i’d like to recommend a small german film called the forest for the trees (2003). i stumbled upon it at the university library and i’m still haunted by it even though many weeks have gone by. the very simple story is about a young woman who, having just been left by her boyfriend, moves to a different town to teach middle school. lonely and friendless, she latches onto another young woman who lives near her. the story of this ill-fated friendship is so painful it is hard to watch. melanie is desperately needy. like needy people everywhere, she does her do all the wrong things and, most pathetically, exudes some indefinable vibe that repels others. the director captures this predicament and its impalpable elements so sharply that, if you have ever been needy, or dealt with a needy person, you’ll cringe. the countless scenes of melanie knocking on tina’s door are harrowing. (more…)

i watched gimme shelter last night. i was pretty sure it had been talked about on the blog, but i couldn’t find a reference and there’s nothing here in the “rock documentaries” topic where you’d expect it to have been discussed. it is a really interesting film though i am not sure what exactly it is a document of. the first half, which largely has pre-altamont footage from a show in new york showcases jagger’s unbelievable charisma and the band’s power live–though the one brief clip of ike and tina turner blows the stones’ performances away.

(i remember reading stanley booth, the true adventures of the rolling stones way back in the late 80s at the american center library in delhi–i don’t know if anyone else here has read it, it is a chronicle of this tour, and is a riproaring read–and he notes that the stones were terrified of ike.)
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