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Chicago

City So Real: A World Within a World

October 29, 2020 by J. Alan Sharrer Leave a Comment

A woman talks to a police officer during a protest. (Chicago Story Film, LLC)

The city of Chicago has always received less than top billing in the United States.  Its blue-collar, earthy mentality is quite unique when compared to Houston, Los Angeles, or New York City. However, it truly is a world all its own with over 75 separate sections comprising its makeup, each showcasing some of the best (and worst) parts of who we are as a people.  With his five-part drama City So Real (NatGeo, 10.29 and Hulu starting 10.30), director Steve James (Hoop Dreams, America to Me) has provided an opportunity for the city as a whole to give voice on behalf of the entire country – and this is accomplished in remarkable fashion.

I lived and attended school in the Western Suburbs of Chicago, so I’ve seen a thing or two about the town—or so I thought.  Instead, I discovered that I was quite sheltered from the richness and color Chicago has as a whole.  In order to get that, I had to jump on the freeway and drive 25 or so miles east.  But even then, I only spent time in the popular areas (Downtown; Navy Pier; Lakeshore Drive).  Rarely did I ever step foot into the other parts of town.

James, in his over five hour documentary (and I recommend you watch the whole thing), brings to light two portions of life from these 75+ perspectives. The first involves the weeks and months after mayor Rahm Emmanuel decided not to run for reelection.  With the city swimming in financial woes and uncertainty (such as a potentially huge housing project called Lincoln Yards), you might think two or three individuals would come out and run to take over that position.  Wrong! Twenty-one people throw their hat into the fray – from computer coder Neal Sáles-Griffin to Nigerian born Amara Enyia (getting cred from Chace the Rapper and Kanye West) to Richard Daley (whose relatives ran the city for 43 years), the documentary showed off not only the convoluted process Chicago has for its elections, but how each candidate campaigned—and more importantly, how each section of the city responded.  The Sideline Studios, a predominantly African-American haircut place on the South Side, is allowed to let its owner Dionell Hill and his customers air their thoughts a la Coming to America—and they pull no punches. That business is later contrasted with another haircut location that features all Caucasian clientele.  It was refreshing perspective to see and hear the tonal color of these sections of town—and see them firsthand.

The race also coincides with the murder trial of a Chicago cop who killed Laquan McDonald by shooting him 16 times.  Chicago has always been known for corruption—and a large part of the town thinks the office will get off free. They think in mainly binary tones, but when justice is finally reached, it’s a breath of fresh air one part of the city has rarely seen.

The mayoral race gets dirty and competitive – and in the end the winner is a former prosecutor named Lori Lightfoot, a lady who’s willing to walk door to door and meet people to get a vote.  She exhibits a new way of looking things, being both African-American and lesbian.  In the end, she wins in a landslide.

Yard signs display a variety of candidates running in the 2019 Mayor’s race in Chicago. (Chicago Story Film, LLC)

If James were to have stopped here, it would’ve been enough.  However, the last part of the documentary brings the now into perspective – starting in March when Covid-19 began to ransack the country and led to Chicago shutting down, killing many of the mom-and-pop businesses in the process (one resorted to selling jigsaw puzzles and even printing its own money).  Lightfoot’s non-nonsense, don’t-mess-with-me demeanor was one that worked effectively—until people started getting tired of being inside and George Floyd’s death ripped the bandage off racial tensions.  Of course, the story isn’t over—it plays out every day, making Chicago . . .  well . . .  that place Carl Sandburg immortalized in his poem of the same name.

I found the documentary to be cutting, relevant, and well-executed. James has a knack for getting into the minds of people and asking questions that allow them to share who they are and how they’re feeling.  People are definitely willing to talk if you allow them a method to share their voice! I was also impressed about how James allowed each section of town to speak for itself, a unique yet important aspect.  It reminds me of some of the areas mentioned in the Bible—Jerusalem, Nazareth, and Bethlehem are just three.  Each are part of the overall picture of history and yet each has its own unique flavor.  Jerusalem saw its share of violence and destruction for thousands of years – not only inside but outside the city walls.  Nazareth was a place where people asked if anything good could come from it (in this case, it certainly did). Bethlehem was extremely small and yet is now known as the birthplace of Jesus.  All the pieces, when put together, make up a picture that’s greater than the sum of its parts.  City So Real reveals that in a compelling and gripping way—one you won’t soon forget.

City So Real airs on NatGeo on October 29 and Hulu starting October 30

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: Chicago, covid, documentary, Mayor, NatGeo, Steve James

Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf

June 13, 2018 by Darrel Manson Leave a Comment

“This is what you’d like to see in nature.”

Gardens bring us pleasure, even if we have to work to keep them beautiful. Gardens bring a bit of nature close to us, even if it is in an artificial setting. But Dutch landscape designer Piet Oudolf seeks to make gardens that reflect nature. Filmmaker Thomas Piper has brought us Five Seasons: The Gardens of Piet Oudolf, a visually enjoyable visit to some of the amazing gardens Oudolf has designed.

Piper is a documentarian who has specialized in films about contemporary art. And the gardens that Oudolf designs are truly works of art. Oudolf began with a nursery to grow perennial plants, but in time branched out into designing public gardens that often seem to be like a trip into nature. Oudolf’s gardens include The High Line in New York City, Lurie Garden in Chicago, as well as gardens in London, Paris, and the Netherlands.

The film takes us to some of the gardens he has designed and lets us look over his shoulder as he works on a design for a new garden. In the process we move through the year from winter to winter to see how the gardens change over time. We also come to understand that the beauty of a garden is not limited to the colorful times of blooming, but even when the plants become “skeletons” there is still a beauty to be found. The film also takes us with Oudolf as he travels to see the beauty of nature in various places: the Texas Hill Country during the bluebonnet season, a prairie restoration in Iowa, and a post-industrial forest in Pennsylvania. Here he finds inspiration for his work.

Piet Oudolf’s plans for the gardens at Hauser & Wirth Somerset.

Because the film views these landscapes as art, it is careful to let us see the beauty—not only in the plants themselves, but in the design that Oudolf creates on paper. It also allows us time to savor the visual world, and to reflect on the relationship between humankind and nature.

There is a certain poetic feel to the film that invites us to consider the way nature enhances our lives and also how we fit in to nature. This is especially true as the film moves into the second winter, because at that point it gives us time to reflect on death—death that exists in nature before newness comes, and the death that is inevitable in every life.

The gardens at Hummelo in the fall.

Photos courtesy Argot Pictures

Filed Under: Film, Reviews Tagged With: art, Chicago, documentary, horticulture, Netherlands, New York City, Thomas Piper

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