DVD/VOD debut: Florida seniors (ladies division) dance in Brian Lilla's BALLROOM CONFIDENTIAL

Initially, as you watch the new documentary about some ladies of a certain age in the waiting room of the after-life known as Florida, you may very well have a sense of déjà vu. Haven't we seen thee people (or some very much like them) already, perhaps many times in documentaries over the past decade devoted to seniors and their lives? Well, yes and no. Stick with this new doc for even a little while, and you'll find yourself surprisingly wrapped up in not only the old folk themselves but in the owner of the dance studio and his staff members who give these elderly women a chance at everything from finding a little happiness to getting some exercise to, yes, following their dream.

The title of BALLROOM CONFIDENTIAL, it turns out, is quite unlike other "confidential" movies. There's nothing salacious here. Rather, think of this more as delving into buried knowledge that gets you to the heart of things. As directed by Brian Lilla (of the excellent Patagonia Rising), the movie never pushes nor tries to turn either its seniors or its kindly dance instructors into marvels of perseverance or heroism. They're just who they are, but as we learn more about them, they become important individuals, each of whom has something worthwhile to say to us and do for her/himself.

Chief among these people -- literally and symbolically -- is Caleb (above, right), the dance instructor who organizes things and is currently rehearsing for a dance program (its theme based rather charmingly on a compilation of old "spy" movies) for his seniors that will give them each the chance to dance and individually perform, while also entertaining the audience. Caleb's story, which we learn in dribs and drabs, has brought him from NYC, post-9/11 and a lover lost to illness, back to his original home in Florida to pick up the pieces of his life and begin again. (That's one of his seniors (above, left), a feisty lady named Margaret, who lost her husband and dance partner of some 50 years to the dementia of Alzheimers and is now herself trying to grab whatever excitement she can find left in life.)

Above is Jean, a still very attractive woman who desperately wanted to take dance classes as a young girl. The three dollars per week it cost back then her parents could not afford. Today, Jean spends a lot more than three bucks but is finally fulfilled.  Lois, below and one of the oldest of our dames, designs her own dresses and does a damned good job it it. All of the women have a reason for being here and doing this, and one's turns out to be as good as another's. Yes: They dance (sort of). Yes: They're alive and kicking (showing us this fact seems to be the raison d'etre of many of the senior docs). Mostly though, they're having fun, and that's what keeps them and the movie going.

Of everything we discover here, for me, the most important and surprising are the statistics a propos the relationship between ballroom dancing and dementia/Alzheimers disease. (Second most interesting and surprising is the confession we hear from one of these woman regarding how she fell in love with Caleb and had to learn how to get over this and work it out. This provides one of the more remarkably honest sections I've seen in a documentary of late.)

We hear from Caleb's own parents who also dance, his dad coming late to the game and very definitely in his own good time. "Dancing is just too... gay for me."  (Director Lilla's mom dances, too, and she -- above -- was the prime force behind this documentary.) Some of the women, like Edna, below, may be a little heavy but they're very game, glamorous and fun to watch.

At one point in the film Caleb thanks Shirley, below, right, for making her initial gift to him of $1,000 so he could open the studio in which she now dances. From what we see in Ballroom Confidential, this was a terrific investment for all concerned.

The movie, running just 83 minutes, hits the streets on DVD and VOD (here's the link) this coming Tuesday, February 11.

Dam it? Brian Lilla's important new doc, PATAGONIA RISING, explains why not.

I have long imagined Chile's Patagonia region to be arid, windswept, dry and uninviting, but maybe I've taken most of my cues from the late Bruce Chatwin and his once-popular book. Seeing the new documentary PATAGONIA RISING -- directed, shot and edited by Brian Lilla -- certainly opened my eyes to the beauty of the place, and particularly to its two major rivers, the Baker and Pascua, and the water flow from each, which is currently planned to be stopped by dams, in order to provide better energy for the country of Chile. The fact that the company that owns this energy project is in Spain, immediately sets up a reg flag about the downside of globalization (is there an upside?), which those of us who have seen other documentaries from Last Call at the Oasis to Cool It and even narrative films like Quantum of Solace and Even the Rain will already be well aware of.

Mr. Lilla, shown at left, has given us a film of great beauty (the vistas here are incredible) and not a little interest and importance, for if these dams get built, the damage they will do to our already fractured environment (not just Chile's but the world's oceans and who knows how many more endangered and/or soon-to-be species) is staggering. This is hardly what our globe needs just now. Going into Patagonia Rising, TrustMovies didn't know all that much about dams and hydroelectric energy, except to note that where these dams have been built of late -- in particular China but also in the country of Chile itself -- terrible population displacement has been seen with little recourse for the people displaced.

There is much more that is negative about this kind of energy, and one of the strengths and pleasures of this doc is how well it helps the viewer understand what these negatives are, how they will affect the local area, and what energy alternatives are available (such as wind energy, above, and an even better source, solar power, that Chile has the ability to tap into, bigtime) that would create even more energy -- renewable, sustainable -- than the dams themselves, at almost no cost to the environment. (You'll learn here the difference between the terms "renewable" and "sustainable," too.)

The filmmaker allows the energy company and its representative to explain its side of the story, and we also hear from the local inhabitants, most of whom appear to be against the dams, though there is one fellow who tells us that -- yes, he knows his is an unpopular stance, but -- he is in favor of building the dams. His explanation of why has to do with his own economic gain, but you can't discount his right to "getting ahead."Another fellow who owns a business in one of the towna that will be affected is positive, to a point, but seems less sure of the overall effect of the dams.

As the film move along and we learn more about the proposed "project," it begins to take on some of the characteristics of the boondoggle laid out so well in last year's Oscar-nominated doc, Battle for Brooklyn. I wish that the filmmaker could have does more investigation into the Chilean politicians who are supporting the project. A look at their campaign coffers, or the connections certain people have to certain others in Spain, might explain a lot. But the movie never goes that far.

We hear mostly from those locals but also from various scientists who explains how and why the damage from the dams will occur. This, together with the great beauty of the documentary as it shows us the gorgeous, unspoiled landscapes is enough to make the film a must-see, as well as a cause worth taking up. Patagonia Rising -- from First Run Features and lasting 88 minutes --  opened today in New York City at the Cinema Village. Currently this is the only schedule playdate, but click here in the days to come, and perhaps there will be others. I hope so, for this is a quite an important documentary.