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Directed and filmed by
Louis Schwartzberg.
Running Time: 84 minutes.
Rated PG, for mild thematic elements
CLICK HERE to read Jeffrey's interview with director/cinematographer
Louis Schwartzberg.
We have a
choice this weekend: We can
follow the lines to the heavily-advertised movies topping the box office
right now. Or, we can do something different.
We can take a risk, try something new, and
discover one of the year’s most delightful surprises.
Now stick with me on this.
I know it sounds suspicious. I, too, saw the
previews. They caused me to approach America’s
Heart and Soul expecting to be doused with syrupy
sentimentality, clichés, and empty platitudes about our nation’s
greatness. I was quite surprised to find something else entirely.
Just imagine if an experienced
cinematographer invited you over for the evening to show you his
favorite footage from a career of capturing moments
of stunning natural beauty. His creativity is
driven by a love for his country and strong curiosity about
people. Who could be so
coarse and hard-hearted as to complain about that?
Sadly, quite a few
film critics are really showing how deeply cynical and unable to
appreciate simple pleasures they've become. But really, America's
Heart and Soul couldn’t have come at a better time.
Moviegoers are currently choosing between a
sophomoric and insulting comedy, a documentary
full of half-truths and
slander, and a romantic comedy that looks like a
TV
movie of the week. Disney, believe it or not,
has delivered a far more rewarding choice.
The
movie treats us to a whirlwind tour of the nation through the
romantic, colorful, gravity-defying cinematography of director Louis
Schwartzberg. Schwartzberg insists that his film is not a documentary,
but rather a sort of travel journal, in which he has chronicled the most
amazing discoveries from his journeys with a camera. For just over 90
minutes, we’re introduced to one amazing person after another, each one
with a life story that will impress and intrigue you. You’ll wish you
could slow the movie down and dig deeper into each story, spending more
time with each person. If the world was fair, Schwartzberg’s movie would
become enormously successful, and he’d deliver a deluxe DVD package that
would treat us to special programs on each of the people he investigates
here. They’ve all done extraordinary things with their lives, things that
will make you laugh out loud and gasp in awe. It’s a wonderful,
inspiring tour that reminds us of that America
really does give us opportunities that could not be explored anywhere
else.
No, I’m not talking about
flag-waving and history lessons. This is a cinematographer's diary, full of gorgeous landscapes and people
you'll want to travel across the country to meet.
Take this
journey, and you'll meet
a guy who’s free to spend his life doing performance art by stacking up
television sets in the middle of the road and then
rolling explosive-filled bowling balls at them.
You'll be treated to a
pilot’s eye view of the experience of the world’s most accomplished,
death-defying stunt flyer. And we'll go along on a
breathtaking ice climb with a man who has clawed his way up the highest
summits in the world. And he’s blind.
We meet two brothers who
bring their own special blend of jazz to a New Orleans neighborhood, an
ex-con who became and an Olympic champion boxer and then went on do
something even more amazing, a family of Latinos who put the spice in
salsa dancing, a rug weaver whose hands seem guided by the Holy Spirit,
and a guy who left L.A. to make a life as a farmer while continuing to
pursue his ambitions as an actor. One by one, you meet people who
surprise you and then, before their story is over, they surprise you
again.
It’s refreshing to see
some “reality” footage that isn’t some contrived contest, some
celebration of superficiality and lust, some competition driven by
financial gain. It’s a window into the lives of people who live
nextdoor to you and me, and who have done unlikely things with the
gifts God gave them.
America’s Heart and
Soul is being
treated as if it’s a desperate attempt by Disney to interrupt the
success of Michael Moore’s Bush-bash-a-thon. It’s not. These interviews
took place before September 11th, 2001, and it took Schwartzberg a while
to pull it together into a film. What is more, he did it without turning
it into a political statement. The film should inspire fans of John
Kerry as much as it inspires supporters of George W. Bush. It’ll inspire
everyone but those who are so cynical that they’ve can’t believe
anything good comes out of Disney studios.
Schwartzberg keeps things
sweet and simple. We don't hear sob stories about the weak and
downtrodden. We don't see the hopeless or the homeless—that’s not the
subject of the movie. We see the folks who dedicate their lives to
helping those who need it, serving those who are lost, entertaining
and inspiring those in their communities. Granted, he avoids digging
into the depth and complexities of the real problems facing this country
and this world. But again—that’s not his subject. His subject is
creative freedom—the things that are possible when free individuals
pursue their passions with invention, resourcefulness, and determination.
You’ll discover Berkley,
California's art car festival. You’ll discover the breathtaking art of
cliff dancing. In one of the year’s most exhilarating action scenes,
you’ll take a ride with the king of New York’s daredevil bike
messengers.
You’ll stop and ask
yourself, what makes me distinctive? What is it that I’ve
been given? What more can I do with my life?
No, it’s not the deepest,
most profound work of filmmaking. But it’s far more rewarding and
uplifting than most movies you’ll see this year.
America’s Heart and
Soul is a joy.
While I personally have an aversion to the bombastic soundtrack that
sews the scenes together, and while some of the philosophizing offered
by the individuals about their lives strikes me as shallow and
sentimental, watching them work makes these minor problems forgettable
and forgivable.
After the film, though,
I’m left with some nagging questions. Yes, America is a great place.
Yes, our freedoms give us opportunities to pursue our dreams. But I’m
especially impressed by those “heroes” in the film who seem concerned
about “the pursuit of service” instead of just “the pursuit of
happiness.”
Happiness is based on
temporal things, and the pursuit of it is self-serving. Joy, on the
other hand, comes from casting off our cares and surrendering to a
higher call. It comes from obedience to the Creator, who set an example
by laying his own life down to serve us, by making himself nothing. Joy
comes from serving, from contributing to the good of someone else. It
comes from a sense of being loved by God, and from seeking to please God
by pursuing more than the satisfaction of our appetites. The stories in
America’s Heart and Soul are many and varied, and I’m most moved
by those concerning people who have experienced highs and lows and have
chosen a different path: love. They strive to liberate those imprisoned
by weakness, sin, and physical limitations.
Thus, the different
characters Schwartzberg has immortalized in his film provide us with
plenty of food for thought and discussion. America’s Heart and Soul
is a film for the whole family, and one that you’d be unfortunate to
miss.
For Disney to invest in
such an unlikely, honest, independently developed movie is an
encouraging sign. It gives me hope that something nourishing can still
make its way through the studio system. Sometimes even jaded, suspicious
moviegoers like me can be caught off guard.
Invite
your friends, take your family, and make a memorable Fourth of July by
showing your support for this risky little picture.
Jeffrey's
Rating:
B+
Click here for
an explanation of ratings.
CLICK HERE to read Jeffrey's interview with director/cinematographer
Louis Schwartzberg. |
