From the Sky Down (2011) dir. Davis Guggenheim
Documentary

**

By Alan Bacchus

For those expecting a traditional bio-doc of the history of U2, this is not the film for you. Instead, Davis Guggenheim (It Might Get Loud, An Inconvenient Truth) tries to crack the creative process of the band by looking back at the most pivotal moment of change in their career – the Achtung Baby album, which saw them launch into the superstrata of arena rock bands after the near collapse of the band. Unfortunately, despite this focus, the film is flat and uneven, often stretching out sequences to create a narrative where one isn't present.

The opening shot reminds us of his opening in An Inconvenient Truth and features the iconic figures of the band back-lit for maximum glorification in slo-motion preparing to go on stage for one of their shows. Where most music docs would go back to chart the progress of a band's career, Guggenheim takes us on a mostly non-linear journey, intercutting rehearsal sessions for the upcoming concert, which will have them playing a number of songs from the aforementioned Achtung Baby album.

We also see stock footage of the recording sessions from back in the day. The smattering of chronicle-type storytelling that creeps in is mostly inconsistent, falsely leading us in wrong directions. The brief introduction to the meeting of the bandmates in 1976 is fun and enlightens us on the pre-celebrity personalities of Bono and the gang as musicians-in-training. But then the timeline fast forwards to The Joshua Tree followed by a lengthy sequence about the Rattle and Hum movie.

Guggenheim makes it clear that 1988 represented the lowest point of the band, as the reaction from audiences to Rattle and Hum was that the film was one of egotistical self-important indulgence. But an inexplicable amount of time is spent on the effects of filming that movie, compared to a lack of coverage of their rise and early successes, including the War and The Unforgettable Fire albums.

This would be okay if Guggenheim actually broke into the creative process. While we do see and hear some raw experimentation during the creation of some of their classic tunes, there is still a shell of protection around the band that Guggenheim never cracks. It's a shame because I find documentaries about the creation of art immensely fascinating. Unfortunately, From the Sky Down never goes as deep as the Bruce Springsteen doc The Making of Darkness on the Edge of Town or the Metallica doc Some Kind of Monster. This is for U2 fans only.

Waiting for Superman (2011) dir. Davis Guggenheim
Documentary

***

By Alan Bacchus

The sky is falling again. Davis Guggenheim who enlightened (or depressed us) with the information about the state of our environmental troubles in An Inconvenient Truth now opens the door to the sad state of public education system in the United States.

It's been a year since the film premiered at Sundance and won the prestigious Audience Prize for Documentary. It's $6.5million theatrical gross this summer was even more impressive. Now it lands on Blu-Ray without an Oscar nomination to it's credit.

The first half hour is a depressing wake-up call, using statistics on literacy and math proficiency to tells us the news that most people already know, that student test scores in many places in the United States are downright awful. Whether it’s the inner cities of poverty-stricked urban centres like Los Angeles or even certain middle-class suburban districts, failure rates are rampant. It’s not entirely whistle blowing information, but Guggenheim's ability to summarize the info in a clear and entertaining manner makes us pay attention.

Second act we start to see how and by whom America is taking action - the individuals who are fighting to make a difference. Like Geoffrey Canada an educator in Harlem who developed a new type of charter school, or Michelle Rhee, the controversial Chancellor of the Washington D.C. area. These are angry people looking to make a difference, and their enthusiasm is infectious.

Guggenheim comprehensively goes through all the major factors which historically have been obstacles to cleaning up these schools and raising their grades. Money doesn't seem to be the problem as public funding has gone up over the past 20 years. Guggenheim admirably gives weight to all variables, the allocation of funds, the school district bureaucracy, the poverty and financial realities of life in lower class America and even the actual teachers themselves.

