'Saving Jamaica Bay': Film Review
The bottom line
An eye-opening eco-doc.
Everyday New Yorkers push for public works with city-changing potential.New Yorkers (understandably) love to boast about Central Park and its Brooklyn cousin, Prospect Park. But few know anything about the Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge, an urban oasis more than six times larger than both those green spaces combined. Exploring the history of this (literally) dumped-upon place and the increasingly urgent efforts to preserve it, David Sigal's Saving Jamaica Bay appeals on several fronts; though its theatrical potential doesn't extend much beyond regional bookings (Susan Sarandon's presence as narrator helps a bit), it has significant value in educational outlets and on TV.
Garbage Bay, some have called it: The vast Jamaica Bay has been the site of at least four landfills, polluting industrial sites no one else wanted, and secret Mob burials. One part of it was even used as a dumping ground for the city's dead horses. But its history also includes a stint as a waterfront vacation destination, and for generations, little Broad Channel Island has been home to a hardy stock of New Yorkers who, while officially living in Queens, boast the kind of outdoorsy lifestyles few others in the city can claim.
Sigal spends enjoyable time with three of them. For decades, Don Riepe has been part of efforts to clean up the habitat he says contains more species of wildlife than the Adirondack and Catskill mountains combined. He leads tours, takes nature photos (we see plenty of beautiful wildlife shots) and designs trails meant to introduce city folk into the place's unspoiled corners.
But when he needs "pit bulls" to deal with threats to the area, Riepe calls a father/son pair of career firemen, Dan Mundy Sr. and Jr. The Mundys' story proves to be an inspiring episode of grassroots activism: The self-taught environmentalists have, among other things, forced a recalcitrant Bloomberg administration into taking clean-up action here by threatening a lawsuit.
Sigal was on hand when Superstorm Sandy devastated this region, and in the aftermath, the Mundys' concern over maintaining weather-dampening marshlands was suddenly acknowledged to be a much more universal concern. The film introduces scientists and politicians looking for ways to reverse a century of neglect, maybe even to improve on the original. Assuming, that is, that nearby JFK airport doesn't just pave the whole bay over for new landing strips.
Venue: Queens World Film Fest
Production company: Grounded Truth Productions
Director: David Sigal
Screenwriter-producer: Daniel Hendrick
Editor: Trevor Laurence
Composer: Jonathan Sheffer
'The Final Project': Film Review
We'd all be better off if the footage had been lost.
Six university film students spend the night in a supposedly haunted Louisiana plantation in Taylor Ri'chard's found-footage horror film.
The central characters in Taylor Ri'chard's found-footage horror film are six senior-year university film students in danger of failing their course. As a last-ditch effort, they decide to spend the night in a notorious and supposedly haunted Louisiana plantation to record any spooky occurrences. Judging by what we see in The Final Project, they all deserved to flunk.
Found-footage has proved both a blessing and a curse for the horror film genre. It's produced such genuinely revelatory and creepy films as The Blair Witch Project and the first Paranormal Activity. But it's also resulted in endless inferior rip-offs, including this one, which borrows so blatantly from the aforementioned films and countless others that it belies the idea of imitation being the sincerest form of flattery.
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This marks the debut effort of the Southern-born director, who, like so many predecessors, has taken advantage of the opportunities offered by cheap cameras to make a Mickey and Judy-style movie. It's enough to make one long for the days of the studio system, which had its drawbacks but at least produced a consistent level of technical quality.
Here, in the interests of verisimilitude, we're subjected to 80 minutes of shaky, blurry, and at times nearly unwatchable video footage accompanied by barely discernible sound. But that's not even the worst of it. Apparently under the impression that the longer the build-up the better, the director and co-screenwriter Zack Davis don't even attempt to generate any real scares until well past the halfway point, instead subjecting us to endless trivial banter, much of it sexually charged, among the half-dozen students whose characters hardly even register.
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Once they do get into the spooky plantation and get outfitted with GoPro head-cams, they each meet an unfortunate fate that remains as mysterious to us as it does to them since we're not shown anything meaningful. This film isn't so much a tease as it is practically a bait-and-switch.
