Coming to PBS via Frontline and Independent Lens this coming Monday, April 1 and Tuesday, April 2: KIND HEARTED WOMAN
David Sutherland’s indepth portrait of a divorced Oglala Sioux single mother makes its debut as a special two-part co-presentation by two of PBS’s signature series.
Clocking in at about five hours, Sutherland’s film follows Robin Charboneau, a 32-year-old woman from North Dakota’s Spirit Lake Reservation, over three years, and is named after the English translation of her Sioux name. The survivor of childhood sexual abuse at the hands of her foster father, siblings, and “uncles,” and, more recently, violence at the hands of boyfriends, Robin has struggled with alcoholism and depression. A messy divorce from her abusive husband has added further stress, but Robin shows determination to better her life, and that of her two children. As the film begins, she has spent some time in rehab and enrolls in college to better provide for her family, escape the pitfalls of poverty and addiction, and help other Native women who have had similar experiences. Due to complications regarding a lengthy and ongoing child custody case against her ex and his influential family, Robin’s education plans suffer a setback – merely one instance of the ups and downs she experiences during this epic, yet still refreshingly ordinary, film, from new jobs and a new relationship to painful revelations about further abuse in her family. Charboneau is eminently watchable, a woman who may not always know what the answers are to her problems, and may make mistakes, but is open to learning from them. The doc is heartfelt but tough, emotional but never maudlin, and filmed with a gritty authenticity that captures the realities of a woman, and family, at risk. It’s an immersive experience, down to the at times awkwardly too-close sound design, which captures its subjects frequent grunts and throat-clearings – a verite portrait that often approximates more of an indie narrative drama than a standard public television doc. That said, while engrossing for the better part of its extended running time, Sutherland’s pacing is not always quite right – there’s a frequent sense of repetition, which, while arguably echoing the seemingly neverending trials Robin must contend with, has a cumulative wearying effect on the viewer, suggesting the film could be tightened up at least a bit.
what (not) to doc 