There isn’t a whole lot of substance to director Andrei Ujica’s “TWST – Things We Said Today,” a documentary that feels like a lazy compilation of news reels from the Sixties. Yes, there are some moments of new and fresh animation, but this time capsule is mostly a visually factual, dry, observational presentation of the arrival of The Beatles to New York City in August 1965 as they prepare for their historic Shea Stadium concert.
Beatles fans, take heed: there are plenty of moments where you will see John, Paul, George and Ringo, but this documentary is less about the Fab Four themselves and more about the city and the cultural moment these musical superstars found themselves in.
Ujica offers a snapshot of a world consumed with the frenzy of Beatlemania and whether you lived during the time or not, the film captures what it must’ve been like. Black and white newsreel footage shows throngs of adoring devotees flooding Manhattan’s streets, eager to catch a glimpse of the band. There are screaming female fans (the kind that became so synonymous with the Beatles), but also excited kids and men as well. The documentary succeeds in capturing the crazed energy of the time, and it’s a terrific assemblage of 1960s nostalgia.
Ujica shifts his focus from the Beatles to other significant events that happened the same year, including the Watts riots in California and the New York World’s Fair. To that end, his film creates a rich tapestry of 1965 that historians are going to love.
I usually don’t enjoy documentary films that feel like an assemblage of “found footage,” and this isn’t any different. It’s a simple look at ordinary people (some important, but most not) who were part of history, their lives briefly caught up in the frenzy of what would become one of the entertainment world’s most significant pop culture events.
Unfortunately, “TWST – Things We Said Today” doesn’t offer much in the way of a traditional narrative, with Ujica’s hands-off approach feeling a bit too distant. I always felt as though I was being held at arm’s length, but at least I felt immersed it the atmosphere and mood of the era.
By: Louisa Moore
Screen Zealots 