A subscription helps you access more of the local stories that keep you connected to the community. Zach Levy has the deadpan approach of a filmmaker like Errol Morris. Website: strongmanfilm.com She is a good-looking woman about the same age as Stanless. Whether this is true is beside the point. Get the recommendations on what's streaming now, games you'll love, TV news and more with our weekly Home Entertainment newsletter! For every aspiring-to-greatness almost-hero, there is a devoted woman. Whether it is Stanley Pleskun or Stephen Hawking these are the things that drive all humans and documentaries like this remind us that no matter how complicated we might be, or how complicated we might believe ourselves to be, we can all see ourselves in Stanley Pleskun and the people that surround him, and this is both beautiful and sad at the same time, which is no coincidence as life is comedy and tragedy, beauty and sadness at the same time, and often contain moments which are absurd in a hilarious way. Strongman Stanley Pleskun and his girlfriend, Barbara, in the apartment they share in New Jersey with Barbaras sister. Archive Her skin remains unlined. WebA hundred years ago professional strongman Stanley Pleskun would probably have been a star of the carnival midway. Unlike supposed, 'reality TV', this documentary contains poignant raw moments. He calls himself "Stanless Steel" and promotes himself as "the strongest man in the world at bending steel." Zachary Levys debut documentary Strongman centers on Stanley Pleskun, a middle-aged scrap metal hauler from New Jersey who is strong enough to leg-press pickup trucks and bend pennies with his fingers. A documentary of strongman Stanley Pleskun shows a flawed man with unexpected emotional vulnerabilities. Though filming his hulking hero off and on for nine long years, he has created a work that feels remarkably out of time, a snapshot of a man and a relationship running in circles. They are very definitely themselves, and we've never seen anyone else like them. Does this help him train? He bends pennies and steel rods and horseshoes. Join Facebook to connect with Stanley Pleskun and others you may know. So when he lifts the truck it's just for a split second and only high enough for his assistant to pull a sheet of paper out from under the tire. Her skin remains unlined. Are San Diego theaters meeting the call for greater diversity? Pleskun makes his disappointment and frustration quite apparent to us and to his family, especially his girlfriend Barbara. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. She is a good-looking woman about the same age as Stanless. He's extremely strong. That film was about a Mark Hogancamp who had suffered brain damage and created his own form of therapy by creating a 1/6th scale World War II era town in his backyard. Strongman could easily be mistaken for a mockumentary. Presenting Staaaaaanless Steeeel! Current Issue, Advertise What is it with those two? We see him demolish a dozen ears of corn in a single brief sitting. He stubbornly clings to his own ideas of what will bring him fame. As the camera finds her eyes, darting like those of a trapped animal, its clear that she knows there are better songs to sing. At the Downtown Independent, Los Angeles. Running time: 1 hour, 50 minutes. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. "When I showed it to him, he turned to me and He also has moments of offended anger, when he reminds me uncannily of Bruno S., the star of Herzog's "Stroszek.". It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website. Its fair to say that Stanley Pleskun and his girlfriend, Barbara, have a strange relationship. Stay up to date with everything Boston. "I had been working as a freelance Stanless moves in with her. Go on, try it. Jacqueline Mroz is a Montclair-based freelance writer. In Levy's close ups of Barbara, we see her quiet devotion slowly fade into a tired and slightly sad realization that she cannot stay with this man she loves. At these times you are not sure if you should admire him for the honest emotions he seems to be recording or slightly put off that he is intruding on something so obviously personal. Its a great-looking movie, with an evocative use of music and, in rugged-yet-sensitive Michael Shannon, has an actor whose forceful, focused presence is the films sturdy linchpin. Shes a shell of some former self. He has given hundreds of performances; on October 17, he will appear at the South Brunswick Community Unity Day. His camera finds sorrow in many of its faces, especially Barbaras. She has a beauty. Its the emotional heavy lifting that does him in. Release Date: January 25, 2011. You cant bend people, this gentle giant acknowledges in a rare flash of insight, but that doesnt keep him from trying. I used to ask my dad, Can you bend a quarter? And at the These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. Strongman filmmaker Zachary Levy met Steel while shooting stunts for a TV show. The film feels a little like the documentary "Anvil" (which was about a kind of real life Spinal Tap). Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. 62 Media Group, a division of New Jersey Monthly, creates custom print and digital publications that help build customer relationships and drive more sales. Stanless moves in with her. Filmmaker Zachary Levy wasn't specifically focused on that, Cookie Settings/Do Not Sell My Personal Information. Running Time: 113 minutes He puts a bent penny on a chain and gives it to Barbara as a necklace. years, capturing a number of raw moments. I cover arts and culture, from Comic-Con to opera, from pop entertainment to fine art, from zombies to Shakespeare. ", Respond: Write a letter to the editor | Write a guest opinion. A couple of culture-clashing meetings between Hirohito and an arrogant Gen. Douglas MacArthur (Robert Dawson) to discuss the American occupation of Japan also have touches of great theater. Ive been interested in strength ever since I was a kid, says Steel, a beefy-looking guy who stands 6-foot-1 and weighs 285 pounds. At one point he is advised to get a better haircut and put African antelope escapes Lupa Zoo in Ludlow, on the run in Mass. Although the emperors declaration of surrender to Allied forces and his later renunciation of his divine status -- as the 124th descendant of the Goddess of Sun Amaterasu -- make up much of the films impressionistic action, its Hirohitos oblique navigation of these watershed events, replete with his man-child immersion in poetry and science, thats at the heart of Sokurovs often darkly wry film. He also bums smokes from her. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. I used to ask my dad, Can you bend a quarter? Not rated (some language and drug use). This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. The things he does are beyond belief. Rosow is to bring the man, about whom he is initially told nothing, to New York. The fame that so far has eluded him stokes the fire in his domelike belly and drives the films sometimes unbearably intimate narrative. Of more interest is his relationship with dutiful girlfriend Barbara, a faded beauty whose youthful dreams of modeling have given way to extra pounds, a lack of ambition and, clearly, low self-esteem. Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. Stanley Stanless Steel Pleskun from South Brunswick, New Jersey has been quietly performing some pretty amazing feats of strength for many years. WebStanley Pleskun is on Facebook. This film is not rated. Forced to move in with Michael, he shouts: "How can you expect the Strongest Man in the World to live in a space 10 by 12 feet?" Calendar, Introducing- Yellow Phone Music Conference. By day, Mr. Pleskun runs a scrap-metal business in New Jersey; in the evenings hes an entertainer, twisting horseshoes at birthday parties and bending pennies at trade shows. We get in close but we don't find the kind of insight that the other two films provided to their subjects. During the good times, they seem well matched and in love. I am interested in going behind the scenes to explore the creative process; seeing how pop culture reflects social issues; and providing a context for art and entertainment. But Levy can't quite find the tone to make us feel completely comfortable with Pleskun. The relationship between Pleskun and Barbara becomes the real story in the documentary. The purported purpose was to capture Pleskuns search for fame as an entertainer whose nom de strength is Stanless Steel. In addition, Stans dream, to gain fame and fortune -- or at least make a living -- through his strength, is too unfocused and strategy-free to give the movie any satisfying engine. His act may not be flashy but Pleskun is persistent. He can also bend pennies and quarters. Steel, 52, whose real name is Stanley Pleskun, first realized his prodigious power about twenty years ago when he ripped a racquetball apart with his bare hands. The real-life story of Stanless Steel-- the only man in the world who can bend a U. S. penny with his fingers-- as he attempts to transform the world around him with his mighty grasp. Stanless Steel, an obtuse, New Jersey scrap metal salvager who can bend steel and lift trucks but cant twist his life into any meaningful form. probably have been a star of the carnival midway. The film will be shown in October at the New Jersey Film Festival in New Brunswick. Where: Cleveland Institute of Art Cinematheque, 11141 East Blvd. He goes by the groan-inducing nickname Strongman, 'Stanley Pleskun', wants to be impressive, wants to be loved, and wants to be strong. He bends pennies and steel rods and horseshoes. Presenting Staaaaaanless Steeeel! Steel, 52, whose real name is Stanley Pleskun, first realized his prodigious power about twenty years ago when he ripped a racquetball apart with his bare hands. During a moment of uncertainty in the kitchen, Pleskun, who can be simultaneously chivalrous and selfish, says, Barb, why dont you try some lemonade? She looks as though she still cant believe the lemons life has given her. The parents and grandparents somehow cling to life in confusing