Bright Leaves

Who'd have thought that a freeform meditation on tobacco, family, and filmmaking would be so compelling? Documentary filmmaker Ross McElwee (Sherman's March), whose great grandfather helped launch the tobacco industry, returns to his childhood home of North Carolina to explore his heritage, but "documentary" isn't quite the word to describe the result--it's more like a free-association video montage or a lucid dream. Using the 1950 Gary Cooper/Patricia Neal movie Bright Leaf as his jumping off point--McElwee suspects that the tobacco soap opera may have been inspired by his great grandfather's life--the filmmaker rambles through the one-two punch of his family's heritage (all the guilt of contributing to a worldwide tobacco addiction, with none of the massive wealth and power), the "addiction" to filmmaking that has compelled him to film his son's life in an attempt to capture all of the adorable stages, and the willful blindness of tobacco people to the harm inflicted by their product. It's all tied together with clips from Bright Leaf, old home movies, and McElwee's self-analysis of his own quirks and neuroses, and--believe it or not--it's fascinating. Highly recommended. [Note: libraries that do not need public performance rights may want to wait to purchase as this is almost certain to be eventually released on home video.] Aud: C, P. (M. Johanson)[DVD Review--June 27, 2005--First Run Features, 105 min., not rated, $29.95--2003's Bright Leaves debuts on DVD at a sell-through price, with extras including three music tracks by Paula Larke (11 min.), a text director's statement, film notes by Godfrey Cheshire, notes about Michael Curtiz's 1950 film Bright Leaf, and biographies. Bottom line: a small extras package for an excellent documentary.]