The Oscar category of best documentary feature has been maddening in its inclusions and exclusions over the decades. How can a film like this forever be called a nominee when breathtaking works of art like "Shoah" and "The Thin Blue Line" were never even invited to the party?
"Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life" is a bizarre film in that it carries itself as an examination of a person whose artistic talents and works themselves are apparently beyond criticism. If this documentary is to be believed, Ayn Rand is the foremost thinker, novelist, screenwriter, philosopher and person of all time. The film consists of archival footage and photographs intercut with original interviews with people who are either identified as her friends or who have photographs of Rand displayed around them. You'll be about 30 minutes into this thing before you realize that they are all worshippers of her and the narrator is in on it, too. The whole thing feels like a cult initiation that acts as if her work and lifeview had no flaws whatsoever and anyone who criticized her in her time simply didn't get it.
I'm amazed a film this straightforward in style and completely unentertaining would be nominated for what carries weight as the top documentary prize in the movie business. Thankfully, it didn't win but the fact it was up shows how deep Rand's message that the wealthy and successful have somehow been victimized and underappreciated in American society resonated at the top of The Academy's membership.
This is the type of film that would be fine as an afternoon filler on the A&E channel back in the day but as a serious piece of journalistic, documentary filmmaking? No way.
The only positive things I can say about it are that the archival elements are comprehensive as biographical tools and the new interviews are cinematically shot. But all the subjects are so glowing in their appreciation for Rand that it renders them wholly uninteresting as subjects.
It's all a shame, too, because a serious, critical look into Rand's life and work could make for an interesting film. After all, here was an immigrant who acted completely against most expected notions of femininity of her era and found a way to be successful and reach an audience that continues to grow decades later. A more objective documentary that had more respect for its audience's brain would've been a much more lively piece of cinema than a 2.5-hour commercial.
"Ayn Rand: A Sense of Life" is a bizarre film in that it carries itself as an examination of a person whose artistic talents and works themselves are apparently beyond criticism. If this documentary is to be believed, Ayn Rand is the foremost thinker, novelist, screenwriter, philosopher and person of all time. The film consists of archival footage and photographs intercut with original interviews with people who are either identified as her friends or who have photographs of Rand displayed around them. You'll be about 30 minutes into this thing before you realize that they are all worshippers of her and the narrator is in on it, too. The whole thing feels like a cult initiation that acts as if her work and lifeview had no flaws whatsoever and anyone who criticized her in her time simply didn't get it.
I'm amazed a film this straightforward in style and completely unentertaining would be nominated for what carries weight as the top documentary prize in the movie business. Thankfully, it didn't win but the fact it was up shows how deep Rand's message that the wealthy and successful have somehow been victimized and underappreciated in American society resonated at the top of The Academy's membership.
This is the type of film that would be fine as an afternoon filler on the A&E channel back in the day but as a serious piece of journalistic, documentary filmmaking? No way.
The only positive things I can say about it are that the archival elements are comprehensive as biographical tools and the new interviews are cinematically shot. But all the subjects are so glowing in their appreciation for Rand that it renders them wholly uninteresting as subjects.
It's all a shame, too, because a serious, critical look into Rand's life and work could make for an interesting film. After all, here was an immigrant who acted completely against most expected notions of femininity of her era and found a way to be successful and reach an audience that continues to grow decades later. A more objective documentary that had more respect for its audience's brain would've been a much more lively piece of cinema than a 2.5-hour commercial.