YOU have to hand it to filmmaker Astra Taylor. She knows how to take the dullness out of talking heads, the mainstay (and downfall) of countless documentaries.
In “Examined Life,” she interviews nine “influential thinkers” on the meaning of it all – and she averts what could have been a snoozefest of historic proportions.
Her secret? Each subject is taken to a colorful public spot and given 10 minutes to pontificate. One strolls down Fifth Avenue, another pilots a rowboat in Central Park, a third rides in the back seat of the director’s car through Manhattan traffic. (Call them talking bodies instead of talking heads.)
Most of the great thinkers – with the exception of Avital Ronell – seem to get into the spirit of things. Wandering through Tompkins Square Park, she complains: “I can understand the others, but to bring me down to 10 minutes is an outrage.”
The most touching sequence involves Taylor’s paralyzed sister (artist-writer Sunaura) and gay-rights advocate Judith Butler, who go shopping in a secondhand clothing shop in San Francisco.
Slovenian-born writer-teacher Slavoj Zizek, narrator of the movie “A Pervert’s Guide to the Cinema,” provides the most entertainment.
Standing in the middle of a giant garbage dump, he delivers a discourse on – what else? – ecology.
Running time: 88 minutes. Not rated (kids won’t get it). At the IFC Center, Sixth Avenue and Third Street.