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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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3.0 out of 5 stars
4 reviews
5 of 5 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars
Interesting Documentary
30 Jan 2007
By Read
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD
This is a wonderful documentary for those that like subjective and exploratory filmmaking. If you are looking for a point, or say a dummy's guide to attacking the tobacco industry or an expose, watch the nightly news. Bright Leaves is in the same vein as Stone Reader, in that both documentaries incorporate their filmmakers. While some may view this as narcissistic or unnecessary, more is revealed about human understanding and the implications of history than a selection of the facts.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Humorous and subtle. Great film!
15 Sep 2012
By Tatyana
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD
I really enjoyed watching this documentary. It seems that some people consider it a documentary condemning tobacco industry, and blame McElwee for having not made a stronger statement. That kind of understanding and expectation misreads this film seriously. This film cannot be narrowed down to a single theme. It is a family history, a quest for identity and meaning of life, a showcase of a place, its people and the way of living, a search for the past, and reflection on all the things above-mentioned. I just love the subtlety and the genuine tone it presented. It is such a humorous, interesting and wise film. I surely will buy it.
0 of 5 people found the following review helpful
2.0 out of 5 stars
A Boring, Pointless Film
7 Oct 2009
By stoic
- Published on Amazon.com
Format:DVD
Bright Leaves is mess. Filmmaker Ross McElwee returns home to North Carolina and begins to investigate his family's past involvement in the tobacco industry. As the film progresses, we find out that the McElwees were run out of the tobacco business by the evil Duke family and that Hollywood later made a movie, "Bright Leaf" about the family's battle with the Dukes.
The biggest problem with this film is that McElwee doesn't grasp the fact that a film should tell a story. He reports on:
- the tobacco industry,
- his relationship with his son,
- his feelings about the South,
- his family's trips to the beach,
- the film "Bright Leaf,"
- the Duke family, and
- many, many other topics.
Any of these threads might have made for an interesting film. As it stands, however, McElwee briefly comments on each of them before moving on to another topic. Bright Leaves has no center; it is like watching a series of vignettes on different topics.
While some of the material is interesting, much of it is a bore. One of the worst moments is an excruciating, bizarre scene in which McElwee interviews a visiting film scholar. The scene goes on forever and I cannot convey the level of boredom the viewer endures while listening to these two discuss the "kinesthetic" qualities of film.
After the movie, my wife commented that it was like watching a movie by a film student who has yet to learn much. That's a good summary. Do yourself a favor and skip McElwee's self-indulgent, pointless film.
The biggest problem with this film is that McElwee doesn't grasp the fact that a film should tell a story. He reports on:
- the tobacco industry,
- his relationship with his son,
- his feelings about the South,
- his family's trips to the beach,
- the film "Bright Leaf,"
- the Duke family, and
- many, many other topics.
Any of these threads might have made for an interesting film. As it stands, however, McElwee briefly comments on each of them before moving on to another topic. Bright Leaves has no center; it is like watching a series of vignettes on different topics.
While some of the material is interesting, much of it is a bore. One of the worst moments is an excruciating, bizarre scene in which McElwee interviews a visiting film scholar. The scene goes on forever and I cannot convey the level of boredom the viewer endures while listening to these two discuss the "kinesthetic" qualities of film.
After the movie, my wife commented that it was like watching a movie by a film student who has yet to learn much. That's a good summary. Do yourself a favor and skip McElwee's self-indulgent, pointless film.
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3.0 out of 5 stars
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