The Central Park Five

Directed by: Ken Burns (The Civil War), Sarah Burns and David McMahon (co-producer of Ken Burns’s The War)

What it’s about: Based on Sarah Burns’s book of the same name (subtitled “The Untold Story Behind One of New York City’s Most Infamous Crimes”), the film about an infamous rape case in NYC in 1989, for which five Harlem youths were wrongfully imprisoned for many years. Eventually they were exonerated, but their innocence and release wasn’t given anywhere near the level of attention their arrest and trials did.

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Here’s a mid-week theatrical release that is highly regarded, well-awarded and personally recommended. It’s also not very accessible, I’ll admit, but that’s because it’s very complicated subject approached in a very intelligent, innovative and self-reflexive way that makes it very much a one of a kind film.

The Law in These Parts

What it’s about: Director Ra’anan Alexandrowicz looks at the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories and the two intricate and disconnected legal systems that contribute to the conflicts in that region. But unlike many docs on this topic, this one is concentrated on the lawmakers rather than the law-breakers.

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This week’s new theatrical releases for documentary include one noteworthy film that seems very timely. I haven’t decided, though, if it really is the best time or the worst time for Chasing Ice to come out. Certainly its focus on climate change gives it great relevance to the Hurricane Sandy mess, but at the same time it’s hard to imagine a lot of New Yorkers needing the extra proof right now.

Also opening in the same city is a seemingly relevant celebration of firefighters, albeit not FDNY but still heroes in their own right. This film, another in this year’s line of Detroit-set docs, and which I haven’t seen, is called Burn.

Read up on the two new theatrical releases after the jump.

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This week’s new theatrical releases for documentary are not all opening as planned due to Hurricane Sandy. Many cinemas in NYC are still without power, so films set to debut at the IFC Center, Film Forum and Quad Cinema have been delayed until the electricity is back on.

That should be this weekend for all of them, but this isn’t completely certain. Half of the new films, namely High Ground and A Man’s Story, are at least now playing in L.A., while the other two films, Bones Brigade and Gregory Crewdson: Brief Encounters, also have screenings elsewhere this week.

Read up on the four new theatrical releases after the jump.

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Down from last Friday’s ten titles, this week’s crop of new theatrical releases for documentary consists of only seven films. Strangely enough, I haven’t seen a single one of them, even though I tend to love anything with narration by Werner Herzog (Dinotasia) and most of the million docs involving The Rolling Stones (The Rolling Stones: Charlie is My Darling - Ireland 1965). Also, I’ve heard great things about the story in Josh Aronson’s latest, Orchestra of Exiles. The others, Long Shot: The Kevin Laue Story, Lunch, Man at War and The Revisionaries, are completely unknown to me, so all the more reason to look into them below.

First, let me remind you that The Zen of Bennett just opened two days ago, Hating Breitbart — which I accidentally failed to write much on last week — continues its limited run in Texas, Virginia, Missouri and California, and many other films are still playing and possibly expanding to many theaters. Brooklyn Castle is notably opening in the L.A. area this weekend, and public school teachers will get in free to screenings out there (excluding in Irvine) and in NY and NJ. Other major expansions include The House I Live In, Split: A Deeper Divide, The Other Dream Team, Somewhere Between, Yogawoman and The Flat.

Festivals with documentary screenings currently going on include Oslo Dokumentarkino [10/27-10/28]; Indie Memphis [11/1-11/4];Philadelphia [10/18-10/28]; Vermont [10/19-10/28]; Montana CINE [10/22-10/28]; Naples International [11/1-11/4]; Ojai [10/25-10/28]; Cleveland Jewish [10/14-10/28]; Rutgers Jewish [10/30-11/11]; Gold Coast International [10/22-10/28]; Manchester Science [10/27-11/4]; Scotland African [10/25-11/2];Heartland [10/18-10/27]; Kenya International [10/24-11/3]; Kaohsiung [10/19-11/4]; Side by Side LGBT [10/25-11/3]; Festival des Libertes [10/18-10/27]; and Filmovy Festival Inakosti Slovak Queer [10/25-10/28].

Read up on the seven new theatrical releases followed by the weekly list of docs still in cinemas after the jump.

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