A must-see for folk fans, Isn't This the Time! is Jim Brown's second film about super-manager Harold Leventhal and his role in the folk scene. Brown's 1982 documentary The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time! focused on the 1955 Carnegie Hall concert which marked the return of the singing quartet - at Leventhal's urging - after they had been blacklisted. The new documentary chronicles Leventhal's 2003 Thanksgiving weekend concert, a tradition he began with the 1955 event. A loving tribute to Leventhal, the 2003 edition was to be his last; he died this October at age 86.

The film's main talking-head interviewee is Arlo Guthrie, who Leventhal treated like a son after Guthrie's father, folk legend Woody Guthrie, became incapacitated by Huntington's chorea. The backstory of each artist is interwoven with the concert, allowing the audience to learn about a musician or group both musically and personally. The concert itself is filmed beautifully. The camera pans the Carnegie stage, focusing in on performers in a way that make them seem as if they fully fill the unadorned stage. The performances often take priority over the telling of Leventhal's career, where the focus tends to shift away from him to larger issues, like the country's political climate.

According to Guthrie, Pete Seeger confided to him that he was worried about his upcoming performance - his voice is not what it used to be. Guthrie replied that that was okay - the audience's hearing isn't what it used to be either. Hearing loss or not, Seeger shouldn't have worried. He sounds fantastic and even when he forgets the translation to the song "Guantanamera," he makes up for it in energy. Each performer, regardless of age, shows a certain amount of vitality. (The Weavers' Ronny Gilbert and Peter, Paul and Mary's Mary Travers engage in a pre-concert sword fight with their canes.) Leon Bibb sounds particularly good. His voice on "Shenandoah" is so gorgeous and clean, one would mistake him for a much younger man. Molly Eichel
December 9, 2005