November Doc Soup - Paul Goodman (Capsule Review)

November Doc Soup – Paul Goodman

Hot Docs is pleased to announce that November’s Doc Soup will screen the Toronto premiere of PAUL GOODMAN CHANGED MY LIFE (D: Jonathan Lee, USA, 83 minutes), the first documentary about Paul Goodman, the late social critic, poet, and philosopher of education. 

Called “striking…seductive appeal and lively sense of humour” by Variety, PAUL GOODMAN CHANGED MY LIFE will screen on Wednesday, November 9, at 6:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. at TIFF Bell Lightbox. Advance tickets are now available for purchase online at http://www.hotdocs.ca. Filmmaker Jonathan Lee will be in attendance to introduce the film and answer questions following the screenings.

Born in New York City in 1911, Goodman laboured in obscurity as a writer and freelance intellectual until 1960 when the publication of Growing Up Absurd made him famous and a significant moral force of the times. His unabashed frankness about his bisexuality was costly to his career and reputation, yet it won him the admiration of some of the activists who created the modern gay rights movement. PAUL GOODMAN CHANGED MY LIFE tells the biographical story of Goodman’s life through interviews with family, friends, peers, and activists, and is interwoven with archival footage rare photographs.

The Doc Soup monthly screening series brings the latest Canadian and international documentaries to the big screen in Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Winnipeg. Select subscription packages for Toronto’s Doc Soup are still available for purchase. Single tickets for PAUL GOODMAN CHANGED MY LIFE are $14 and can be purchased in advance at http://www.hotdocs.ca or at the door on the night of the screening (subject to availability). A limited number of free tickets for the 9:15 p.m. screening will be available to students with proper ID (subject to availability) at the door, on a first-come first-served basis beginning at 5:30 p.m. 

Upcoming screening dates for Toronto’s Doc Soup are December 7, January 4, February 1, March 7 and April 4. Doc Soup titles are announced at least one month prior to their screenings and, whenever possible, guest directors are in attendance.

Hot Docs is pleased to acknowledge Citytv as the Presenting Partner of the Doc Soup series.

Doc Soup Toronto is sponsored by Rogers Group of Funds and Ford.

Capsule Review:

PAUL GOODMAN CHANGED MY LIFE (USA 2011) ***
Directed by Jonathan Lee

Who is Pail Goodman?  Has he changed my life?  These are the questions that director Jonathan Lee proposes to answer in his documentary about Paul Goodman, clearly a man he admires.

Born in New York City in 1911, Goodman laboured in obscurity as a writer and freelance intellectual until 1960 when the publication of Growing Up Absurd made him famous and a significant moral force of the times.  His unabashed frankness about his bisexuality was costly to his career and reputation, yet it won him the admiration of some of the activists who created the modern gay rights movement.

Director Lee utilizes archival footage of interviews with Paul’s family (wife and daughters), friends, peers and activists to piece together a comprehensive portrait of the man and his thoughts.  Goodman’s picture is flashed on the screen, mostly the image of him in his later years, with pipe, ruffled hair and glasses to effectuate a strong narrative.

Lee’s film is interesting enough, even if one hardly familiar with Paul Goodman.  Lee lets the events and interviews affect his audience.

The question is why a film about Goodman took so long to be made.  He died in 1972 and a film made during his living years would certainly have more impact.  He is still remembered as the author of “Growing Up Absurd”.  But what passes as common knowledge in the fields of education, politics, psychology, urban planning, civil rights, and sexual politics was first posited by him nearly half a century