This documentary covers the post-Native American history of Provincetown (Massachusetts), from the landing of the Mayflower in 1620 to the naughties. Capably narrated by Alan Cumming, "Ptown Diaries" intersperses these historical bits with interviews with local officials and non-narrated video of a handful of regular people and events.
The history and the interviews are for the most part very well done: the right length, interesting content, and so forth. I would have liked to see more about the tension between wealthy newcomers/second-home owners and those with longer ties to the community -- there was an interesting thread of homophobia/heterophobia which was a little jarring given Ptown's reputation for acceptance.
My problem with the documentary was the non-narrated video of regular people and events. These could have been even more interesting than the narrated bits if edited appropriately (and if more such people had been captured). Instead, long sequences shot in gay/lesbian bars felt interminable, and I would swear that some of this immensely tedious footage was actually repeated. The 90-minute documentary could easily have been 20 minutes shorter.
Maybe filmmaker Joe Mantegna was trying to reduce the summer tourist throng. After all, my other half said, "If that's what Ptown has become, we're never going back."
The history and the interviews are for the most part very well done: the right length, interesting content, and so forth. I would have liked to see more about the tension between wealthy newcomers/second-home owners and those with longer ties to the community -- there was an interesting thread of homophobia/heterophobia which was a little jarring given Ptown's reputation for acceptance.
My problem with the documentary was the non-narrated video of regular people and events. These could have been even more interesting than the narrated bits if edited appropriately (and if more such people had been captured). Instead, long sequences shot in gay/lesbian bars felt interminable, and I would swear that some of this immensely tedious footage was actually repeated. The 90-minute documentary could easily have been 20 minutes shorter.
Maybe filmmaker Joe Mantegna was trying to reduce the summer tourist throng. After all, my other half said, "If that's what Ptown has become, we're never going back."
