Day 12 @ MSPIFF 2016: 'Weiner' Reviewed
Josh Kreigman and Elyse Steinberg's film on the fall and rise and fall of former Congressman Anthony Weiner is not only perhaps the most compelling documentary you'll find at this year's MSPIFF -- it's also one of the most riveting political documentaries ever made.
After Weiner, aka "Carlos Danger," left the U.S. House of Representatives in 2011 after a sexting scandal, he gave the documentarians full access in filming his disastrous run for New York City mayor in 2014, which crash landed due to more sexting.
Those who watched his second failure with the help of the 24-hour cable news networks and "The Daily Show" couldn't get enough of the so-good-it-writes-itself comedy material. But Weiner pushes past the journalists and photographers and puts you right in Weiner's own home, with his wife, Huma Abedin (HIllary Clinton's right-hand woman) and their child during the campaign chaos. And to call it "spellbinding" doesn't go far enough.
Alex Gibney's Client 9, about a similar sex scandal involving New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, heavily features interviews with the man himself, shot especially for the documentary. Spitzer demonstrates what appears to be full self awareness of how his infidelities were his undoing, even if they were drudged up in a most sinister fashion by his enemies with the sole purpose to destroy him. Weiner, however, doesn't have the benefit of conspiracy theories to save the little face he has left. He is simply his own worst enemy.
The fact that Weiner can't control himself, and worst, seems oblivious of what his impulsivity is doing to his family, campaign and career, makes you want to scratch your head with a table saw blade. Steinberg and Kreigman also do a marvelous job showing just what made Weiner a fantastic, daring and inspirational politician, which makes his downfall all the more painful … and captivating.
~Stephen Swanson
Weiner is playing at 7:20 p.m. at St. Anthony Theatre in Minneapolis, and on Thursday, April 21 at 4:40 p.m. at the same venue.
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Other Highlights For Monday, April 18
Mad Tiger (Jonathan Yi & Michael Haertlein, USA, Japan) A loving, warts-and-all tribute to the outlandish band Peelander-Z. Click here to read the full review. (9:50 at St. Anthony Main Theatre)
The Lovers And The Despot (Robert Cannan, UK) The CRAZY true story of how North Korea's former dictator, Kim Jong-Il, had two of South Korea's biggest movie stars kidnapped in order to make movies on his side of the border. (9:25 at St. Anthony Main Theatre)
Hockney (Randall Wright, UK) The life and work of one of England's most influential artists - David Hockney - is celebrated in this intimate documentary, made with the 78-year-old's full approval. (4:00 at Rochester Galaxy 14 Cine)
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For the festival schedule, and a complete listing of all the movies being shown, click here. Ticket information is available here.
Throughout the entirety of the 2016 Minneapolis-St. Paul International Film Festival, WCCO.com will be spotlighting one notable movie each day, along with other notable screenings. To see WCCO.com's complete coverage on the MSPIFF, click here.
