RECOMMENDED
Catherine Gund and Daresha Kyi’s enthusiastic, plainspoken “Chavela” dissects the life and career of Cost Rica-born performer Chavela Vargas, a passionate interpreter of Mexican popular music who rose from the ashes of decades of alcoholism and flailing longings to come out, become a muse to Pedro Almodóvar and to tour the world with her emphatic, stirring style of ranchera performance. The stories from the bright lights and brought forth from the shadows are captivating, even if the tone of the film itself tends to the lugubrious. Vargas’ charisma alternates with empathetic assessments of her failings. 93m. (Ray Pride)
“Chavela” opens Friday, October 20 at the Music Box.
Ray Pride is Newcity’s film critic and a contributing editor to Filmmaker magazine.
His history of Chicago “Ghost Signs” in words and images is in the works. Previews on Twitter (twitter.com/chighostsigns) as well as photography on Instagram: instagram.com/raypride.
Twitter: twitter.com/RayPride.
Related Stories
Saving The Planet With Impassioned Optimism By Ray Pride Bonni Cohen and Jon Shenk’s “An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth To Power” takes up former Vice President Al Gore’s climate activism around the world in the decade-plus since the Oscar-winning “An Inconvenient Truth.” Their largely vérité approach, combined with a quiet but assured visual style, gracefully captures their subject and the moment. Cohen and Shenk collaborated on “Audrie…- American Charmer: A Review Of Alison Klayman's Steve Bannon Doc, The Brink Alison Klayman’s “The Brink,” an avatar of cinema-vérité observation, seeks but does not flatter the dark charm of Steve Bannon.
- Notices From The Music Box, Landmark Theatres, Block Cinema Precautions taken.
- “Hal” of Mirrors: Amy Scott On Her Hal Ashby Doc And Chicago As “Finish Your Shit” School "Chicago was my film school. Or at the very least, my 'finish your shit' school."
- Music Box Theatre Closed Until At Least April 3; Chicago Film Society, Facets Cancellations The Music Box hopes to reopen April 3.
- Shadow In The Shadow: A Review Of Kubrick doc "Filmworker" After acting in "Barry Lyndon," Leon Vitali retreated behind the camera to become Stanley Kubrick's faithful factotum and dogsbody until his 1999 passing.
