BIOPIC SHINES SPOTLIGHT ON BERT BERNS
BANG!, premiering in Hot Docs’ Doc Soup series, makes a strong case for the songwriter’s indelible mark on the music industry
BANG! The Bert Berns Story: “Bert Berns deserves to be elevated to his rightful place in the music industry,” Sir Paul McCartney says on the subject of a lively music doc that plays its Toronto premiere this week in Hot Docs’ monthly Doc Soup series. And if that’s not enough of an endorsement, consider the words of Keith Richards that follow directly after: “He’s one of the greatest songwriters of all bloody time — it’s as simple as that.”
Co-directed by Bert Berns’ son Brett Berns, BANG! makes a strong case for the man’s significance. Indeed, it’s a surprise that he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame only last year, given that his credits as a songwriter include “Twist and Shout,” “Cry to Me,” “Everybody Needs Somebody to Love” and “Piece of My Heart.” And he helped launch both Neil Diamond and Van Morrison. The Irish singer is another music legend who was interviewed for the film, which charts Berns’ journey from his childhood in the Bronx to his colourful experiences in the cutthroat music biz of the 1960s.
Alas, his story ended too soon — weak due to a childhood bout of rheumatic fever, Berns’ heart gave out in 1967 when he was only 38. But as you may have noticed, his songs live on. BANG! plays Wednesday and Thursday at the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema.
Paula + Eva Hesse at the AGO: Two pioneering yet under-heralded female artists are the subjects of new films in the AGO’s Art + Cinema program at Jackman Hall this week. A 2016 feature by German director Christian Schwochow, Paula stars Carla Juri as Paula ModersohnBecker, a painter who bucked the social conventions of Germany at the end of the 19th century to chart her own course as an artist.
Though her career would be cut short when she died of an embolism at the age of 31 in 1907, she’s since been recognized as a key figure in German Expressionism and a forerunner of modernism. The AGO’s Kenneth Brummel introduces Paula’s first screening on Wednesday — the run continues to March 4. From Wednesday to Friday, Jackman Hall is also the place to see Eva Hesse, an acclaimed recent doc about an American postwar sculptor who, like Modersohn-Becker, has gained wider renown since her early death. Associate curator Georgiana Uhlyarik introduces the screening on Wednesday. The Great Dictator at the Royal: These strange times have given new relevance to many films, books and works of art that may be decades old (or more) but still have invaluable insights about our moment. One such work is The Great Dictator, Charlie Chaplin’s 1940 satire about the rise of fascism in Europe. Chaplin himself plays the double role of Adenoid Hynkel, the ruthless dictator of the fictional country of Tomainia, and a Jewish barber whose resemblance to the leader prompts a darkly comedic misadventure.
Though a huge risk for Chaplin — not least because the film predated America’s entry into the Second World War — it was a big hit with the audiences of its day. It may also offer some solace to modern-day moviegoers when it plays a limited run at the Royal Monday to March 4. A Tribute to Rob Stewart: First released in 2006, Rob Stewart’s Sharkwater was one of the rare documen- taries that had a clear real-world impact, inspiring the formation of shark conservation groups worldwide and leading to change in government policies. Cineplex celebrates the life and work of the Canadian filmmaker — who died last month in a scuba diving accident while working on Sharkwater’s sequel — with a presentation of Sharkwater at participating locations on Saturday. In lieu of the ticket price, theatres will be accepting donations to WWF Canada.
In brief:
á Amy Schumer, Kevin Hart, Jerry Seinfeld and more pros talk about the craft of standup in Dying Laughing, a new doc that opens at the Carlton Friday.
á The Metropolitan’s recent production of Dvorak’s Rusalka screens at select Cineplex locations on Saturday.
á Hayden King speaks with filmmakers Michael Kanentakeron Mitchell and Alanis Obomsawin at a special presentation of two docs on Indigenous governance at TIFF Bell Lightbox on Saturday.
á The European Union Film Festival’s monthly series of free matinees at the Royal continues with Roberto Rossellini’s Journey to Italy on Sunday.
á A primer on American great Sally Mann, What Remains plays the Hot Docs Ted Rogers Cinema’s Great Photographers program on Sunday with a post-screening talk by Paul Roth of the Ryerson Image Centre.