I Will Survive: Gloria Gaynor
Directed by Betsy Schechter
99 minutes
The disco anthem “i will survive” has had remarkable staying power. The 1978 B-side was an instant No. 1 hit and remained so popular that the Library of Congress added it to the National Recording Registry in 2015.
Turns out its singer, Gloria Gaynor, has the same staying power. This delightful documentary tells the story of the disco queen as she embarks, in her 70s, on her decades-long dream of recording a gospel album.
Along the way, we learn about her early years as the daughter of a single mom, her breakthrough on the disco scene, and her post-disco days – including starting college at the age of 65. She shares candidly about health problems after a bad fall onstage, and how a once-happy marriage fell apart.
Director Betsy Schechter tells a riveting story gracefully weaving in interviews from Gaynor’s current manager and the producer of her 2019 gospel album. Appearances by Gaynor’s niece, surgeon, pastor, and musical collaborators help round out the portrait of someone humble, hopeful, wise, and dedicated. She models genuineness and a faithful spirit as she self-funds her gospel project, which faces unexpected roadblocks to production. Naturally, the soundtrack is terrific.
A Still Small Voice
Directed by Luke Lorentzen
93 minutes
The long opening scene of this film shows a person in a medical mask and gown leaning over a man in a hospital bed, gently asking questions that he can’t answer.
Margaret – the figure in the mask and gown – is a chaplaincy resident engaged in the uncomfortable process of discerning how to provide spiritual support to someone gravely ill at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. The film follows her though meetings with patients and families and captures her interactions with hospital staffers, especially her cohort of chaplain residents and her supervisor, David. Viewers see her contend with unexpected tragedy, patient-family dynamics, and the particular exhaustion endemic to hospital work in the COVID-19 era.
The behind-the-scenes view of chaplain training enlightens viewers who have not gone through it themselves. Even the clashes between Margaret and David at supervision meetings are instructive; viewers get a sense that as challenging as the chaplain training is for residents, it’s not always a picnic for supervisors, either.
Ultimately, the film presents hospital chaplaincy work as a special calling. Its in-depth portrait of one resident undertaking this grueling and vital work is fascinating and piques curiosity about how other residents and supervisors undergo training.