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Movie Review & Director Interview of Award-winning Documentary “Between the Folds”

Published on: 10th January, 2010

Perry Chen and his origami masterpieces

Movie Review – Between the Folds
By Perry S. Chen

(out of 5 starfish)

What do you see in a piece of paper? The award-winning documentary film “Between the Folds” shows that not only can you draw and write on it, but also create a true masterpiece of art out of a simple piece of paper.

Origami, the art of paper folding, is a diverse and complex field. The instruction is simple: you have to change a piece of paper into a 3D shape by folding only, no scissors, no glue. Some origami masters are mathematicians who look at paper folding in geometrical terms. Others are choreographers, making vivid designs that morph from 2D to 3D right under their finger tips.

Origami is like art, math, and engineering combined. It makes math beautiful to look at! My favorite piece was the “choreographer” Chris Palmer’s flower tower. His design was both 2D and 3D. You could press the design down to make it 2D, then push it up and make it 3D. It’s dazzling to see the transformation.

I also loved the swan created by Akira Yoshizawa, the father of contemporary origami. The swan is so simple yet elegant and expressive. Yoshizawa is an old, gentle, wise-looking man from Japan. He gave up a factory job to become an origami master. He made over 50,000 pieces, but never sold one.

Origami can be used for many practical fields. Robert J. Lang, the “engineer,” created a foldable satellite lens to look into space, using origami. Erik Demaine, the youngest MIT professor, has been studying protein folding and novel drug design. You even have to fold airbags in a car!

When she was in high school and college, Vanessa Gould, the director of this film, was good at math, but thought she wanted something more creative for her career. When she came across the origami mathematician Tom Hall’s website, she then knew origami was the best of both worlds! “People know a lot about paintings and sculptures, but many don’t know that origami could be so elaborate, beautiful, and mathematical at the same time,” said Gould. “Paper is universal. It is inexpensive. You don’t need a teacher for origami. You can make nice origami pieces for almost nothing. They make great gifts.”

In 2004, my mom took me to see the “Origami Masterworks” exhibit at the Mingei International Museum at the San Diego Balboa Park and bought a book by the same name that is based on the exhibit. The show featured many of the origami masters in this film. My mom also bought an origami book with instructions to make simple animals. That was when I first started folding origami. I tried, then realized that it was harder than it looked. The next try I succeeded. I unfolded it and was amazed by the folds and creases. “There is something going on inside. Maybe geometry or math?” I wondered. I now have a deep love for origami and have made various designs from book instructions and those of my own.

There is much debate about technique vs. art in the movie. There is a prediction that there will soon be origami that takes over a thousand steps to make, from the current record of about 500 steps. I think the essence of true art lies in its simplicity. I love origami with wavy unfolded paper. It is harder to fold simpler. “You first have to go through the complex process and then decide what to take out,” remarked Gould.

Paul Jackson, the “post modernist” origami master from Israel, showed that even a single fold can create shapes that are simple yet complicated at the same time. Technique is essential, but you should not let technique overtake your artistic ingenuity. Gould believes that there will be more applications on the technology side of origami. “On the artistic side, people will find new ways to work with paper,” she said.

Gould was worried at first that people may not like the topic of origami in a documentary film because it may sound boring. So when her film started to win many awards at film festivals, she was very pleased that the audiences embraced the film. Gould thinks the best part of making the movie was meeting the people. “It’s the energy I get from meeting the people that translates to the energy when making the film. It’s just like when you write movie reviews. You love the film and then you write the review,” she said. I conducted a phone interview with director Gould on January 8. She is articulate, wise, and a wonderful person to talk to. I look forward to her next film which will be another documentary, subject to be determined.

I first saw this film at the San Diego Asian Film Festival in October 2009 and loved it, because it shows the true magic of the art of paper folding. It also shows that mathematicians and paper-folders aren’t as different as we often think. The cinematography is dazzling. I love how the director put the film together, in her words “finding the best way to tell the story” using footage shot in five years. I give it 4.5 starfish, a “Perrific” film! It’s included on my “Top Ten G/PG-rated Films of 2009.”

I thought the ending was a bit rushed. It showed all of the exciting origami masterpieces throughout the film, but in the end, I feel it lost some steam and pizzazz.

Henri Matisse once said, “Much of beauty that arises in art comes from the struggle an artist wages with his limited medium.” I think that’s the perfect moral for this film.

The film is being shown on PBS television in December and January nationwide, so check your local PBS listings. It will show on San Diego’s KPBS channel 11 on January 12 at 11 pm. For those of you who missed it, you can buy the DVD and learn more about director Gould, the film, and the artists featured in the film here:

www.greenfusefilms.com

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Perry Chen is an award-winning 9-year-old columnist, movie critic, and radio talk show host of “Perry Previews the Movies” on www.wsRadio.com. He has been featured on CBS Evening News, Fox, KUSI, San Diego Union Tribune, San Diego Family Magazine, San Diego Magazine, SDNN, The China Press, etc. He has been invited to numerous film festivals, movie premiers to interview prominent filmmakers such as Pete Docter of Up, John Musker & Ron Clements of The Princess & the Frog, and walked on the red carpet.

Perry’s reviews are available on his website: www.perryspreviews.com. Listen to his radio show on www.wsRadio.com/perry. Watch his videos on www.youtube.com/perryspreviews.

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