Ross McElwee: Time for Career Retrospective of Seminal American Documentarian
Grade: A (***** out of *****)
A proposal to turn his autobiographical documentary, Sherman’s March (1986), into fiction materialized, when he added footage of his late young son Adrian.
The unique , tragic, circumstances led Ross McElwee’s rich meditation on the interplay of memory, living, and legacy.
Emotionally touchng, McElwee has made another personal gem of a docu, aiming to comment on the passage of time, and how the past inevitably affects the present in both positive and negative, private and professional ways.
McElwee’s pain over loss informs every frame, yet his determination to keep his agony at bay and continue working during he worst times of his life are nthng short of brilliant.
The film, which is funny, brutal, and poignant, world premiered out of competition at the 2025 Venice Film Fest.
Sherman’s March (1986)
Sherman’s March: A Meditation on the Possibility of Romantic Love In the South During an Era of Nuclear Weapons Proliferation was awarded a Grand Jury prize at the 1987 Sundance Film Fest, and was selected for preservation in the U.S. National Film Registry in 2000.
Born in 1947, McElwee is a seminal documentary documentarian, best known for his autobiographical films about family and personal life, interwoven with episodic journey that also deals with larger political or philosophical issues.
His humorous, often self-deprecating films refer to cultural aspects of his Southern upbringing.
McElwee received the Career Award at the 2007 Full Frame Documentary Film Fest.
