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Column: ‘Let the Little Light Shine’ takes on gentrification through one special public school

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Documentaries being what they’re, one doesn’t usually fear about spoilers when writing about them. However Kevin Shaw’s “Let the Little Mild Shine” ends with such a “energy of filmmaking” bang that it’s a battle to not lead with it.

With nice reluctance, I can’t. “Let the Little Mild Shine,” which had its world premiere on the True/False Movie Fest and can be obtainable on PBS’ “POV” collection in December, is the story of the battle to avoid wasting the Nationwide Academics Academy, a South Chicago Ok-8 faculty serving principally Black households. Shaw’s means to take care of a propulsive beat whereas making a film that includes a good variety of faculty board conferences borders on the miraculous.

Documenting an evolving story forces a filmmaker to surrender all management of the 2 issues she or he feels most strongly about — the image’s ending and its message. Because the destiny of the college hung within the steadiness, Shaw was ready to make what could be, primarily, two motion pictures.

One could be a narrative of battle and mourning; faculty closures, he says, put individuals by levels of grief much like these surrounding demise.

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The opposite could be a real-life instance of a well-liked Hollywood narrative — battle and triumph.

Throughout its premiere at True/False, the place it was chosen because the Present Me True/False honoree, “Little Mild” commonly moved members of the viewers to groans, gasps, cheers, tears and, lastly, a standing ovation.

You possibly can learn that as a spoiler, however in any case, such audible emotional engagement will not be one thing one usually encounters whereas watching a documentary, even at a movie pageant, and positively not one a couple of public faculty.

However then, NTA will not be a typical public faculty. In-built 2006 close to the now defunct Harold Ickes public housing undertaking, the academy was, when Shaw started filming in 2017, high ranked, with a beloved and devoted workers, devoted dad and mom and extremely motivated college students. (For those who love “Abbott Elementary,” you’ll love this movie.)

Then, it turned the fulcrum of tensions surrounding the continuing gentrification of the South Loop. For years, white households had been transferring into the neighborhood in rising numbers, however many refused to ship their youngsters to NTA. Because of this, the movie argues, different native faculties, together with South Loop Elementary, turned overcrowded. When members of the Prairie District Neighborhood Alliance requested Chicago Public Faculties to construct a brand new highschool, their request was denied. So the group proposed that the town mix the 2 elementary faculties and switch NTA right into a highschool.

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The scholars, workers and fogeys of the academy have been outraged, alarmed and resolute. They stated “no.” In many alternative methods, together with — within the scene that opens the movie — protesting exterior then-Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel’s home.

Shaw, who made “The Road Stops Right here” and was a director and cinematographer for the acclaimed collection “America to Me,” grew up in Chicago. Fittingly, he turned conscious of NTA’s scenario when he noticed an elementary faculty good friend, Elisabeth Greer, publish about it on social media. Greer took him to a gathering and launched him to then-Principal Isaac Castelaz.

“I knew it was a great story,” Shaw stated. “However I wouldn’t be capable of inform it with out getting entry. Isaac is a historian, and he needed it documented, if solely to assist different faculties in comparable conditions, so he let me movie.”

For 2 years, the filmmaker had limitless entry as the academy fought to keep away from turning into one of many lots of of Chicago public faculties shuttered within the final 10 years. Castelaz, together with dad and mom Greer and Audrey Johnson, turned three of the movie’s principal characters. However interviews with college students and scenes from the college and the various protests make the tightness of NTA’s group and its bigger significance very clear.

Gentrification, and the racism that just about inevitably accompanies it, has develop into a scorching matter in tv and movie, however no different story has made that worrying relationship so clear. NTA, a high performing faculty with an overwhelmingly Black scholar physique, faces closure as a result of an more and more white inhabitants has created faculty overcrowding partly by refusing to ship their youngsters to a top-performing faculty with an overwhelmingly Black scholar physique.

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The necessity for a brand new highschool is little question honest, however the proposed answer reeks of racism. Classism too, however principally racism.

