All in This Tea.

"All in This Tea dips effortlessly into a half-dozen modes - travelogue, biography, nature ode, business story, nerd profile - sustaining a flexibility of tone that allows for both keen insights into the rapidly evolving Chinese economy and drunken raptures on the ability, in one especially prized blend, 'to taste the mountain.'" Nathan Lee in the New York Times.

"Here partnered with filmmaker-editor Gina Leibrecht, [Les] Blank's first feature in over a decade (and his first to take advantage of the portability of DV) visually recalls [Burden of Dreams] in a couple ways." Aaron Hillis explains in the Voice.

IndieWIRE interviews Blank and Leibrecht.

Jonathan Marlow spoke at length with Blank last year (parts 1 and 2).

Online viewing tip. Bilge Ebiri - who also interviews Blank for Vulture - introduces a celebrated Les Blank short: "What emerges is a film about following your vision, and finding new and extreme ways to show how much you care. Also, did we mention Werner Herzog eats his fucking shoe?" I'm not sure it's all here, but what is is worth the viewing.

Posted by dwhudson at June 27, 2008 2:47 PM