Puppet

While some cultures revere puppetry as a performance art equal to any other, many Americans perceive it as a simpleminded diversion for small children. Filmmaker David Soll's documentary focuses on puppeteer-dramatist Dan Hurlin, who tells grown-up stories onstage through the Japanese craft of “bunraku” (using non-caricatured wooden “actors” manipulated by technicians masked head-to-foot by dark clothing). Puppet follows the development of Hurlin's latest project, “Disfarmer,” which serves up a narrative about a cloistered, real-life Arkansas studio photographer who hid his past from his tiny community (the openly gay Hurlin sees parallels with his own life late in the action). While the technically complicated show takes shape, Soll gleans insight from historians, members of Jim Henson's family, and various filmmakers who've utilized puppetry. By scaling down from a sweeping survey of the art form to one troupe's experience, Puppet may sacrifice some edutainment value (ventriloquist dummies go unmentioned, as do Team America: World Police, and Gerry and Sylvia Anderson's popular marionette fantasies, such as Thunderbirds). But the film carries a deeper emotional resonance and appreciation for Hurlin's daring vision—and a glimpse of what equally imaginative artists could do with puppetry. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)