I was fortunate enough to go see this documentary at the Paramount on Tuesday. Prior to the film, I had no clue what the Nobelity Project was about, and had little idea of what the film was even about.
I was truly blown away at how well Pipkin was able to weave together and make sense of so many different types of people, interview settings and verite footage. The overall subject of the movie was given in the ad by the movie sub-title and title, respectively, "a film about a messed up world...and how we could fix it" "one peace at a time". I think this is very strategic because they were able to go right into the subject and not take time to communicate their message first. I really like the approach to structure, by presenting different examples of other people doing their part and inviting us as the viewer to find our nitch place to give back to the world.
Since in my own project, I'm struggling with having too much "talking head" and trying to really establish the story though the verite footage, I was especially careful to see how they did it. From what I recall, I'd say only about 2% of the movie was an actual straight on talking head interview. I thought the did creative work arounds especially for Willie Nelson by having very artsy camera angles to really emphasize him as a character. My one complaint about that section was that actually seeing the camera next to Pipkin bothered me a lot. Overall though they did a great job creating a captivaing visual sequence to completment what Pipkin and the other interviewees had to say.
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I also got to go and see One Peace at a Time and loved it. The whole time I kept thinking, "how long did it take him to film all this??" I appreciate travel films so much just from a film maker's point of view. What a mess all of that must have been! I also noticed in a couple of places where some papers and other things had dates on them...and they were from November and December of 08!! I mean I realize they were probably editing as they were shooting, but I still thought it was really impressive to get all of that finished in just 4 months!
ReplyDeleteI really liked the way they got away with not using the typical title card by having a child write the topic on the board. I just thought it was cute. Though I liked the structure a lot and thought the transitions between subjects were really good, I felt like the end dragged on a bit after that series of scenes were over. The categorizing of things that suck in the world just ending like that was a bit awkward. I'm also curious to know how much of the music was donated or what they payed for it. I kept thinking "I bet that Bob Dylan song was so expensive! They could have built a house for $300!" I think that's really just a compliment as to how good of a job they did getting their point across.
I thought there was a lot of important information conveyed throughout. I think something that really struck me was the statement about the water in the Grand Canyon being gone in twenty years. What are we going to do???
I too had the great opportunity to attend to the Paramount! And I can say that from the reception, we can say that it was honestly, great!! Besides the Amy's Ice Cream.
ReplyDeleteAs far as story goes, I thought it was pretty well structure, divided into sections that they connected with one another. The intro and the conclusion were really great. But the one thing that captivated me the most were the images. Every shot was beautiful, the surroundings, the children, their interaction with the camera, and the world that they live in. Also, the interviews, were breath taking.
Another element that I really liked was the simple fact that he decided to focus on solutions to all those problems. I think that in today's society, people keep talking about the problems, but very few talk about what is out there to do , the solutions. This is something that I learned also, just as the film maker at the Clinton Global Initiative. When I attended that conference, I noticed that I had a mission, a solution to a problem. But most important of all, that every person that was there, at that same lecture, dinner, and conference, had also a solution to a problem. I met people who were trying to build community centers, clinics, fight for aids, create schools, bring basic supplies for needed communities. Everyone was there trying to change the world, and make it a better place. So when I saw One Piece at the time, it remind me of that conference. And it made me visualize some of the projects of the people that I met.
I think that we lived in a beautiful world. Every person has the power to make a difference, it doesn't have to be huge, it could be something small. The key word is service! Because by serving others, you become a better human being and make a difference in the world.
One Peace at a TIme is one of those films that you walk out of the theatre and think, "Okay, it's my turn. What can I do to help?" And I cannot give those films enough credit (and they happen to be the type of films that I want to one day make). Pipkin set out to observe others making a difference, and along the way, he made his own. He put together an ensemble of questions to ask the world and searched for the answers himself. What he found was both inspiring and invoking (and not to mention emotional).
ReplyDeleteSome of the best parts of the film were the subtle comedic moments in the verite footage between Turk Pipkin and the people/children he was visiting. It was these moments that really made the villagers come to life. One element of the film that I was not too particularly fond of was the pacing of the sit down interviews that Pipkin had with the Nobel prize winners. Most of the film seemed to be paced rhythmically and poetically, with the villagers and the countryside telling their stories, but the interviews were fairly fast paced and kind of jarring. I didn't feel as if there was any breathing room between questions and answers, and these sections just didn't seem to flow as well with me. Maybe it was a question of fitting in as much information as they could in a short period of time (AHA! this dilemma sounds familiar) or something else, but I felt that they're pacing kind of detracted from the emotional attachment I was beginning to have for the story and the people involved (those providing AND receiving aid).
I do agree with Amanda when she mentioned that the end seemed to drag. I actually thought the film was going to end after the conversation with Willie Nelson. I had forgotten how many "questions" were already answered so I just figured that was the end, haha.
All in all, this film was absolutely beautiful, and I was mesmerized by the amazing footage captured all over the world. It's one of those projects I would have given anything to have been a part of.
First off this was my first opportunity to attend a screening at the Paramount Theatre, and I really enjoyed it. Its a beautiful venue. The turn out was great, and Amy's Ice Cream wasn't bad either.
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed the time and passion that was obviously put into this film. I also think that Pipkin did a nice job of incorporating himself into the film without it taking away from the story. It was well shot and pretty tightly edited, however like the other stated the ending seemed to drag. It was only an hour and a half, but it felt like longer.
