What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael

What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael is a 2018 American biographical documentary film about the life and work of the controversial New Yorker film critic Pauline Kael. The film was directed, produced and edited by Rob Garver, and features Sarah Jessica Parker as the voice of Pauline, and over 30 participants, including Quentin Tarantino, David O. Russell, Paul Schrader and Kael's only child, Gina James. Oscar-winning producer Glen Zipper (Undefeated) also served as a producer for the film.[1]

What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael
Film poster
Directed byRob Garver
Produced byRob Garver
Glen Zipper
Written byRob Garver
StarringPauline Kael
Sarah Jessica Parker (voice of Pauline)
Camille Paglia
Paul Schrader
Quentin Tarantino
David O. Russell
Francis Ford Coppola
Molly Haskell
Greil Marcus
John Boorman
Stephanie Zacharek
John Guare
Christopher Durang
David V. Picker
Tom Pollock
Brian Kellow
Carol Baum
Music byRick Baitz
CinematographyVincent C. Ellis
Edited byRob Garver
Distributed byJuno Films
Release date
  • August 2018 (2018-08) (Telluride)
  • December 13, 2019 (2019-12-13)
Running time
98 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish

The film premiered at the 2018 Telluride Film Festival,[2] and also had its international premiere at the 2019 Berlinale Film Festival.[3] The film was released by Juno Films[4] in the United States on December 13, 2019, where it received positive reviews from critics.

Background and production

Director Garver said he had read Pauline Kael's work as a young person in the 1980s, and was inspired by her spirit, humor and insight. In 2014, he began to research her life and writing.[5] Garver said his conception of the film was to try to tell the story of her life and work through her own words. The narrative uses excerpts from her published writing, pieces from her letters and interviews to tell Pauline's story.[5]

Interviews were shot in New York, Philadelphia, Massachusetts, and California.[6] Audience recreations used in the film were shot in two historic cinemas—the Loew's Jersey Theater in Jersey City and the Lansdowne Theatre in suburban Philadelphia. Research was conduced at the Lilly Library at Indiana University in Bloomington, which houses the Kael archives. Archival Producer Rich Remsberg worked with the director to uncover new material on Kael and archival interviews with Pauline and others are seen or heard in the film, including those with Woody Allen, Jerry Lewis, Norman Mailer, Peter Bogdanovich, Robert Evans, Ridley Scott and William Peter Blatty.[7][8]

Festivals

In 2019, the film played at many festivals in the United States: Palm Springs,[9] Miami,[10] Athena,[11] San Luis Obispo,[12] Cleveland,[13] Minneapolis-St. Paul,[14] Montclair,[15] Newport Beach,[16] Maine,[17] Gasparilla,[18] Berkshire,[19] Provincetown,[20] Seattle,[21] and Tallgrass.[22] At Tallgrass, the film won the award for Best Documentary for 2019.[23]

It also played in festivals outside the United States: Thessaloniki,[24] Mumbai,[25] New Zealand,[26] DocAviv,[27] Jerusalem,[28] Message to Man,[29] Karlovy Vary,[30] Edinburgh,[31] Gent,[32] Cork,[33] Doclisboa,[34] and Vancouver.[35]

Release

In December 2019, the film opened in New York[36] at the Film Forum and in Los Angeles,[37] and went on to play in approximately 50 theaters in North America. After the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, the movie continued to play virtually through July, 2020. What She Said also aired on the Sky Arts[38] network in the United Kingdom in July, as well as airing in Denmark, Spain,[39][40] Poland, New Zealand[41] and Israel in 2020.

The DVD of the film was released on June 16, 2020, with extra material, including two deleted scenes and an audio interview Kael conducted with Alfred Hitchcock in 1974.[42]

Reception

On the website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 88%, based on 66 reviews, with an average rating of 6.90/10. The website's consensus reads, "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael clearly outlines the gifts that made its subject special while offering an engaging overview of her remarkable life and career."[43] On the website Metacritic, the film has a score of 68 out of 100, based on 16 critics.[44]

Owen Gleiberman in Variety wrote, "Rob Garver's beautifully crafted documentary channels the timeless headiness of Pauline Kael, arguably the greatest film critic who ever lived ... With Sarah Jessica Parker reading Pauline’s words on the soundtrack, “What She Said” plays like a twirling kaleidoscope of Kael’s criticism and film history that’s fully in touch with the devil-may-care imperiousness of her personality."[45]

