What She Said: The Art Of Pauline Kael (2018)

A documentary on the influential and often controversial film critic Pauline Kael. Directed by Rob Garver, the film gathers together friends, family, colleagues, writers, film makers, actors who discuss Kael, the woman and the critic. This isn't a puff piece, her naysayers (Peter Bogdanovich, David Lean) get their say in but I've always thought the way to know Kael is through her writing which is often self revelatory. That being said, I enjoyed the photos and home movies and the contribution of her daughter, Gina James who gives insight on being the daughter of such a formidable woman. I found the film clips used which often had nothing to do with the narration being spoken distracting. I would have preferred stills. The best moments are the footage of Kael herself in her filmed interviews where her incisive wit and passion for cinema takes center stage. In one telling film clip, Jerry Lewis states how Kael has never said anything nice about him (which isn't true) but that film criticism needs film critics like her, who have a love and passion for cinema. I doubt the movie will change the opinion of the Kael haters but the film lets us see how stagnant film criticism (at least in the U.S.) was until Kael burst on the scene. This wasn't some gushing studio lackey or some snooty academic pontificating about "art" but a real moviegoer who said things we were thinking but had never seen in print before. She turned film criticism into an art form and there was no going back. You didn't have to agree with her (she hated some of my favorite movies) to appreciate what she brought to the table. Sarah Jessica Parker provides Kael's "voice" when needed. Others interviewed include Quentin Tarantino, Alec Baldwin, Paul Schrader, John Guare, Molly Haskell, Christopher Durange, Camille Paglia and my friend, Daryl Chin.