Shaw had a tough time discovering anybody who would communicate to him in favor of turning NTA right into a highschool. The 2 who did talked about enhancing the neighborhood and making certain that those that had extra just lately moved in — younger households with youngsters specifically — didn’t transfer out.

“I don’t assume they understood what NTA was, and what it meant to the group,” Shaw says, “as a result of it had been misrepresented for thus lengthy, they usually had by no means visited the college. NTA needs to be a mannequin faculty, and as a substitute, they have been keen to shut it down.”

Watching this David and Goliath story unfold will not be at all times straightforward — “I really feel like we maintain dropping,” Greer tearfully tells the digicam at one level — but when there ever have been a college value combating for, it was this one.

Greer and Castelaz joined Shaw on the premiere; they appeared shocked and overwhelmed by the applause and the quantity of people that approached them with reward and gratitude after the screening.

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“I’ve been to festivals earlier than,” stated Shaw, “however I wasn’t ready for this. I’m simply completely satisfied to see how the wave of emotion has affected the contributors. They labored so onerous, have been so courageous, and now they get to really feel the love.”

As for the ending, effectively, as Shaw stated: “Thank God I used to be filming when it occurred.”

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Ann Wilson, lead singer of Heart, reveals cancer diagnosis and postpones tour

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Ann Wilson, lead singer of Heart, reveals cancer diagnosis and postpones tour

Ann Wilson, the lead singer of rock band Heart, is battling cancer and will be stepping back from the Royal Flush Tour for the remainder of the year to focus on her health and recovery.

Wilson, 74, shared the news with fans in a heartfelt post Tuesday on Instagram, detailing her health and expressing her regret over the tour postponement. “I recently underwent an operation to remove something that, as it turns out, was cancerous,” she wrote. “The operation was successful & I’m feeling great but my doctors are now advising me to undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy & I’ve decided to do it.”

The Royal Flush Tour, which included more than 50 shows across the United States and Canada, will be rescheduled to 2025. The tour was set to feature performances from Heart alongside bands including Def Leppard and Journey, but it is unclear whether those acts will join the tour for its rescheduled dates.

“To the ticket buyers, I really do wish we could do these gigs. Please know that I absolutely plan to be back on stage in 2025,” Wilson wrote. All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new dates.

Ann Wilson’s career spans decades alongside her sister Nancy Wilson. The Seattle-based band had its big break when it opened for Rod Stewart in Montreal in 1975, garnering media attention because of the then-novelty of women. The following year, Heart released its first album, “Dreamboat Annie.” It included the songs “Magic Man” and “Crazy on You,” which reached No. 9 and No. 35 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, respectively.

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The Rock & Roll Hall of Famers received a lifetime achievement award from the Recording Academy in 2023 for their profound influence on rock music.

The European leg of Heart’s tour was canceled in May due to a “time-sensitive but routine procedure” with a six-week recovery time, perhaps referencing the operation spoken of by Ann Wilson.

“This is merely a pause. I’ve much more to sing,” Wilson wrote Tuesday.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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‘Tiny Lights’ Review: Empathetic Czech Drama Sees the World Through a Child’s Eyes

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‘Tiny Lights’ Review: Empathetic Czech Drama Sees the World Through a Child’s Eyes

If you’re lucky enough to remember memories from your early childhood, you’ll know they tend to be fragmentary, skewed from an outlook incapable of fully grasping the adult world. Czech filmmaker Beata Parkanova captures that feeling beautifully in her film receiving its world premiere at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Related entirely through the viewpoint of a six-year-old girl, Tiny Lights emerges as a small gem.

It helps that the little girl, Amalka, is played by adorable child actress Mia Banko, possessing wide, saucer eyes that are endlessly expressive and long red hair of which Heidi would be jealous. In the opening scene, Amalka hears voices emanating from a closed-door room and, naturally curious, attempts to listen. She hears her grandmother angrily say to her mother, “Happiness? Save it for the fairy tales,” but she has no idea of what it means.

Tiny Lights

The Bottom Line

Skillfully observed.

