MY NAME IS PAULI MURRAY
Talk about an individual ahead of their time, Pauli Murray was a profound pioneer, fighting for race and gender equality well before Rosa Parks and RBG. It seems, though, that history has forgotten all about her, which is such a shame since she’s a pivotal part of it. Thankfully, in directors Julie Cohen and Betsy West’s excellent, enlightening, and deserving documentary, they make sure we’ll remember her name from here on out. As an activist, lawyer, poet, and priest – Murray’s incredible influence is felt in all facets of human rights and is very much engrained in the world we live in today and the issues we currently face.
The use of archive footage and pictures undoubtedly gives viewers a look into Murray’s life work and legacy. Even so, hearing her in her own words is what really counts in connecting to who she was and the thoughts that would change lives. This is a terrific tribute to a trailblazer who had her own deeply personal struggles with depression and sexual identity. Yet, nothing would stop her from finishing what she started, and what it would do for those following in her footsteps.
IN THE SAME BREATH
While there’s obviously still so much we don’t understand about COVID-19, this important and incensing documentary is a great starting point. Through propaganda, lies, and cover-ups, countries (I’m looking at you China and U.S.) monumentally mislead their own citizens who paid the ultimate price with their lives. With incredible investigative journalism hard at work, director Nanfu Wang focuses on the Wuhan outbreak, uncovering what’s really going on behind the nationalism bullshit that’s running rampant. Wang obtaining firsthand accounts of those who were personally affected by the pandemic is truly knowing as well as terribly tragic. When she reimagines how this all could’ve been avoided if transparency existed in governments we shouldn’t have to second guess in trusting – it’s startling and severely shameful in how easy it could’ve been to prevent so many countless lives from being lost.
TRY HARDER!
At Lowell High School, where its students are predominately Asian American, the college application process is cutthroat for the senior class competing to get into the most prestigious universities. And when everyone in your school is an overachiever, the pressure may be too much to handle. From what they do in and out of the classroom to more blatantly biased things like race and class – these teens are stressed to the max. With great fascination, empathy, and humor, director Debbie Lum follows a handful of students as they chase their college dreams while sacrificing so much at such a young age. This excruciating process these kids live and breathe leaves them with no chance of being just a kid.
Whether it’s for themselves or not, they want it so bad that it’s heartbreaking or joyous depending on if they get denied or accepted. It’s a sterling, disarming documentary of education being a gateway to something more, even if the whole system is rigged to begin with. However, that’s not stopping those at Lowell from busting their ass no matter the near impossible odds stacked against them. It’s quite evident they believe it’s more than worth it.
Located in Durham, NC – The 24th Annual Full Frame Documentary Film Festival ran virtually from June 2-6, 2021.
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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