What to Watch This Weekend: August 14, 2020

Exciting Historical Drama - Samurai Marathon (Physical and Digital)

Samurai Marathon starts off at a sprint, but for those that can keep up you will find a stylized period piece with amazing sets and costumes along with brutal swordplay.  For more information, check out our review!

Irreverent Social Media Satire - Spree (Digital)

Spree is a wild ride with a fantastic cast, great style, and biting commentary in this brilliant social media satire.  For more information, check out our review!

Documentary About A Revolutionary Show - Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story (Digital)

Happy Happy Joy Joy: The Ren & Stimpy Story is an insightful documentary about a show that changed all of animation, its rise and fall, and the genius and dark flaws of its creator through the unfiltered insights of those who worked on it.  For more information, check out our review!

Documentary About A Revolutionary Designer - Martin Margiela: In His Own Words (Virtual Cinema)

Martin Margiela: In His Own Words highlights this revolutionary designers clothes and impact in a way that can appeal to the fashion conscious and oblivious alike.  For more information, check out our review!

Documentary About Some Future Political Stars - Boys State (Apple TV+)

Boys State is a political microcosm, showing that the best and worst of politics exist even at the smallest level; but it also offers a glimmer of hope that the kids might in fact be ready for this challenge.  For more information, check out our review!

Romantic Drama With Amazing Music - The High Note (Redbox and Digital)

The High Note is a phenomenal feel good musical drama with fantastic characters, a story with plenty of surprises, and a soulful, wonderful soundtrack that will stay in your head long after the credits roll.  For more information, check out our review!

Anti-Hollywood Indie Rom Com - All About Who You Know (Amazon Prime)

All About Who You Know offers a fresh perspective, with complicated characters and enjoyable writing in this unconventional anti Hollywood rom-com.  For more information, check out our review!

Entertaining Retro Bloodbath - We Summon The Darkness (Netflix)

This is one I am excited about, due to the reviews that call it a fun period piece and an entertaining retro bloodbath.  The rottontomatoes numbers are staggeringly different, it's fresh but has a low audience approval, so be warned that this one might be hit or miss.

Retro Inspired Technocolor Horror Craziness - Color Out of Space (Shudder)
A mix of B-movie pulp, Lovecraftian horror, and Nicholas Cage.  Need I say more? 

Martin Margiela: In His Own Words

Release date: August 14, 2020
Running time: 90 minutes

One of the most revolutionary and influential fashion designers of his time, Martin Margiela has remained an elusive figure the entirety of his decades-long career. From Jean Paul Gaultier's assistant to creative director at Hermès to leading his own House, Margiela never showed his face publicly and avoided interviews, but reinvented fashion with his radical style through forty-one provocative collections. Now, for the first time, the "Banksy of fashion" reveals his drawings, notes, and personal items in this exclusive, intimate profile of his vision.  Through interviews with, among others, Margiela himself, Jean Paul Gaultier, Carine Roitfeld, trend forecaster Lidewij Edelkoort, fashion critic Cathy Horyn, and fashion historian Olivier Saillard, the documentary paints a picture of Margiela's career and his impact on the fashion world.

Let me start off by saying that I am not a fashion person.  The world of fashion is a very foreign place to me and the styles that move and influence that world are not something I keep track of.  That being said, Martin Margiela provides a perfect introduction to this world and what design decisions caused his clothes to be so revolutionary.  The discussion with Margiela is very helpful, but what is more illuminating are the individuals who were interviewed in response to his work.  Those individuals allow you to see the passion and effect that Margiela's clothes had on the fashion world.  And they do a great job of explaining what was so revolutionary about his choices.  Their enthusiasm translates onto the viewer and lets you appreciate the fashion even if you never had an interest in it.

A large part of the film involves footage from Margiela's fashion shows, and although I have never been a fashion show person, these were the most exciting parts of the documentary.  Margiela was a rockstar of the fashion world, breaking the mold with wild and different ideas, and the portrayal of his shows in In His Own Words fits this description.  The shows highlight his bold fashion and decisions and are accompanied by rock guitar music to keep the energy high. You also get additional explanation on his clothes during this, which gives you an appreciation of the show and also an excitement to see his ideas realized.  If there is a critique of this film, it is that it does a great job chronicling Margiela's clothes, but I would have liked to see how his clothes influenced modern fashion.  It showed some bold clothing and ideas, ones that broke the mold and challenged what you could do, but I would have liked to see if those ideas were adopted more broadly.  And as much as I loved the fashion shows--and they truly were a highlight--they did tend to have similar playing music and were so frequently displayed that it sometimes felt like one show runway ran right into the next.  But these minor criticisms aside, this documentary is a detailed look at an influential fashion designer, and should appeal to the fashion conscious and oblivious alike.

Martin Margiela: In His Own Words highlights this revolutionary designers clothes and impact in a way that can appeal to the fashion conscious and oblivious alike.  I never thought I would be recommending a documentary on fashion, but this is definitely one to watch.

Watch it.

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Martin Margiela: In His Own Words is available direct to home in a home theaters
on demand format.  Please visit margiela.oscilloscope.net for more details.