The 70th anniversary of the revered magazine Highlights for Children would seem to be fertile subject matter for a documentary to celebrate a publication that has appealed to several generations of young readers. Surely there would be good stories worth telling, sandwiched between layers of interesting exposition about the founding mission of Highlights and how it has constantly adjusted to the changing habits of kids, editorial turnover, and the vision of the publication’s all-important artists. That’s not what happens in filmmaker Tony Shaff’s 44 Pages (the title refers to the length of each issue), which instead takes viewers inside the process of introducing an updated look for Highlights in its anniversary issue. This is essentially a film about meetings, phone calls, reporting to higher-ups, and following an art director who tweaks the lively graphics that fill every page. The gentle souls who comprise the staff of Highlights fret over what kind of content does or does not fit into the magazine (politics are out, though it seems some progressive messages can be smuggled into the long-running Goofus and Gallant page). And there is some internal debate when an artist commissioned to draw a cover image for the 70th anniversary issue presents something that doesn’t quite capture what the Highlights crew wants to say going forward. A trip to a Silicon Valley app developer addresses how Highlights is trying to keep up with children and technology, although an editor maintains that kids still need quiet time with a physical publication in hand—and something to look forward to in the mailbox every month. These tidbits amount to fairly thin narrative soup, leaving viewers with the overall impression of having accidentally wandered into a suite of offices. A disappointing documentary, this is an optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)
44 Pages
(2017) 91 min. DVD: $59.95 ($325 w/PPR from edu.passionriver.com). Passion River (avail. from most distributors). Volume 33, Issue 4
44 Pages
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As of March 2022, Video Librarian has changed from a four-star rating system to a five-star one. This change allows our reviewers to have a wider range of critical viewpoints, as well as to synchronize with Google’s rating structure. This change affects all reviews from March 2022 onwards. All reviews from before this period will still retain their original rating. Future film submissions will be considered our new 1-5 star criteria.
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