Film & Documentary

March 4, 2022 • View in browser

Playground Looks at the Psychological and Physical Carnage of Childhood

Laura Wandel’s debut film examines the psychological — and physical — carnage wrought between children when grown-ups look the other way. | Eileen G'Sell

The schoolyard and building serve as a breeding ground for the prejudices the children bring with them, baptism by fire for those who do not arrive with these biases. Before shooting, Wandel had a clear vision of the type of place she wanted to depict, scouting every public school in the Brussels area for a site that could evoke a prison, the corridors in which, as Wandel put it, “a child could get lost.”

For those who have been bullied as young children, and for those who have done the bullying, Playground reveals the degree to which the two are swings on the same shaky set.

HYPERALLERGIC INTERVIEWS

‘You Should Feel Disturbed’ — Talking to the Directors of Attica

In the wake of the film’s nomination for the Best Documentary Feature Oscar, Stanley Nelson and Traci Curry speak to Hyperallergic about the uprising’s ongoing relevance. | Dan Schindel

Traci Curry: It was never far from our minds that this was a profound trauma in the lives of all of the people who were touched by this. Thinking about the images, what to show and what not to, and where that line is, I feel an audience should not be able to walk away from a story in which more than three-dozen people were massacred by the American state and not feel disturbed. A lot of the screenings that we’ve done, people say, ‘It just haunted me. I couldn’t stop thinking about it.’ I think that is as it should be.

MORE IN DOCUMENTARY

When You Could Get a Three-Course Meal and Coffee for 25 Cents in New York

Lisa Hurwitz’s documentary finds some impressive interviewees, including Mel Brooks and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, to remember the bygone vending machine restaurant chain Horn & Hardart. | Mark Asch 

Jeen-Yuhs Knows That Kanye West Isn’t a Riddle That Can be Solved

The gargantuan three-part documentary follows the famous, controversial rapper for 20 years, capturing his brilliance and contradictions. | Juan Barquin

Become a member today to support our independent journalism. 
Your support helps keep our reporting and criticism free and accessible to all.

OSCAR NOMINEES FOR BEST PICTURE

From Jane Campion’s latest feature to the newest iteration of Dune, revisit our reviews of some of this year’s Oscar nominees for Best Picture.

The Power of the Dog Is a Different Kind of Western Film

Acclaimed director Jane Campion returns to film with an all-star cast featuring Benedict Cumberbatch, Kirsten Dunst, and more. | Ela Bittencourt