References
  1. Prang, Stephanie. "'What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael' Due on DVD and Digital June 16 From MVD and Juno Films" (HMTL). Media Play News. Retrieved July 30, 2020.
  2. Erbland, Kate (16 November 2018). "'What She Said' Review: The Complexity of Pauline Kael, With Punches Pulled". IndieWire. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  3. A, Josefine (February 16, 2019). "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael – Berlinale 2019 Review". One Room With A View.
  4. ""What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael" Opens December 13th at Landmark's Nuart Theatre : Juno Films - New Voices. New Stories". Juno Films.
  5. Oleszczyk, Michał. "Rob Garver on What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael | Interviews | Roger Ebert". Roger Ebert.com.
  6. "She She Said: Art of Pauline Kael - Filming & Production" (HMTL). IMDB. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  7. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". December 25, 2019 – via IMDb.
  8. Chung, Sonya. "She Cared Enough to Take It As Far as She Could: The Millions Interviews Rob Garver" (HMTL). The Millions. Retrieved August 3, 2020.
  9. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". Palm Springs International Film Festival. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  10. ""THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING" to Open MDC's 36th Miami Film Festival; Patricia Clarkson to Receive PRECIOUS GEM AWARD; Barry Jenkins, Boots Riley & Aaron Stewart-Ahn Attend for New Program "KNIGHT HEROES"". Miami Film Festival. 31 January 2020. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  11. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  12. "SLO Film Fest Day 3 Highlights and Updates!". SLO Internatinoal Film Festival. 14 March 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  13. "WHAT SHE SAID: THE ART OF PAULINE KAEL". Cleveland Film.
  14. "Seeing the world: 31 highlights from the Minneapolis St. Paul International Film Festival". Star Tribune. 4 April 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  15. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". Montclair Film. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  16. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". Newport Beach Film Fest. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  17. Shelly, Molly (16 July 2019). "Maine International Film Festival showing of 'Tango' draws outcry over sexual assault scene". Morning Sentinel. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  18. Warner, David (19 March 2019). "dR Daily 3/20-24: Gasparilla International Film Festival continues in Tampa". duPont Registry. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  19. "The Berkshire International Film Festival Wraps Fourteenth And Largest Festival To Date And Pays Tribute To Legendary Director Martin Scorsese". Berkshire International Film Festival. 9 June 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  20. Alvin, Rebecca. "For Film Nerds Only" (HMTL). Provincetown Magazine.
  21. Burlingame, Chris (26 May 2019). "SIFF interview: What She Said director Rob Garver on his great film about Pauline Kael". The Sun Break. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  22. Bailey, Jason (21 October 2019). "Tallgrass Film Festival 2019 Wrap-Up". Flavorwire. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  23. "'What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael' Film Festival Review". October 29, 2019.
  24. "What She Said: the Art of Pauline Kael". Thessaloniki Documentary Festival. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  25. "'The Irishman', 'Ad Astra', 'Midsommar' and 'Pain and Glory' in Mumbai Film Festival line-up". Scroll.in. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  26. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". New Zealand International Film Festival. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  27. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". DocAviv. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  28. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". Jerusalem Film Festival. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  29. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". Message to Man. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  30. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". KVIFF. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  31. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". Ed Film Fest. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  32. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". Film Fest Gent. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  33. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". Cork International Film Festival. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  34. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". doclisboa. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  35. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". VIFF. Retrieved 21 July 2020.
  36. Herman, Gabe (December 18, 2019). "New documentary on Pauline Kael will be unwrapped Christmas Day". amNewYork.
  37. "Review: 'What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael' lets the critic speak her mind". Los Angeles Times. December 12, 2019.
  38. "Search". Sky.
  39. Pauline Kael: El arte de la crítica | Especiales TCM | TCM España on YouTube
  40. Pauline Kael: El arte de la crítica | Documentales TCM | TCM España on YouTube
  41. "What She Said: The Art Of Pauline Kael" – via www.rialtochannel.co.nz.
  42. ‘What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael’ Due on DVD and Digital June 16 From MVD and Juno Films— Media Play News
  43. "What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
  44. What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael at Metacritic
  45. Gleiberman, Owen (February 10, 2019). "Berlin Film Review: 'What She Said: The Art of Pauline Kael'". Variety. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
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