More than just issue-driven films or talking head interviews, documentary can contain life, fix a sense of place, and in the case of Claire Simon’s film memoir Mimi, stop time. For Mimi Chiola, story is also a means of starting time all over again. On a warm sunny day in the seaside town of Nice, France, Mimi and her friend Claire walk and talk about her memories of the town. The sky is white and blue. You can virtually feel the heat, and smell the sea in the air. A natural-born raconteur, Mimi’s métier is memory. As she recounts how her father and mother first met (“Love at first sight, at age 42!”) or remembers her father’s death, or talks about her first encounter with her own sexuality, we listen and we see (and feel) the stories come to life. There is so much beauty in accidental details. Along the way, there are chance meetings, songs, and the occasional bit of dancing. -DW