Double Feature Picture Show
"Like a Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres" and "Catch the Fair One" Double Feature Review
Like a Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres
“Crazy” that’s the lasting impression filmmaker Cameron Crowe has of Ben Fong-Torres during his time at Rolling Stone Magazine. Wild, indeed, Ben’s story is a riveting and inspiring tale that never ceases to grab hold of your attention as it’s a fascinating sweep through his world of rock & roll excellence. Even more importantly, his devotion to his local community and help to raise awareness.
As a writer and longtime music fan, it was an honor to see an advanced screening of Director Suzanne Joe Kai’s new documentary chronicling Ben’s life ahead of its Tribeca premiere and getting to know the person behind the words I’ve admired for so long.
Like a Rolling Stone: The Life & Times of Ben Fong-Torres centers around Fong-Torres’ early beginnings, an American-born son of Chinese immigrants and growing up in Chinatown with only a radio to connect him to the world of pop culture. Right away, the documentary warmly invites you and then envelopes itself with delight as Fong-Torres describes his childhood upbringing and the challenges of being a first-generational kid, and the desire for a sense of belonging.
Following his graduation from San Francisco State College, Fong-Torres wrote about social issues happening in the local community during his time, something pivotal in who he is as a person.
Fortuitously setting forth a remarkable career that first began in the city of peace and love. Fong-Torres began to write for Rolling Stone in 1968 as an editor and writer.
The Sixties were fueled by a perceptible shift in an idealism that was activated by youth rebellion. Traditional values and adherence were not ideally the same that of which youth culture craved for themselves as political tensions were high. A defiant generation parallels today’s movements and awakenings; intergenerational trauma shouldn’t be conditioned down generations of assimilation.
Each generation, as the last, is expected to outgrow and eventually respectfully look up to the authoritative establishment and consumer society that benefits from a systemic system. Fong-Torres’ work showed the humanity and reflection of the tumultuous times of icons which range from legendary artists like Marvin Gaye, Ray Charles, Bob Dylan, Steve Martin, Santana, and Elton John.
The latter is still one of my favorite profiles; I’ll never forget the fateful day I discovered his work in high school in this full-circle moment.
As you watch the doc, and it becomes apparent why Fong-Torres was a chosen interviewer that most profiled artists/bands requested during a socially conscious and cultural awakening. Fong-Torres’ words helped mold and understand popular culture by revisiting the past; respecting and hearing the stories of music looked over talent due to ageism. Notably, his words were carefully crafted with great admiration and respect. Viewers will see Fong-Torres’ colleagues like Annie Leibovitz and Cameron Crowe as director Suzanne Joe Kai traverses through the captivating archives of Fong-Torres’ work, which extends past Rolling Stone.
Director Suzanne Joe Kai illuminates Fong-Torres’ longtime dedication to his community as a first-generation American child of Chinese immigrants. Wonderfully compelling to see the multilayers behind the journalist via a visually stunning historical cache of Fong-Torres’ life chapters; by rightfully turning the spotlight around to headline the person who not only deserves it but whose voice and words still enchant us so much.
Catch the Fair One
It’s been an entire month since I was fortunate enough to see an early screening of Catch the Fair One, ahead of its Tribeca Film Festival premiere, and it still weighs in my mind. Josef Kubota Wladyka’s revenge thriller directorial will significantly linger in your memory from its clear, concise, and atmospheric vision, which adds to its tension.
Co-written in a collaborative effort with Director Josef, Kali Reis also stars as the film’s protagonist Kaylee. An Indigenous former boxer now diner waitress struggling to make ends meet with unlivable tip wages, viewers slowly see the somber pieces of Kaylee’s story coming together.
Kaylee gives up fighting professionally to find her missing younger sister Weeta (Mainaku Borrero) kidnapped and is distressfully sold into human trafficking. The film’s narrative is crystal clear; Kaylee is plagued with guilt and remorse and is determined to seek a gripping justice on her terms.
Kaylee’s upside-down world of emotional torment continues as she pays a surprise visit to her estranged mother Jaya (Kimberly Guerrero), a support group counselor, who offered shame to her struggling daughter’s substance use disorder in a time of need. Emotionally confronting her mother, Kaylee lets it be known that she will voluntarily enter the seedy underbelly of the human trafficking world to find her little sister.
Mentally preparing herself for the moment until things go left, Kaylee is now on an intricate think-as-you-go spidery twist of a mission that fits well within Executive Producer Darren Aronofsky’s auteur status. Despite being set in the modern-day, Catch the Fair One spotlights the harrowing legacy of violent colonization, which woefully still ripples within the Indigenous community.
We have plenty of exciting upcoming double feature reviews; until then, find us online.