Coming to theatres tomorrow, Friday, October 26:
MONROVIA, INDIANA
Directors:
Frederick Wiseman
Premiere:
Venice 2018
Select Festivals:
Toronto, New York, Hamptons, London
About:
A wide-ranging portrait of a small midwestern town.
Wiseman’s latest focuses on the titular community, with a population less than 2000, roving around various activities and locations, from a local diner to a farm, an auction to a far-too-long funeral. The master filmmaker isn’t concerned with establishing characters, but in providing an impressionistic look at the daily life of rural America. It’s a largely apolitical portrait, with the most contentious issue debated by a planning board being a vague reference to concerns of a demographic change to the town. Otherwise, an impassioned discussion about whether the Lion’s Club should donate one or two benches to the local library is more the film’s speed. Though not one of Wiseman’s more notable efforts, the film nevertheless retains interest on the whole.
what (not) to doc 