Interesting film

I just caught the Independent Lens version of this documentary, which is 55 min. vs. its 82 min. theatrical release length. Despite missing out on some of it I found this documentary to contain interesting groups of interwoven stories. What holds most of it together, thematically, is the rat. But the movie goes off on many tangents—not all of which directly include the rat. It seems to be more a story of how humans treat each other than anything. It uses the city of Baltimore and its dark racial history to add additional layers of metaphor and examples.

If I get the chance to watch the full version I’ll be curious to see if I’m able to connect more dots. There are many semi transparent points made throughout the movie. Some are straight forward while others are more challenging. I’m sure I missed some as well.

I also really liked the experimental feel of the movie. The sound design, editing, score, imagery and plot are creatively used to keep you on your toes. In my experience, movies that take these level of risk fail at least as often as they work, but it in this case I think it was largely successful. Again, I hope I get another chance to watch this. I’m curious what others thought too—