''Bright Leaves'' is a 2003 United States/United Kingdom
documentary film
A documentary film or documentary is a non-fictional film, motion-picture intended to "document reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction, education or maintaining a Recorded history, historical record". Bill Nichols (film critic), Bil ...
by independent filmmaker
Ross McElwee
Ross McElwee is an American documentary filmmaker known for his autobiographical films about his family and personal life, usually interwoven with an episodic journey that intersects with larger political or philosophical issues. His humorous an ...
about the association his family had with the
tobacco
Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ...
industry.
[
''Bright Leaves'' had its world premiere at the ]2003 Cannes Film Festival
The 56th Cannes Film Festival started on 14 May and ran until 25 May 2003. French opera and theatre director, filmmaker, actor and producer Patrice Chéreau was the President of the Jury. The Palme d'Or went to the American film ''Elephant'' by G ...
.[
]
Film
Bright Leaf is the name of a strain of tobacco.[ It was also the name of a 1949 novel and 1950 feature film about a struggle between two tobacco barons.
The struggle depicted in the feature film, according to McElwee family tradition, parallels one between McElwee's great-grandfather and the patriarch of the Duke family, for whom ]Duke University
Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...
is named.[
]
Cast
Interviewed as part of this film include Allan Gurganus
Allan may refer to:
People
* Allan (name), a given name and surname, including list of people and characters with this name
* Allan (footballer, born 1984) (Allan Barreto da Silva), Brazilian football striker
* Allan (footballer, born 1989) ( ...
, Ross McElwee
Ross McElwee is an American documentary filmmaker known for his autobiographical films about his family and personal life, usually interwoven with an episodic journey that intersects with larger political or philosophical issues. His humorous an ...
, Tom McElwee, Vlada Petric, Paula Larke, Marilyn Levine, Emily Madison, Adrian McElwee, Charleen Swansea, and Patricia Neal
Patricia Neal (born Patsy Louise Neal, January 20, 1926 – August 8, 2010) was an American actress of stage and screen. A major star of the 1950s and 1960s, she was the recipient of an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, and two ...
, the leading lady of the 1950 feature film.
Reception
The documentary follows McElwee's usual style, where he gives voiceovers to apparently spontaneous footage, making the story more personal.[ According to ]Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
:
Marian Keane, in her essay ''"Reflections on Bright Leaves"'', collected in ''"Three Documentary Filmmakers"'', asserts that ''Bright Leaves'' displays
McElwee's extraordinary ability to present "people in their uniqueness", contrasting this with other documentaries where people often "seem to exist in the world of film as if suspended from their relation to their actual lives."[
]
Awards and nominations
* 2004, Gotham Awards
The Gotham Awards () are American film awards, presented annually to the makers of independent films at a ceremony in New York City, the city first nicknamed "Gotham" by native son Washington Irving, in an issue of ''Salmagundi'', published on ...
nomination for 'Best Documentary'
* 2005, won National Society of Film Critics Awards
The National Society of Film Critics (NSFC) is an American film critic organization. The organization is known for its highbrow tastes, and its annual awards are one of the most prestigious film critics awards in the United States. In January 2014, ...
award for 'Best Non-Fiction Film'
* 2005, Directors Guild of America Award
The Directors Guild of America Awards are issued annually by the Directors Guild of America. The first DGA Award was an "Honorary Life Member" award issued in 1938 to D. W. Griffith. The statues are made by New York firm, Society Awards.
Catego ...
nomination for 'Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary'
* 2005, Independent Spirit Awards
The Independent Spirit Awards (abbreviated Spirit Awards and originally known as the FINDIE or Friends of Independents Awards), founded in 1984, are awards dedicated to independent filmmakers. Winners were typically presented with Poly(methyl m ...
nomination for 'Best Documentary'
* 2005, nomination
References
External links
*
*
''Bright Leaves''
at PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
Ross McElwee's web page
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bright Leaves (Film)
2003 films
POV (TV series) films
Films directed by Ross McElwee
Tobacco
Films shot in North Carolina
2003 documentary films
Documentary films about families
Documentary films about North Carolina
2000s English-language films
2000s American films