Missing Allen - Wo ist Allen Ross?

Moving and disturbing documentary about the mysterious disappearance of Chicago film- maker Allen Ross – a frequent collaborator of Christian Bauer who directed this documentary about his search to find out what happened to his friend.

Sometimes feeling more like a good fictional detective story, the frustrating twists and turns, half-formed clues and occasional roadblocks encountered by those who loved Allen and just wanted some kind of closure are sometimes harrowing, and often sad.

There are times when the film can be hard to follow. Early on, time-lines are laid out oddly to help make the story build more dramatically. Some events are kept hidden from the audience for a time to help make later revelations more potent. It's not a fatal flaw by any means, but it does add a slight sense of manipulation (and occasional confusion) to the telling.

But this is certainly a powerfully personal document, sort of the dark counterpart to 2012's "Looking for Sugar Man", a compulsively fascinating story, well told. It's very sad that the DVD has gone out of print, and the film is basically impossible to get a hold of. It deserved a better fate.