Following the 2016 presidential election, Frederick Wiseman's documentary dissects small-town America to understand how its values impact and influence the political landscape of the nation.
Composed of intimate and unencumbered moments of people in a community, this film is constructed in a form that allows the viewer an emotive impression of the Historic South - trumpeting ... See full summary »
Director:
RaMell Ross
Stars:
Latrenda 'Boosie' Ash,
Quincy Bryant,
Daniel Collins
Water is the main protagonist, seen in all its great and terrible beauty. Mountains of ice move and break apart as if they had a life of their own. Kossakovsky's film travels the world, ... See full summary »
An old mining town on the Arizona-Mexico border finally reckons with its darkest day: the deportation of 1200 immigrant miners exactly 100 years ago. Locals collaborate to stage recreations of their controversial past.
Set in the Parisian publishing world, an editor and an author find themselves in over their heads, as they cope with a middle-age crisis, the changing industry and their wives.
Director:
Olivier Assayas
Stars:
Guillaume Canet,
Juliette Binoche,
Vincent Macaigne
Three young women were sentenced to death in the infamous Manson murder case, but when the death penalty was lifted, their sentence became life imprisonment. One young graduate student was ... See full summary »
What You Gonna Do When The World's On Fire is the story of a community of black people in the American South during the summer 2017, when a string of brutal killings of black men sent ... See full summary »
With Italy about to go to war in 1914, this's the story of the encounter between a goatherd called Lucia, the commune of young Northern Europeans led by Seybu and the town's young doctor on the unique island of Capri.
Director:
Mario Martone
Stars:
Marianna Fontana,
Reinout Scholten van Aschat,
Antonio Folletto
Set in 1825, Clare, a young Irish convict woman, chases a British officer through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family. On the way she enlists the services of an Aboriginal tracker named Billy, who is also marked by trauma from his own violence-filled past.
Director:
Jennifer Kent
Stars:
Sam Claflin,
Aisling Franciosi,
Damon Herriman
Following the 2016 presidential election, Frederick Wiseman's documentary dissects small-town America to understand how its values impact and influence the political landscape of the nation.
In my opinion, Frederick Wiseman is the greatest documentary film maker of all time and here he looks at life in Monrovia, Indiana a small town farming community.
As in other Wiseman films, there is no narration, interviews or leading questions. He simply allows us to get a glimpse into the lives of people living here. He starts off with some beautiful shots of blue skies, breezes blowing through the trees and fields. Then we see towns folk going about their business in their jobs and everyday life. Only Wiseman could make working in a pizzeria or a supermarket seem fascinating. The early scenes shows the Monrovia High School, showing a teacher proudly talking about Indiana basketball players, there is also a quick scene of students rehearsing a musical revue. There is no scenes of any trouble at the school, unlike Wiseman's 1968 classic "High School". One of the funnier moments is a group of older men at a diner talking about diet food and drinking a lot of beer to get it down. We see a pig farmer getting his pigs ready to be sold. Wiseman spares us from seeing them slaughtered which I thought was unusual for him since he normally shows us everything. However later on, we get to see a veterinarian operating on a dog's tail reminiscent of the operation we got to see in Wiseman's 1993 "Zoo". There are a few long sequences of the town council discussing new houses being built and lack of fire hydrant inspections. A wedding is shown in a Christian church with nice singing of the old song "Always". There is a scene in a gun shop where owner and customer talk about rifle scopes for deer hunting and about a friend with gall stones. The final sequence is the funeral of a beloved wife and mother. Wiseman is always great at giving a well rounded picture of his subjects. The last scene of the coffin being lowered is very moving. It is often the last scene of a Wiseman film that hits you the hardest, and that is what happens here.
While this is not one of Wiseman's best, it still is a worthy addition to his collection.
5 of 6 people found this review helpful.
Was this review helpful to you?
| Report this
In my opinion, Frederick Wiseman is the greatest documentary film maker of all time and here he looks at life in Monrovia, Indiana a small town farming community.
As in other Wiseman films, there is no narration, interviews or leading questions. He simply allows us to get a glimpse into the lives of people living here. He starts off with some beautiful shots of blue skies, breezes blowing through the trees and fields. Then we see towns folk going about their business in their jobs and everyday life. Only Wiseman could make working in a pizzeria or a supermarket seem fascinating. The early scenes shows the Monrovia High School, showing a teacher proudly talking about Indiana basketball players, there is also a quick scene of students rehearsing a musical revue. There is no scenes of any trouble at the school, unlike Wiseman's 1968 classic "High School". One of the funnier moments is a group of older men at a diner talking about diet food and drinking a lot of beer to get it down. We see a pig farmer getting his pigs ready to be sold. Wiseman spares us from seeing them slaughtered which I thought was unusual for him since he normally shows us everything. However later on, we get to see a veterinarian operating on a dog's tail reminiscent of the operation we got to see in Wiseman's 1993 "Zoo". There are a few long sequences of the town council discussing new houses being built and lack of fire hydrant inspections. A wedding is shown in a Christian church with nice singing of the old song "Always". There is a scene in a gun shop where owner and customer talk about rifle scopes for deer hunting and about a friend with gall stones. The final sequence is the funeral of a beloved wife and mother. Wiseman is always great at giving a well rounded picture of his subjects. The last scene of the coffin being lowered is very moving. It is often the last scene of a Wiseman film that hits you the hardest, and that is what happens here.
While this is not one of Wiseman's best, it still is a worthy addition to his collection.