Movie Blog MSPIFF Spotlight: 'Page One'

By Jonathon Sharp, WCCO

Imagine life at the New York Times media desk during the death throes of the newspaper publishing industry and you'll only have an idea about Page One – a documentary by Andrew Rossi that kicks off the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival.

Page One explores the dynamics of the New York Times newsroom, the rivalry between New Media and old- school print journalism, the absurdly powerful magnifying glass of WikiLeaks, the rise of social media and the future of news on the Internet. All of these topics (and the economic and ethical issues they bring with them) are shown, as though by a prism, through the lives of journalists - the most interesting and ironic of which, David Carr, is from Minnesota. Just to watch Carr debate with the champions of New Media is reason enough to watch the movie. The fury and directness of his Midwestern speech peppers the film with humor and pathos.

Page One keeps a quick pace, and even though it covers recent events, you can never quite tell in which direction it's headed. Delightfully human and humorous, Page One is a documentary that anyone with a Twitter account or a fondness for the temporary tattoo of newspaper ink stains should see. I'm even tempted to write: that after seeing this, you'll never look at a newspaper (on a kiosk stand or online) the same way.

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Other Highlights: Tuesday, April 14

Score: A Hockey Musical, a hybrid sports musical (Glee by way of The Mighty Ducks) featuring appearances by Olivia Newton-John and Nelly Furtado, Score also opened the 2010 Toronto Film Festival. Lead actor Noah Reid will be present. (Theater 3; 7:45 p.m.)

Trollhunter, a splashy looking faux-documentary creature feature. Call it Norway's answer to Cloverfield. (Theater 2; 8 p.m.)

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For the complete festival schedule, click here. An alphabetical listing of all the movies being shown can be found here. Ticket information is here.