In scoping the All Roads films at the Santa Fe Film Festival, I was often struck by intimate level of access afforded the filmmakers. In addition to the epic Arctic Sun, where I know that Father and Son would have definitely gone to blows had the cameras not been rolling, I would also like to mention Wetback (Aturo Perez Torres) and The Journey of Vaan Nguyen (Duki Dror.) Speaking of Mr. Dror, his film was recently screened at the Washington Jewish Festival. Here is a report.
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The magic of a good documentary his how the film draws the viewer into the inner-most details of the subject's world. At times seemingly sacred, we are made privy to the intimate feelings exposed through real life emotions as they play out. The news media also does this, but it feels different. Whereas the news media will stick a camera and a microphone into the face of a grieving victim for the sake of the moment or shock ratings, a documentary is telling a story. Its more thought out. There is a perceived, deeper sense of trust between filmmaker and subject.
These are the feelings I experienced while viewing these films.
In Wetback, Arturo tells the unbiased story of the perilous journeys of illegal immigration from the perspecitves of migrants, U.S. Border Patrol Agents and patriotic vigilantes. He captures them each in such a way that I found myself rooting for all three. At one moment, we would be traveling with a duo of Central American gentlemen, desparate to reach the "American Dream", whisking through the thick brush on the banks of the Rio Grande. I am sitting on the edge of my seat with sweaty palms fearful they (or we) would be caught at any moment. Then in the next frame, we are traveling with the border patrol agents, hoping they (or we) would bust someone trying to cross into the country illegally. It just seemed so dangerous from every angle and as a viewer, I could literally feel the danger.
