Page 4
July 10, 2019
New Documentaries
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son of devoted parents who had
immigrated to Argentina from It-
aly--who pulled tango music into
a new direction. Its subject matter,
though quite worthy of broader
attention, makes a U.S. theatrical
release unlikely, but I hope it will
become available online.
For the second time (the first
being “Life Itself,” the inferior
Roger Ebert documentary), a film
critic has become the subject of a
biographical documentary. “What
She Said: The Art of Pauline
Kael” examines the life of the
critic, who wrote for The New
Yorker from the late 1960s into
the 1980s. One of the few women
to write film criticism in a market
still dominated by men, Kael was
an iconoclast who shaped pop-
ular culture with her sometimes
merciless analysis. There is a lot
to admire in her incisive writing
and her clarity; she was definitely
used to being the smartest person
in the room and exercised an out-
sized influence on American film
culture. On the other hand, having
broken into a man’s world, Kael
does not come off as someone
who was mindful to open space
for other voices. As a film geek, I
found much to enjoy in this film;
as an intersectional feminist, I was
not inspired.
“Trixie
Mattel:
Moving
Parts” is another kind of pro-
file, mainly because its subject
is a drag queen who has gained
quite a following on YouTube and
RuPaul’s Drag Race. The film of-
fers an opportunity to walk with
Trixie (and her alter ego Brian Fir-
the-top persona, and to admire the
sureness of purpose that connects
the two. So far the film is playing
film festivals, with no word of a
theatrical release.
I really wanted to like “Patro-
nell: The Total Experience.” Pa-
tronell Wright is a fixture in the
black community in Seattle and
has for several decades managed
a choir that has been a powerful
influence of hope and community.
Her story intersects with so many
important themes and questions-
-What has been the cost of seg-
regation? As the neighborhood
has changed around her, why has
Wright stayed and what does it
A new film documentary about Seattle’s Patronell Wright and her
mean to her to be directing an inte-
Total Experience Gospel Choir is told against the backdrop of the
grated choir in a gentrified neigh-
city’s gentrification and racial history.
borhood? The film doesn’t seem
kus) through her (and his) world, aimless, and yet I’m not sorry to to have a point of view on these
but doesn’t shape the experience have experienced a window into questions and settles for hero wor-
enough to draw out what is most what ordinary life looks like for ship, which left the majority white
important to understand about it. a drag queen, to contrast Brian’s
C ontinueD on p age 12
The journey feels unsatisfyingly ordinariness with Trixie’s over-
Lillard Inks New Contract
C ontinueD from p age 3
quality an organization could
hope for in a franchise player,”
said Olshey. “His perpetual lead-
ership, willingness to embrace
responsibility for outcome on the
floor and ability to set a cultural
standard illustrates what it means
to be a Portland Trail Blazer and
makes us ecstatic he has chosen
to extend his contract at the first
opportunity”.
Lillard, 28, joins Clyde Drexler
as one of two Trail Blazers to re-
ceive All-NBA honors four times.
He is one of three players in NBA
history to record at least 1,500
points and 400 assists in each of
his first seven NBA seasons, and
in 2018-19 he became the first
player in Trail Blazers history
to tally at least 2,000 points and
500 assists in a season. When he
was named All-NBA First Team
in 2017-18, he joined Drexler
and Bill Walton as the only Trail
Blazers to achieve the honor.
Also, the winner of the 2018-
19 J. Walter Kennedy Citizenship
Award, Lillard holds career aver-
ages of 23.5 points , 4.2 rebounds,
6.3 assists and 0.97 steals in 549
games (all starts) over seven sea-
sons with the Trail Blazers.
Selected with the sixth overall
pick in the 2012 NBA Draft out
of Weber State, the 2013 NBA
Rookie of the Year and four-time
NBA All-Star has led the Trail
Blazers to six consecutive play-
off appearances, including last
season’s run to the Western Con-
ference Finals.
He holds career playoff aver-
ages of 24.8 points, 4.6 rebounds
and 5.9 assists, and has hit two
series-clinching shots in his post-
season career.
Among all-time franchise
leaders, Lillard ranks second
in scoring (12,909), first in
three-pointers (1,506), third in
assists (3,479), third in field
goals made (4,277), second in
free throws made (2,849), fifth in
minutes (19,907), ninth in steals
(533) and 10th in games played
(549).