Ariel

Laura Bari's documentary, which is for the most part grittily realistic but also leavened with an occasional touch of magical realism, focuses on Ariel, an Argentine baker who after losing his lower legs in an industrial accident in his early 30s emerged from the hospital intent on personally designing and manufacturing prosthetic replacements that would allow him to stand again. Filmed over the course of a decade, Ariel shows its subject periodically conferring with experts about the prostheses' design, and fabricating pieces through trial and error before trying out the final product amidst a bevy of friends. But the film also portrays the impact of the disability on his personal life—the stress that dismantled his marriage, and the difficulties posed by daily activities such as getting into the shower or using buses without wheelchair ramps. And it captures the complexity of Bari's character: cheerful and doting with his daughters, he can also be irascible when frustrated. The filmmaker inserts sequences of Ariel swimming underwater, as well as dreamlike segments in which he's surrounded by dancing figures in the desert, and an animated collage depicting the evolution of artificial limbs over the centuries. Although deliberately paced and somewhat repetitive, this is nonetheless an intriguing warts-and-all portrait of a man struggling to refashion his life after a terrible loss. Featuring English and French versions, this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)