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Venue: Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Cast: Mia Banko, Elizaveta Maximova, Marek Geisberg, Veronika Zilkova, Martin Finger
Director-screenwriter: Beata Barkanova

1 hour 16 minutes

So she goes to play with her very submissive cat, apparently named Mr. Cat. But she tests Mr. Cat’s patience by putting him inside a wooden chest, from which her grandfather (Martin Finger) soon rescues him. She returns to the room, and when she opens the door, the adults grow silent. “I’m bored,” Amalka says petulantly, and her grandmother (Veronika Zilkova) tries to assuage her by promising that she’ll take her to the lake that afternoon.

After naughtily picking flowers that we later learn came from a neighbor’s garden, Amalka has soup for lunch, unaware of the tensions surrounding her. Her grandparents live up to their promise by taking her to the lake, where her grandfather teaches her how to dive. They hike in the woods and pick blueberries, but Amalka throws a tantrum when told they have to leave.

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And so the film goes, with Amalka trying to amuse herself as the adults seem to be engaged in tense confrontations, especially when her mother (Elizaveta Maximova) shows up with a strange French man and announces that she’s going with him to Prague. Amalka, of course, doesn’t comprehend what’s happening except when it relates to her, as when her father (Marek Geisberg) gently upbraids her for picking the flowers and tells her that she’ll have to apologize to the neighbor. As the day ends, she goes to bed, unaware of the fissure in her parents’ relationship, and her father wearily reads her a bedtime story that she’s heard a thousand times before but clearly still finds fascinating.

Even with its brief running time, Tiny Lights demands a certain degree of patience with its intense focus on banal childhood preoccupations. The filmmaker also indulges in stylistic flourishes — principally quick inserted shots that look like they were captured on 8mm and feature a series of close-up views of objects and facial features ­— that are more distracting than illuminating. The strained attempts at artiness just feel self-conscious.

But for most of the film’s running time, Parkanova maintains tight control over her material, making us fully identify with little Amalka and her preoccupations. The film presents things from her viewpoint, even physically; DP Tomas Juricek often places the camera low down, aligning with her diminutive size. The story takes place over the course of a single day, and its poignancy derives from the fact that we, if not Amalka, are fully aware that her life is going to change, possibly forever.

Or maybe she does realize it, as evidenced by the haunting, lingering final shot, in which we see the silhouette of her body as she peers through the large windows of her bedroom, as if trying to see the world beyond her limited perspective.

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Review: 'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F': The heat is gone, replaced by warm nostalgia

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Review: 'Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F': The heat is gone, replaced by warm nostalgia

How to make a new “Beverly Hills Cop” movie? It’s a question that has long vexed Hollywood. Brett Ratner tried for years to crack the case, though, judging from a 2010 Empire magazine interview, it’s fair to wonder how much progress he ever made. “Like, where do we start?” he wondered.

Like, where, indeed? Among the obstacles puzzling those who attempted to revive the franchise: Is Axel retired? Is he in Beverly Hills? Is he on vacation? Does Judge Reinhold reprise his role as Billy Rosewood?

In hindsight, this all seems unnecessarily complicated. From the moment the Don Simpson/Jerry Bruckheimer Films lightning bolt logo comes on the screen in Netflix’s “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” (streaming July 3), followed by the wailing sax riff of “The Heat Is On,” you realize that everyone involved understood the assignment. The solution to creating a new “Beverly Hills Cop” movie was to simply make the first one all over again.

“Beverly Hills Cop” came out 40 years ago, an anniversary that will alarm the segment of moviegoers who remember seeing it in theaters, and perhaps astound some just now realizing that Murphy was only 23 when he made it. The movie topped the box office 13 weeks running, selling 67 million tickets and, adjusted for inflation, still stands as the highest-grossing R-rated film of all-time. Coming on the heels of his work on “Saturday Night Live,” “48 Hrs.” and “Trading Places,” it certified Murphy as a movie star.

Eddie Murphy and Taylour Paige in the movie “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F.”

