Prime Video Presents the SXSW 2020 Film Festival Collection Review: Documentaries

Brandon Vick offers up his thoughts on the documentaries from the SXSW 2020 Film Festival!

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I’M GONNA MAKE YOU LOVE ME

Brian Belovitch becomes who he needs to be out of survival, and by transforming into Tish, she gets the power and confidence she’s been deprived of all her life. This glamorous documentary captures a one of a kind life of a young boy shamed by who he is, and later becoming a transgender woman who ran downtown New York nights, putting her voice and beauty to great use to be in the spotlight. But as time goes on and Tish not getting any younger, Brian is ready for a comeback to ultimately be comfortable in his own skin.

The journey director Karen Bernstein takes the audience on has a lot to cover, basically a handful of different lives lived by one person, and they don’t all get the attention they deserve. Parts come across as merely mentions that could easily be colorful conversations. Why? Because we know wholeheartedly that Bernstein’s subject isn’t shy by any stretch of the imagination. With that said, this story also isn’t shy from showing the physical and psychological changes that one goes through and the fears we try to get rid of as they happen.

MY DARLING VIVIAN

There’s much to appreciate and adore in this sweet, revelatory documentary in which Johnny Cash’s daughters share their stories, and wonderful memories, of their mother who has been all but forgotten in the Man in Black’s legendary life. And while Vivian Liberto never stopped loving Cash, the high profile marriage opened her life up to humiliation and loneliness. Though, through it all, she never lost her resilience and buoyancy – and her children never forgot that. We all know about Johnny and June, and Vivian’s side of the story alters your view on that classic country love connection. Providing a candid portrait of more than just the existence of an untold romance, director Matt Riddlehoover gives Liberto the recognition that she so rightfully deserves.

TFW NO GF

Brought to life by an acronym that’s slapped on a meme and goes viral, “That feeling when [you’ve got] no girlfriend” describes an individual with no romance in their lives. But what director Alex Lee Moyer explores in her perturbing yet fascinating documentary is it goes much deeper than that. This is not an easy watch as we follow five guys down into the dark side of the internet where those who feel alone, rejected, misunderstood, and depressed can find solace in one another. There’s also no overlooking the disturbing shit that’s typed and tweeted while you’re left guessing if it’s a joke or a huge red flag.

It’s up to the viewer to make their own decision about this crazy character study of provocateurs covered from head to toe in misery. Moyer keeps her thoughts to herself, approaching each one with no judgement and a nice chunk of empathy. In the end, their stories and their reasons for why they do what they do is more complicated than what society would easily dismiss and quickly demand for their demise.

Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.

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