2014 Muriel Awards: Best Documentary

Since the Muriel Awards started back in 2006, I've been grateful to everyone who's participated in the voting, but I feel a particular debt of gratitude to those people who've stayed with us since the beginning. From the time Steve and I first discussed the idea of the Muriels to the deadline for the first year's ballots, we had about six or seven weeks to firm up the details, get voters on board, and steer this ship into port. Thankfully, we were able to hit up some cinephile buds and call in some favors to round up our first class of voters, and while some people haven't been able to stay with us this whole time (whatever happened to Presley Stephens, anyway?), about half of that first class have stayed with us the whole way, including the contributor of today's piece. So I would like to extend a hearty "thank you" to our first-year voters who are still with us:

Jason Alley
Andrew Bemis
Dennis Cozzalio
James Frazier
Mark Pfeiffer
(and myself, of course)

Thanks for your continued support.

Third place:

Actress [directed by Robert Greene] (39/10)

Second place:

Citizenfour [directed by Laura Poitras] (70/17)

And the Muriel Award goes to...

Life Itself [directed by Steve James] (72 points / 16 votes]

"If ever there were a sure thing among a collection of cinephiles voting on awards, a film about a critic with whom many writers had a direct, personal connection and many others felt a kinship would seem to be as close as you’ll get to one. This statement is not meant to question director Steve James’ skills as a filmmaker or accuse anybody of voting in bad faith. Rather, it’s to acknowledge that a film such as Life Itself likely hit close to home for this particular bunch. Roger Ebert was the most prominent and influential film critic of our time, and I’d wager that most of us involved in film criticism, whether working professionally or dabbling in it, do so because of wanting to follow in his steps in some way.

"As the documentary based on his memoirs demonstrates, Ebert lived a life that seemed like a never-ending series of colorful anecdotes. He certainly had many experiences that make for entertaining fodder for us as viewers, but the film’s great lesson is that your life tales or mine can also seem grand with the proper telling. Ebert’s position and success afforded him opportunities to have adventures and encounters not available to all, yet Life Itself leaves the impression that a rewarding time on earth isn’t contingent on what it brings us but how we choose to perceive and share it.

"James dodges the pitfall of making the film worshipful to a fault. Instead Life Itself presents an admiring portrait of a man who loved movies and, more importantly, that broader thing mentioned in the title. It shows what it means to live with passion, self-knowledge, generosity, and a sense of humor. The film and the man can be summarized in a small moment. It’s late in 2012, and Ebert is in the hospital. He’s getting out, at least for a bit, to see a film, and he gives a little clap at the news. Here’s someone who has seen a staggering number of movies, yet that palpable joy linked to the possibilities a new one might deliver remains undiminished. Even if films don’t hold as much significance for you, approaching an interest and the world in general with that hope and enthusiasm makes a lot of sense to me." ~ Mark Pfeiffer

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