Beautiful, interesting, incredible cinema.
HER SOCIALIST SMILE
Synopsis
Beginning with her first public appearance in 1913 at age 32, Helen Keller spent her life advocating for progressive causes. Though few recordings exist of Keller, Her Socialist Smile grapples with a figure whose popular image has been frozen in childhood, ignoring a complex rhetorical legacy.
Synopsis
Beginning with her first public appearance in 1913 at age 32, Helen Keller spent her life advocating for progressive causes. Though few recordings exist of Keller, Her Socialist Smile grapples with a figure whose popular image has been frozen in childhood, ignoring a complex rhetorical legacy.
Our take
The great documentarian John Gianvito brings his distinctive filmmaking approach to an equally distinctive figure of American politics: the radical activist Helen Keller. The film builds on Keller’s own powerful words to create a tactile, evocative document that speaks to the impact of her beliefs.