Time Indefinite

Many documentarians have tried to make personal cinematic essays, often on the same kinds of themes explored here, but few if any have the sensitivity and judgment of Ross McElwee.

The failed ashes disposal scene seemed performative, which I’m not against, (and I do believe she had tried many times before) but she wouldn’t stop smiling

McElwee may be the most consistently interesting filmmaker, never inventing anything, doggedly collecting life from life. He's never had a light heart and seems perpetually lost, but through his essays he finds fragments of meaning, and the most important one here seems to be this: Life regenerates.

A bit of life and a bit of death, the film has some interesting thematic contrasts, and McElwee does well to mix those themes with personal anecdotes and keep things both interesting and insightful.

Sherman's March continues. McElwee at once seems so dull and so compelling. Once events turn tragic and the emotional hammer begins to fall, the documentary really takes off.