Her Socialist Smile

Name: Her Socialist Smile
Genre: Documentary
Released: July 9, 2021
Duration: 93 min
Cast: Carolyn Forché, Noam Chomsky

2021

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Movie Details & Credits

| Release Date: July 9, 2021 | Not Rated

Starring: Carolyn Forché, Noam Chomsky

Summary: Director John Gianvito meditates on a particular moment in early 20th-century history: when Helen Keller began speaking out passionately on behalf of progressive causes. Beginning in 1913, when, at age 32, Keller gave her first public talk before a general audience, Her Socialist Smile is constructed of onscreen text taken from Keller’sDirector John Gianvito meditates on a particular moment in early 20th-century history: when Helen Keller began speaking out passionately on behalf of progressive causes. Beginning in 1913, when, at age 32, Keller gave her first public talk before a general audience, Her Socialist Smile is constructed of onscreen text taken from Keller’s speeches, impressionistic images of nature, and newly recorded voiceover by poet Carolyn Forché. The film is a rousing reminder that Keller’s undaunted activism for labor rights, pacifism, and women’s suffrage was philosophically inseparable from her battles for the rights of the disabled.… Expand

Director: John Gianvito

Genre(s): Documentary

Rating: Not Rated

Runtime: 93 min

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Critic Reviews

Lawrence Garcia

Jul 15, 2021

Her Socialist Smile develops, in other words, a kind of ethics of the image. Gianvito is not, of course, suggesting that we should somehow give up our senses—only that, whatever the technology or medium we engage with, it is our responsibility to keep our minds from becoming what Keller called “automatic machines.” Read full review

Glenn Kenny

Jul 8, 2021

Her Socialist Smile, written, directed and shot by John Gianvito, is a fascinating and challenging exploration of Keller’s political thought. Read full review

Carlos Aguilar

Jul 15, 2021

Seen then as radical, her views are in fact rather reasonable and still applicable. That said, the dense paragraphs in silent title cards prove strenuous. Since her inferences are immensely relevant, one can only wish that the format were more accessible. Read full review

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Brent_Marchant

Aug 14, 2021

Sometimes you think you know someone and later find out that he/she turns out to be something totally different. So it is to a surprising degree with Helen Keller, the renowned blind and deaf author and lecturer who is perhaps best known for her work as an ardent advocate for those withSometimes you think you know someone and later find out that he/she turns out to be something totally different. So it is to a surprising degree with Helen Keller, the renowned blind and deaf author and lecturer who is perhaps best known for her work as an ardent advocate for those with disabilities. However, as director John Gianvito's new documentary about the iconic figure reveals, Keller was also a radical socialist, one who unabashedly lambasted the capitalist-militarist system and zealously fought for the rights of women, laborers, minorities and the impoverished. She championed the Russian Revolution and was a member of the International Workers of the World, actions that eventually brought her under surveillance by the FBI. This is not to suggest that she was unpatriotic, but she strongly felt that the American system was broken in many ways and needed to be significantly reformed to bring about fairness, justice and equality. Years later, however, when she saw how socialist ideals had been corrupted by parties like the Soviets, she backtracked somewhat, not from a theoretical standpoint but definitely from a practical one, a move that probably contributed to the downplaying of her prior views and her reputation as an activist social reformer. The film does a fine job in bringing all this to light, and its singularly distinctive approach makes this one of the most stylish documentaries to be released in some time. However, I can't say I agree with some of the filmmaker's stylistic choices, such as the use of lengthy quotes presented as on-screen graphics requiring considerable viewer reading -- enough to try the patience of even those who generally feel comfortable reading subtitles. There is also some inconsistent treatment in the presentation of the material, keeping the film from striking a consistent tone and rhythm. In the end, "Her Socialist Smile" may prove eye-opening in many ways, and the path chosen for delivering those revelations may indeed be a distinctive one, but the overall production feels somewhat off-kilter as a piece of filmmaking, one whose noble attempts at doing something different don't quite click as well as they could have.… Expand

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