ways. Director Zachary Levy is scheduled to attend the screening. Before an audience of maybe 200 in a parking lot, he positions himself on his back below the rear end of a pickup truck and lifts it high enough with his feet for his brother to slip a sheet of paper under a rear wheel. WebA hundred years ago professional strongman Stanley Pleskun would probably have been a star of the carnival midway. He is paid $1,000 and expenses to appear on a British TV show. His relationship with Barbara seems centred on his Strongman status, and she rehearses to introduce his act: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! For every aspiring-to-greatness almost-hero, there is a devoted woman. The material on this site may not be reproduced, distributed, transmitted, cached or otherwise used, except with the prior written permission of Advance Local. It solves nothing. A brother with alcohol and drug issues joins in this carnage, in addition to dad, mom and a severely handicapped grandma. Not that Stanley Pleskun, a k a Stanless Steel, is in any way clapped out: he can hoist 10,000-pound trucks with his legs and three adults with a single finger. Dude is strong. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. Old photos show her with the facial structure of a model. Stan lifts trucks with his legs, raises a structure holding three adults using only a finger, and bends seemingly unyielding objects (pennies, horseshoes, pipes) with his bare hands. Presenting Staaaaaanless Steeeel! Writer-director Noah Buschels ambitious, stylish neo-noir The Missing Person starts so self-consciously that it verges on parody but impressively gathers steam, gaining depth and breadth as it evokes 9/11 post-traumatic stress. The most comical aspect of "Strongman" is Stan forever coaching Barbara on how to deliver a hyped-up "Let's-Get-Ready-to-Rumble" type of introduction, shouting Stan's greatness to adoring thousands (12 kids sitting on a basement floor). In this case, her name is Barbara, an aging beauty who abandoned her own dreams of Hollywood stardom a long time ago. 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Eventually there's a complex scene in which they argue, although she remains calm and composed and his complaints seem recycled out of New Age believes about the Soul and the essence of goodness. Levy spent parts of nine years on the project, shooting hundreds of hours of video of Stan, his family and his long-suffering girlfriend, Barbara. He can be praised from recording everything and not wanting to censor anything out. Unfortunately for Pleskun, his emotional shortcomings continually sabotage both his career and personal life, especially his relationship with long-suffering girlfriend Barbara. The real-life story of Stanless Steel-- the only man in the world who can bend a U. S. penny with his fingers-- as he attempts to transform the world around him with his mighty grasp. She has a presence. Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device. The Strongest Man in the Woooorld!" WebStanley Pleskun is on Facebook. With Stanley Pleskun. cameraperson, and one day I got a call from an NBC stunt show The problem is, Stan has never had the right promotion, shtick or big break that would lead to serious money and the land of major celebritydom (if such a land exists for a strongman). These cookies do not store any personal information. An aging former aspiring model who has put on a few pounds and chain smokes, is the second major character in this sad and compelling documentary. Barbara is a great mystery to me. At Laemmles Music Hall, Beverly Hills; Laemmles Monica 4-Plex, Santa Monica. Unfortunately for Pleskun, his emotional shortcomings continually sabotage both, Starring: Stanley Pleskun Levy seems to want us to like Pleskun yet he shows an unpleasant side that can be off putting. So we feel bad for him when he goes on a cheesy British variety show where another performer, with a more highly polished act, boasts about his success and $2000 pay checks. Stanley "Stanless Steel" Pleskun likes to lift, pound and bend. And he understood that I respected him and took WebHis companion Barbara is a complete mystery to me. Shop for Back Issues WebA hundred years ago professional strongman Stanley Pleskun would probably have been a star of the carnival midway. two Cessna airplanes with a rope tied to each arm. Not only can he can bend a penny, Steel can fold steel bars in half and lift a 12,000-pound truck with his legs. His relationship with Barbara seems centred on his Strongman status, and she rehearses to introduce his act: Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls! many ways, he is his own worst enemy. He simply pointed his camera in Pleskun's direction and Running time: 1 hour, 53 minutes. Monica 4-Plex, Santa Monica during the good times, they seem well matched and love... Recommendations on what 's streaming now, games you 'll love, news... In Pleskun 's direction and running time: 1 hour, 53 minutes Steel can fold Steel bars in and! 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