Distributor: CAVU Pictures
Production: 3rd Fathom Entertainment
Cast: Teal Haddock, Arin Jones, Leonardo Santaiti, Even McLean, Sergio Suave, Amber Erwin
Director-producer: Taylor Ri'chard
Screenwriters: Taylor Ri'chard, Zach Davis
Executive producers: Bobby Badon, Celeste Hearn, Taylor Ri'chard, Shawn Taylor, Melissa Lavergne, Shirley Landry, Guilherme Ramos, Robert McKeithen, Blake Smith, Maurice Prince
Director of photography: Leonardo Santaiti
Editor: Richard Robinson
Casting: Nick Conti
'Of Mind and Music': Film
A moving drama enhanced by superb performances.
Joaquim de Almeida plays a neuroscientist attempting to help a street singer with Alzheimer's disease in Richie Adams' New Orleans-set drama.
The plague of Alzheimer's disease and the emotional toll it takes on caregivers has, sadly, long been a fruitful subject for drama. But Richie Adams' Of Mind and Music is a particularly moving entry in the genre, gaining strength through its undeniable authenticity. The film is based on a novel by Nicolas Bazan, a neuroscientist specializing in the subject, who also co-wrote the screenplay and executive produced. Featuring outstanding performances and making excellent use of its scenic New Orleans locations, the film handles its delicate subject matter with a deeply affecting emotional restraint.
The opening scene alone will tug at the heartstrings of anyone who has experienced the illness through a loved one. Sitting quietly with his elderly mother is Dr. Alvaro Cruz (Joaquim de Almeida), who informs her that he won't be seeing her for the next few days while he attends a medical conference in Paris. She seems to understand, but a few moments later, as he's heading out the door, she asks if she'll see him tomorrow.
"Yes, mama," he replies in a sad, resigned tone. "See you tomorrow."
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She dies while he's away, leaving him both grief-stricken and guilt-ridden. He withdraws from work, consoling himself by wandering around New Orleans' French Quarter and partaking of the music both he and his mother loved. There he encounters the street performers Una Vida (Aunjanue Ellis), a singer whose ethereal voice captivates him, and her elderly guitar-playing accompanist Stompleg (Bill Cobbs).
Returning several times to hear them perform, Cruz soon realizes that the songstress is suffering from Alzheimer's and that Stompleg is as much her caregiver as her musical partner. He also discovers that her symptoms are dramatically lessened by music (an idea also explored in the recent documentary Alive Inside) and, motivated by both personal and professional reasons, he offers to lend his assistance.
The intervention proves necessary, as Una Vida's condition worsens, even as Stompleg is preparing to retire to an old age home out of state. Her adopted daughter, Jessica (Ruth Negga), is hostile to Cruz's efforts and has intense personal issues of her own. But she reluctantly agrees to help him locate Una Vida's son, who she was forced to surrender to social services when he was five years old.
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Interweaving its moving tale with haunting dream sequences in which Cruz imagines himself as a child with his vibrant young mother, the film is an evocative portrait of love and loss. By the time it reaches its highly emotional final scene, it has long since earned our tears.
De Almeida, often seen in villainous roles, delivers a beautifully understated turn as the grieving doctor struggling to come to terms with loss both intellectually and emotionally. Ellis powerfully conveys the ravaging effects of her character's illness, and the ever-reliable Cobbs is terrific as her loving friend.
With its overall effect further enhanced by superb cinematography and gorgeous musical score, Of Mind and Music is a quiet gem.
Distributor: Monterey Media
Production: Una Vida Productions
Cast: Joaquim de Almeida, Aunjanue Ellis, Bill Cobbs, Ruth Negga, Sharon Lawrence, Andre Royo
Director: Richie Adams
Screenwriters: Richie Adams, Nicolas Bazan
Producers: Richie Adams, Brent Caballero, Nicolas Bazan, Nancy Green-Keyes
Executive producer: Nicolas Bazan
Director of photography: Tom Lembcke
Production designer: Kenneth Hardy
Editor: David Rogow
Costume designer: Kim Martinez
Composer: Carlos Jose Alvarez
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