The Other Side

I love Minervini's observational style, which leaves difficult subjects like this outside the realm of the camera's judgment. Instead, we get a humane portrait of inhumane living by the dispossessed and the outsiders in north central Louisiana. Of course, these people might be insiders in their community, but outsiders in the broader American context. All that said, the film is so raw, so painful, that it wanders into potentially exploitative territory often.

A harsh look into the rough life of people on the edge of society in Louisiana... or how to describe it...

i cynically suspect the people this reached are mostly those who've outgrown the need for reminders of the Other Side's humanity, but i do appreciate its ability to remain compassionate without sugarcoating their repulsive views and behaviors. it's tough, loaded stuff, but more familiar and less revelatory than the best of its kind. a lot has been made of the performative approach, but i'm not sure that's in any way the subject of the film rather than merely a means to an end.

Unilluminating Korinesque bullshit.

"You gonna be my bitch, 'til death do us part."

Disturbing, but not without sympathy. Interesting characters, but more of a collection of scenes without any real narrative or statement.