Life Itself

Steve James’ documentary ‘Life Itself,’ opening at FilmScene on July 18, shares its title with the memoir of its subject, the late film critic Roger Ebert. Having only begun production in the final months of Ebert’s life, the documentary quotes Ebert’s memoir at length to supply narration and clarity, but one of the questions James is unable to get Ebert to answer before his death is “Why did you call your memoir Life Itself?” It’s a question the film itself leaves unanswered, at least explicitly, inviting us to ponder it of James’ documentary, just as he did of Ebert’s book.