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Melissa Levine

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Way Down in the Hole

Can Daniel Johnston keep the devil at bay long enough to be successful?

By Melissa Levine
Aug 10, 2006

Countless are the creative souls who struggled with mental illness, as are the novels and films dedicated to them. Again and again, we've encountered artists both inspired and undermined by their madness, whose torment and tumult produce works of beauty and depth. So can a documentary about a singer-songwriter and...
13 Million Yogis Can't Be Wrong

Naked in Ashes reveals the life of a yogi, but doesn't attempt to explain it

By Melissa Levine
Aug 3, 2006

It's no secret that documentaries have finally gained some currency in the American media. With the help of Michael Moore, Morgan Spurlock, and a very cold bunch of penguins, docs have increased their audiences by railing against injustices, exposing political and corporate malfeasance, and inviting us into hidden worlds. Naked...
Letter-Box Edition

Wordplay explores the cult of the crossword puzzle

By Melissa Levine
Jun 29, 2006

It may not be an "iconic manifestation of civilization," as documentarian Ken Burns proclaims, but the New York Times crossword puzzle is undoubtedly an institution. Printed every day for the past 64 years, in weekly cycles of increasing difficulty, the puzzle draws politicians, working stiffs, comedians, musicians, coders, and homemakers...
Jingle Hell

A holiday truce quells the horrors of war in the masterful Joyeux Noël

By Melissa Levine
Jun 29, 2006

It can't be easy making films about war. It's so inherently dramatic that, as a setting for art, it's overdetermined; it drips with meaning even before the first scenes are set. And so much has been said already: War is hell. War is noble. War is surreal. War is absurd,...
Lovely, Not Amazing

Four women struggle to face midlife

By Melissa Levine
Apr 13, 2006

In Nicole Holofcener's first feature, 1996's Walking and Talking, the writer/director warmly portrayed an adult female friendship, nudging at emotional issues without resorting to shtick or melodrama. Five years later, Holofcener's Lovely & Amazing attempted to do the same for a family of women, but with wildly different results: Virtually...

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