In Detropia, the new documentary from directing partners Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing, a gleaming sun rises over a handsome stretch of metal and glass, yet much of the landscape it kisses is neglected, overgrown, and decaying. This is the dichotomous portrait of Detroit delivered by the filmmakers, whose breakthrough film, Jesus Camp, likely rattled your core. With similar attention paid to stirring emotional heft, Grady and Ewing’s latest uncovers the splendor and squalor of a very American metropolis, whose all-time-low state of disrepair is punctuated by glimmers of its former — and, perhaps, future — glory. Painstakingly researching their […]
by R. Kurt Osenlund on Sep 5, 2012EDITOR’S NOTE, May 28, 2012: At the time of this blog post, all the below 25 films were available on Amazon Prime. Now, a year later, we have been informed by our readers that a number of them are no longer listed on the service. We apologize for any inconvenience, but, as we are learning, streaming windows can be short, and films can rotate on and off the various services. It’s thus possible that missing titles could return in the near future. In the meantime, we’ll work on another post with an entirely up-to-date selection of films. Amazon has dipped […]
by Scott Macaulay on Mar 8, 2011The team behind the award-winning documentary Boys of Baraka are back with a new film that focuses on Evangelical children training to be “soldiers in God’s Army.” Early on in Jesus Camp, Pentecostal minister Becky Fischer asks an auditorium full of children and parents: “Do you believe God can do anything?” A young mother grabs her child’s arm and raises it. LEVI IN HEIDI EWING AND RACHEL GRADY’S JESUS CAMP. This is just one of many provocative moments that give Rachel Grady and Heidi Ewing’s latest documentary its haunting power. As enthralling as the religious rallies it reveals, Jesus Camp […]
by Jason Guerrasio on Sep 21, 2006