Advertisement
Powered By
IMDB

Review

A star rating of 5 out of 5.

Veteran documentary cinematographer Kirsten Johnson, best known for the Oscar-winning Citizenfour, raids her archives for this thoughtful and absorbing film, her debut as director. In what is essentially the world's most highbrow home movie, Johnson cuts together previously unused footage from throughout her career. The disparate sequences, which take Johnson and the viewer from Bosnia to Iraq via all corners of America, are unaccompanied by narration or obvious context. This apparently meandering structure - and a certain sense of navel-gazing - will prove off-putting to some, but the cumulative effect of these low-key windows into a life spent staring down a lens, at one remove from "reality", is deeply rewarding. Occasional returns to Johnson's mother, in the late stages of Alzheimer's, are delicately placed to underscore these deep ideas of image, experience and memory while also proving genuinely emotional. Through her smart balancing of tones, Johnson creates a graceful, ground-breaking and thoroughly cinematic work of art.

How to watch

Loading

Credits

Cast

rolename
Kirsten JohnsonKirsten Johnson (2)

Crew

rolename
DirectorKirsten Johnson (2)

Details

Theatrical distributor
Dogwoof
Released on
2017-01-27
Languages
English | Arabic | Bosnian | Hausa
Guidance
Swearing.
Available on
DVD
Formats
Colour
Advertisement
Advertisement

RadioTimes.com is getting better.

Fresh new look, redesigned programme hub, richer content…

FIND OUT MORE
Advertisement