The most frustrating analysis comes from the teacher's unions, which appears to have the most egregious responsibility for these failures. The inability of the schools to actually fire the bad teachers results in what Guggenheim called the Lemon Dance. Like most unionized industries, what was once a noble effort to fight for the rights on workers has devolved into an outmoded and stubborn myopic institution unwilling to adapt to new realities.

For once this is a non-partisan documentary wherein, Republican or Democrat, everyone seems to be fighting on the same team. And though the issues here are important and the stakes high for the individual kids profiled, the documentary suffers from the prosthelitizing which is inevitable with films such as this. An Inconvenient Truth skirted this with the fascinating portrait of Al Gore. Though we feel the tension of the kids and parents in this film who wait on bated breath for their names to be picked in the charter school lottery system, we don't get to know any of the subjects are intimately as Gore.

Waiting For Superman benefits most from Guggenheim's glossy production values and fast pacing which makes a subject, normally drier than toast, as interesting and exciting as possible. And as for the title, it's a very large stretch to connect to the subject matter here.

Waiting For Superman is available on Blu-Ray and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment

It Might Get Loud (2009) dir. Davis Guggenheim
Documentary

***

By Alan Bacchus

The joining of guitar legends Jack White, Jimmy Page and The Edge, is a pretty cool concept and a brilliant entry point into this metaphorical examination of the effect of this one instrument on music and the creativity of its artists. Music aficionados will certainly appreciate the rock significance of the event, though I’m not sure complete Zeppelin/White Stripes/U2 virgins will fully engage with this admittedly fan-centric subject matter.

In a large high ceiling studio in Hollywood, Oscar-winning documentarian Davis Guggenheim (‘An Inconvenient Truth’) and producer Thomas Tull (‘The Dark Knight’) set up an intimate meeting room for these legendary musicians. They represent three generations of rock royalty – Jimmy Page, the leader of the legendary hard rock outfit Led Zeppelin, The Edge, the compassionate and often soft-spoken guitarist from U2 and Jack White, the Detroit-born leader of the White Stripes, and now Nashville-based chameleon of punk and the blues.

What happens if you put three great guitarists in a room with some guitars, some amps and a few record players? It’s a no brainer that a pretty cool discussion will arise about their creative sensibilities, their influences and funny anecdotes will result.

Some of the more interesting stories which emerge include Jimmy Pages’ return to the country home where Led Zeppelin’s fourth album was recorded. It appears to be the first time he’s returned to the place since they recorded those great songs and the emotional reaction on his face is genuine and we feel it too. The Edge describes poignantly the effect of early punk on his career and the growing violence in Northern Ireland as inspiration for some of their best work. I’m always absorbed watching great artists uses their tools to build their masterpieces. And so it’s the Edge’s deconstruction of his technical process which is the most fascinating.

Jack White comes off as the elusive pupil to Page and the Edge. Though his desire to scour the history of music for inspiration is genuine, he seems the least down to earth, portraying some kind of Bob Dylan-like caricature of an artist than his real self. Or maybe he really is just a crazy weird-artist who pretends to mentor an 8 year old version of himself. There’s no doubt he’s got talent and the mere sight of him constructing an electric guitar from a coke bottle, a string and a plank of wood is fascinating and headshakingly creative.

Guggenheim admirably avoids the A&E Biography template of career charting documentaries. Each one gets to demonstrate one of their songs being played to the others on stage. We learn of each of their humble beginnings and each of their historical influences and creative sensibilities. Even though the narrative throughlines are kept in tact, and evened out between the three guitarists, Guggenheim keeps an improvised and unpredictable feel, anchored by the unrehearsed spontaneity of the three artists.

For good or bad, it’s a wholly celebratory affair, each one taking turns acknowledging the greatness of the other, and nodding their heads without a whimper of conflict or question. But really, conflict is overrated.

PS. One of the indications of my absorption into this movie is that I actually watched all of the delete scenes which were just as enjoyable as anything in the movie.

"It Might Get Loud" is available on Blu-Ray and DVD from Sony Pictures Home Entertainment