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Caught the first 3 of Looming Tower, and first 2 of Flint Town.
Looming Tower is a little sterile. Maybe I already know too much of the story they're telling. Maybe I'm distracted by the performers, so I can't get into the storytelling. Find myself mostly critiquing the product, the narrative decisions, the cinematic choices, more than experiencing it.
Flint Town is both traditional and immediate. It's about what you'd expect from a documentary of a city in crisis that focuses on the beat cops and the political landscape. A lot of it is like a cinematic version of COPS crossed with Errol Morris, with voiceovers narrating over cinematically framed details such as a cop staring down the road as he drives to a scene, or with fly-on-the-wall footage of city councilmen or officers shooting the shit or preparing for session. It's immediacy is setup by covering the logistical preparations for the Clinton/Sanders Dem debate, as well as a searing bit with the officers on scene of a young teen shot randomly in the middle of a blizzard. It also centers on the change in administration in Flint, which brought on a new police chief, with all that entails.
It will catch you choking up with sadness and desperation in some moments, and with optimism and redemption a moment later.
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