Publication Date: Friday, January 6, 2006

A year full of movies that matter
Documentaries brought the message to the people and heard the call of the wild in 2005

by Susan Tavernetti

During the election year of 2004, dozens of political documentaries turned up the Fahrenheit. Michael Moore, then considered the most dangerous man in movies, hoped to Bushwhack the presidential race by rousing voters with his theatrical and DVD releases of "Fahrenheit 9/11."

If Moore's project had turned couch potatoes into political activists, agitprop filmmaking might have been big news again in 2005. But Moore's victory was at the box-office, not the polls; "Fahrenheit" became the highest-grossing nonfiction film of all time.

Documentarians got the message: Maybe a movie couldn't sway an electorate but could play a role in the rising media revolution.

Digital tools and new distribution strategies are democratizing traditional models, enabling low-to-no budget projects and eliminating gatekeepers. An example of the activist efforts in 2005 is Alex Gibney's "Enron: the Smartest Guys in the Room," which dug into one of the greatest corporate scandals in American history. It was shot on high-definition digital video for less than $2 million and rolled out almost simultaneously in theaters and on cable TV channel HDNet Movies.

Robert Greenwald worked with a mini-DV camera and implemented a Web-based "wiki" system to collaborate with more than 850 field producers. His "Wal-Mart: the High Cost of Low Price" criticized the big-box business, claiming its practices include gender discrimination and denial of health care.

Promoted through a grass-roots Internet campaign, the "Wal-Mart" doc debuted on DVD at house parties around the world only two days after its wide theatrical release. These filmmakers hope you'll be disgusted, outraged, and -- when the lights come up -- motivated to act.

On a less activist note, a girl and a gorilla or two Wyoming cowboys weren't the only ones lured by the call of the wild this year. The pointy-headed stars of Luc Jacquet's "March of the Penguins" could teach reality-TV survivors a thing or two about hardship and the true meaning of alliances. Ditto Judy Irving's charming "The Wild Parrots of Telegraph Hill," featuring gentle bird feeder Mark Bittner and a most delightful ending.

Many 2005 docs also focused on outsiders, marginalized individuals expressing themselves through dance, sports or filmmaking. In "Ballets Russes," Stanford alums Dan Geller and Dayna Goldfine chronicled the renowned dance company founded by Russian ÈmigrÈs living in Paris. Rare archival footage of the troupe, dating from the 1930s through the 1960s, contributes to the exhilarating celebration of movement.

Photographer David LaChapelle captured an energetic new dance form in "Rize." The South Central Los Angeles phenomenon split into dueling clown and krumper camps, while encouraging artistic expression as an alternative to gang activity.

Marilyn Agrelo's crowd-pleasing "Mad Hot Ballroom" pits New York fourth and fifth graders in a citywide competition. They merengue and rumba their way into "ladies and gentlemen" before our eyes.

In the world of sports, the kinetic equivalent of krumping might be "Murderball." Henry Alex Rubin and Dana Adam Shapiro follow quadriplegic rugby players -- gladiators in customized wheelchairs -- who smash stereotypes and each other on the way to the 2004 Paralympics in Athens, Greece.

If you prefer spectator sports, rookie filmmaker Michael Wranovics puts you in the best seat to observe two local Giants fans fighting over Barry Bonds' 73rd home run ball in the fascinating "Up for Grabs." Baseball history intersects with an American Dream that has undergone a seismic shift -- from the land of opportunity to the land of opportunists.

There were also several films about filmmakers this year. Werner Herzog's voiceover narration in "Grizzly Man" notes that "as a filmmaker some things fall into your lap, things you never would dream of." That would be a treasure trove of Timothy Treadwell videotapes, covering a dozen summers of his Alaskan adventures with grizzly bears.

Equally engrossing is Mark Wexler's attempt to film his famous father, cinematographer Haskell Wexler, in "Tell Them Who You Are." The man who made "Medium Cool" and lensed "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" is a cocky, complex subject.

A decade ago, only eight nonfiction films were released theatrically in the United States. Last year, Emperor penguins scrambled to the top of the summer box-office charts, documentaries displaced narrative fiction on Top 10 lists, and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences whittled 82 documentary feature submissions to 15 hopefuls.

The American experience, in all its diversity, can be discovered in the documentaries of 2005. Rabble-rouser Michael Moore may not have a title among them, but he can be proud of his role in reinvigorating real-life movies that matter.