I try my best to see as many films as I can over the course of the year, but unfortunately I don’t get a chance to see many documentaries. It seems they are booted from theaters almost as soon as they are released, which is a shame because many of them look quite good. One documentary I have seen, though, is Steve James‘ Life Itself, a moving warts-and-all tribute to celebrated film critic Roger Ebert. I’ve encouraged plenty of people to see it, and lucky for those who haven’t yet heeded my advice, the film will be airing on CNN at 9:00 PM Eastern and 11:00 PM Eastern on Sunday, January 4 and again at the same times on Saturday, January 10.
Life Itself has received kudos ever since it was released at Sundance earlier this year, including most recently a nomination for Best Documentary by the Producers Guild of America, and a win just yesterday in the same category from the National Board of Review.
Filmed at the tail end of Ebert’s life and finished after his death in April 2013, Life Itself provides insight into Roger Ebert’s early life, his professional career, and some of the more intimate moments of his final months with his family and his wife Chaz. But Steve James, always the fair documentarian, makes us aware not just of Ebert’s greatest attributes but also his greatest flaws. It is a tribute to Ebert, no doubt, but it doesn’t shy away from exploring his darkest moments, and that is something I really appreciated about the film. As Brad mentioned in his review, the film takes a lot of passages (as well as its title) from Ebert’s memoir “Life Itself”, which itself is a great read and a book I decided to explore after seeing James’ documentary.
I was able to see Life Itself shortly after its Sundance debut, and then I saw it again in theaters this summer and was just as moved by the film as I was 6 months earlier. Here is what I wrote about the movie back in January:
“Just as Ebert’s writing always was, Life Itself is expressive, eloquent, and especially poignant. … The film is a portrait of the enduring icon’s vulnerability, which James portrays with a tender sincerity. But James goes a layer deeper and does something more profound and powerful than simply using the events of Ebert’s life to move his audience and create empathy for his subject. Instead, through a combination of footage of the critic himself, interviews with and about him, and narration culled from his bestselling memoir, Life Itself reinforces the philosophy Ebert lived by, reminding us that our days on Earth are both precious and numbered, and that through something as diverse and widespread as the movies, we can better understand our journey, our humanity, and as the title implies, life itself.”
Ultimately, it’s a very touching film, and even though it may not push the needle the way issues-driven documentaries do, it is still worth checking out, especially if you can do so with your family in the comfort of your own living room, though you will have to deal with commercials, which is always unfortunate. No matter, if you’re interested in checking it out you should go ahead and mark your calendars accordingly.
