Salesman

Looking and listening: the late, great filmmaker Albert Maysles (1926-2015) is the subject of our May/June 2015 cover story. Chris Boeckmann pays tribute to the documentarian’s attuned filmmaking with close readings of his classic documentaries (Salesman, Gimme Shelter, Grey Gardens) and his lesser-known later portraits. Then, to ensure a healthy case of reader whiplash, we proudly present our latest special midsection, Korea Prospects II, a grand follow-up to our 2004 survey, showcasing that country’s continuingly vibrant cinema. Featuring: guest midsection editor Goran Topalovic on Korean cinema’s decade of hard-charging successes, Tony Rayns on Hong Sangsoo and Jang Jin, Samuel Jamier on gangster cinema, Darcy Paquet on independent film and the Busan International Film Festival, and, last but not least, an A-Z of filmmakers by Pierce Conran, Grady Hendrix, and Tom Vick, and a directory of actors by Jean Noh.

In a special essay, Kent Jones writes about the often embattled place of storytelling in film, even (or sometimes especially) among cinema’s most ardent devotees. Quintín cracks the code of seriocomic Argentine trailblazer Martín Rejtman, director of Two Shots Fired and a thoroughly original voice. European Editor Olaf Möller delves into the work of another under-sung filmmaker, Dominik Graf, a genre veteran of German screens large and small with his finger on the pulse of a changing nation. Möller also reports on the latest Berlin Film Festival, while our usual array of exclusive news, columns, and niblets awaits in the latest Opening Shots.

Speaking of which, May/June also features the exciting debut of director Matías Piñeiro’s new column on performance, In the Moment, which kicks off with Carole Lombard in Mr. & Mrs. Smith. Plus: Chuck Stephens on Hope Emerson, Eric Hynes on Khalik Allah, Alex Cox on Francesco Rosi’s The Moment of Truth, and Philip Brophy on Sion Sono’s hip-hop musical. And in our reviews section: Michael Sragow on Far from the Madding Crowd, Kristin M. Jones on Eden, Chris Norris on Love & Mercy, Amy Taubin on Results, Violet Lucca on Reality, Nathan Lee on Jupiter Ascending, Laura Kern on an album of VHS cover art, and Kent Jones on an essential new book on rhythm in film by Lea Jacobs.

View the full Table of Contents for May/June 2015, with links to articles. To subscribe to FILM COMMENT, click here.