Man on Fire

On June 23, 2014, retired minister Charles Moore doused himself with gasoline in a parking lot in Grand Saline, TX, in a horrific public self-immolation. His suicide note, according to the subsequent article "Man on Fire" published in Texas Monthly, revealed his agony over social-justice issues including wealth disparity, church homophobia, and the legacy of slavery and American racism. Drawing from the Texas Monthly piece, director Joel Fendelman's puzzling PBS-aired documentary examines the incident exclusively through a lens of race (arguably losing sight of any bigger picture). Filmed in severe, slow-zoom HD—more like Kubrick than Errol Morris—the Grand Salinas folk interviewed here speak highly of Moore. Still, they are equally proud of their little everybody-knows-everybody-else community and its association with bygone days. Nearby blacks describe Grand Saline as old Jim Crow territory they learned to avoid, and they appreciate Moore's apparent sacrifice in an ultimate expression of white guilt (and one minister even compares Moore to Christ). Yet there seems to be a general agreement that lynchings and murderous bigotry are long past, and nobody can cite a specific trigger for Moore's extreme act (Confederate flags are seen on display, and that's about it). Whatever final, desperate lesson Moore might have been imparting ultimately seems to be lost. Still, given the timely subject matter, this should be considered a strong optional purchase. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)