwriter. However, this documentary about an adventurous hero is all the more inspiring because it is true.
While hiking alone in the Montana backcountry, chef Eduardo Garcia was struck by 2,400 volts of electricity. Though Garcia lived, his recovery was a long process, beset by complications from his injuries as well as unexpected challenges that affect his health and his work. He recognized the difficulty of his situation but faced each problem with determination and the help of friends and family.
“Charged” brings an unblinking eye to Garcia’s medical issues, showing the lightning damage on his body in sometimes disturbing detail. But the close- ups on his scars aren’t there to shock audiences; the aftereffects of his accident make his struggles clearer and his triumphs more impressive. As much as the camera lingers on Garcia, it also celebrates the beauty of the Montana and Utah terrain beloved by the chef.
Survival stories aren’t rare in cinema, but Garcia’s journey will make even the most jaded viewers drop their jaws.
Director Phillip Baribeau’s past work on the reality show “Mountain Men” and the wild mustang film “Unbranded” reveals a filmmaker with a sense of adventure that echoes his subject’s, and his appreciation for Garcia’s journey is contagious. — Kimber Myers
“Charged: The Eduardo Garcia Story.” Not rated. Running time: 1 hour, 26 minutes. Playing: Starts Nov. 4 at the Downtown Independent, Los Angeles; VOD on Tuesday.