In mid-December, AMPAS released the "shortlists" for nine Oscar categories, including the three short categories (doc, live action, and animated). I've followed the Academy Awards closely for most of my life, but--and I think this is true of most people, including even the AMPAS voting members-- the shorts have always been a blind spot for me. Having some spare time over the holidays and seeing that many of the contenders were available through streaming, I decided to get a jump start.
While doing my initial search of AFTER MARIA, I saw that it had a 4.5 user score on IMDb. I saw the subject matter--strong women, Puerto Rico, Hurricane Maria--and assumed there was probably some strong Trumpian resentment swaying that vote. I had just spent three days over the holidays with my Trump-loving, tribalist, very conservative, very racist father-in-law prior to seeing this movie, and when it was over, I couldn't help but hear his angry voice providing very self-assured counterpoints to what I had just seen. "Well, what kind of jobs did they have in Puerto Rico? Why weren't they looking for jobs? Unemployment is so low and they had free housing for a year; why couldn't they find jobs? What were they doing with all that time? They couldn't learn enough English to make a phone call? They couldn't be a little more proactive? They just want a handout? A natural disaster happens, and they come crying for Trump to buy them houses even though they hate him and hate the United States?"
To be clear, those are not at all my thoughts or opinions. However, after watching this film, I found myself wondering what position I would be in if I had watched it with someone who DID have those opinions. I would have nothing new to support myself with; I would be in a worse position than I would have been prior to seeing the film.
A documentary like this is the very definition of "preaching to the choir." This movie presupposes two very important things: 1) you understand the colonial history of Puerto Rico and realize the debt that the federal government owes to the island and 2) you believe that the government, for the good of society, has a responsibility to use taxpayer money to provide its citizens with services such as disaster relief. If you're an American who's not of Puerto Rican descent, then, very unfortunately, given the state of history education in our country, the odds are against you knowing #1. If you are a conservative and/or a libertarian, then you almost certainly feel very passionately against #2. The film provides minimal facts to educate viewers about #1, and it demonstrates nothing in support of a persuasive case for #2 aside from a rather facile belief in the possibilities of unconditional empathy. Showing people talking about earrings on FaceTime, celebrating birthday parties, and dancing in the streets while waving Puerto Rican flags is hardly a judicious use of 35 minutes of screen time if you're trying to persuade anyone to take public assistance seriously.
So I can assume that the filmmakers are assuming that their viewers will already know #1 and support #2, in which case, what is the purpose of this film? Without any specific call to action ("donate here..." "call this number to voice your concern..." "do this to help..."), the filmmakers preach to the choir but then fail to mobilize them toward any coordinated, meaningful action. Some of the interactions between the women are interesting--the girl's story is sad, and one of the women comes across as especially resilient and levelheaded--but, truth be told, they're not interesting enough (as seen on camera here) to justify this tepid film.
A government, if it's to have any worthwhile purpose at all, does have a responsibility to provide social services to its citizens. I don't begrudge paying taxes because I enjoy things like sidewalks, libraries, museums, trash collection, the meteorological service, postal service, etc., etc. I don't begrudge paying taxes because I believe a community in which EVERY person has easy access to quality education, health care, shelter, entertainment, and basic necessities is a society that is healthier, safer, happier, smarter, and more prosperous for EVERYONE. Puerto Ricans are United States citizens and should be treated with dignity. Unfortunately, this film is a huge misfire.
When I clicked to add my review to IMDb, I was expecting to see some screeds from Trump supporters. I was surprised to see that most of the negative reviews appear to be coming from other Puerto Ricans. Better documentaries with similar aims are out there, but this isn't one of them.
