Film Review: Life in 2016 is Famous in ‘Presenting Princess Shaw’

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Average: 5 (1 vote)

CHICAGO – Had you told a person 50 years ago that someday we would be able to personally record television and broadcast it to the whole world, they might have laughed and said maybe on the futuristic cartoon “The Jetsons.” But the future is now, and it lives in “Presenting Princess Shaw.”

HollywoodChicago.com Oscarman rating: 4.0/5.0
Rating: 4.0/5.0

The documentary chronicles the miracle of the modern age, with a working class woman from New Orleans publishing her “a capella” songs on YouTube, and a musician/artist in Israel finding those songs, and giving them full orchestration – by soliciting other musicians on the world wide web. The film is basically about the miracle of this, and how it affects everyone who is involved in the process. But it is especially about Princess Shaw – the stage name of Samantha Montgomery – who sits in a threadbare apartment with a talent and a dream, and then having that dream fulfilled. It is much about the life and philosophy of this remarkable woman that shines through, as much as the show business phenomenon.

Samantha Montgomery (stage name, Princess Shaw) works as a care-giver in a New Orleans facility. Like many people in the age of connectivity, she spends her down time putting up original songs on YouTube, sung soulfully without accompaniment. There are very few “hits” on her page, save for one very important one. In Israel, there is a musican/artist named Kutiman (Ophir Kutiel), and he is interested in presenting Princess Shaw.

Kutiman specializes in recruiting musicians from all over the world, through the internet, to participate in giving full orchestration to Samantha’s songs, and prepares them while Samantha is being profiled by director Ido Haar. Princess Shaw is unaware that her world is about to break open, with her fully produced music about to infiltrate the atmosphere, a gift from a far-away land.

“Presenting Princess Shaw” is available for digital download, and a profile of Samantha Montgomery, by HollywoodChicago.com, is available by clicking here. In the age of technological miracles, the best ones happen to the most unlikely people.

”Presenting Princess Shaw” continued its limited release in Chicago on June 10th, and is available via digital download. Check local listings for show times and theaters, plus online digital providers for availability. Featuring Samantha Montgomery and Ophir Kutiel (Kutiman). Directed by Ido Haar. Not Rated. For an example of Kutiman’s handiwork with Samantha Montgomery, click here.

StarContinue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Presenting Princess Shaw”

Shaw
Samantha Montgomery in ‘Presenting Princess Shaw’
Photo credit: Magnolia Pictures

StarContinue reading for Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Presenting Princess Shaw”

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