Katrine Brocks’ Danish drama, “The Great Silence,” stars Kristine Kujath Thorp as a novitiate about to take her vows when a sudden appearance from her alcoholic brother unveils a long-buried secret that sends her on a journey of forgiveness. I was on the jury at this year’s Chicago International Film Festival where we unanimously voted to give this picture the coveted Roger Ebert Award in the New Directors Competition (tying with Michael Koch’s Swiss-German coproduction, “A Piece of Sky”).
One of the most intense threads in the film Is the painstaking way the filmmaker shows the dichotomy between the novitiate’s turbulent inner life and the seeming calm on her surface as she interacts routinely with the other nuns. Her brother’s appearance is as ominous as the stormy weather leaking in everywhere, causing havoc at the convent. (There is one point where you think this could become a horror story, but it doesn’t–unless you count horror of the soul.) It is only when she accepts her own guilt and is truly remorseful that she can find the thread to God that has been missing in her life. The film is well made for a first time director and you can see that she carefully researched her subject matter.
5. THE DOCUMENTARY THAT MADE WE WANT TO SING HALLELUJAH: “HALLELUJAH: LEONARD COHEN, A JOURNEY, A SONG”
Daniel Geller and Dayna Goldfine’s moving documentary, “Hallelujah: Leonard Cohen, A Journey, A Song,” delves into the legacy of its singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, whose internationally renowned hymn, “Hallelujah,” serves as the prism through which his life is explored. Documentaries can be every bit as exhilarating a big screen experience as narrative features, and this film is no exception. Brian Tallerico, our Managing Editor at Rogerebert.com, wrote in his Telluride dispatch, “Admittedly, I am a huge Cohen fan, so my take on this project could be a little biased, but I found it illuminating in how it pulls Cohen out of the songwriting shadows of his own making and details not only his process but his connections to the music world.”
“Hallelujah” is one of the most recognized songs across the globe and this film lays out why its lyrics are both religious and profane. And also why it touches something deep within us when sung communally.
6. THE DOCUMENTARY THAT SETS THE RECORD STRAIGHT ABOUT A MUSICAL LEGEND: “LOUIS ARMSTRONG’S BLACK & BLUES”
Sacha Jenkins gives us this illuminating documentary on the legendary musician dubbed “the founding father of jazz,” Louis Armstrong, who immortalized such classics as “What a Wonderful World” and “Hello, Dolly!” Jenkins provides an empathetic look behind the portrait of the man who was known for both his trumpet and his smile, but was sometimes disparaged as someone who was not always a “credit to his race.” This documentary finally addresses that seeming duality, and surprisingly disposes of it.