This month, Rialto Documentary is screening some fantastic music documentaries celebrating unique, influential artists and their work. This week legendary hip hop artist Nas explains the inspiration behind his debut album Illmatic, and next week, Rialto Documentary is screening the excellent 20,000 Days on Earth. This award winning documentary is a dramatisation of a day in the life of Nick Cave and it’s a must see for music and Nick Cave fans. 

Here are my picks for the week:

This month, Rialto Documentary is screening some fantastic music documentaries celebrating unique, influential artists and their work. This week legendary hip hop artist Nas explains the inspiration behind his debut album Illmatic, and next week, Rialto Documentary is screening the excellent 20,000 Days on Earth. This award winning documentary is a dramatisation of a day in the life of Nick Cave and it’s a must see for music and Nick Cave fans. 

Here are my picks for the week:

Monday 17^th August, 8.30pm… Suzanne
Watching Suzanne reminded me of Ursula Meier’s film Sister that Rialto Channel played earlier in the year. Both films are bleak and desperate, and yet full of hope and feature young women living on the fringe of society struggling to deal with motherhood and life in general. This is the second film from talented young French director Katell Quillévéré and stars Sara Forestier as Suzanne whose life slowly derails after a teen pregnancy. The film actually covers 25 years of Suzanne’s life, starting off when she is just a child living with her sister Maria (Adèle Haenel) and their widowed truck driver father Nicolas (François Damiens) in in the Languedoc region. We then jump forward to high school when Suzanne discovers she’s pregnant in her final year, and jump forward once more to four years later when Suzanne meets and falls in love with a petty criminal called Julien (Paul Hamy). These bold jumps continue, and while it can take a moment to catch up on where Suzanne is at in her life, it creates a wonderful sense of intrigue and unpredictability. Forestier is excellent under Quillévéré’s self assured direction, telling this story with pitch perfect emotion and creating a character we can’t but help feel invested in. I can’t wait to see what Quillévéré does next. 

Thursday 20^th August … NAS: Time is Illmatic
Illmatic was the name of New York rapper Nas’ debut album released on Columbia Records in 1994. Known as Nasir Jones to his parents, Nas grew up on the rough streets of the Queensbridge projects, New York, and after dropping out of high school in the 8^th grade he proceeded to make a name for himself amongst the East coast producers who were impressed with his sophisticated lyrics and ambition. After being signed to a major label at 20, expectations were high for the release of Nas’ much hyped debut album, and rightly so. The album was a critical and commercial success and these days is regarded as a classic. Director One9 and screenwriter Erik Parker document how Illmatic came to be made in this comprehensive documentary. It took ten years for visual artists One9 and music journalist Parker to pull this story together, and what makes it so engaging is that its told from the people who were there and part of Nas’ life and career. Sure, there are the usual talking heads and contemporary artists talking about Illmatic’s relevance today, but this story really comes alive when Nas, his reclusive brother Jungle and his father talk us through their family life, the social conditions and environment they grew up in. This seminal album is brought to life again, reminding us of how important it was, and still is for young African American men trying to find their voice. 

Saturday 22^nd August, 8.30pm … The Young and Prodigious T.S Spivet
From the screenwriter and director of Amelie, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, comes a rather gorgeous coming of age story filled with quirky characters, stunning cinematography and a delightful sense of whimsy. Ten year old science prodigy, T.S Spivet (Kyle Catlett), wins the prestigious Baird Prize awarded by the Smithsonian Institution in Washington for his perpetual motion machine, and in an attempt to win his father’s approval he hitchhikes from his home in Montana to Washington to receive the prize. Part road movie, part family drama, part coming of age story, The Young and Prodigious T.S Spivet is a warm, stylish and delightfully off kilter family film that also stars Judy Davis and Helena Bonham Carter. Fans of Jean-Pierre Jeunet’s will enjoy.