The Departure (2017) Review

The Departure is not only one of the best documentaries of the year, it's also one of the most prolific pieces of emotional drama that has came out in 2017. The Departure is like a Hirokazu Kore-eda film. It's emotional and disturbing depth is hidden in sight to deliver a powerful look at one's life. It's an incredible and simple ride that will take you on a journey like no other. Suicide is usually a difficult subject to present on film, especially when it’s exploitative and used as shock value in modern media, such as garbage pieces of “art” like 13 Reasons Why. In The Departure, suicide is presented with grief and time, to convey a metaphoric and symbolic setting. There is only two complaints I have with the film. The first is that I felt like it was a bit too long. Around 10 minutes could have been cut out, and the message would have been still there. The second, is that at times, the film maybe should have been presented as a short film. The concept and execution of the film would have worked better as a short film in both tone and quality. The Departure is not only an emotional experience, it's a profound film. It may have its problems, but it's one of the best documentaries of the year.

Score:
7.8/10

78/52 Review

78/52 is not only one of the best documentaries of the year, it's also one of the most informative pieces of art that has come out of 2017. 78/52 is a prime example on how to do an analysis. Films like Hitchcock/Trauffaut and Room 237 have tried something similar in execution, but failed in both its artistic merit and informative content. For me, the two requirements too make a great documentary is if the content is both accessible and well informed, and if the film has a style and/or a visual flare. Dawson City: Frozen Timr was a decent documentary with stellar information. It's just that the visual style was all too similar to an IMAX doc. 78/52 on the other hand uses its contemporary black and white filter and string orchestration to create a hitchockian astmophere. This tense and realistic feeling that is played through out the film makes it feel both innovative in content, and visually vibrant in execution. Even though the film did have some iffy interviews from a selected amount of people, in which it could be easily called Bullshit, that doesn't stop it from being great. It may have been a tad bit too long, but overall, it's an emotional ride that shouldn't be missed!

Score: 7.8/10