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(Melinda Sue Gordon / Netflix)

You had to be there. And if you weren’t (but especially if you were), “Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F” has been designed to function as a carefully calibrated time machine to take you back to the days when synth pop ruled the airwaves, you could disable a car by putting a banana in its tailpipe and a suite at a swanky Beverly Hills hotel went for $235 a night. (The price, we learn in “Axel F,” has gone up considerably.)

The formula for making a “Beverly Hills Cop” movie goes like this: You start in Detroit, Axel’s hometown, and spend a good chunk of time and money on a chase involving cars and trucks and, in the case of “Axel F,” a snow plow. Axel is operating outside the police rule book, and when this opening scene is over, after a great deal of mayhem and destruction, his shouting boss lets him know that this time, he has really gone too far. And he’d better not do anything like that ever again! (This time it’s Paul Reiser reading him the riot act.)

But the reprimand doesn’t really register because Axel was right. He’s always right. In fact, he’s never more right than when everyone tells him he’s wrong. That’s part of the character’s appeal.

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Then something happens that necessitates a trip to L.A., specifically the 90210. In “Axel F,” it’s a call from Billy Rosewood (Judge Reinhold), still lovable and now in danger because he’s close to learning the truth about a police cover-up. And Billy’s not the only one in peril. Axel’s estranged daughter, Jane (Taylour Paige), is entangled in this mess too, thanks to her job as a criminal defense attorney.

Stakes established, Axel heads to Beverly Hills, where he shrewdly talks his way out of trouble, shares a scene with Bronson Pinchot’s excessively accented Serge, teaches the local authorities a thing or two about police work and, on occasion, demonstrates a sly understanding of racial relations in America. (Told not to reach for his ID by a police officer in “Axel F,” Axel replies, “I’ve been a cop for 30 years. I’ve been Black a whole lot longer. Trust me. I know better.”)

Then there’s a final showdown, showcasing the need to remove your sunglasses while operating a submachine gun, a little more bopping around to Harold Faltermeyer’s synth-pop ditty “Axel F,” the equivalent of a group hug between Murphy, Reinhold and John Ashton (returning as Det. Taggart, Billy’s partner and cranky BFF) and roll credits.

You might not remember this, but the first “Beverly Hills Cop” movie earned an Oscar nomination for original screenplay. Were voters aware that Murphy improvised most of his dialogue to the point that his co-stars could not keep from breaking? Maybe this was a hat tip. Murphy was that good.

You also might not know that there was a third “Beverly Hills Cop” movie, the 1994 entry Murphy has called “garbage.” One of the best lines in “Axel F” comes when Joseph Gordon-Levitt, a newcomer to the franchise playing a Beverly Hills police detective, leafs through Axel’s file and says, “And then, ’94. Not your finest hour.” The first two movies, along with “Axel F,” are streaming on Netflix. The third is not.

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Promoting “Axel F,” director Mark Molloy is advertising the fact that he gave Murphy free rein to improvise. (Three writers — Will Beall, Tom Gormican and Kevin Etten — share screenplay credit. Props to whoever came up with the “not your finest hour” line.) Murphy is effective, even if the tone has shifted from a brash swagger to nostalgic cheer. The heat is gone.

But you knew that. Murphy is content to act his age, and the movie spends some time focusing on Axel’s attempts to reconnect with his daughter, a woman as headstrong as her father. And it’s hard to validate feelings when they’re drowned out by machine gun fire.

While it’s easy to view “Axel F” as a calculated cash grab, it’s clear that Murphy possesses an affection for the title character. From the get-go, Murphy’s portrayal hinged on Axel’s ability to warmly connect with everyone he meets. Even the villains like him. As Axel drives his blue Chevy Nova through the streets of Detroit during the new film’s opening credits, the city’s residents smile and wave (and sometimes flip him off) when he cruises by. They’re happy to see him. And so are we.

‘Beverly Hills Cop: Axel F’

Rating: R, for language throughout, violence and brief drug use

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Running time: 1 hour, 55 minutes

Playing: Streaming on Netflix July 3

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