Curse of the Man Who Sees UFOs

What doesn't sound irresistible about a documentary focused on a Monterey, CA, kook with a vulgar streak and lifelong passionate certainty that there are Unidentified Flying Objects in the sky almost 24 hours a day? Christo Roppolo is that man, and filmmaker Justin Gaar—never quite sure what to make of him—simply follows Roppolo around here as he sets up his telescope in broad daylight or visits a beach at night to record mysterious lights in the sky. Part of a network of cosmic conspiracy theorists, Roppolo has hundreds of hours of such footage, and Gaar makes the fatal mistake of spending far too much of Curse of the Man Who Sees UFOs's running time in sharing lengthy samples from that obsessive collection. Far more interesting are a few details about Roppolo's younger life, which included the early death of his father and abandonment by his family while his beloved fiancée died of cancer. What extent might these formative events have had on Roppolo, who now believes that entire “fleets” of visitors have come here from faraway worlds? Gaar is too uncertain about his own motives to look that closely into Roppolo's soul, although that would have made for a much better film. Extras include bonus “raw UFO footage.” Not recommended. Aud: C, P. (T. Keogh)