A00131 - All the Beauty and the Bloodshed and All That Breathes

 



As referenced in my January 7, 2023 post set forth below, the documentary All the Beauty and the Bloodshed was deemed to be a potential Oscar contender.  Lo and behold, it is


I was not able to catch the movie in the theater.  By the time I was ready to see it, the only theater I could find showing it was a theater in Glendale, California, and that is over 400 miles away.  Fortunately, last weekend, I was able to find the film on demand from Comcast (Xfinity). I watched it and can confirm that it is a powerful film and is fully deserving of the nomination.  However, I advise that it is not a movie for everyone.  The movie is more of a documentary on the life of Nan Goldin and that life was a rough one.  She experienced a terrible childhood and escaped it to reside within the LGBT subculture at the time of the inception of the AIDS crisis. Death permeates her life, taking away her closest relative and her closest friends. It is actually rather miraculous that death did not take Nan Goldin herself.  But Death did not take her, she was spared to seemingly lead a crusade against the Sackler family -- a crusade which has succeeded in removing the Sackler name from art museums, but which has not succeeded in holding the Sacklers financially accountable for the widespread harm caused by the over zealous marketing of Oxycontin.

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed  most definitely deserves its Academy Award nomination.  However, as much as I love Dave Hixon, I must admit that All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is not my favorite documentary for the year.  That honor goes to the documentary All That Breathes.  This documentary shows the Sisyphean struggle of two Indian brothers who care  for birds that have fallen from the sky in the polluted air of New Delhi.  There is something about their struggle that speaks to the best of the human spirit.      

All That Breathes is on HBO Max.  I suggest that those who can might want to watch both documentaries and make your own assessment as to which one you prefer.

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins
Fairfield, California
March 9, 2023

-----Original Message-----
From: skipjen2865@aol.com
To: 
Sent: Sat, Jan 7, 2023 1:01 am
Subject: Movie Theater Movie of the Month: All the Beauty and the Bloodshed



I will be heading down south this weekend and next weekend as well.  While I am down south in the Los Angeles area during the MLK week, I plan on finding one of the arthouse cinemas where the potential Academy Award nominee for best documentary "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" is playing on the giant screen.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/All_the_Beauty_and_the_Bloodshed

All the Beauty and the Bloodshed is a 2022 documentary film which explores the career of Nan Goldin and the fall of the Sackler family. The film was directed by Laura Poitras.[4][5] Poitras said, "Nan's art and vision has inspired my work for years, and has influenced generations of filmmakers."[6] The film premiered on September 3, 2022, at the 79th Venice International Film Festival,[1] where it was awarded the Golden Lion, making it the second documentary (following Sacro GRA in 2013) to win the top prize at Venice. It also screened at the 2022 New York Film Festival,[5] where it was the festival's centerpiece film and for which Goldin designed two official posters.[7][8] The film was released in theaters by Neon on November 23, 2022.
The film examines the life and career of photographer and activist Nan Goldin and her efforts to hold Purdue Pharma, owned by the Sackler family, accountable for the opioid epidemic. Goldin, a well known photographer whose work often documented the LGBT subcultures and the HIV/AIDS crisis, founded the advocacy group P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) in 2017 after her addiction to Oxycontin, where she had a near fatal overdose. P.A.I.N. specifically targets museums and other arts institutions to hold the art community accountable for its collaboration with the Sackler family and its well publicized financial support of the arts. Since P.A.I.N.'s activities most of the targeted museums have severed all ties with the Sackler family and in 2021 Purdue Pharma filed for bankruptcy.

888888

Anyone who has seen the Hulu miniseries "Dopesick" should already know some of the background behind the creation of the opioid epidemic in this country.    


Based on the reviews "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed" has received, the documentary should add to our understanding of the issue.  Additionally, it is my understanding that an Amherst connection is associated with "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed".  Dave Hixon, my former Amherst College track teammate from 1972, and the guy who is better known for having his name emblazoned on the Amherst College Basketball Court after a forty year career as the College basketball coach, has two very talented sons.  One is a two time medal winning Olympic diver and the other is a film editor who happens to have worked on "All the Beauty and the Bloodshed".

Given the excellence exhibited by the Hixons, this documentary should be extraordinarily good.

Peace,

Everett "Skip" Jenkins

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