One my favorite things about the film is the traveling aspect, since I want to one day travel the world with a camera, I found it very inspiring. Also I enjoyed the fact that it didn't simply throw all of these issues and problems in your face, but it also offered solutions and showed local examples of how to combat the problems.
All in all a very well done film, with an exceptional soundtrack.
clh
I, too, got to see One Peace at a Time at the Paramount and was very impressed. The film had a great soundtrack, a very innovative story structure, amazing cinematography, and a motivational element that I think will stick with a lot of viewers.
ReplyDeleteI also got to attend the pre-party/fundraiser at the Austin Museum of Art on Congress and film some of the happenings - the event seemed like a success. There were quite a few people there, and a lot of people seemed to have participated in the silent auction. The food was great, but it seemed odd to me that Pipkin whored his daughters out as servers - I guess it's energy and cost efficient, though...also, one of the Dixie Chicks was there, so I was very excited. I love Austin celebrity spottings.
Anyway, back to the film. My comments have definitely been covered before by the previous posts, but the film was amazing. Pipkin covers a huge array of topics relatively easily; though they are all related to the idea of humanitarian aid and equality for all, the topics were about decidedly different geographic areas and peoples.
Despite this fact, Pipkin uses surprisingly simple technique to weave the stories together and create a sort of How-To documentary. He doesn't guilt viewers into taking action or demand attention. Instead, he uses familiar faces and names (Austin philanthropic groups and celebrities) to get viewers to realize that helping others, even starving or dehydrated children halfway around the world, can really be very simple. I have to agree with Amanda, though, about the soundtrack - unless he got that music downloaded, it seemed like he (or his producers) could have spent that money in better ways. If houses cost $300 and wells cost $50, he could have built a few villages and asked that guy who was playing on stage to score the film for much cheaper. Just saying. Also, I don't really see what the hell Willie Nelson was doing in that movie. Sure, Willie's an awesome guy, and I'm all for using renewable fuels in tour buses and for marijuana legalization/reform, but name dropping seems kind of unnecessary, Turk. Nelson didn't add much except for a fifteen-minute third ending (kind of like The Return of the King) and a few witty one-liners. Totally came out of left field.
Pipkin seemed like an incredibly selfless and generous guy when we met him at the museum, and I think his film is a testament to that fact. I would love to have been involved with this project and to visit all of those beautiful countries. Good job, Turk.
This was also my first time at the Paramount, and I was definitely impressed. It was a really great venue, and I was glad to see that it was a packed house...i mean i was definitely sitting in the nosebleeds.
ReplyDeleteThe movie was really good. I was very surprised by the structure, and how much ground the movie covered. When Turk went into the parts about the "rights of children", I thought he might follow one child, or talk about one country, but It was completely different. I really like how he would address the right, then show an example of the problem...but also show a very economical solution. And then seamlessly he would transition into the next right. I also like how he would hi-light a different non-profit organization with each problem, and show what they were doing to help the world. Also Turk had some interviews with some very prominent nobel peace prize winning people...but what was great about the interviews was that they were on the screen just long enough for you to get a sense of who they were, and then they wer talking over B-roll. This way the audience never got bored with the interviews.
The only things that through me off were the multi-panels on the intro. I thought they were too fast, and could not even comprehend 1 panel before they were all changing. Also the movie had like 3 endings, and I wasn't sure when it was over. Also as much as I love Willie Nelson, I'm not sure he was necessary for the film.
Overall I thought the movie was really good, and accomplished its goal of showing what 1 person can do to make the world a better place. I left the paramount not only thinking "man I need to travel the world" but, "what can i do to help the world."
p.s. Did anyone else see all the SWAT stuff going on a couple blocks away...it was crazy.
I loved this film! The subject matter that it tackles is absolutely my favorite, and I really hope there will be more social documentaries like this one because they really do have an impact on people. After watching the film, I visited kiva.org (one of the non-profits the film endorsed) and sent it to a few of my friends as well. The only thing though is that I wonder if these inspirations are very short lived…is this more of a film that can get people to donate money at the time they watch it, or is it a type of film that can motivate someone to change his/her life goals? That I’m not too sure about to be honest.
ReplyDeleteWith respect to the name-dropping, I also that it was kind of strange that Willie Nelson was in the film, as if he was a celebrity the film needed in order to be appealing to more people. I question such a strategy, because I don’t want people to make a choice because “Oh Willie thinks that way too?” I would want them to base a decision and opinion on the information they’re given. But if it is just a strategy used to get people to come and watch the film, than in that case, maybe it is not so bad. Because of the way Hollywood is centered our stars, perhaps it was his way of competing on the same level of Blockbuster films.
Other than that I also agree with everyone with respect to structure, editing, and the ending. Structure was awesome—the theme of the rights of the child was a great way to tackle so many subjects, and I really loved the first part of the film the most because of this choice. His choice to focus on both the problems and solutions brought out the most motivational aspect of this film: that there is something that can be done…such a hopeful message isn’t it?
Yet the ending I agree was way too long…I thought it should have ended after the last right of the child, because having this outline at the beginning made me expect that it would end right after that point, but it didn’t. And that’s not a good thing for the film, because it makes people too restless. A film should always end before the audience decides they’ve seen enough, and in this case, it may have gotten to that point.
I got to say, I had a lot of fun going to see this documentary. It was also my first time in the Paramount Theatre, and that made it all the more exciting. Good job Pipkin!