In the ninth part of our Hot Docs 2011 previews, Brian McKechnie takes a look at Mighty Jerome, El Bulli – Cooking in Progress, and Inside Lara Roxx. Check back over the next few days for more previews of films playing at Hot Docs 2011.
Mighty Jerome
Canadian Spectrum
Director: Charles Officer
Never heard of Harry Jerome? You’re not alone. I had never heard his name before watching Charles Officer’s Mighty Jerome, and yet he was one of the greatest athletes in Canadian history. He held many world records in sprinting, competed in the Olympics, helped get Nike off the ground, and was a member of the Order of Canada. Why has it taken this long before someone documented his life? One reason could be because he was an African-Canadian, another could be because sprinting is not a major sport in Canada. Either way, Mighty Jerome is an important doc for Canada and should be required viewing in schools across the country. It’s also done very stylishly with elements of Officer’s last film, the feature Nurse.Fighter.Boy, coming through in the cinematography and music.
Rating (out of 5 stars): ****
Showing
Friday, April 29th at 9:30 p.m. at TIFF Bell Lightbox 3
Saturday, April 30th at 11 a.m. at Isabel Bader Theatre
Sunday, May 8th at 4:30 p.m. at The Revue
El Bulli – Cooking in Progress
World Showcase
Director: Gereon Wetzel
El Bulli is a very famous restaurant in Spain that hardcore foodies flock to like Mecca. It’s also closing down in the summer of 2011. Does El Bulli – Cooking in Progress touch on any of this? Nope. I wouldn’t even know El Bulli was a popular restaurant if I didn’t look it up the film does such a poor job getting across anything relevant. Instead, El Bulli – Cooking in Progress is a look into the process of how the chefs that work at the restaurant spend months researching and testing food pairings and recipes. It sounds interesting, but comes across as one of the most boring and pompous documentaries I’ve ever seen. There’s no narrative to keep the story moving, and if you’re used to the style of Food Network shows, this will put you to sleep.
Rating (out of 5 stars): *
Showing
Friday, April 29th at 8:45 p.m. at TIFF Bell Lightbox 2
Saturday, April 30th at 1 p.m. at Cumberland 2
Sunday, May 8th at 3 p.m. at Cumberland 3
Inside Lara Roxx
Canadian Spectrum
Director: Mia Donovan
Inside Lara Roxx tells the story of a young wannabe porn star from Montreal who went to Los Angeles to “make it” in the business. Shortly after she got there one of her onscreen partners tested positive for HIV and she ended up testing positive as well. The media ate the story up and then left Lara out in the cold when they got tired of it. Since then Lara has had numerous ups and downs. She’s tried to get the adult film industry to make condoms mandatory, had a few mental meltdowns, and eventually got hooked on hard drugs. Spanning the course of six years, Mia Donovan’s portrayal of Lara is handled with care and is not exploitative or degrading to the subject. It is at times hard to watch Lara as she copes with her issues, but in the end it is a masterfully made doc that will hopefully be a warning to other young women considering going into the adult film business.
Rating (out of 5 stars): ****
Showing
Thursday, May 5th at 6:30 p.m. at Bloor Cinema
Friday, May 6th at 9:45 p.m. at Cumberland 2
Sunday, May 8th at 9:30 p.m. at The Royal Cinema
Hot Docs 2011 runs from April 28 – May 8. For more information, and to purchase tickets, visit hotdocs.ca.
Top image: A scene from Inside Lara Roxx. Courtesy Hot Docs.
